Concept

Tension Axis

The line between two fields of the Compass on which a pattern becomes visible. It shows where to look, not yet the lever.

Between the six fields of the Transformation Discovery Compass there are fifteen possible connections. A tension axis is the connection on which a blocking pattern shows, for example leadership ↔ teams in the leadership vacuum: responsibility has been handed over, decision rights have not.

A search area, not a finding

The tension axis shows where to look. Why the blockage persists is only explained by the mechanism. A pattern only holds when the mechanism applies. Some patterns have more than one axis.

Typical axes

Five axes come up particularly often in practice: strategy ↔ organization, leadership ↔ teams, innovation ↔ organization, WHY ↔ strategy and leadership ↔ organization. A field of tension describes competing goals in general; the tension axis locates the tension in the Compass.

Go Deeper

Related Concepts

Mechanism
What keeps a blockage in place, for example: new business is measured against the core business. The one decision changes it.
Blocking Pattern
A recurring interplay of symptom, tension axis and mechanism that blocks a decision. The book describes twelve of them.
Tension Field
A domain where legitimate interests, goals, or logics compete and cannot be simultaneously optimized.
Field
One of the six perspectives of the Compass, as it appears as an area on the canvas.
Canvas
The working surface of the Compass: the WHY in the centre, the five other fields around it. Available as an A3 template.

Insights

12 Muster, die Transformation blockieren, und wie man sie erkennt
Transformationen scheitern selten an fehlender Strategie. Sie scheitern an wiederkehrenden organisationalen Mustern, die unsichtbar wirken.

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