Since 2012, I have been working in the cultural sector, mostly in the south of the Netherlands. As a freelancer, I’ve had the opportunity to observe a wide range of organisational management and leadership styles in all my various jobs.
I’ve followed a meandering career path that navigated the apparent contrast between working with numbers and working with language. But my main interest has always been setting up structures for success. This journey eventually led me into the field of change management.
Since 2019, I have been involved in training with Robert Fritz in Structural Dynamics consultancy and with studying his impressive body of work, developed over a span of 50 years. In the 1980s, Fritz was far ahead of his time, and curiously enough, his insights remain cutting-edge to this very day. Drawing from his own background as an artist—a composer, filmmaker, and writer—he translated the higher-than-average creative capacity of artists into strategic work with organisations and coaching for individuals.
However, the way he derived and developed his insights is more akin to that of a scientist. Everything is grounded in direct observation, and his thinking is stripped of assumptions, theories, and ambiguities.
Structure determines behaviour and outcomes
The foundational principle underpinning all of Robert Fritz’s findings is that the underlying structure of something determines its behaviour and outcomes. A riverbed, for example, is a natural structure that dictates the flow (or behaviour) of water.
Have you ever heard of organisations undergoing change process after change process without truly improving? These organisations have built-in structures that lead to such outcomes. The latest optimisation strategy or innovative management tool often fails in these settings because methods and processes are not the primary drivers of outcomes and success.
Methods and processes are not the primary drivers of outcomes and success.
Structural conflicts
Structures that conflict with desired outcomes can be found in nearly every organisation. These conflicts often manifest where friction, tension, or inefficiencies arise—between people, or between people and processes or systems.
When the intensity of these issues increases, we tend to identify them as problems and focus on solving them. However, solving a problem typically doesn’t change the underlying structure that caused it in the first place.
Supporting transformation and creation
It’s a great pleasure to help organisations and individuals initiate change or creation processes at the structural level and translate these into the outcomes they envision.
Want to learn more about my career journey? Visit my LinkedIn profile.
