Art and Science
One Practitioner’s Art Is Another’s Science
The science of change execution is for the domesticated parts of our work; the art covers the untamed aspects. Both are essential to creating the value we promise clients. To reach the proper balance between the two, however, we must have a deeper understanding of their distinctions.
In any profession, both science and art have two levels of application: more
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Weaving Science With Art—Over and Over Again
We all unfolded differently in our paths toward proficiency, yet we each found our own understanding regarding the relationship between science and art. In this post, I’ll share how I have seen these two elements impact the way practitioners develop.
In my years of facilitating change and coaching change agents, I’ve seen people use many different routes to become skilled practitioners. Some approaches are much more effective than others more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
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The Constantly Shifting Emphasis Between Science and Art
The science of our work is about what we’ve seen before and know how to deal with; the art is centered around the unfamiliar and what we consider “cutting edge.” Change practitioners, therefore, start out as inquiring artists and gradually become precise scientists—only to swing back and forth between the two for the rest of their careers.
When we first enter the profession, even if we are trained or licensed in one or more change methodologies, we spend years trying to figure out what’s really going on when change is being executed. This means, in the early years, there is more revelation than certainty…more art than science.
It might seem strange to call a new recruit an artist. more
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Finding the Balance Between Logic and Creativity
There are clear signature patterns that indicate whether an initiative will succeed or fail. An experienced change agent who recognizes and properly addresses them can greatly influence a project’s outcome:
- The characteristics of success can be infused into the implementation process from the beginning and encouraged throughout execution.
- The dynamics and behaviors associated with failure can be avoided altogether—or at least anticipated, detected, and mitigated as much as possible when signs begin to surface.
Change agents who practice their craft with the proper balance of art and science foster success patterns and minimize failure patterns. In doing so, they bring to bear a powerful competitive advantage for their clients.
However, finding that balance is a challenge.
Professional change facilitation resides on a continuum, with “art” and “science” at the poles. Our “craft” is represented by a sliding point that can reside at any position between the two extremes. Movement toward or away from either end of the continuum shouldn’t be based on more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Our Craft Is a Blend of Art and Science
“Art and science have their meeting point in method.” ~Earl Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Fundamental organizational shifts are partly chaotic and partly predictable. We have to be able to plan for and address the known aspects of change and at the same time acknowledge and deal with the inevitable puzzles, contradictions, and conundrums that arise.
Think of the execution of organizational change as a continuum. At one extreme, it is a stable process where we manage events by applying set rules and formulas. Here, a “paint by numbers” or cookbook solution would be acceptable. At the other end, it is a more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
