|  What are Human Dynamics anyway?
by Peter VedroForeign languages: Even when we know the words, we may not understand. Learn to speak the "language" that will achieve your goals.Personality types: They can send all good intentions out the window.Human Dynamics: A pivotal work describing human
functioning that will impact management, education, and families. Observation one—foreign languages Have you ever watched a person trying to communicate with someone from another country, someone who speaks a foreign language? You've probably watched as this person
tries one or more of the following tactics in an attempt to break through the language barrier:- Speaks louder!
- Speaks slower!
- Enunciates!
- Uses hand signals!
- Gives up!
Do any of these solve the problem? Not really. No matter how "hard" we try to communicate, if we don't know the language of the other, communication is virtually impossible. Needless to say, this applies equally when someone is trying
to communicate with us. If they don't know our language, the chances of coming together to form some meaningful understanding are pretty slim. What we often fail to recognize, however, is that even when we do speak the same "words," we still may be speaking a foreign language! And therefore, although it sounds familiar, we continually misunderstand each other.
Observation two—personality types You're in the midst of the Monday morning management meeting. John, the sales guy, is at it again. There he goes, throwing ideas out a mile a minute, "...then all we'll have to do is nail it! Simple! Everything will just fall into place, and then we'll just..." He seems to be talking more to himself than anyone else; obviously, he sees something, but most of the
group is beginning to drift away.Mary, the planning lady, is trying; bless her. She's been attempting to interject something—a question maybe?—for the past 10 minutes, but John is on a roll. "Huh, John, maybe we need to....," but no luck. And then even she loses concentration, and her eyes begin to glaze over, and on her forehead you can almost see the readout: Information overload! Information overload!
Meanwhile, Barry, the Human Resources guy, is shaking his head as he watches the meeting about to disintegrate (again!), and he wonders, "How am I supposed to bring them together? What can I do to change the standard outcome—everyone either drifting off to their secret place or getting fed up and attacking each other? And worse, nothing ever gets decided or accomplished. Not even sharing information. Just a bunch of pissed-off people!"
And, of course, Ann, John's colleague in marketing, seems to be not only following him, but leapfrogging. "Yeah, then we could get the clients and customer service in a partnership and integrate their efforts into our next sales extravaganza! Wow! And then..." It's as though they're in a "mind-meld"—with their own secret language, which only they understand (which, of course, is true). Finally, here it comes—Frank, the operations guy, has just
about had it. "Now just wait a damn minute, you two! How the hell do you think we're gonna be able to do even the smallest piece of what you're imagining? We've got to get grounded—take one step at a time, make sure each single step is the best, analyze it, and analyze it again, before we even try to connect them. Then, we've got to make sure it fits perfectly with all of where we've been, back to the very beginning, and also make sure it's aligned with where we're
going, and everything's got to be tested and re-tested, analyzed and re-analyzed, evaluated, and tested, and analyzed." John's hot button just got pushed. "Frank, with all due respect, where have you been, my man? We've got to get you out of your cubicle once in a while. Haven't you seen the latest management book; it's on all of the best-seller lists—I just picked up a copy on the way to work this morning" and he holds up a copy of Just Go For It, And Screw The
Rest!—How to Get Way Ahead of the Competition and Make Them Eat Your Dust! "Frank, stop throwing ice water on anything new and innovative. You're always slowing everything down to a crawl. It'll kill us in the marketplace." Sound familiar? Most of us have experienced something like this, if not at work, then maybe at school or even at home. It seems that no matter how or what we try, no matter what good intentions we come to the table with, we get our
buttons pushed (or push other people's) and everything goes out the window, resulting in the classic human responses of fight or flight. Human Systems Architecture I've coined the term "human systems architecture" as a way of explaining the internal and external influences which affect
our behavior, and I want to acknowledge the very profound thinking of those who most recently have laid the groundwork. The first influence comes from the design challenge of classic art and architecture--marrying "form and function." Its modern application is known as information architecture and is best represented through the work of my colleague, Clement Mok (founder, chairman, and chief information architect of Studio Archetype, now merged with
Sapient) and the great Richard Saul Wurman. The other profound influence is the work of Dr. Sandra Seagal and David Horne, founders of Human Dynamics International and authors of the groundbreaking work Human Dynamics: A New Framework for Understanding People and Realizing the Potential of Our Organizations (Pegasus Communications, 1997).This pivotal work is acknowledged by MIT Professor Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline and the concept of "learning organizations," as one of the most important
contributions to the field of human interaction. He says, "The work of Sandra Seagal and her associates is seminal! I believe it will have an immense impact upon management, education, and families. Those of us involved in building learning organizations will look back in 10 years' time and wonder how we had ever proceeded without the understanding and appreciation of the diversity of human functioning that the work of Human Dynamics brings."
Their work provides the foundation and understanding for our example above and will provide the key to unlocking better understanding later! The following is a description of Human Dynamics (used with permission of the authors) from their Web site:"Human Dynamics
is the term given to new understandings of human functioning developed by Dr. Sandra Seagal and her associates at Human Dynamics International in the course of continuing research since 1979. This investigation has involved more than thirty thousand people from over twenty-five cultures. "Dr. Seagal and her team have explored the interaction in people of three universal principles: - the mental
- the emotional (or relational) and the
-
physical (or practical).
"In the human system, the mental principle is related to the mind--to thinking, values, structure, focus, objectivity, perspective. The emotional principle is more subjective. It is concerned with relationships--with feelings, communication, organization, and synthesis. The physical principle is pragmatic. It is the making, doing, operationalizing part of us. "Of the greatest significance is the discovery that the mental,
emotional and physical principles combine in a dynamic interplay in people in specific ways, to form distinct personality dynamics or ways of being, each characterized by fundamentally different inner processes and ways of functioning in the world. Five such personality dynamics predominate in Western cultures, in relatively consistent, although not equal, proportions. "The personality dynamics do not appear to be determined
by culture, age or gender. They appear in every culture; they characterize men and women in equal numbers; and they can be observed at every age level. The distinctions are so fundamental that they can be identified even in babies. "Each personality dynamic constitutes a whole way of functioning. Members of one personality dynamic differ distinctly from those of another personality dynamic in the way in which they process information, learn, communicate,
problem-solve, function on teams, and become stressed. Each personality dynamic has specific requirements for learning, maturing and functioning optimally. Each has characteristic gifts and affinities. And the path of development is different for each. "Types and knowledge: To know someone's personality dynamic, therefore, is to know a great deal about that person. Each person constitutes a whole system.
It is important to note that each personality dynamic is of equal value. Anyone of any personality dynamic may be more or less intelligent, compassionate, skilled, or gifted. And every personality dynamic has an unbounded capacity for maturation. But the way in which the members of each personality dynamic function is different. "The lack of recognition of these differences in human functioning has led to much misunderstanding, conflict, and
waste of individual and group potential--in the classroom, in the workplace, and in the home. "Awareness of types offers new opportunities - For greater individual self-understanding and growth;
- For greater understanding of others; for improved communication and cooperation;
- For more effective teaching and learning; and for the conscious development of balanced teams in which all of the personality dynamics are represented, and in
which the participants are able to work in creative synergy through consciously respecting each other's inherent processes and utilizing each other's gifts."
I cannot recommend their work more highly or enthusiastically! It provides an essential "missing link" to individual and group understanding. When I was delivering "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" training or "Principle-Centered Leadership"
workshops, I was confounded by the fact that although people believed they "understood" the content and the "principles," when they tried to apply it with certain others, they had terrific difficulty. No matter how hard they "sought to understand" before "being understood," there was still something missing and their efforts often ended in misunderstanding. I was perplexed and frustrated. Then I remembered Sandra and David's work, and when I
began to integrate even just a limited "overview" into my delivery, the results were astounding. People began to understand at a totally different level. Now, rather than speaking louder, slower, enunciating, using hand signals, or, finally, just giving up, they could begin to communicate in new "languages"—for different "ways of being"—which allowed for more effective communication. Revisiting the meeting
Armed with even the most fundamental knowledge of these various "languages" ("dynamics" or "ways of being"), one can approach (translate) situations from a multifaceted perspective. Note, however, as the guiding principles suggest, the first level of work is at the "I" level (me, myself, and I). Know thyself!Next article, we'll expand on these different languages and
then revisit our meeting and see how it could play out differently. About the author  For the past 15 years, Peter J. Vedro has worked as a "human systems architect,"
helping design, build, and integrate the four levels of personal, interpersonal, managerial, and organizational functionality. Formerly a founding vice president with Stephen R. Covey, he helped develop and launch the Seven Habits Organizer and The First Things First Program, as well as deliver dozens of three- to five-day executive seminars on Principle-Centered Leadership and The Seven Habits. He's worked with companies of the Fortune 500, as well as Silicon
Valley start-ups, bringing together his insights drawn from the fields of education, psychology, theater, and business.He can be reached via e-mail at: pjvedro@consultant.com
Illustration: Working plans by Jonathan Evans by
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