Michael Walsh - Specialists in Corporate Transformation

Michael Walsh MBA
Partner, Business Transformation

•	Faculty member of the Gestalt International Study Center
•	13 years at Bell Canada in various roles
•	Has worked on high-level transformations at Canada Border Services Agency and Foreign Affairs
•	Focuses on leaders and teams in transition
•	Worked in a global consulting firm

‘Perception and Possibility’

Can you describe how Gestalt psychology factors in your transformation work? Gestalt is about perception. Any experience is subject to potentially multiple interpretations, and each of those interpretations can be equally valid. How you see things depends on what you place in the foreground. Most people have seen drawings that illustrate this: a silhouette that viewed one way looks like a young woman, but when your perspective shifts you see instead an old woman. The lines of both are in the drawing; you can flip between them. Well, in transformation there are multiple realities at work, too. Leaders have to be aware of these and manage them effectively. I help identify what those realities are so that they can be dealt with.

Does psychology play a big role in transformation? I think psychology plays a big role in everything, personally. But, yes, in transformation, too. Especially when it comes to building and maintaining momentum. It’s amazing how positive and negative experiences affect us differently. A sense of failure, for example, can be crippling. In one study, two groups of people were given tasks to perform. One group’s task was achievable; the other’s was impossible. Three weeks after the exercise, the successful group could not give a detailed or complete account of the assignment. But even months later, the unsuccessful group could recount exactly what the task had been. The stress and frustration left a deep imprint. With something as complex and difficult as transformation, staying positive is critical.

Are there particular ways of keeping things positive? There are a few. One is conditioning, mental preparation, building your resilience. We help leaders with that. Another is appreciating the value of ‘units of work’, breaking down a massive undertaking into small, accomplishable—and understandable bits. That’s a key strategy, and it helps you measure your progress. And there’s faith: the belief that you can succeed. It’s a principle of Gestalt thinking that all systems tend to strive for their own growth and well-being; there are positive impulses at work. I firmly believe that if you structure the processes correctly so that people have a chance to be heard, they’ll feel connected and respected and get behind what you’re trying to achieve.

If you couldn’t do this work, what would you be doing instead? I’ve been consulting since 1993. It’s the best job in the world. But if I couldn’t do it I’d be working somehow in the not-for-profit sector, trying to improve people’s quality of life. That’s important to me.

Is there anything you feel you bring uniquely to your work? I’ve been told by clients that I have a calming influence. I think I do create conditions that allow people to slow down and feel connected to what they’re doing, and the calm comes from that.