June 4, 2008

The DNA of The Human Element

The Path from Technician to Artistry to Mastery
by Ailish Schutz

There are two main strands of thought and experience that went into the making of The Human Element. Within each of these two strands there are micro-strands.

The first strand of The Human Element consists of the social science research that Will Schutz conducted during his years as a PhD. student and later as a university professor. His dream to develop a unified theory of human personality began with his research on teamwork in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War (1952-1953). He continued to develop his FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) theory into the late 1990s.

The second strand of The Human Element has to do with the phenomenological research and experimentation that Will did during his years as a leader in the Human Potential movement. The Human Element is a result of an artful weaving of these two strands.

Strand one consists of FIRO theory and the psychometric instruments that came from the theory, Elements B, F, S as well as the non-psychometric instruments, including Elements W, P, C, O, J and E.

Strand two consists of exercises Will and other people developed from Encounter, T-Groups and other methods, including psychodrama (Moreno), traditional Psychoanalysis, as well as many body methods. Some of these methods are directly part of The Human Element, such as the Arm Turn activity in the Choice module. Others are embedded in the work in its style and focus. It goes without saying (but should not) that, the sub-strand of Freudian theory pervades the intellectual and philosophical basis of The Human Element throughout. Download the Article

May 21, 2008

Licensees Grow and Prosper with the LIFO Method and the Global Learning Community

This is our theme for this year's ASTD International Conference and Exposition in San Diego, June 1-4. If you are at ASTD make sure to stop by our booth to say hello. Marcia and Aki will be there and are looking forward to meeting you!

Also, remember that the NEW Alliance Partnership Program is in full swing. As a LIFO Licensee, this program allows you to earn additional income by partnering with us to create your own network of LIFO Training professionals. As a certified LIFO Trainer, there is no fee for becoming an Alliance Partner. But we do need to get you formally signed up. This is an opportunity for you to earn commissions for:

• Promoting our programs and registering people in our LIFO certification workshops
• Selling to client organizations direct-delivery workshops conducted by a LIFO Master Trainer.

April 16, 2008

Using Element B as a Catalyst for Action

by Celeste Blackman

People take instruments for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they are looking for answers. They want to learn something about themselves, to become more effective, and to improve their skills. They engage in an assessment with a mindset based on a medical model. Something is wrong, they want a diagnosis and a cure; preferably a fast acting, painless, one that tastes good and has no side effects. They look to the instrument and its administrator, i.e., the doctor, to provide the answers.

Many coaches, consultants and trainers oblige their clients and are all too happy to show off their knowledge and insights, impressing their clients with an almost clairvoyant description of who and what they are. While this analysis can be interesting, it rarely results in the kind of long-term sustainable change that people are seeking. The session is interesting and soon forgotten.

Element B is different. Rather than telling people what they are like, the instrument was designed to guide them toward self-discovery and encourage them to determine their own answers ...  

Download the rest of the article, and join us April 23 for the next Element B Users Group.

March 18, 2008

Wants, Not Needs
by Ethan Schutz

The purpose of using Element B: Behavior and other instruments is to help people increase their self-awareness and enable them to make changes in their behavior. The way that we, as facilitators and coaches, work with people to help them understand their psychometric scores and create change is crucial. How effectively we do this is driven by our training and experience and by the structure of the instruments themselves. In its original formulation, FIRO theory was posited as a "theory of interpersonal needs," and FIRO-B was designed to reflect this. Years of experience, however, showed that this wording limited people's growth.

A Practical Assumption

Our job as facilitators, coaches, and consultants is to help people change their behavior and make improvements in their work outcomes. We really do not know if or how much people need inclusion, control, and openness, so it is more helpful to assume that people want some amount of each of these. In Will Schutz's words, "it is much more valuable to assume you have the capacity to change anything you do not like about your behavior, if you allow yourself to learn how." This reorients problem solving by keeping people focused on their own role in their lives. In other words, it pushes people to take ownership of their own behavior and choices.

Will Schutz based The Human Element approach on several underlying principles that he believed were most powerful for creating change in people. Two of these principles, Choice and Limitlessness, are tied to the issue of needs versus wants. Download the rest of the article, and join us on March 26 at the next Element B Users Group.

back to the top