Volume 1 • Number 2 • Summer 2005
Articles: From the
Editor | Mann | Yaeger & Sorensen | Adams | Scott & Reid
Book Review: Bushnell
Book Review:
The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work by Mette Norgaard
By Don Bushnell
This delightful book was written in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen. Published by the American Management Association (Amacon) and written by and for an organization consultant, Norgaard suggests Anderson's stories are "deeply relevant to the twenty first century workplace". And as we now know from the success of story telling, particularly for those OD consultants using appreciative inquiry, there is no more powerful tool for change than stories. The tales of Hans Christian Andersen have informed our lives and those of our children. Now the relevance of these famous stories to workplace issues and to personal decision-making in the post-industrial environment this reviewer finds is genuinely surprising and significant.
The author takes great care in translating the most famous of all of Andersen’s classic fairy tales – The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, The Dung Beetle, the Nisse at the Grocers, The Fir Tree, and The Nightingale. At the conclusion of each story she presents useful summaries and suggests topics for group discussion. For example, as Norgaard states it, "The Emperor’s New Clothes makes it possible to talk about what things are ‘undiscussable’ on one’s work team and The Ugly Duckling enables us to talk about how we can encourage one another’s strengths." Her insightful interpretations of some of the most popular fairy tales ever written help readers to reflect on their own short-comings, laugh at their own flaws, and make the changes that might be needed to experience a more meaningful and productive work life.
For this reviewer, the story line in The Nightingale about a plain little bird who sings so beautifully and "so sweetly that even the poorest fisherman, who had so much to attend to, would stop and listen . . . " is particularly instructive. It’s a story about how one can tap into authentic power by sharing one’s talents without being co-opted or compromised by the usual carrot and stick approach, not needing to satisfy the boss’s whims, and even declining the opportunity of being trapped in a golden cage. The nightingale needs freedom to perform at its peak. Norgaard asks the question of the reader, "(in the workplace) do you feel undervalued and underpaid . . . how can you tap into your authentic power and share of yourself?" The Nightingale shows us the way. Like the bird in the forest who failed to be contained for the emperor’s pleasure, it suggests that if in the workplace you stay connected to your authentic self, don’t frequently get your feathers ruffled, and maintain a sense of your own power, you can create a vibrancy around you that is contagious and uplifting.
As Stephen Covey writes in his introduction to this gem of a little book, The Nightingale is also his favorite tale. He suggests "it epitomizes the integration of the practical and the idealistic. . . this is exactly what can happen in the workplace with a release model." And further stipulates that this is precisely what is needed in the Information/Knowledge Age organization where leadership focuses on helping the working professional find or discover his or her own strengths, and become a willing part of a team where "strengths are made productive and weaknesses are made irrelevant through the strengths of others."
Covey suggests that this little book in its interpretation and translation of the simple wisdom of Hans Christian Andersen gives us a highly apt and metaphorical description of the paradigm shift from a control-based to a release-based way of seeing ourselves in the new workplace environment. This reviewer couldn’t agree more. It is recommended both for discussion purposes in work teams and for training and development programs. Andersen’s humor and insights are in themselves a pleasant re-discovery and a strong recommendation for a good read.
About the Reviewer
Don Bushnell, PhD will
be offering a current book review for each issue of SEASONINGS. Don
is the founding Chair of the School of Human and Organization Development
at the Fielding Graduate Institute and founder of the Center for Innovation
in the Nonprofit Sector at Fielding. He earned his doctorate in Sociology
from the University of California. Don can be reached at:
.