History and Philosophy

Change Shop was conceived in 1988 by Virginia Satir and Dani and Jerry Weinberg, for presentation in January 1989.

When Virginia died that September, Jean McLendon joined Dani and Jerry to carry on Virginia’s dream of bringing her teachings to people in organizations.

Change Shop develops change artists through a combination of demonstrations, experiential exercises, personal planning, and counseling

Each Change-Shop helps participants develop a broad spectrum of individual and interpersonal skills needed to facilitate change:

Congruent communication

Transforming stress

Practicing self-care

Managing healthy change

Creating and innovating

Coaching others in all these skills.

Prerequisites

The Congruent Leadership Change-Shop is designed for people who have some familiarity with the Satir approach to change and are ready to apply it to issues in their own organizations.

Some possible prerequisites for getting the most out of the Change Shop are:

the Problem Solving Leadership Workshop

the Satir System Training program

equivalent learning experiences

with any of the Change Shop faculty.

The Change Shop itself is a prerequisite for joining a Software Engineering Management Development Group.

What Topics are Covered?

The Change Shop is designed on the model of an academy of fine arts.

Participants learn how to master the fine arts of change, on their way to becoming organizational change artists. The curriculum includes:

Understanding how change really occurs:

how families are organizations and organizations are families
how organizational culture shapes, and is shaped by, people
how emotion and thought and action intertwine
how systems evolve, and how that evolution may be guided.

Learning to use one’s self as an element in the change process:

to be fully present, even in the most stressful situations
to make contact with all sorts of other people
to facilitate any ongoing process toward productive action
to separate one’s own issues from the system’s issues.

Developing the courage and support to”come out of the closet” as a person committed to creating the more fully human organization.

What’s the Schedule?

The workshop is designed around a series of demonstrations and simulation exercises.

Exercises are followed by debriefing sessions focused on personal learning and organizational applications.

Individual consulting with faculty and apprentices is always available throughout the week.

Here’s a day-by-day outline of topics:

Wednesday
Participants get acquainted with their colleagues and faculty at supper and after.

Thursday
Morning
Creating a safe environment for change
Setting ground rules
The five freedoms necessary for change

Afternoon
The Satir Change Model
old status quo
the foreign element
chaos
the transforming idea
integration
practice
new status quo

Evening
Defining the more fully human organization
What is needed to support change?
Forming support teams

Friday
Morning
Family Mapping
mapping technique
individual styles
rules
themes
Positive and Negative Family Trance States

Afternoon
The Satir Interaction Model
intake
meaning
significance
significance of significance
family rules
defenses
response
rules about responding
What It Takes to Change Interactions

Evening
Support Teams
Special projects
Individual mapping

Saturday
Morning
Congruence
in self
in others
Self-Esteem
observing
analyzing
caring
investigating
being wise
knowing what you want
asking
Achieving congruent communication

Afternoon
Congruence
when the other is not congruent
the three-step Aikido model
Achieving congruent communication

Evening
Support Teams
Special projects
Individual mapping

Sunday
Morning
Organizational mapping

Afternoon
Taking the “temperature” of a changing organization
appreciating contributions
solving puzzles
handling opportunities for improvement
keeping people informed
gathering a vision for the future

Evening
As a practicum in organizational change
the class takes over and designs
the last three days of the Change Shop

Monday
Since the class designs these days,
we can give here only a typical schedule

Morning
Retrospective of previous day
designing for performance
creativity versus closure
methods of deciding about change
process versus product

Afternoon
Class mind-body-spirit hike

Evening
Parallel tracks
Using feelings as an information system
Facing and coping with strong feelings

Tuesday
Since the class designs these days,
we can give here only a typical schedule

Morning
Retrospective of previous day
optimum sizing of groups
designing change with self-care in mind
Congruent handling of conflict

Afternoon
The Parts Party
the multi mind concept
identifying your principal parts
achieving balance throughout change

Evening
Parallel tracks
Using Satir models to cope with writing problems
Taking Change Shop learnings home

Wednesday
Since the class designs these days,
we can give here only a typical schedule

Morning
Retrospective of previous day
Parallel tracks
Dealing with resistance and defenses
Team development
Organizational culture

Afternoon
Parallel tracks
Developing consulting skills
Modifying behavior
Consulting patterns
Closure and change

Evening
Celebration

Thursday
Departure