Action and Case Research in
Management and Organizational
Contexts
Action Research: The Realm of the
Tempered Radical (TR)
Aims of this session
• To understand the concept;
• To reflect on the skills and contexts in which
tempered radicals work;
• To consider who in your organisation might be
perceived as a tempered radical and how have
they made change happen.
Originator of TR
A phrase coined by Debra Meyerson and
key texts etc. tend to include her name, e.g.
Meyerson, D., (2003). Tempered Radicals:
how everyday leaders inspire change at
work. Harvard Business School Press.
Characteristics of TRs
TR’s “are people who want to succeed in their organizations
yet want to live by their values or identities……They want to
fit in and want to retain what makes them different. They
want to rock the boat and they want to stay in it”
(Meyerson,D., 2003:pxi).
TR’s “are people who operate on a fault line. They are
organizational insiders who contribute and succeed at their
jobs. At the same time they are treated as outsiders because
they represent ideals or agendas that are somehow at odds
with the dominant culture” (Meyerson, D., 2003:5).
Characteristics of TRs
Tempered: to know anger but to mitigate anger in
order to use it to fuel actions.
Toughened to become stronger and more action
oriented.
Radicals can be extreme and tend to depart from
the usual but it can also mean to be relating to
roots or fundamentals.
Characteristics of TRs
Therefore tempered radicals may question
fundamental principles or root assumptions but do
so within the system and not by advocating
extreme measures.
They have different social identities from the
majority and see those differences as cultural or
philosophical and not a basis for exclusion.
How tempered radicals make a difference
• Resisting change quietly and staying true to
one’s ‘self’;
• Turning personal threats into opportunities;
• Broadening the impact through negotiation;
• Leveraging small wins;
• Organizing collective action.
How tempered radicals make a difference.
Much change in organizations is
incremental, adaptive, small local
accommodations or changes that
accumulate into something bigger.
As action researchers how do you
notice, identify, record these changes,
these differences from the usual?
Reasons for tempered radicalism
Why be a tempered radical? Is it not easier
just to manage the general work challenges
and not bother? The rewards for conformity
are often many. Being a tempered radical
creates an ambivalence towards the
organisation to manage and tolerate.
For some conformity is not an option it
would be selling out of their self.
Reasons for tempered radicalism
Others may not recognise themselves as
tempered radicals, but continue to struggle
with ambivalence and uncertain how to
make that work for them.
Those that do act can provoke learning,
help people to think differently about
situations, they can challenge current
thinking about what is the usual, the
normal, the tried and trusted.
Examples:
A manager introduces flexible working in their department to
accommodate individual valued employees without
requesting permission to do so from outside or following the
HR norms.
An African-American who makes efforts to make her
company or her part of the company more friendly to others
like herself.
White man who believes in family friendly working conditions
and therefore questions or challenges the demands for
5.00pm meetings, for long distance travel, for over night
stays.
Actions as tempered radicals:
• Build relationships inside and outside the organisation
who share some of your identity. (Note many UK
organisations have Black Workers networks, Women's’
network/group, etc).
• Develop the discipline to manage heated emotions to fuel
your agenda.
(Meyerson, 2004)
Actions as tempered radicals:
•
Learn to state your case in ways that support your
agenda but in language that is understood by the
majority e.g. a ‘green technology sold on financial gain’
•
Design behind the scenes actions and initiate
conversations that connect with others of similar values
to help ripple out the change.
(Meyerson, 2004)
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Self expression.
Helping others within the
organization.
Channelling and sharing
information.
Recognizing choice: interactions
are opportunities, silence is a
choice, depersonalizing
encounters.
Interrupting the momentum in
discussion to prevent it becoming
threatening/destructive.
Naming the issue (make its nature
and consequences more
transparent).
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Correcting assumptions or actions
(provide an explanation, rectify
assumptions).
Diverting the response (take the
interaction in a different
direction).
Using humour (release tension).
Delaying a response (find a better
time and place to address the
issue).
Develop negotiation skills.
Recognize your own and others
fears which keep them compliant.
Develop alternative actions.
Strategies continued: Creating small wins
1. Maintain a ‘blurry vision’ i.e. a vision for change that allows for multiple
specific outcomes and alternative paths, flexibility (Improvisation?).
2. Create opportunities in the details.
3. Challenge your sense of organizational tolerance. Use small wins as a
way to push existing conventions and constraints outward.
4. Scope and time your challenges wisely.
5. Design small wins to generate learning. Think of small wins as
experiments that probe conditions and help you and others learn.
References
Meyerson, D., (2003). Tempered Radicals: how everyday
leaders inspire change at work. Harvard Business School
Press.