Paths of Change - Will McWhinney

Bookreview M&O - Journal for Organizational and Social Policy

48th year - November / December 1994

Paths of Change - Will McWhinney

by Marc Tassoul

Introduction

I discovered the book Paths of Change in 1992 at a conference on creativity and Innova-
tion. In the midst of all the books on creativity, leadership, change and intrapreneurship, it
becomes more and more difficult to separate the good ones from the multitude. But after
meeting with the author and an elaborate exchange of thoughts, the idea emerged that this
might be an important work. This was confirmed once reading the book and I hope to be
able to share this finding with you.

The processes we have at our disposal to deal with complex situations in organizations
often appear to be insufficient. In most cases situations (or issues) cannot be separated into
separable and easily solvable problems. And most times traditional problem solving
methods will lead to new problems. In his book, McWhinney presents a model that should
go beyond traditional problem solving techniques. The premise being that processes of
change move through different 'thinking frames' (frames of reference) or realities', each
with its own rules, language and outcomes. Through this all is the fact that each individual
has a particular aptitude: some of us are more adept in the political arena, others try to
map the reality in the form of figures, others specialize in the ethical and social aspects and
some try to create a world according to their views. It is with these frames of reference or
'realities' as McWhinney calls these that a model is created to set up and accompany
processes of change.

Different realities

The starting point of the model is that change will always occur from different paradigms
or world views. To 'image' this, McWhinney set up a model on two axis (see figure 1): one
for the amount of free will and one for the amount of pluriformity.

determined

unitary sensory

monistic pluralistic

mythic social

free wil
fig.1 : realities

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This can then be developed into 4 quadrants:

• the social

• the mythic

• the unifying (translating from the Dutch), and

• the sensory frame

The 'concerted action' (or 'interplay') of these different frames and the conflicts that stem
from these have to do with the different meanings that each one of us has given to his or
her reality. In daily routine, we have all kinds of ways at our disposal so that we don't have
to deal with these conflicts continually: we sometimes call it 'rationality', sometimes
'respect' or 'consideration', and in other cases: 'habit'. For daily living, these are good solu-
tions which are embedded in the cultures of organizations and communities. As change
automatically implies a disruption of the images we have of reality (in the popular sense), a
theory on change will have to take into account conflict and culture.

Another aspect of the realities is that one can type individuals and organizations. When
designing a process for change, it is essential to 'know' the kind of 'basic assumptions' (as
used by Schein) we will have to deal with as interventionists (including one's own images of
reality). Starting from this aspect, McWhinney builds a model for leadership styles (in the
sense of 'taking initiative within a social context'), relations between leaders and followers
and the emergence of culture in relation to change processes.

Dealing with different frames of reference or 'realities as McWhinney calls these is the basis
of the model: the design of strategies and processes of change that move through these dif-
ferent realities on the basis that people have a tendency to deal from different realities.

Modes of Change

The basic mechanism of change is to create a change in one reality along the rules of a
second reality. These mechanisms, or modes of change can be ordered according to the
realities and the way they are applied within a change process. On the basis of 4 realities,
McWhinney develops 6 modes of change:

• analytic (unitary - sensory): change achieved by imposing policies that have been
developed by testing an idea, formally or casually, against empirical data-theory applied
through data. Actions derives from unilateral authority. The analytic is often accepted
as defining 'rational action'.

• participative: change achieved by developing a value consensus in the relevant group
based on empirical explorations. Action follows from shared involvement. Source of
power is democratic, guided by a 'rational' relation to the data.

• imperative: change achieved by a leadership of either a charismatic, personal expres-
sion (based in the mythic) or an agent of authority (based in the unitary).

• emergent : change achieved through creating and accepting a new idea that may have
originated with an idea leader or emerged from the involved group.

• inventive (mythic - sensory): change achieved through the material realization of a
new (creative) idea. In a pure form there is no recognition of values or social truth,
though the idea may attain acceptance for its value.

• Influential (social - unitary): change achieved by acceptance of new values, either
through the imposition of a truth by an authority or through the adoption of a value by
a population. The pure mode takes no account of data.

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Revitalization and Renaissance

In the chapter on paths of change, McWhinney starts with a description of two archetypal
main paths which cover all four realities: The Renaissance which matches the path of
'return-for-a-better-start', and the path of Revitalization which matches the patrilogical
model commonly used in Western cultures. Both paths go parallel with ancient and spiritual
traditions of transformation. One path starts in the differentiating direction, the other in
the conventionalizing direction. Differentiation leads to a solution through the grand path
of the renaissance, a path that often evolves from despair. Conventionalizing leads through
the path of revitalization that finds its solution in the (re-)actualizing of existing
principles.

Unitary Sensory Unitary Sensory

Policy Action Policy Action

Vision Values Vision Values

Mythic Social Mythic Social

renaissance revitalisatie

figure 2: Renaissance and Revitalization

In day-to-day experience, we will seldom find their pure forms. And the paths are often
intermingled. In one process, we will often find both, some principles will have to be reac-
tualized, in other places existing principles and presumptions will have to be hold against
the light to break through old interpretations and create and adopt new meanings. In most
cases, both paths will be found in some dialectical relationship.

Next to these main paths, McWhinney describes a number of 'smaller' (but not less impor-
tant) paths as one can find them in entrepreneurial initiatives, in organizational develop-
ment, strategic planning, the analysis of socio-technical systems, in political revolutions, in
urban planning, etc. These paths will normally move through (in large lines) two or three
of the four realities.

The choice for one or the other path and the scale in which it will be followed depends in
part of the loss (or change) of the existing culture and the appearance of fundamental
disfunctions in meanings that are normally not confronted in daily routine. The existing
structures and cultures form a façade for the lack of meaning which lies hidden behind.
Without a clear image of a path of resolution, it can be recommendable to choose the
existing hell above openly dealing with some anomaly. The theory of paths provides a
mean to 'image' a course, but we should never forget the means that are needed and the
courage needed to choose a particular path and follow it through.

Styles of leadership

Another aspect of the choice for a path is the availability of a particular style of leader-
ship. With the four realities as a starting point, ten styles of leadership are 'developed':

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• authoritarian

• expert

• task

• consultative

• entrepreneurial

• prophetic

• participative

• facilitative

• charismatic

• integrative

An Illustration: a citation on charismatic leadership:

''Leadership is irrational: leaders do not take logical decisions, they indicate a direction
from an integral expression of themselves. In quiet times, the existing cultures provide
stability; on the basis of accepted paradigms, an accepted rationality serves as a basis for
action, in other words from a unitary truth and a sensory evaluation of data or a consensus
which was obtained through political ways. In case of crisis, leaders will have to 'plug into'
other sources of wisdom that lye outside the rational to create new courses of action, often
based on archetypal images of change processes. Using these sources is a revolution (in the
sense of 'turn around') not to irrationality but to a collective subconscious, to a mythic font
of society. In this way, Churchill was able to let the English take up the Yeoman citizenry
role, that's how the Indian population stood next to Gandhi and that's how the Red army
stood next to Mao on the 'long march'.

McWhinney continues the book with a start for a theory on the relationships between
leaders and followers on the basis of individual styles as these can be found in Western
society.

Courage for the Journey

The book ends with a chapter on Courage for the journey. When the whole model is
developed and one cannot see the wood from the trees anymore, this chapters provides
some sort of synthesis and a first step to practical applications so that in the midst of all
these choices one can still proceed.

Courage has to do with choices when everything seems insecure, in the middle of great
danger, social despair and worlds that have lost all their meaning. Courage also has to do
with moving when there is no clear basis for action. Rollo May (1975) said: "Courage is not
a lack of despair; it is particularly the capacity to advance in the middle of despair".
McWhinney looks at the interaction between courage, belief and logic around organizations
of our thoughts from the notion that 'we live on the basis of propositions whose validity is
based in our belief in these".

A formal conclusion of the study of the presented "meta-praxis" is that conflict is avoided
by applying change with the example of myths and stories that lye embedded in our culture
and which are for a large part significant for our lives. Change can be applied successfully
when we can make visible the main stories of the relevant cultures, and use our courage and
ability to choose those paths which for us, the organizations, and the surrounding cultures
are 'experienced' as natural.

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Comments

A problem of books is the fact that things are presented sequentially. The theme is
extremely wide and deep. It's not the typical "How to bluff your way into Change" kind of
book, far from that. It is clear that we see here the synthesis of many years of experience
in practice and a thorough knowledge of socio-technical and systemic structures. It is
admirable how McWhinney was able to make these insights explicit again and put these in a
model that (in the end) provides a simple frame to design and accompany change processes.

The model is wide, the text is clear, the examples speak a clear language, but the roots go
deep and the implications for the 'images' (in Dutch: 'thought-images' or realities) for the
reader have a deep impact. A problem with this material are the many layers of aspects
that are undividably (but not logically) connected. With text in a book, one cannot do any-
thing else than put concepts one after the other. By having concepts return in a cyclical
format in the different chapters, a consistent whole of meaning and insight slowly emerges.
But, the 'image' only comes to rest once the last piece of the puzzle is put in place
('Courage for the Journey').

I have the impression the book is not finished. McWhinney himself states so. It is a con-
tinued paths of explicitation that will lead to a follow-up "Creating paths of Change".

There is a temporary version of this book, edited by Enthusion, the consultancy of
McWhinney - an official version (with ISBN number, etc.) should appear at the end of
1994. "Creating Paths of Change" was written together with Eleanor McCulley. It came
forth from the thought that this first book mainly deals with the conceptual facets of this
theoretical model. A translation to one's own practice is left to the reader. This follow-up
is more aimed at the practical aspect of the "change agent" (as a person). The first half of
"Creating Paths of Change" deals with the concepts as they are presented in "Paths of
Change", but in a more pragmatical way, the second half is used to describe a large number
of techniques as these can be applied in the various phases of a process, in other words: the
"Toolbox".

Finally

The simple 'understanding' of four realities on two axis provides an insightful frame for
change, styles of leadership, relations between leaders and followers and the conditions in
which change takes place. Also the notion that conflict is standard and that change always
occurs from at least two realities are important notions. The book is definitely not easy
and even with good examples, the reader will have to connect these concepts with his own
experience to be able to 'process' this in a meaningful way.

At various places, McWhinney writes about myths and stories as important means to
'induce' change. But Paths of Change doesn't deal with this subject in a very elaborate way.
By association, I would think that the Mythic reality gets relatively little attention. Specu-
lating: possibly because much attention is given to this subject (creative thinking, intuition,
myths and stories, Zen, etc.) and (as McWhinney states himself in the book) the starting
point from which the book is written, which is for a large part this mythical reality.

For people in organizational change (managers, consultants, researchers and trainers)
reading Paths of Change is a 'must'. For the more pragmatic manager, waiting for "Creating
Paths of Change" would be advisable.

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