Leadership in complexity
A while ago, I was invited to deliver a keynote presentation on the topic of leading in complexity at the Community Centres SA conference. Congratulations to Kylie Ferguson and her team for an engaging, interesting and all-around fabulous conference! My talk was so well-received that I wanted to share an excerpt from it with you ...
Systemic organisational coaching: a tale of two paradigms
If you are concerned with leadership development and practice or change initiatives, the deeply held beliefs you hold about how the world works will influence how successful you will be. So what are your beliefs? Are you even aware of them? The modern western culture has been heavily influenced by what is known as Newtonian ...
What is systems change?
‘Systems change’ is a term that is used a lot, but often used in ways that mean lots of different things. What do we mean when we say we are going to help you change or transform the system? In an effort to answer this seemingly simple question, allow me to offer some definitions first, so ...
SuperSapiens: consciousness hacking
Last night I introduced SuperSapiens as a part of the Transitions Film Festival. Below is a copy of my talk that identifies some key concerns about the future trajectory of Artificial Intelligence and how I believe we all need to be involved in deciding what type of future world we want. I also make links ...
What is reality?
Over the last few months, I have been exploring how I perceive reality. And I came across this TED talk by Anil Seth, which is fascinating. If you are interested in leading change, then how we perceive what is ‘real’ is so important. If we all see something different ‘out there’ then how can we ...
Sexual harassment, power and hierarchy
Sexual harassment has again been in the news in that last week – this time focused on the Australian film industry. Whether it is sexual harassment or bullying or intimidation – all these behaviours result in people being diminished and their potential being unrealised. There are two issues within this that are relevant to all ...
Your Organisational Identity: More Than Your Logo
Organisational identity is important because it’s your corporate DNA. Being able to influence your DNA and connect everyone to it, gives you the ability to evolve a more adaptable organisation – one that is more likely to survive in the longer term. All living systems (and your organisation can be viewed as such) organise and ...
How to Influence Organisational Identity
I have previously written about what comprises your organisational identity and why it’s essential that you focus your leadership attention upon it. Your organisational identity, or who you are as an organisation, comprises: 1. Your organisational vision or purpose; and 2. Your shared values. What your organisation stands for. The shared values that have stood ...
Need to create more engaging, lean-in meetings?
During January, I became an accredited facilitator of the Lego® Serious Play® methodology. Why did I travel all the way to Singapore to do this? Because I wanted to learn from the guy who originally developed the methodology for Lego®, in collaboration with organisational theorists Johan Roos and Bart Victor (both proponents of complexity theory). The extra effort was ...
Prioritising: 12 elements to prioritising wisely
Leaders and managers often talk about prioritising. But there is one thing nearly all of our clients have in common at present. They are at the very limits of their resources – physically and some even emotionally as their people disengage. Perhaps you are like them, and need to genuinely engage with prioritising – not by ...