What is Clean Language?
Clean Language is a progressive communication, coaching and facilitation methodology that uses the clients language coupled with a Clean Questions. Clean Questions are questions that are stripped back of meaning, assumption and judgement allowing the client to explore their own thinking and meaning making. When Clean Questions are used in this way clients/teams can get rich insights quickly and find solutions that work and changes that stick!
Where does Clean Language come from?
Clean Language and Clean Questions were devised by David Grove, a New-Zealand born psychotherapist, in the 1980’s. He discovered that when he used the client’s own language and explored the metaphors they presented using Clean Questions, his clients were able to develop powerful resources for change.
Thanks to people like James Lawley and Penny Tompkins, David Grove’s work has been refined and developed and is now used in many different contexts.
When Clean Language is used with individuals it is called Symbolic Modelling, when used with teams or groups it’s called Systemic Modelling.
What are Clean Questions like?
Clean questions are more than open questions. The language used in them has been stripped back so they don’t contain assumptions or metaphors. They use the client’s own words and language and they’re often used to allow the client to develop and explore metaphors.
Why is Clean Language useful?
It allows people to understand more about their patterns of behaviour and thought, how they communicate and work and the ways they can make assumptions. When individuals and teams know more about this they become curious about how they can change these patterns and find new ways to communicate, work, collaborate and make decisions.
What is Systemic Modelling?
Systemic Modelling was developed by our associate Caitlin Walker PhD as a way of using Clean Language to help teams. Systemic Modelling integrates David Groves’ Clean Questions with a number of other models and theories that gently and efficiently resource a team to know more about itself, allow communications to become more effective by suspending assumptions and allow team member to move from contempt to curiosity.
The other models we incorporate include: Clean Feedback, The Change Cycle, The Drama Triangle (Stephen B. Karpman), The Triune Brain (Paul D. MacLean), Clean Set Up, At Best/At Worst and other exercises.
What is Symbolic Modelling?
Symbolic Modelling is using Clean Language to facilitate individuals to become familiar with their metaphors and symbols that encapsulate their experiences so that they can find new ways to see themselves and the world around them.
Often clients discover that their metaphors can limit and contain and they can be a source of creativity and development. By working with metaphors clients often report that they become more self-aware, more in balance, that they have a more defined sense of their place in the world and how to have a positive impact on the people around them.
What can Symbolic Modelling be used for?
To create new more useful metaphors that lead to positive behaviour change
To model successful strategies and a positive state for success
To facilitate individual change
To allow leaders to get to know themselves better and help them see the best ways of working with their team.
Why will this work help me?
You know it’s time for a change. But you don’t know where to begin. This is a progressive technique that will solve today’s challenges and set up the team for tomorrow and onwards. Your people are your competitive advantage and you can introduce new ways of working that rebuild lost connections and make everyone will feel good about themselves and each other.
Using Clean Language and systemic modelling we support the team to find, not a top-down approach, but a truly inclusive approach where everyone is heard.
Can you give some concrete examples of the kinds of problems you can help with?
Yes – here’s a list of some of the difficulties leaders bring to us:
• The team doesn’t communicate well
• There is misunderstanding, assumption and judgement within the team
• The team is demotivated and easily distracted
• It’s hard to focus on results because of in-fighting and tensions
• There’s a lack of shared understanding
• There are lots of mistakes that the team needs help to solve
• It’s hard to take a proper break and go on holiday without being contactable “just in case”
• There’s no time to focus on the real job because of the need to be constantly fire fighting
• Time is lost managing upwards and reassuring bosses
• There’s conflict between how people manage and are managed
• Wellbeing and family life suffers because of the relentless pressure of work
• Change is needed but it’s hard to know where to start
What specific attributes can you help me bring to my team?
• Skilful and effective communication
• Inclusivity and the capacity to encourage and value diversity of thought
• A high level of shared understanding
• A clear sense of purpose
• Resourcefulness and the skills to resolve and work through challenges quickly
• High morale and motivation
• The capacity to learn from mistakes without blame or dysfunction
• Knowledge of how the team can facilitate its own development
• High levels of synergy
• An atmosphere of trust, commitment and accountability
• An ability to focus on results and the skills to plan for how to achieve them
• Engagement in continuous learning and a feeling of thriving on that process
What actually happens in a session or workshop?
The exact content will be unique to each organisation, we tailor our sessions to fit your needs. But to get an idea of how real sessions work, you can take a look at our case studies here.
You can also get in touch to talk things through.
I have questions that haven’t been answered here – how can I find out more?
Please do send us any questions you have – this list is by no means exhaustive, and we’d love the chance to talk things through in more detail.
If you would like to find out more about the gentle efficiency of Clean Language and Systemic Modelling, please book a discovery call.
You could also participate in a Reflective Interview as part of our Leadership Research Project, this will give you a direct experience of the kind of clear communication and understanding made possible by Clean Language.