The Logical Levels of Organisations

(Exploring and expanding Dilts Logical Levels model in an organisational context) By Joe Cheal

NLP has its roots in therapy and personal development. It has obvious applications in the realms of coaching and much has been written about this. What becomes interesting is in applying NLP to organisations. Can we use the analogy of an organisation being like a person and then use NLP models and tools accordingly?

Background to the Logical Levels The Logical Levels of Change framework was developed by Robert Dilts and originally published in Changing Belief Systems with NLP (1990). A true hierarchy of logical types is where the level above is a category and the level below is the collection of items that fit into that category. For example, the category of transport contains: cars, vans, bicycles, trains etc. The concept of logical types was developed originally to prevent the paradox of a category containing itself. Dilts Logical Levels of Change model has been criticised for not representing true logical type levels, however, it can be extremely useful when used as a tool for exploration and problem resolution. The model consists of six hierarchical levels comprising of Spirit (bigger picture purpose beyond the individual organisation) which is supported by Identity supported by Beliefs and Values supported by Capability supported by Behaviour supported by Environment (see Fig 1). The key principles of the framework are that each level organises/contains/ categorises information from the level below it and that a higher order change will necessarily affect the contents of the lower levels.

The Logical Levels of Organisations

2008 GWiz Learning Partnership info@gwiztraining.com

Organisational Logical Levels The Logical Level framework creates a systemic hierarchy of the organisation, where higher levels have greater influence on lower levels, but lower levels can influence higher levels. Dilts originally called his model the Neurological Levels, as it was related to an individual and their internal processing. It has, over time, become known as the Logical Levels and this label works more neatly when applying the framework to an organisation. Perhaps an even better label would be Levels of Intervention. The framework can actually be applied to a team, a department, a project, and to concepts such as leadership (eg. Dilts 1996), learning and development (eg. see our article entitled Logical Levels and the Learning organisation). When working with organisations, it is useful to be able to identify the levels and to establish where potential issues may sit. Table 1 (below) should help in such diagnosis. Table 1: Identifying the Levels of Logical Levels
Level Spirit Language Indicators Vision, purpose in bigger picture, community, transmission, beyond self, global systems, interconnectedness, unconditional regard, transpersonal, spirituality, social responsibility Mission, roles, self, sum of parts, personality, purpose I am, existential verbs, me, ego Complex equivalence (me=), x means y, x Is like y Motivation, Permission, meanings, willingness, desire, important, reinforcement Should, ought, must, judgements, evaluations, comparisons Generalisations, rules, attitudes, confidence Cause effect if then Mental models/maps, plans, strategies, states, memory, imagination, innovation, adaptation, skills, abilities, knowledge, thoughts, direction, self talk, power, authority, tools, equipment, objectives Can/cant Actions, reactions, responses, interactions, movements Do, activate, use, utilise, activate, implement. Active verbs ? If not supported by level directly above

For Whom?

Identity

Who? Why?

Beliefs/Values

Individual, Independent, Alone, isolated, egoic, selfish, lack of connection Its not really me! I really should/ought to Split parts Conflicting priorities/values I can but dont want to Demotivated, bored, lack of drive Random behaviours, habits, Repeating old behaviours even though they dont work. Paralysis/freeze. Procrastination. Knee jerk reaction rather than response Empty environment Nothing happens or gets done.

Capability

How?

Behaviour

What?

Environment

Where/When?

Location, place, space, time, external conditions, surroundings Here, now, opportunities, constraints See, hear, feel, taste, smell, sense

The Logical Levels of Organisations

2008 GWiz Learning Partnership info@gwiztraining.com

Using Logical Levels in Organisational Development Interventions When considering an organisational development (OD) intervention, the following set of questions (based on the logical level hierarchy) may help to set a context for your work: What is the trans-mission of the organisation? What is the mission that supports this trans-mission? What core values, beliefs & permission support this mission? What capabilities support each of these core values? What behaviours support each capability? What environment supports these behaviours? To further aid an OD intervention, Dilts (1996) suggests that in the context of the logical levels, there are five criteria for a functional organisation: 1. The relationship between the members of the system needs to support the task to be accomplished. 2. There is a shared perception of the levels. 3. There is an alignment of the various logical levels related to the task. 4. There is a congruence and alignment of the outcomes of the relevant actors involved in the system. 5. The actions of individuals are aligned with the mission associated with their role. It is important to consider what is happening at the various levels and also the potential conflicts between the levels (for example: the organisation expects people to answer the phone within three rings, but the staff are unable to accomplish this due to high workload).

The Two Sides of Organisational Logical Levels The Logical Levels framework works well when applied to individuals and to concepts. However, when applying logical levels to an organisation, there is confusion that arises, possibly depending on ones definition of an organisation. For example, is the Environment level the marketplace outside of the organisation or is it the dcor and atmosphere within the organisation? This led us to propose an advance to the model (Cheal 2007) which resolves this dilemma and adds
The Logical Levels of Organisations 3 2008 GWiz Learning Partnership info@gwiztraining.com

a new dimension for application. When considering an organisation, it is clear that there is a an external face (how the organisation presents itself to the outside world, eg. to its customers) and an internal face (how the organisation presents itself internally, eg. to its employees). Perhaps, for each level there is an in side and an out side as demonstrated in Fig 2. This helps to resolve such confusions as to whether the environment of an organisation is the dcor, appearance of reception and restaurant etc. or whether it is the market place and/or the geographical site. Obviously, the internal described the inner environment and the external described the outside world. For an organisation, examples of the inside/outside adaptation would look something like this:
Level Spirit In Side (Internal eyes) Common vision between staff Internal partnerships True dialogue (open and without rank) Collective of people Culture: paradigm what is true of this organisation? eg We are competitive. Purpose Out Side (External Eyes) Published Company Vision Corporate Social Responsibility Partnerships Company name, brand, logos, image, mission statement. Generalised public experience of individual staff members/representatives of the organisation. The face of the organisation (eg. Branson = Virgin) Published value statements, policies Advertising/promotional material, brochures. Strap-lines, slogans Customer satisfaction (eg surveys) Customer service Effectiveness in marketplace Published/written procedures What is offered: product, service.

For Whom? Who?

Identity

Beliefs/Values

Why?

Culture, rules, policies Motivation Staff satisfaction (eg surveys) States, memory, imagination, innovation, skills, abilities, knowledge, thinking. Systems, procedures, training, induction Performance, competency framework, objectives, plans, goals Resources, workforce, time, money, power, authority, tools, technology, IT How people treat each other What people talk about What people do to try to get what they want Implementing action points/plans Dcor, reception, canteen, physical surroundings, buildings

Capability

How?

Behaviour

What?

Environment

Where/When?

Publicly visible actions, reactions, responses, interactions. Takeovers, buyouts. Reducing/increasing prices. Releasing new product Carrying out the service. Marketplace, competitors, suppliers, customers, potential customers, partners and potential partners.

The Logical Levels of Organisations

2008 GWiz Learning Partnership info@gwiztraining.com

Conclusions This article was written to help those interested in developing people and organisations, by exploring and expanding the Logical Levels framework as a tool. As well as helping to apply Dilts model, it is hoped that the reader will have some new understandings of how and where the model can be used and adapted.

About the Author Joe Cheal has been working with NLP since 1993. As well as being a licensed trainer of NLP, he holds an MSc in Organisational Development and NLT, a degree in Philosophy and Psychology, and diplomas in Coaching and in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy and NLP. He is also a licensed EI practitioner. Joe is a partner in the GWiz Learning Partnership (www.gwiztraining.com), working as a Management & Organisational Development Specialist, focusing over 14 years training, coaching and consultancy experience into the business environment. References Cheal J. (2007) Who am I? What is me? Rapport Magazine, Summer, Issue 8 Dilts, R. (1990) Changing Belief Systems with NLP, Meta Publications. Dilts, R. (1996) Visionary Leadership Skills, Meta Publications.

The Logical Levels of Organisations

2008 GWiz Learning Partnership info@gwiztraining.com