Conversation as the New Work Style

The cathedral at Chartres stands on a hill at the center of a charming medieval town in northern France. This spectacular cathedral was constructed between 1194 and 1260, and is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe. For centuries the cathedral also functioned as a marketplace, with merchants at the portals of the basilica selling different items: textiles at the northern end; fuel, vegetables and meat at the southern end. Workers in various professions, such as carpenters, weavers and masons, gathered in the cathedral seeking jobs.

The cathedral itself is a spectacular experience for any visitor. The 92 foot long nave soars 120 feet high at its center. It is flanked by immense stained glass windows dating from the 1200’s. On the floor of the nave is an original thirteenth-century labyrinth comprising a path over 650 feet long enclosed within a 50-foot diameter, where for centuries pilgrims have crawled on their knees around the pattern, hoping to find God at the center

On a recent visit to the cathedral, amidst this spectacular architecture, I saw a human drama that stopped me in my tracks. Outside a small chapel space on one side of the nave was a modest sign - “conversational confession”. There in a tiny glass-walled space sat an elderly French woman across a small table from a chapel priest. The two were engaged in dialogue, complete with earnest looks and animated gestures.

As a lapsed Catholic, (it’s been 16 years since I attended mass and 48 years since my last confession) the notion of confession-as-conversation was a revelation. My recollection of confession was one of entering a dark cabinet-like space, waiting for a small window to slide open, after which I confessed my sins to an unseen priest who listened patiently and assigned my penance. Almost half a century later, I am in an 800 year-old church, witnessing this same ritual, now transformed into dialogue. Here they were – penitent and priest – engaged in a discussion of both the sin and its forgiveness, seeking to come to some decision as to how best to express their faith.

Back across the Atlantic, 21st century American companies have learned a similar lesson. They are making use of conversation as a tool to transform the way they do business. Alan Webber – former editor of Harvard Business Review and co-founder of Fast Company magazine has observed: “Conversation is the core process by which humans think and coordinate their actions. As a result of conversation, collective learning ensues and the resultant collective intelligence co-creates business and social value.” In fact, conversations are the way we discover what we know. We share our understanding with our colleagues and, in the process we create new knowledge for the organization.

The old days of simply transmitting information from top to bottom in an organization are over. Looking up the organization for answers and direction simply doesn’t work in an economy built around knowledge. Being able to bring meaning to the work for all involved has become the core competence in today’s leaner organizations. This process involves a social action perspective – developing a “shared understanding” of what is to be done and how best to do it. Meaning is brought through collaborative discussion. High-performance in the 21st century organization demands conversation. The altered term “co-operation” perhaps best defines the collaborative nature of this way of working.

he capacity for collaboration in this way has to do with what has been termed "social capital" - the ability for people to work together for common purposes. Today an organization’s capital is embodied less in land, factories, tools and machines, and increasingly in the knowledge that resides inside the human mind. Social capital represents people's ability to associate with, and work effectively with, one another. Today the critical differences between companies reside in the utilization of their human resources. The quality of the interpersonal environment - how and how well the employees work together - determines a company's success or failure. The lesson here is that in order for organizations to mine the information that exists in the system, structured, multi-directional conversations, among those most directly involved, are essential.

What does this mean in practical terms?

1. It means leading meetings in such a way that issues are talked through completely before any decisions are made. It means looking at potential actions from every angle and designing ways to overcome any potential obstacles.
2. It means making sure that everyone on the team is involved and participating in the process.
3. It means leveling with others on where you stand on the issues, and encouraging others to do the same. It means developing ideas through discussion with others.
4. It means demonstrating your ability to work with other people as equals, respecting what they bring to the table, listening to them for ideas, and working cooperatively to accomplish the task at hand.
5. It means showing that you are someone who really cares about the work of your colleagues. In so doing you develop a reputation as a valuable partner.
6. It means connecting with other people across the organization, determining who you can involve, and in what way, on the projects over which you have responsibility.
7. It means forming alliances that enable you to leverage your power and your effectiveness, especially in situations where people need to come together to share different kinds of expertise.

We know that it’s a knowledge economy from now on – driven by the power of ideas and accumulated wisdom. Those skilled at forming alliances put themselves in-the-know. In effect, they work to place themselves at the center of organizational knowledge – wherever, and with whomever, that knowledge resides. Being connected in this way ensures that knowledge is leveraged. When you drill down into the center of the knowledge networks you have formed you’re likely to hit a gusher of collective brainpower.

The formula for maximizing information – and in turn building the knowledge and wisdom available to the organization is this:

The right people….having the right conversations….about the right things….at the right time.

Those who become indispensable in their organizations have moved away from thinking in terms of a “competitive advantage”, especially as it applies to their own colleagues. Instead they seek a "collaborative advantage", mining the information, knowledge and accumulated wisdom that resides throughout the organization.

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