Strategic Conversation Research

3 - Strategic Conversation skills acquisition program results

Results of research conducted by Ian Johnson (Deltapoint Pty Ltd)
through School of Psychology, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia) 2003-2005

Objective of Strategic Conversation Skills Acquisition

This research program over a 6-month period tested for the successful acquisition of skills in strategic conversation, by eleven very different organisations. The CEO, owner, or equivalent senior decision-maker from each participating organisation attended one 1-hour meeting per week. It was their task to learn strategic conversation and then introduce it within the processes of the organisation. Adult learning principles were explored and applied in an 'action research' program, and tests were conducted to assess the changing skill levels, the changes that were expected, and also for changes that were unexpected (good or bad).

The three aims of the longitudinal study were to
1) Determine if Strategic Conversation skills could be developed by exposure to knowledge about Strategic Conversation and experience in discussing it and applying it.
2) Test the cause-effect nature of relationship between Strategic Conversation, Strategic Behaviour, and organisational performance (does better performance cause better conversation, or better conversation cause better performance).
3) Assess and describe any unexpected gains or disappointments reported after elevating Strategic Conversation skills.

Adult learning

Einstein: "I'm always willing to learn - but not always willing to be taught"

Adult learning occurs mostly when we 'reflect' (think about) the outcomes of actions - our own or others - and this is especially if it went belly up (Lengnick-Hall & Wolff, 1999). We learn less if it 'went to plan' because there is nothing to challenge the original thinking that brought about the action in the first place. Disappointment can lead to refection, better understanding, and an adjusted re-try. This is the basis of the Kolb learning cycle of:

1. concrete experience and observation,
2. reflection on that experience,
3. synthesis and abstract conceptualisation, and
4. testing of the new concepts in new situations (Kolb, 1984).

When repeated, the cycle becomes a spiral of linked sequential circles (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). More recent names for these cycle components are: plan, act, observe, and reflect (Kemmis, 1988). Within action research, the adult-learning participants, as co-researchers, could intentionally apply the learning cycle to the elevation of their Strategic Conversation skills.

Processes of strategic conversation skills-acquisition program

Intentional participant learning came not so much from the material as from the group dialogue/debate/discussion of that topic. To promote ongoing handling of the material the learning cycles were arranged hierarchically - session, day, week, mid-way, overall. Each weekly (1 hour) session was designed as a loop that contained report/reflect on outcomes of previous week, discuss new topic loops, options of how to apply new material, and how to assess results for reporting back. Each day included a brief phone contact with any other group member to keep the project 'in their face'. Each week required that they self-preview new material prior to session, apply new material and assess it for reflection.

Contents of strategic conversation skills-acquisition program

The skills-acquisition program acknowledged the content recommendations of authors who had manipulated Strategic Conversation and/or studied its impact (Haas & Algera, 2002) (Clifford, 2001) (Osborne, 1998; Gnyawali, 1998; Zhang & Fitzsimons, 1999; Bart, Bontis, & Taggar, 2001). Strategic Conversation probably starts with, and always involves, strategic thinking (Bonn, 2001; Eisenhardt, 1990; Graetz, 2002; Liedtka, 1998; Mason, 1986), so strategic thinking and conversation were simultaneously encouraged. The project provided the opportunity for participants to explore a wide range of alternate views and frameworks on a variety of topics from micro (giving instructions) to macro (strategic programming). Examples of topics include organisational communication, conversation, strategic conversation, capabilities & alignment, organisational change, decision-making, risk assessment and management, systems thinking, project management, strategic planning, stress, motivation, organisational climate, leadership, organisation learning and others. The content of each reflected the most recent summaries with research findings and important relationships. No management tools or fads were explored.

The self-learning content of the program was assembled as 33 units supplied as PowerPoint presentations on computer CD with voice and graphics, and notes. Session questions focused on applying each topic to problems or opportunities in their organisation.

Results of strategic conversation skills-acquisition program

Measurements were taken at the beginning, middle and end of the 6 month skills-acquisition program. The following average improvements were recorded using the instruments.

Table 1

Strategic Conversation, Strategic Planning, Strategic Behaviour and Performance measures taken before, during, and 3 months after skills acquisition.

Note. Δtotal = change total, % change = change overall, "Perf" = performance.

It can be seen from Table 1 that improvements were significant over the 6 month period. A performance improvement in score of 0.45 over time 1 and then 0.19 over time 2 adds to an iproved score of 0.64 over the program.  The improvement from 2.82 to 3.46 represents a 23% impprovement of performance score - and 23% is a substantial number. Keep in mind, however, that the participating organisations were small to medium, within which improvements are easier to initiate and quicker to act. Even so, these figures establish beyond doubt that strategic conversation can be learned, applied, and will make a difference.

A very important part of the program was to help participants discover areas where strategic conversation was making an impression - good or bad. Only good changes were reported, and the top 13 are listed in Table 2 below. These are intensely practical matters, and every organisation considers them important. Even though 'meetings' were not introduced as a strategic topic, each group made the connection between meeting efficiency/effectiveness and strategic conversation. In particular - the meetings of the executive or senior management groups were tested by participants. The skill topics that initiated the interest were 'topic mapping', 'topic planning', and 'communication responsibility'. Table 2 shows the considerable improvement that participants scored for themselves on these 'unexpected consequences'.

Interestingly, the improvement figures are very similar to those measured by the instruments.

Table 2

Feedback from participants of 6-month skills-development in Strategic Conversation

4 - Interpret results of strategic conversation skills-acquisition program

It seems that Strategic Conversation has an important role in the improvement and functioning of many strategically relevant organisational activities, and that all research participants share that opinion.  The total estimated improvement score of 45% measured for 'unexpected consequences' some 3 to 6 months after program end, compares well with the objective measure of 42% from the Strategic Conversation instrument.  The theory-based ideas about how Strategic Conversation relates with Strategic Behaviour, Strategic Planning, and performance measures, have been supported, and together support the case for increasing Strategic Conversation in an organisation. 

The 'unexpected consequences' were reported by participants to be strategically relevant (7.9/10), personally valuable (8.0/10), and identified that Strategic Conversation had a key role in those improvements (7.5/10).  Nearly all participants had commenced coaching, teaching, or using other ways to develop Strategic Conversation skills within their organisation, and expected on average an 88% improvement in targeted performances during the 24 months following termination of the program.  They were already 3 to 6 months into those programs when they provided the feedback.

Practical Application of Strategic Conversation

Strategic Conversation represents another tool that can be manipulated with far reaching effects for the organisation.  Being able to measure Strategic Conversation means that the progress of learning and applying Strategic Conversation can be monitored, as can its impact on specific behaviours and outcomes.  The longitudinal study demonstrated that reachable milestones of behaviour and outcomes are plentiful enough to become part of a performance management program.

The knowledge and skill set that was used to facilitate Strategic Conversation skills acquisition included micro-skills at the counseling level (Ivey, 1994), a macro-view of strategic topics, and facilitation skills for conversation management and topic management (Anderson & Balzer, 1991; Dick, 1991; Lizzio & Wilson, 1986).  If this combination of skills does not reside within the organisation, then external help will be useful.  In either case, Strategic Conversation skills acquisition will be inexpensive to pursue by comparison with many current organisational change and development options.

Reference List

Anderson, L., & Balzer, W. (1991). The effects of timing of leaders' opinions on problem-solving groups. Group & Organizational Studies, 16.
Bart, C., Bontis, N., & Taggar, S. (2001). A model of the impact of mission statements on firm performance. Management Decicion, 39(1), 19-35.
Bonn, I. (2001). Developing strategic thinking as a core competency. Management Decision, 39(1), 63-71.
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming Critical: education, knowledge and action research. London: Falmer Press.
Clifford, N. (2001). Strategic alignment between senior and middle managers in local government and health. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 14(2), 87-95.
Dick, R. (1991). Helping groups to be effective. Brisbane: Interchange.
Eisenhardt, K. (1990). Speed and strategic choice: how managers accelerate decision making. California Management Review,  39-54.
Gnyawali, D. (1998). Creation and utilization of organizational knowledge: An empirical study of the effects of organizational learning on strategic decision making. Humanities and Social Sciences, 59(4), 1259.
Graetz, F. (2002). Strategic thinking versus strategic planning: towards understanding the complementarities. Management Decision, 40(5), 456-462.
Haas, M., & Algera, J. (2002). Demonstrating the effect of strategic dialogue: participation in designing the management control system. Management Accounting Research, 13, 41-69.
Ivey, A. (1994). INtentional Interviewing and Counseling. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Kemmis, S. (1988). Action research in retrospect and prospect. S. Kemmis, & McTaggart (Eds), The Action Research Reader . Victoria: Deakin University Press.
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Lengnick-Hall, C., & Wolff, J. (1999). Similarities and contradictions in th core logic of three strategy research streams. Strategic Management Journal, 20, 1109-1132.
Liedtka, J. (1998). Strategic thinking: Can it be taught? Long Range Planning, 31(1), 120-129.
Lizzio, A., & Wilson, K. (1986). Facilitation Skills. Brisbane.
Mason, J. (1986). Developing strategic thinking. Long Range Planning, 19(3), 72.
Osborne, C. (1998). Systems for sustainable organisations: emergent strategies, interactive controls and semi-formal information. Journal of Management Studies, 35(4), 481.
Zhang, S., & Fitzsimons, G. (1999). Choice-process satisfaction: The influence of attribute alignability and option limitation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77(3), 192-214.
 

For the full research report, contact Ian Johnson

Contact us on  Internat: +61-7-3348-5161 |  Australia (07)3348-5161 
Email: info@strategic-conversation.com.au