What does growth in an organization look like? It isn’t unusual to imagine this as a never-ending upward trajectory, like a rocket fired into space. You quickly realize though, that this isn’t realistic or sustainable. Once the initial momentum fizzles out, things can quickly go off course. Or even come to a grinding halt. Searching […]
Leading Like a Gardener Read More »
There’s a very good chance that the project or change initiative for which you are responsible will fail. I’m sorry to be the one bringing this unfortunate news. However, if it is helpful for you, your project is unlikely to fail catastrophically. Instead, like many other initiatives, it will fail by falling short of expectations:
Uncover the Hidden Risks in Your Change Initiative Read More »
Raise your hand if you have made a plan for your team’s work. Or if you are following a plan at the moment, guiding the implementation of your project. Now read what General Dwight Eisenhower said when he was responsible for the preparations for the D-Day invasion of Occupied France in 1944…. Remember to stay
Are plans worth it? Read More »
Louis Pasteur, the French scientist, is best known for his breakthroughs on vaccination and on – well, pasteurization, the process of stopping the contamination of milk. 💬 He also famously said “In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.” 💬 Updating this statement for today, I offer the idea that “Chance
Are you prepared for change? Read More »
One of the issues that comes up in almost every change initiative is that of Resistance. How will people respond to the planned changes? Will they be resistant? What can we do to address resistance to change? Thanks to my training in Gestalt approaches to change and development, I’ve come to discover that we can
The Creative Force of Resistance Read More »
I thought you might be interested in this short video that looks at the origins of Kurt Lewin’s famous 3 stage model of change (Unfreezing – Changing – Refreezing). [vcex_spacing size=”30px”] I was intrigued to find out that Lewin did not actually summarize his thinking about change in such simplistic terms (my respect for him
What did Lewin really say about change? Read More »
This blog series looks at how you, as a manager transitioning into a new department or team, can use the opportunity of the transition to foster stronger teams. The first post served as an introduction to why having stronger teams will help you be more effective as a manager. We promote the idea of real teams that
Using Managerial Transitions to Build Stronger Teams – Part 4 Read More »
This blog series looks at how you, as a manager transitioning into a new department or team, can use the opportunity of the transition to foster stronger teams. The first post served as an introduction to why having stronger teams will help you be more effective as a manager. We promote the idea of real teams that
Using Managerial Transitions to Build Stronger Teams – Part 3 Read More »
This blog series looks at how you, as a manager transitioning into a new department or team, can use the opportunity of the transition to foster stronger teams. The first post served as an introduction to why having stronger teams will help you be more effective as a manager. We promote the idea of real
Using Managerial Transitions to Build Stronger Teams – Part 2 Read More »
Congratulations – you’re now managing the team! Perhaps you are a new manager, or maybe you’ve taken on a different managerial role, and you find yourself facing a group – only they are your group, your people, your team… and they expect you to be their leader. So if management really is about achieving things
Using Managerial Transitions to Build Stronger Teams – Part 1 Read More »
I’ve been thinking about innovation, and how we can support and encourage fresh thinking in our organizations. Some of this comes from my interest in trying to better understand how organizations can renew themselves when their current business model is no longer supporting them in providing value to their stakeholders (see my recent posts on
Insights into Change – from the Open Source Software movement Read More »
My recent posts have explored the theme of how organizations develop and, inevitably, decline. Almost all organizations end up closing their doors – some do this in a planned and graceful manner, some do it through managed mergers and acquisitions, and some do it abruptly and without much notice. While the end of an organization
Renewal, Innovation and the Sigmoid Curve Read More »