The Art of Breaking Through Complexity:
An Interview with Mitch Litrofsky of the Breakthrough Group
by Kali Saposnick

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One of the biggest challenges leaders face today is how to guide their employees through complex change. Despite being aware of the pressing need to remain innovative and competitive, most of us, no matter what our position in the organization, feel threatened when asked to shift the status quo and behave differently. According to Mitch Litrofsky, founder of the Breakthrough Group, a Chicago-based consulting group, one way to help people learn new ways to operate is through the arts. "We use the arts to support organizational learning," says Mitch. "Through theater and other storytelling formats, we hold up a mirror for participants to see the obstacles and barriers to effective communication, collaboration, and change."

Interactive Performance—A Catalyst for Conversation
According to Litrofsky, for people to work well together, they need to be able to talk authentically with each other about issues that matter. Interactive performance can serve as a catalyst for beginning such conversations; stories and role-playing provide a shared frame of reference that allows people to find commonalities. This approach can also help people build consensus. Mitch says, "If people can see their colleagues in more authentic ways, they can overcome their superficial impressions and build stronger relationships with each other."

For example, for one organization, actors from the Breakthrough Group simulated a conflict between management and labor union leaders who had reached a stalemate in contract negotiations. In a theater piece, representatives from the two sides were portrayed as deeply entrenched in their own set of interests and needs. Through a facilitated conversation after the performance, members of the organization were able to better understand each other's point of view, discover common goals, and reach positive outcomes, including mutual agreement on how to resolve the contract negotiations. At the end of the event, a labor leader revealed, "Before I came in here, I was all set to file grievances against management. Based on what I heard in this conversation, I'm dropping the claims."

Mitch says that this type of compelling response to dramatic simulations is typical. One reason is that the simulations are written to portray people's points of view as objectively as possible. "A good story incorporates the definition of tragedy—right versus right," he explains. "In our simulations, the characters make a whole spectrum of decisions—for better or worse; the stories become metaphors for the situations the participants are facing. We avoid stereotypes and create an environment in which participants can suspend their disbelief and enter into the story quickly and deeply. Once people identify with what they're viewing on stage, they feel more comfortable talking about what they consider 'unspeakable issues.'"

Ultimately, that is the goal—to have deeper dialogue around such issues as core values, innovation, and leadership. This kind of conversation, however, usually occurs only when participants feel safe to open up. With performances such as the Breakthrough Group's simulations, rather than start with their personal issues, people can discuss the problem "Fred" and "Beth" were having on stage; they can then naturally apply these learnings to their own work challenges. "Think of a time when you were in a group talking about a difficult subject matter, and someone courageously took the risk of moving the conversation to a more honest and authentic level," Mitch offers. "He or she increased the rigor of discourse for everybody. The arts can start conversations at that more honest level."

Connecting Complex Stories—A Measure of Intelligence
Sparking conversation through stories also offers a unique way of developing people's capacity to deal with complex issues. Psychologist Roger Shank and others believe that our brains are hardwired to think in stories; that is, we make sense of our world by indexing information that we've gained from experience and then accessing and applying this knowledge to new situations. Furthermore, they suggest that the extent to which we are able to connect disparate stories in a unique and provocative way is a more effective measure of intelligence than IQ testing. No matter which measure is applied, shared stories seem to hold the collective intelligence of the community. This common framework allows bridges to be built throughout an organization.

The Breakthrough Group often creates scenarios that reveal the complexities of traditional functional conflicts, such as the tension between sales and marketing. "Each function questions the relevance of the other's ideas and strategies," Mitch says. "We try to show them why the tension is logical and natural: Sales is focused on the short term; marketing is focused on the long term. Marketing plants seeds, sales harvests. We try to help people understand the perspective behind what each other does so they can respect each other's choices."

In another instance, the Breakthrough Group depicted a cultural conflict between two groups of scientists in a large pharmaceutical company. The first group were the corporate stars—the medical doctors-entrepreneurs-venture capitalists hired to achieve scientific breakthroughs that would lead to the development of new medications. The second were doctors who designed ways to administer a drug to humans, for example, as a pill, an inhaler, or an ointment. The first group's perceived superiority to the second ultimately undermined the organization's performance. The company's competitor—who incorporated the designers into the manufacturing process and realized innovative ways to deliver a similar drug to the body—achieved a greater market position. After watching the simulation, both groups of scientists could see the effects of their actions and behaviors on each other. As a result, the entrepreneurs restructured the laboratory to physically incorporate the designers so that the two groups could work more closely together, thereby improving their ability to work as a team.

"Much of what theater tries to do is represent, as closely as possible, the views and life experiences of the people watching the presentation," Mitch says. "Most people, after walking in their colleagues' shoes for a while, are more able to connect with them, strengthen the community they're working in, and improve their overall performance. Ultimately, the arts offer us a way to access our common humanity and bridge our separateness. To paraphrase Lily Tomlin, 'We're all in this alone-together.'"

Kali Saposnick is publications editor at Pegasus Communications, Inc.