PSMI Week 3 Assignment
This week we explored the art of being a deliberately developmental organization (DDO), where all the doing becomes learning, and vice versa. To do this it is useful, maybe even essential, for each person to discover their own growing edge. And because we are practicing self-management, we have the freedom to make this discovery on our own, in the context of our work and our work community.
Most people would greet with skepticism the idea that an organization may exist in service to the growth and development of its people. It is encouraging to me that we now have some examples of such companies. We could hope for more — or we could get busy creating them.
The assignment this week has been to craft a personal “Immunity to Change” map based on the work of Robert Kegan et al. This was a challenging assignment, because we were asked to take a hard look at our own developmental needs as leaders, and to chart our hidden assumptions and competing commitments that stand in the way of that growth.
In my case, the goal I selected was to become more optimistic and hopeful; more spontaneous and joyful. My “why” behind this goal is that I have received feedback to the effect that I can present as pessimistic, too focused on problems, and a bit joyless — which can be demotivating to my colleagues. I do mean to become more optimistic, not simply to act in more positive ways.
One of the big assumptions that props up my current behavior is that people who seem to be happy all the time are either faking it, or they aren’t very smart. In this case, by smart I mean well-read, with mastery of facts and figures, and strong analytical abilities.
My worry is that others share my assumption. If I can’t show how much I know by expressing how dire our circumstances are (or the many problems we face), people will think I’m not smart. Being ‘smart’ has long been a big part of my identity; it’s hard to let go of that.
Of course my assumption is deeply flawed, as assumptions tend to be. Paul Hawken is a prominent example of a very smart person who is also optimistic.
It was suggested to me that it may be possible to be a pragmatic optimist, a hopeful realist. There is merit in this suggestion, and it will be part of my work as I explore this growing edge.
So you can see that I have plenty of work ahead, challenging my assumptions, setting aside competing commitments, and consistently practicing behaviors that are likely to support the desired change. I may find other landmines buried in the map as I go. For now, I’m encouraged to be on this journey with this PMSI cohort, a remarkable group of human beings!

