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Coaching Ourselves

 Coaching Ourselves
CoachingOurselves offers a library of modules written by top management thinkers and used by management teams to guide and stimulate discussion and reflection using Henry Mintzbergs approach for natural development. Organizations use these to deliver focused and cost effective high end management and leadership development packages to their management population, both the "A" and "B" players, responding to a wide variety of needs; increasing engagement, continuous learning and growth, improved teamwork, breaking down silos, enhancing leadership and developing communityship.
In CoachingOurselves a management team gets together for about an hour and half to use a CoachingOurselves module to stimulate discussion and reflection on their current management challenges and experiences. There are no consultants, no trainers, and no facilitators.
For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Coaching Ourselves is based in Montreal, QC, Canada
CoachingOurselves is natural management development anchored in the workplace. A team of managers gets together every couple of weeks, for an hour and a half, to discuss their own experiences and challenges in the light of major topics of management.
There are no facilitators in CoachingOurselves, no trainers or formal coaches, just engaged managers helping each other learn from their own practical experience and pursuing the consequences for change in their organization.
Each time they meet, the team downloads a CoachingOurselves module to guide the discussion for example, Silos and Slabs in Organizations, Time to Dialogue, Lessons from Machiavelli and Lao Tzu. CoachingOurselves works with leading management thinkers around the world to create these modules. Seventy are now available, authored by John Seely Brown, Dave Ulrich, Nancy Adler, Phil Kotler, Ed Schein, Henry Mintzberg, and many others.
CoachingOurselves grew out of an initiative in 1996 that brought together Henry Mintzberg and colleagues from England, France, India, and Japan to change the worlds of management education and development. He is the author of Managers not MBAs, and a founding partner of CoachingOurselves, together with Phil LeNir, who conceived the idea and directs the enterprise. CoachingOurselves is now being used by thousands of managers in organizations such as Cathay Pacific, Nissan, ING Group, and the Alberta Health Authority to advance their practice of management, bond as teams, and enhance the sense of community in their enterprise for improved performance.
CoachingOurselves offers packages of modules, or open access subscriptions, to its growing catalog, plus support to help get each team started and choose appropriate modules.
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Analyzing Employee Performance : Author: Terence Traut Arguably, the most important job of a manager is to manage the performance of employees. Whether they use traditional performance management - goal setting with the employee followed by regular performance monitoring followed by annual appraisal - or a less traditional method, such as self-directed teams, effective performance managers, we suggest, look before they leap. Before they determine the best way to increase performance, they take the time to analyze the employee's current performance. This session invited you to put on your analytic mindset and examine the performance of more...
Appreciating Appreciative Inquiry : Author: David Cooperrider Author: Brenda Zimmernan Appreciative Inquiry (AI) offers an alternative to the problem solving approach that dominates most organizations today. AI focuses on what is already working within an organization and why it works in order to build from strengths that already exist but may be hidden from view. The famous management writer, Peter Drucker, argued that the task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths, thus making weaknesses irrelevant. One of us, more...
Being a Catalytic Leader : Author: Rick Crawley The idea of catalytic leadership has taken off recently as people begin to think about the difficulty in making change happen in situations where potential leaders might not have executive authority over various groups. There are many situations like this in organizations, especially with increasing use of outsourcing, contractors, joint ventures, strategic alliances, multi-agency collaboration, and project groups. The objectives of this session are: * To make sense of the idea of a Catalytic Leader * To examine the personal characteristics of a more...
Beyond Bickering : Author: Dora Koop Much has been written about conflict management and the consequences of not dealing with major disagreements but few of us stop to think about the costs of bickering over matters of minor significance. Bickering and incivility can wreak havoc with organizations if left unchecked, contributing to low morale, decreased productivity, and staff turnover. In this topic, you will have the opportunity to investigate some issues which may be contributing to bickering within your workplace and to develop solutions to minimize them. Todaya ™s session will provide you with an opportunity to: * Understand that there is a real cost to your more...
Beyond Bullying : Author: Marilyn Aitkenhead Bullying occurs when someone demonstrates a pattern of unpleasant behaviors towards someone else. It can create havoc with peoplea ™s lives and organizational performance. It is, therefore, worth investing some time in analyzing what it is, how it arises, and what can be done about it. Whether you are experiencing some bullying problems within your organization or are interested in understanding more fully some of the dynamics around the misuse of power within organizations, understanding bullying will help you build and sustain better outcomes. The objectives of todaya ™s session are to: * Help you more...
Brand Building for Every Manager self directed : Author: Philip Kotler This session takes branding out of the marketing department and puts it into your hands. A brand is more than just a product; it also represents the values and promises made to your customers. Does the brand experience you provide live up to the brand promise? Here we present a holistic approach to branding in which all activities of the organization are aligned, interdependent, and integrated. The objectives for todaya ™s exploration are to: * Appreciate the concept of brand * Be exposed to a holistic theory of branding * Realize how you as an individual impact your organizationa ™s brand For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Chains Hubs Webs and Sets : Author: Henry Mintzberg It has been popular to see organizations as chains: linear sequences of activities. But many organizations dona ™t fit this, and even ones that partially do can benefit from considering alternative perspectives: organizing as hubs, webs, and/ or sets. This can make a huge difference to how you manage. In todaya ™s session you will: * Be introduced to four ways of thinking about organizations: as chains, hubs, webs, and sets * Understand how varied managing can be in these different forms * Appreciate the impact of considering management not just atop a chain or set, but at the center of a hub and within a web For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Changing Things What and How : Author: Henry Mintzberg Author: Phil LeNir Frustrated with how things currently work within your organization? Overwhelmed with where to start and what exactly to do in order to bring about change? Most people approach change in a piecemeal manner, failing to achieve lasting impact. This topic provides you with frameworks of a change what?a and a change how?a in order to better do so. Whether you need to command dramatic change, engineer systematic change, or socialize organic change, you will develop a clearer idea as to what needs to be done within your organization, using what methods, and by more...
Coaching Others : Author: Beverley Patwell Why does coaching play such a prominent role in todaya ™s complex business world? In Coaching Others, Beverley Patwell explains how coaching can impact all levels of your organization and what qualities you need to coach effectively. You will: * Learn what coaching is * Understand what role it can play in your organization * Identify key coaching skills * Appreciate how your CoachingOurselves group can support your development as a coach Discussing past coaching experiences and listening to stories more...
Consulting Ourselves-The Wiki Way : Author: Jonathan Gosling This session explores the difference between the traditional way of doing business and doing business the wiki way. A wiki is a democratic process in which people share information in a way that allows others to easily review and update their knowledge. Everyone is familiar with Wikipedia, but if you looked closely, would you discover similar processes all around you? Are there informal ways in which knowledge is shared in your company and could they be enhanced by certain policies and practices? The objectives for this session are to: * Understand what the more...
Control Through Decision Making : Author: Henry Mintzberg A decision is a commitment to action; a managerial decision is usually a commitment by the manager for other people to act. This means that much of decision-making is about controlling the activities of other people. In this topic, we show how the important function of control can be understood through the lens of decision making This topic will help you and your team: * See the relationship between control and decision making * Appreciate the different forms that control can take * Consider how you can be more effective in your decision making and controlling For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Crafting Strategy : Author: Henry Mintzberg Strategy, defined as plan, pattern, position, and perspective, is used to derive four distinct processes of strategy formation: planning, visioning, venturing, and learning. Each is considered as it applies to your organization and the session concludes with an integrative model that includes all 8 P's. The objectives for this session are to: * Understand better the concept of strategy * Develop an appreciation for the various processes of developing strategy * Consider this in light of the needs of your organization, or department, and what you can do about it For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Dealing With the Pressures of Managing : Author: Henry Mintzberg This session debunks the famous metaphor of the manager as orchestra conductor -fully in control- and replaces it with some of the realities about the characteristics of managing: the hectic pace, the fragmented work, the interruptions, and more. How is anyone supposed to think, let alone think ahead, amidst all this? The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Bring managing off its pedestal, into its realities * Appreciate the characteristics of managerial work * Consider how best to deal with these challenges For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Decision Making Its Not What You Think : Author: Henry Mintzberg Sometimes we think too much about our decisions. Perhaps we would do better to see them more insightfully. Or just act on them in order to think about them better. This session contrasts "thinking first" with "seeing first" and "doing first" as approaches to decision making, using examples from finding a mate to handling decisions at work. The objectives for this session are to: * Get beyond thinking in decision making to seeing and doing * Appreciate that we have to act in order to think, as much as think in order to act * Approach some key decisions differently For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Developing Our Organization as a Community : Author: Phil LeNir Author: Henry Mintzberg Experiences with CoachingOurselves and the three related programs from which it has sprung suggest a set of guidelines for the development of an organization as a community. This CoachingOurselves topic presents six guidelines and asks you to consider how you can apply them in your own organization. The objectives of this session are: * To appreciate how an organization can develop as a community * To come up with ways to do so in your own organization For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
FeedFORWARD Instead of FeedBACK : Author: Marshall Goldsmith Author: Terence Traut Providing feedback has long been considered to be an essential skill for managers. Traditionally, this information has been communicated in the form of a downward feedbacka from managers to their employees. But there is a fundamental problem with this type of feedback: it focuses on a past, on what has already occurreda not on the infinite variety of opportunities that can happen in the future. As such, feedback can be limited and static, as opposed to expansive and dynamic. This session invites you to examine the way in which you more...
Fit to Lead : Author: Dr. Michael McGannon Author: Juliette McGannon Managing is hard work: it is wearing physically, as well as emotionally. Long hours may lead to a lack of exercise, missed meals and unhealthy compensatory eating. We present some simple tools to incorporate into your workday to maintain a healthy lifestyle and help prevent many diseases of modern life. As medical professionals, we have applied our expertise to a new interactive model of medicine called the Business Leadera ™s Health Programme (more...
Foresight : Author: Robert Chia This session introduces you to the power of foresight and shows you how foresight can be carefully cultivated by re-educating your attention. Foresight is the ability to be finely tuned in to the undercurrents of events and happenings all around us. It involves the cultivated ability to see what is unseen or overlooked. The ability to 'read', or 'interpreta ™ the undercurrents and the changing moods of markets, popular opinions, customers, and employees are vital capabilities that no forward-looking individual or business can afford to ignore. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Show the consequences of a lack of more...
From Top Performer to Manager : Author: Karl Moore Senior management often promotes top performers into management positions, but is this always the best choice? While this may seem to be the obvious path, the skills required to be a top performer are quite different from the skills needed to be an effective manager. The objectives for this exploration are to: * Reflect on your own managerial path. * Determine which characteristics are important when filling a managerial position. * Discuss how you might better help individuals prepare for the role of manager. For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Global or Worldly : Author: Henry Mintzberg We hear a great deal about being a globala these days but maybe we should question this! Not just those of us who travel the globe, but all of us. We all need to be more a worldlya . To be Worldly is to be worldly-wise, as it is sometimes called. This means: a experienced in life, sophisticated, practical.a Imagine companies like this! These discussions are designed to get you thinking about striking a balance between being global and being worldly. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Understand what "global" means  more...
High Performing Teams : Author: Terence Traut High performing teams increase the effectiveness of high performing individuals. Knowing how to create and sustain high performing teams often determines a managera ™s success a and the inevitable success of the initiative or organization. This session invites you to examine your team and compare it to characteristics of exemplary high performing teams. Determine how to make your team a more high performing team. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Identify the eight elements of exemplary high performing teams * Appreciate the characteristics of managerial work * Determine how to more...
How Global Should Our Firm Be : Author: Karl Moore Author: George Yip We hear a great deal about globalization these days; companies should be global, managers should be global. To really understand how global your firm should be, we must start by understanding the dynamics of the industry you compete in. In this session participants explore a model developed by George Yip. You will: * Use Yipa ™s model to analyze your industry * Come to some group conclusions about your industrya ™s potential for globalization Discussions with your colleagues about the "bigger picture" more...
Igniting Momentum with Customer Insights : Author: Jean-Claude Larreche Some companies are able to deliver sustained exceptional growth year after year: they have momentum. Companies such as IKEA, Virgin Atlantic, and Apple come to mind. What is the key to their success? An external focus promoting continual insights into their customersa ™ needs. Igniting momentum in your organization starts first and foremost with customer engagement: exploring the customersa ™ space and then developing compelling offers. In this topic, you will more...
In Praise of Middle Management : Author: Huy Quy Nguyen As a manager in the "middle", some of you may have felt stuck between the demands of senior management and the personal needs of those in your unit. You work under tight constraints and limited resources to balance the organizationa ™s needs, and your employeesa ™ abilities and well-being. In this session you will explore the role of middle managers in the change process, using a model described in a Harvard Business Review article. This research found that middle managers, often underappreciated, play a key role during periods of change. You will more...
Innovate Using Generative Relationships : Author: Brenda Zimmernan Generative relationships are ones which bring unforeseen, novel solutions to a complex context. Managers often face challenges where no precedents exist, such as when a company or industry faces a new competitive landscape. Relationships which have generative potential can be key to creating innovative solutions. But how do you know whether relationships have generative potential? And how can you deliberately increase the generative potential of relationships? This topic enables you to: * Identify the generative potential of relationships * Apply the more...
Introducing Culture In Organizations : Author: Sharon Turnbull An awareness of culture can make a big difference to how you perceive management problems and to how you act on these problems. Understanding cultures can enhance inter-group relationships, and perhaps, even help you get a promotion more quickly. Whether you are working in a very stable culture, or one which is constantly in transition, we will show you that you can be more effective as a manager if you understand how your culture works. The objectives for this topic are to answer these questions: * What is culture? * Where do cultures come from? * How can culture affect your job and your organization? For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Introducing Strategy Through Robin Hood : Author: Joseph Lampel Robin Hood is Britaina ™s most famous outlaw. In ancient times, he was reputed to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor. In these modern times, the story of Robin Hood serves as a wonderful way to introduce some basic ideas about strategy. This session begins by considering the strategies of Robin Hood as a way of moving into the strategies of your own organizations. This case, written by Joseph Lampel has become one of the, if not the, most widely used business cases in the world. more...
Leading Change in Difficult Times : Author: John J Oliver When the economic times are tough, everyone in your organization feels intense pressure to be profitable and keep ahead of the competition. In times like these, managementa ™s task is to motivate employees to maintain productivity and performance. But how can you ensure employees feel inspired and genuinely appreciated when the budget is being cut and people are uncertain about the future of their jobs? This CoachingOurselves session explores simple yet powerful methods to guide organizations through the most challenging of times. The objectives for todaya ™s more...
Learning in and from the Social Sector : Author: Henry Mintzberg We understand business and government well enough a the private and public sectors. But how much do we really know about the social sector, made up of cooperatives and so-called NGOs and Not-for-Profits, etc.? Do we realize how vast this sector is? This topic helps inform managers of business and government about this important sector with which they must work. It can also be a good early topic for those organizations from the social sector itself. In this session you will learn: * What the social sector is  more...
Lenses for Leadership Insights : Author: Jerry de Jaager The management thinker Peter Drucker once stated, a Insight lasts; theories dona ™t.a Breakthroughs and insights require going beyond your habitual approach to issues and seeing them in new ways. This topic offers three brief stories to help shift your perspective and promote insights on current issues within your organization. These thought-provoking stories range in topic from perfume magnates to physicists to baboons. But what they all have in common is that they provide different a lensesa more...
Lessons from Machiavelli and Lao Tzu : Author: Cynthia Wagner Weick In this session, you will gain insight into leadership styles by extracting valuable lessons regarding power and empowerment from Eastern and Western classical literature. Two extreme modelsa autocratic, top down leadership and a more participatory, empowering leadership stylea are vividly illustrated by, respectively, the political theorist Niccol Machiavelli and the ancient Chinese thinker, Lao more...
Management Competency Raising : Author: Henry Mintzberg Author: Sadilova Sasha Our objective is to be competent, right? So companies give a lot of attention to a management competencies.a The list of possible ones is so long that you can spend a lifetime learning them a and never have time to manage! The objective here is, rather, to help you to deepen an understanding of what management competencies are, and to reflect on how you use them. In this CoachingOurselves session Mintzberg and more...
Management Styles Art Craft Science : Author: Henry Mintzberg Author: Sadilova Sasha Management is a practice where art, craft, and science meet. Most managers tend to tilt one way or another: toward creative art, practical craft, or organized science. The trouble is when one tilts too far, managing gets out of balance. What's your management style? In this CoachingOurselves session, Mintzberg and Sadilova explain different management styles to avoid "one-sided" managing, in yourself and more...
Managing Metaphors : Author: Cynthia Wagner Weick Metaphorsa which transfer concepts from one context to anothera are typically viewed as a linguistic device used by poets. In this session you will see that metaphor also can be a powerful tool for creating and communicating new approaches to managing, and for understanding the approaches that prevail in your organization today. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Learn why metaphors are effective * Create metaphors that provide insight into managing * Appreciate how using new metaphors can enhance your ability to conceptualize and communicate your approach to management creatively more...
Managing On the Edges : Author: Henry Mintzberg Managers generally spend as much time "managing on the edges" - in other words out of their unit, relating to the rest of the organization and to the outside world - as they do inside their unit. Here we consider various roles related to this important work, with the concentration on "buffering": how to manage the delicate balance of outside forces coming into the unit. The objectives for this session are to: * Appreciate that managing on the edges, is as important to most managers as managing the unit itself * Understand the key roles by which managers do this * Probe into "buffering": how managers can more...
Managing on the Planes of Information People and Action : Author: Henry Mintzberg This topic addresses the essence of managing: what is it that managers really do. The answer proposed is that managing happens on three planes: through information, with people, and to direct action. All are necessary, but managers often favor one plane over the others, depending on their situation and style. In this session, you will: * Come to appreciate the essence of managing. * Consider your own approach to managing and how you can improve it. Note: Please bring your agenda to this session, or at least notes on what you did over the past week. For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Managing Time and Energy : Author: David Creelman Work is not just about making brilliant decisions. It is also about how we manage our time and energy, individually and as a team. Almost everyone feels there is not enough time in a day, but there are days when we feel a Wow, we got a lot donea . How do we make that happen more often? Sometimes the problem isna ™t lack of time at all, ita ™s lack of energy. When we are at our best we can zip through a project, but when we are tired or uninspired the hours go by but not a lot is accomplished. The objectives for today's session are to: * Identify how we currently more...
Managing to Lead : Author: Jonathan Gosling Leadership is an important aspect of managing. But what does this mean in your day-to-day work? As you will see, leadership is a complex interplay of factors which requires balance. This session explores the three key factors which contribute to leadership: qualities, behaviors and context. As a group you will: * Determine which factors contribute to effective leadership * Understand how to better balance your leadership style * Clarify what you can do to enhance your contribution to a well-led organization For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Models of Engagement Employment Relations : Author: David Creelman In this session we will look at what different "deals" exist between an organization and its members and what the implications of these are. What do employees owe an organization and what do organizations owe an employee? Where do you see your organization and where would you like to see it going? The objectives for this introduction into employment relations are to: * Be introduced to various models of employee engagement, with the focus on the "big three": the family, economic, and political models * Assess the realities of these models in regards to your own organization * Discuss where more...
Models Of Human Behavior : Author: Kunal Basu Reader of Marketing at the Said Business School and Templeton College, Oxford University, UK Behaviors are there for everyone to see, but since causes are hidden from view, we tend to rely on assumptions, in the form of implicit a models of human behaviora ™. This session describes the major models of human behavior that we typically employ in organizational settings as well as in daily life. The objectives of this session are to: more...
Opening Up The Moral Senses : Author: Frederick Bird Most of us have consciences. Despite this fact, we sometimes overlook or fail to identify moral issues that arise in the course of our work: We can fail to voice our own moral concerns directly and forcefully, and fail to pay attention when others voice moral concerns. These shortcomings in moral seeing, speaking, and hearing can be costly to our organizations, our fellow workers, and our own sense of integrity. In this session we look at examples of these failings and explore how moral concerns can become more open and active within our organizations. The objectives of this session are to: * Learn what is more...
Ordinary People Extraordinary Leadership : Author: Nancy J. Adler To embrace the type of leadership the 21st century most needs, managers must return to their most profound personal perspective, imagination and wisdom. This session challenges you to take yourselves as seriously as you take the people whom you most admire. Grant your own perceptions, ideas, images, feelings, and dreams the same respect that you give to the worlda ™s most respected leaders. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Identify admirable leadership qualities * Reflect on your own strengths and talents * Reclaim your leadership skills For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Political Games in Organizations : Author: Henry Mintzberg You may have noticed that people play politics in organizations. Not you of course - other people. Nevertheless, it is important to understand how they do it and why. In fact, it is important to know about the positive side of politics and what it can do to help an organization. In this session you will: * Look at the various types of political games most commonly played in organizations * Understand when and why they can be useful For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Practical Tips for Leading Meetings That Matter : Author: Sandra Janoff Author: Marvin Weisbord Leading "meetings that matter" is a critical leadership skill that promotes learning and support among participants, and facilitates responsible action. By applying simple techniques to your meetings, you will be able to guide participants towards common ground and shared goals while making creative use of dissenting opinions. These techniques have proven strong antidotes against the "shorter, faster, cheaper" meeting syndrome and the challenges of running meetings in a multi-cultural world. The objectives for todaya ™s more...
Practicing CoachingOurselves : Author: Phil LeNir Author: Henry Mintzberg In CoachingOurselves, self-directed groups of managers gather on a regular basis to work through learning material created by leading management thinkers. You share recent working experiences, discuss management issues, and use your learning to develop realistic actions. Sharing experiences and thinking through realistic actions can sometimes be difficult. And so in this topic, we ask you to work through several small exercises with your group. For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Probing Into Culture : Author: Edgar Schein People often talk about changing their corporate culture and building a "new culture" within their organization but can you imagine trying to change the culture of the United States or France? Whether your organizationa ™s history is long and stable or short and intense, its culture is complex and deeply ingrained in its people and operations. In order to successfully effect change, corporate culture must be taken seriously. Examining it at all levels uncovers the assumptions that determine the organizationa ™s goals, strategies, and means more...
Reflection : Author: Jonathan Gosling How often do you wonder not just about what happened, but why it happened and how it differs from other happenings? Todaya ™s session introduces the importance of reflection in managerial work. Reflection is about getting the meaning from everyday experiences where managers may too easily allow a doinga ™ to drive out a thinkinga ™; and a thinkinga ™ might miss out on the clues provided by feelings and intuition. By bringing conscious awareness into the moment, the result will be more informed action. You will have the opportunity to: * Learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others more...
Searching the Invisible Web : Author: Estelle Metayer Have you ever been frustrated when searching the Web for information you know exists, but somehow does not turn up when you search for it? This session on the "Invisible Web" will open new horizons to you by providing some guidelines and tools needed to identify the rich, structured content that is hidden from most search engines. Remember that searching the Web is like a workout... if you do not practice or train regularly on the topic, your muscles will forget the exercise, and the next session will be painful. The objectives for more...
Seeing Beyond Belief Observation Skills for Managers : Author: Jonathan Gosling In todaya ™s busy work environment, we spend so much time doing that we often forget to take notice of what is happening around us. When we are really able to observe, we are often able to pick up clues to overlooked opportunities and problems. But observation is a skill far more complex than just noticing details so this session asks you to turn a critical eye on how you observe in order to shed light on how you manage. The objectives for this session are to: * Improve your observation skills * Appreciate how you observe the world and interpret events * Understand how this impacts on your managing For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Silos and Slabs In Organizations : Author: Henry Mintzberg Many of todaya ™s organizations are highly-structured and complex which can make communicating and getting the job done difficult. We look at two characteristics of their formal structures - silos and slabs - and the challenges these present to managing, and investigate ways to manage across and beyond them. This topic will provide you with an opportunity to: * Understand the role of silos and slabs within organizations * Understand how these structures can act as barriers to getting things done * Challenge yourselves to coordinate your efforts to manage beyond formal structure For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Some Surprising Things About Collaboration : Author: Deborah Dougherty Author: Jan Jorgensen Author: Henry Mintzberg Author: Frances Westley The word "collaboration" has a very positive connotation these days. Collaboration helps us break out of our "hierarchy fix" as well as our "market fix". It also helps us direct more attention to how people connect with each other, as capable adults. But we also have to appreciate the negative, as well as positive. So the four of us have collaborated on this topic to bring together a set of more...
Strategic Blindspots : Author: Estelle Metayer Is your decision making guided by assumptions which are out of touch or out of date? Organizations invest a lot of time and energy in strategy but invalid beliefs and biases may be derailing your success. These strategic blindspots distort your perception of competitive reality, so that even the most seasoned managers may fail to foresee major events affecting the environment. The consequences for your organization can be frustrating at best and disastrous at worst. In this topic, you will be introduced to some of the most common organizational blindspots. You will then investigate a number of your taken-for-granted more...
Strategic Thinking as Seeing : Author: Henry Mintzberg Strategy is not something reserved for so-called "top" management. There are plenty of examples of regular employees coming up with ideas that changed their company. But here our intention is less ambitious: to recognize that every manager has to think strategically in his/ her job, whether it be a sales manager finding a new approach to reach customers, or a hockey coach figuring out how to beat a rival team. One way to do it is to "see it". This session will not make you a strategic thinker. No session or a book can do that. But it can enhance the strategic capabilities you already have - we all have some! The more...
SWOT for Strategy : Author: Joseph Lampel Clear strategic thinking depends on a good assessment of your organizationa ™s internal and external environments. SWOT, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is one of the simplest and yet most powerful tools that you as a manager can use to bring your strategic situation into sharper focus. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Understand the basis of SWOT analysis * more...
Talent Management : Author: David Creelman This CoachingOurselves session challenges you to diagnose and clarify your own talent "mindset". How can you best maximize the talent around you and build on your employees' strengths? Discuss and create strategies with your colleagues to bring the talent mindset into action. The objectives for today's exploration are to: * Understand what talent management is * Appraise your own talent mindset * Decide what you can do in your day-to-day work to get the most out of the talent in your unit/ organization For more information see http://www. CoachingOurselves. com/
Ten Ways to Release Change : Author: Alan Engelstad Is it time to change how you go about change? Organizations frequently embark on large-scale change endeavors when minimalist interventions may in fact help them quickly achieve their goals and at no added cost. This topic presents ten such methods to release change within your organization. These methods will stimulate you to reframe how you approach change and provide you with new ways to intervene. Furthermore, by appreciating the dynamic nature of change, you will come to understand the profound impact your actions can have in your organization. Todaya ™s session will provide you with an opportunity to:  more...
The Play of Analysis : Author: Ann Langley Analysis is pervasive. Managers read and write lots of reports and do quite a bit of number-crunching. Yet we all know of situations where decisions were wrong because they just weren't well thought out ("extinction by instinct") and we know of others that were analyzed interminably without getting anywhere ("paralysis by analysis"). Paradoxically, we sometimes seem to over-analyze the little decisions and under-analyze the big ones. How and why does this happen? What can we do about it? The objectives for today's session are to: * Understand how and why analysis is used * Consider situations where we underdo it or more...
The Players of Cultural Change : Author: Sharon Turnbull We know that culture figures prominently in changing an organization. Where it has been, and what it stands for, will significantly determine where it is able to go. You have to manage culture to manage change. And to manage culture you have to understand who plays what role in sustaining, challenging, and shifting that culture. When a culture change program has been launched, it is tempting for leaders to move straight on to other challenges, often taking their eyes off the 'cultural ball', but this is exactly the time when leaders need to be most alert to what is happening on the ground. The objectives for this more...
The Power of Social Learning : Author: John Seeley Brown Our world is evolving at a rapid pace. In order for companies to remain globally competitive, they need to support continuous learning and the ongoing creation of new ideas and skills. Social learning, especially in small groups, provides a powerful tool to nurture innovation and productivity. As the flow of ideas and knowledge increases within your unit and organization so does the reliability of the information from which you make your strategic decisions. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Understand what social learning is * Appreciate how you can make your social learning more...
The Rewards of Recognition : Author: John J Oliver Recognition is one of the most powerful, least used management tools. Few would disagree with the argument that employees who feel appreciated and valued are much more likely to perform better than those who dona ™t but how often do you recognize the people around you? Most organizations fail to ensure that the recognition of good work happens with sufficient frequency and effectiveness. If your organization is one of these, you should see this as a huge opportunity. Statistically, your competition probably hasna ™t figured this out, so you still have time! Take recognition seriously and the result will be increased more...
Thinking Entrepreneurially to grow your Business : Author: Jeanne Liedkta Often middle-managers are given a mandate to grow their organizations. Some managers attack this challenge with self-confidence while others break into a cold sweat. After interviewing more than 50 successful growth leaders operating in established companies, we have discovered entrepreneurial techniques that you can use to help influence the success of your organization. Thinking entrepreneurially will help you uncover new opportunities while keeping your risks in check. The objectives for this session are to: * Understand how to think entrepreneurially. * Explore techniques for actively more...
Time to Dialogue : Author: Warren Nilsson Author: Tana Paddock Discussion, debate, negotiation, and information exchange are the most common forms of communication in organizations, and although helpful in many ways, they rarely push us beyond our current paradigms of thought and action. This session is an introduction to dialogue, a more creative and collaborative mode of communication that increases our capacity to address complex organizational issues. The objectives for this session are to: * Understand what dialogue is and how it differs from other forms of communication * Practice specific behaviors that can more...
Two Models of Change : Author: Michael Beer Author: Dave Ulrich We are two business school professors of Organizational Behavior who have studied many organizations to find out how they encourage and achieve lasting changes. With our colleagues we have each come up with models of steps for effective change: seven in one, six in the other. In this session, we ask you to consider, compare, and perhaps combine our models. The objectives of this session are to: * Appreciate the "7 Universal Principles for more...
Understanding Organizations : Author: Henry Mintzberg Understanding how your organization functions can seem overwhelming; where to start? In this session, we start with four common forms of organizations and investigate their strengths, weaknesses, and implications. You will come to a better appreciation of your organization and others, seeing them as the interplay of specific forms and forces. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Understand the various species of organizations, in particular four forms: entrepreneurial, machine, professional, and adhocracy * Appreciate the dynamic forces of each form * Clarify how your organization fits more...
Understanding Stakeholders : Author: Pamela Sloan Stakeholder relationships are a fact of life for every manager and every organization. Managers need to take account of their stakeholders and deal with their differing, and sometimes competing, interests. The goal is to have relationships that support and sustain performance. Understanding stakeholders is one of the keys to developing effective relationships. The objectives for todaya ™s session are to: * Introduce the stakeholder concept and the factors that influence the way managers think about stakeholders. * Become aware of the role that stakeholders play in managing organizations. * Deepen your more...
Visionary Management The Art of Seeing First : Author: Henry Mintzberg Author: Frances Westley We human beings have the habit of thinking first. We think and then we act. But something is missing here. Can we think and act before we see? This CoachingOurselves topic considers "Seeing First" by asking you to do something that you might not have done since you were in grade school: create a piece of art collaboratively, in order to see a key issue on which you are working. "Seeing First" fosters exploration and innovation when issues more...
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