Several years ago I read Ricardo Semler’s book ‘The Maverick’ telling the story of SEMCO, an incredibly successful Brazilian company that has been self-organising since the 1980s.
At SEMCO they have proven it’s possible to get rid of basically all kinds of bureaucracy if you just start treating your employees as adults. Continue reading
How much more successful would your organisation be if everyone was;
The word ‘conversation’ derives from the Latin con versare – to turn or to dance together. Are you kept on your toes when you feel deeply that the core of your activity is participating in ‘the dance’?
Conversation is the single greatest learning tool in your organization—more important than computers or sophisticated research. As a society, we know the art of small talk, we can talk about the weather or our holidays. But when we face complex or contentions issues, when there are feelings and different opinions, our defence mechanisms surface and this can impede communications. Besieged by data, seduced by knowledge from books and the internet, many people seem to have forgotten the value of the wisdom gained by ordinary conversations. Continue reading
In today’s environment we see more complexity than ever before and it is widely acknowledged as one of the biggest barriers to organisational performance in both the public and private sectors. So why has complexity never been addressed holistically? Continue reading
We are in a world that is connected, but not communicating
Tariq Ramadan
The world is changing faster than ever before, and organisations today are facing complex challenges never experienced before. Yet we are not creating conversations that matter and are not harnessing the collective wisdom of our sociality. Continue reading
At the heart of what we do is facilitation of Participatory Leadership within organisations to drive enhanced performance. Within your organisation your people have the solutions to the problems you’re facing. We harness the collective knowledge and wisdom of everyone in an organisation to generate innovative solutions to move the organisation forward. Continue reading
In order to thrive, a business must be aligned around a meaningful purpose and shared values. With our help, you’ll rediscover the real purpose that sits at the core of your organisation, bringing total clarity to guide every aspect of your organisation. Continue reading
Collaborative or participatory leadership surfaces interdependence, within a team and among teams. It invites people to bring their strengths, talents, passion and voice and to step in where they have something to offer and step back when they don’t. Continue reading
How can we use our collective imagination to move from ideas to action?
An invitation was sent to a diverse group of individuals to a participatory taster event in Edinburgh using two methodologies from several that can be used to solve complexity. When these events are held for a whole day or over several days, or become the operating system of an organisation, the outcomes become deeper and more meaningful. These methodologies are used in policy development in the EU Commission and Austrian local government, Ontario’s rural and agricultural organisations, Minnesota university student mental health and international pharmaceutical companies. They have also been used in redesigning the free health care system in Columbus Ohio Continue reading
The Presencing approach of Otto Scharmer of MIT is a model that is used in across all types organisation for social change by creating the capacity for community wisdom. I frequently underpin the design collaborative change processes and workshops using the model. It has inspired me to invite my clients to look behind the scenes and explore the necessary depth needed to achieve the goals. Continue reading
I was one of six authors of Systems Thinking, published by the Management Innovation Exchange. You can find the full publication here
Deming and others showed that when you look at the performance of an organisation, about 85% to 95% is due to the system. That leaves roughly only about 10% that is due wholly or in the total control of the person doing the work. How often have you heard people say in their 1:1 appraisal ‘that goal was out of my total control to deliver’. Continue reading
Once upon a time…
When we hear that phrase, it brings back magical memories of someone reading a story to us during childhood. Suddenly, we have warm thoughts of fantasies, fairy tales, princesses, and pirates. Continue reading
New solutions are needed. Increasing complexity compels us to find new solutions. Participatory Leadership enables collaboritive change is crucial to unlock your organisation’s capacity to solve complex problems and create success in the twenty-first century. ‘Just do your job’ may have been a default response to dissatisfied workers in times gone by, but not now. Continue reading
Citizens’ power and participation are essential to co-design the integration across Health and Social Care Services in Scotland. The forthcoming Community Empowerment Bill lays out that “public service providers should give communities a say in how services are delivered. Examples of public service providers are hospitals, schools, police, and local councils.” Continue reading
An Unconference brings people together to find solutions to an issue or question, or to discuss a particular theme, with emphasis placed on taking action as a result. Continue reading
Collaboration Groups |
Conventional Groups |
| Everyone participates, not just the vocal few | The faster thinkers and the most articulate speakers get more time |
| People give each other room to think and get their thoughts all the way out | People interrupt each other on a regular basis |
| Opposite views are allowed to co-exist in the room | Differences of opinions are treated as conflict that must either be stifled or solved |
| People draw each other out with supportive questions – ‘Is that what you mean?’ | Questions are often perceived as challenges, as if the person being questioned has done something wrong |
| Each member makes the effort to pay attention to the person speaking. | Unless the speaker captivates their attention, people space out, doodle or check the clock |
| People are able to listen to each other’s ideas because they know their own ideas will also be heard. | People have difficulty listening to each other’s ideas because they’re busy rehearsing what they want to say |
| Each member speaks up on matters of controversy. Everyone where they stand | Some members remain quiet on controversial matter. No one really knows where everyone stands. |
| Members can accurately respect each other’s point of view – even when they don’t agree with them. | People rarely give accurate representation of the opinions and reasons of those whose opinions are at odds with their own. |
| People refrain from talking behind each other’s backs | Because they don’t feel permission to be direct during meetings, people talk behind each other’s backs outside the meeting. |
| Even in face of opposing from the person in charge, people are encourages to stand up for their beliefs. | People with discordant, minority perspectives are commonly discouraged from speaking out. |
| A problem is not considered solved until everyone who will be affected by the solution understands the reasoning. | A problem is considered solved as soon as the fastest thinkers have reached an answer. Everyone else is then expected to ‘get on board’ regardless of whether they understand the logic of the decision. |
| When people make an agreement, it is assumed that the decision still reflects a wide range of perspectives. | When people make an agreement, it is assumed that they are all thinking the exact same thing |
Your people already know the answers to the problems within your organisation. We facilitate them to draw out solutions that can be used to address these.
This is achieved by dialogue, collaboration, Participative Leadership also know as the Art of Hosting and harvesting the wisdom of all stakeholders. Continue reading
People often ask ‘when do we use participatory leadership?’ Firstly, it helps to understand the nature of the problem faced i.e. is it a complicated or a complex problem?
Some examples
What’s the difference between sending a rocket to the moon and getting children to succeed in school? What’s the difference between a surgeon extracting a brain tumour and judge and jury deciding guilty or innocent for a person accused of murder? Continue reading
The course was attended by forward-thinking leaders and facilitators of meetings with employees, customers, boards, public engagement, neighbourhoods, groups seeking more effective ways to inspire, engage and activate innovation and business value within their teams and stakeholders. This is about leaders and future leaders who deal with complexities in groups. Continue reading
Chaordic Stepping Stones: Notes Derived from Dee Hock, Visa CEO; embracing chaos and creative order. When individual purpose becomes social (event and process planning). Nine steps of project management: Need, purpose, principles, people—the first four steps; collectively, the invitation; iterative. Continue reading