Sustainability Leadership for the 21st Century

Social Dynamics

Leith Sharp
E117 Residential
Lecture 3
 A change capable organization reduces risk across the 4 spheres of the
organizational ecosystem by purpose integrating the AOS & CCOS

Individual Social Organizational Infrastructural

Systems Systems Systems Systems

Personal & Quality of relationships Vision/Mission Technology

Interpersonal Social Influence Learning (peer to peer) Governance Built Environment:
Capabilities Management Structures
Trust • Buildings
Skills/Abilities Planning Processes
Motivation Empathy • Utilities
Decision Making Processes
Values/Attitudes Group Intelligence • Landscape
Finance & Accounting
Habits/Behaviors Social intelligence Policy Instruments Material Flows
Emotional intelligence Information Systems Energy
Procurement Systems Water
Human Resources Waste
Transportation

“CBIS Reduces Risk Across the Organizational Ecosystem” by lsharp is licensed for open sharing and adapting under Creative Commons CC BY-AS 4.0
When an Organization is all CCOS, Social dynamics are not
optimized.
Use AOS’s to Invite Early Adopters to Cluster around Emerging
Needs/Opportunities to Learn, Prove and Advance

Leveraging our innovators & early adopters

to locate emergent possibilities, to learn and to drive social influence
The AOS Creates a Stakeholder Ecosystem Around
New Project/Idea/Practices/Values
The AOS Lives or Dies on It’s Ability to Foster Positive Social Dynamics,
Trust, Collaboration and Group Intelligence
 Sustainability Change Leaders in Higher Education - top
12/47 capabilities in rank order (n= 188)
1st Having energy, passion and enthusiasm for L&T
2nd Being willing to give credit to others
3rd Empathising & working productively with diversity
4th Being transparent and honest in dealings with others
5th Thinking laterally and creatively
6th Being true to one’s values and ethics
7th Listening to different points of view before coming to a decision
8th Understanding my personal strengths & limitations
9th Time management skills
10th (equal): Persevering
10th (equal): Learning from errors
12th Learning from experience
Examples of Negative Social Dynamics, triggers and
manifestations
Examples of Negative Social Dynamics, triggers and
manifestations
• Leaving someone out of the process that thinks they should have been
consulted
• Triggering a sense of territorialism
• Using language that doesn’t connect
• Being viewed as too low status or too arrogant
• Not giving enough air time to people that think they deserve it
• Directly challenging someone in front of others
• Drifting into an area of discussion and decision-making that is not
grounded adequately in evidence and is left open to opinion only
An accumulation of scar
tissue from unhealthy
social dynamics can lurk
under the surface in
many organizations.
Strategies for Deliberating Fostering Positive Social
Dynamics and Minimizing Negative Social Dynamics
 Strategies for Deliberating Fostering Positive Social
Dynamics and Minimizing Negative Social Dynamics

• Positioning others with status and respect of others to do your speaking

• Having positive local stories & experiences that included people at the table
• Engaging with people before the meeting to gather input & adopt their
language
• Ensuring that others are confident & competent in relation to topics you are
raising
• Making gestures that affirm the status of key players
• Giving credit to others
 Three Types of Relationship Dynamics in Organizations

TRUST

Transaction Authority

Reference: Professor Karen Stephenson, http://www.netform.com

 The building blocks of trust = consistent experiences that are
psychologically safe and that nurture social/relationship health.

“ The brain experiences the workplace first & foremost as a social system.”
Particular qualities to enable employees and executives alike to minimize the threat
response and enable the reward response.

These social qualities are:

1. Status
2. Certainty
3. Autonomy
4. Relatedness/Empathy (added)
5. Fairness
6. Creativity (added)

Source: Managing with the Brain in Mind by David Rock with additions from L.Sharp
 Three Types of Relationship Dynamics in Organizations

TRUST 1. Status
2. Certainty
3. Autonomy
4. Relatedness/Empathy
5. Fairness
6. Creativity

Transaction Authority

Reference: Professor Karen Stephenson, http://www.netform.com

PART 2
“This study and many others now emerging
have made one thing clear: The human brain
is a social organ.”
“Its physiological and neurological reactions
are directly and profoundly shaped by social
interaction.”
Indeed, as Lieberman puts it, “Most processes operating in the
background when your brain is at rest are involved in thinking
about other people and yourself.”

Source: Managing with the Brain in Mind by David Rock

“…….people who feel betrayed or unrecognized at work — for
example, when they are reprimanded, given an assignment that
seems unworthy, or told to take a pay cut — experience it as a
neural impulse, as powerful and painful as a blow to the head.”

Source: Managing with the Brain in Mind by David Rock

The most important work the change agent does is remove risk
and uncertainty in order to unleash the latent capacity of
others to make change happen.
It seems evident that the most common type of
risk/uncertainty preventing engagement are social in nature.
 Often, social risks/uncertainties are experienced semi-
consciously or unconsciously. They are often connected to old
stories and involve feelings and even physical sensations.
The findings of many studies suggest that the conscious self
“plays a causal role only 5% of the time” There is an active
effort on behalf of the mind to make what is conscious
unconscious as quickly as possible.
While conscious choice and guidance are needed to perform
new tasks, after some repetition, conscious choice quickly
drops out and unconscious habit takes
5% of what we do is
over, freeing up precious reserves of consciously processed
conscious awareness.

Bargh, J. A. and Chartrand, T.L. (1999) The unbearable

automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 54 (7) 462-479
 The process of resolving social risk must typically be
experiential.
That is, the change agent must support people to experience
their way into new ways of thinking/feeling, rather than
hoping that they will think their way into new ways of acting.
Piloting enables innovation, learning & deciding while
resolving social needs

Biodiesel in Occupancy sensor driven Ground Source Building

University Shuttles temperature setbacks Heat Pumps Mounted Wind

Photovoltaics Collecting oil for Freecycling events Green cleaning

Harvard Recycling
Truck

Harvard Yard Compost Free Plug Timers Local Produce in Rooftop Community
Tea Project Give Away Dining Halls Garden
 SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP Amy C. Edmondson | Novartis Professor of
Leadership & Management | Harvard Business School THE POWER OF TEAMING
 SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP Amy C. Edmondson | Novartis Professor of
Leadership & Management | Harvard Business School THE POWER OF TEAMING
 SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP Amy C. Edmondson | Novartis Professor of
Leadership & Management | Harvard Business School THE POWER OF TEAMING
 SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP Amy C. Edmondson | Novartis Professor of
Leadership & Management | Harvard Business School THE POWER OF TEAMING
The desire to change is thought to be largely motivated by
the intrinsic desire to communicate with and have the
acceptance of others.

Feldman states that “The facilitating effect of social

interaction has been confirmed by recent research on moral
judgment and conservation.”

Feldman, D. (1994) Beyond Universals in Cognitive Development. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp.
Group Intelligence: An under-tapped resource
Group Intelligence: An under-tapped resource

“When it comes to intelligence, the whole can indeed be

greater than the sum of its parts. A new study documents the
existence of collective intelligence among groups of people
who cooperate well, showing that such intelligence extends
beyond the cognitive abilities of the groups’ individual
members….

http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/collective-intel.html
Group Intelligence: An under-tapped resource

They discovered that groups featuring the right kind of

internal
dynamics perform well on a wide range of assignments, a
finding with potential applications for businesses & other
organizations.”

http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/collective-intel.html
Group Intelligence: An under-tapped resource
Three key factors that enhance group intelligence:
1. Groups whose members had higher levels of "social
sensitivity" (ability to perceive emotions)
2. Groups where one person dominated were less collectively
intelligent than in groups where the conversational turns
were more evenly distributed”
3. Teams containing more women demonstrated greater
greater collective intelligence.

http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/collective-intel.html
Tap AOS’s to Leverage Peer to Peer Influence and Unleash New Levels
of Group Intelligence

Exposure to surrounding peer behaviors is the largest single factor

in driving idea flow.

For group intelligence, the pattern of interaction is more important

that all other factors taken together – individual intelligence,
personality & skill.
The Change Agent Bring the AOS to life by Using Social
Architecture and Social Dynamics to Enable Change in
Many Ways

• Meetings to enhance engagement & group intelligence

• Piloting to create experiences of social safety
• Consider social needs in any program or project
• Inclusive governance & decision making processes
• Activate peer to peer influences for social learning
• Large scale behavior change
Social Architecture: Design of Governance

Governance Structures that Foster Shared

Ownership, Peer to Peer Interaction, Competition
and Shared Learning
Social Architecture: Design of Planning & Decision-Making

Owner Designer
– 4.9.08
– Nathan Gauthier

Project
Green Building Design

Team

Supplier Integrated Contractor

Design
Process Understand the Team
Social Architecture: Design of Events

Event Panelists
Chris Gordon Chief Operating Officer, Allston Development Group
Jay Phillips Director of Physical Resources, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
Andrew O'Brien Chief Operating Officer, Harvard Business School
Rick Mills Associate Dean for Planning & Facilities, Harvard Medical School
Danny Beaudoin Manager of Operations, Energy and Utilities, School of Public Health
Jim Gray Associate Vice President, Harvard Real Estate Services
Ted Mayer Executive Director, Harvard Dining Services
Tom Vautin Associate Vice President, University Operations Services
Leith Sharp Director, Harvard Office for Sustainability
Social Architecture: Design of Meetings

Great facilitation brings together the right people, environment,

information, mood and process to optimize group intelligence.
The Many Roles of the Facilitator
Social Architecture: Design of Large Scale Engagement
Processes

Residential Green Living Programs: Lab User Engagement: Fume hood

9000+ Harvard residents. 13+% electricity competitions have generated over
reduction, 30+% recycling increase. Over $400,000 in annual energy savings
$300,000 p.a savings

Peer to Peer Training Programs: Staff Green Skillet Competition: 500 staff.
training each other to save energy through The winning kitchen reduced electricity
better building management use by 23%
Learn How To Engage People Individually and On Mass
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

1. Get Commitment
• We want to be seen as consistent
• Alters self-perception
• Small action leads to large action

TIPS:
• written
• make it public
• actively involve people
• group commitments
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

2. Use Prompts
• Reminder to trigger behavior
• Not intended to change attitudes

TIPS:
• Close to the point of action
• Eye catching & noticeable
• Clear instructions
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

3. Use Social Norms

• We want to be seen “doing the right thing”
• Strong social pressures to conform
• We are “hard-wired” to imitate social norms

TIPS
• Visible to the community
• Personal, community-oriented
• Encourage positive behavior
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

4. Use Incentives
• Motivation for action
• People like “free stuff”
•Competition drives action

TIPS:
• Make it visible
• Consider non-monetary
(recognition, competition)
• Closely pair the incentive and the
behavior

44
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

5. Make it Convenient
• Address any physical barriers
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

6. Persuasive Communication Strategies

• Use language that your
audience understands

Many fume hoods

use the same
amount of energy
as 3 ½ houses!*
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

6. Persuasive Communication Strategies

• Make your message vivid
to capture attention
• Frame your message by
what is being lost, instead
of saved
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

6. Persuasive Communication Strategies

• Use personal contact
& a credible source
(expertise and/or trust)
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)

6. Persuasive Communication Strategies

• Provide Feedback
Tools of Large Scale Behavior Change
(Community Based Social Marketing)
Persuasive Communication Strategies
• use simple, clear instruction.
• use language that that is
understood by the audience.
• use personal contact.
• use a credible source.
• use community-level outreach.
• provide feedback.
• enhance and use community norms
• make your message vivid
• frame your message by what is
being lost instead of saved
• make it easy to remember
• tailor the style to your audience
Harvard Case Studies
• Green Office Program
• Green Skillet Program
Green Office Program
Green Office Program

Goal: To develop a checklist based Green Office certification that

would encourage office staff to take steps that would reduce
environmental impacts of office operations

Components:
• Series of checklists with specific actions items categorized by impact area
• Fact Sheets, Prompts, How-to’s
• Website

53
Green Office Program
Step 1: Identify Barriers & Benefits
Barriers:
• Busy people, competing priorities
• Lack of incentive to take action
• Feeling overwhelmed – where to get started
• Breaking habits
Benefits:
• Personal satisfaction
• Community involvement
• Cost savings
Green Office Program
Step 2: Develop Strategy
Barriers: Strategies:
• Busy people, competing • Make it simple with easy-to follow
priorities checklists
• 4 steps (Leaf 1-4)
• Comprehensive website
Green Office Program
Step 2: Develop Strategy
Barriers:
• Lack of incentive to take action
Strategies:
• Incentivize by offering a
“Certificate” and decal and
recognition as a “Harvard Green
Office”
Green Office Program
Step 2: Develop Strategy
Barriers:
• Feeling overwhelmed – where to
get started
Strategies:
• Harvard specific how-to resources
including Fact Sheets, How-to’s,
template powerpoints
Green Office Program
Step 2: Develop Strategy
Barriers: Strategies:
• Breaking habits • CBSM tools
• Commitment
• Prompts
• Incentives
• Creating norms

Requires signatures from 75% of office

Green Office Program
Step 2: Develop Strategy
Benefits: Strategies:
• Personal satisfaction • Require 75% of the office to sign
the application
• Community involvement • Encourage community
• Cost savings involvement through green teams
• Highlight cost savings
opportunities, help track savings
Green Office Program
Step 3: Pilot and Evaluate
Step 4: Implement
Step 5: Continuously Monitor and Adapt!
• Feedback from participants
• Green Office v2 this year
• Require more reporting and results tracking (develop templates)
Green Office Program

Lessons Learned:
• Resources tailored to Harvard
• Actions broken down into smaller pieces
• 4 Level system allows time to stop and celebrate success!
• Peer-to-peer delivery through Green Teams and leaders
• Taps into the spirit of competition
• Recognition is an effective incentive
 Green the Capitol
U.S. House of Representatives
ENVR E-117 Organizational Change
Management for Sustainability

Jamie Fleet
Staff Director
Committee on House Administration

Allison Rogers
Director
Green the Capitol

Harvard University
November 10, 2010
63
64
 Green Skillet
Competition

Harvard University
Dining Services
&
Harvard Office For
Sustainability
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Who’s Involved?
Kitchen staff and management
Student green ambassadors
House Masters
Engineering & Utilities
Office for Sustainability
Judges
66
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Program Goal:
• To promote energy & water conservation and recycling & waste
reduction through a year long sustainability competition between the
nine Harvard kitchens in four areas:

• Reduction in electricity
• Reduction in natural gas
• Staff participation in the Sustainability Pledge
• Staff and student involvement in special projects
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Key Targeted Behaviors:
• Know equipment pre-heat times

• Turn off equipment when not in use

• Close refrigerator doors

• Turn lights off when not in use

• Identify old / inefficient equipment

• Do full dishwasher loads

• Increasing recycling and composting

 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Special Projects
• Green Grill
• Mug Trees
• Clothing Donation bins
• Reusable cups and mugs
• Herb Gardens
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Results:
• Average electricity reduction of 9% (highest was 16%)
• Average natural gas reduction of 11% (highest was 16%)
• 82% of HUHDS staff took the Sustainability Pledge
• 22 special projects completed
• Institutionalized special projects resulting from this campaign
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: Prompting Action
Ple
ase
Me Turn
Off

Th ank
Ha
rva
Din rd U
s!
ing nive
Se
rvic rsity
es
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: Creating Norms

72
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: Giving Feedback
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: External Incentives
• The coveted Green Skillet
• Financial savings for HUDS
• Financial savings at home
• Celebratory lunch for winners
• Small prizes for special projects
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: Internal Incentives
Community-building, spirit of competition & House pride!
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

CBSM: Effective Communication
• Recognizing success in emails
• Sharing best practices
• One-on-one meetings w/
managers
• Send kitchen-specific messages
• Use humor in newsletter
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Why It Works:
• Began as a trial and expanded
• Local leadership - staff know kitchens, engage each other
• Positive social dynamics
• Regular feedback, recognition and support
• They save money
• Help them remain competitive in an ever-greening market
 Harvard University Dining Services | Harvard Office for Sustainability

Green Skillet Competition

Lessons Learned:
Top-down support must be visible
Better integration into job duties
Language barrier must be broken down more
comprehensively
Time with individual kitchens/managers
Special projects are key