Project Management and Innovation

Leadership, Team, Organisational Dev - Courses Workshops Training Mentoring

LST - Living Systems Thinking (2 day)
New tools for growing vibrant organisations and communities

HALF PRICE SPECIAL TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY PROJECTS - Bring a co-worker at no change.

Using Nature's Tools to Nurture Growth in a World of Complexity

As we face a time of economic uncertainty and change, there is a heightened awareness that our world and all life is a "complex system" network where all parts are highly inter-dependent. Our conventional industrial age "problem solving" process of observing an "effect" and initiating a single project or action within a single organisational silo to address what we assume as its "root cause" no longer seems to be delivering the outcomes we seek. We see tensions forming around globalisation, economic downturn, resource constraints, climate change, poverty, international development, government, health, education, business, communities, organisations, sustainability that we are struggling to contain.

Economic depression, climate change, and the other big issues that we face challenge our conventional ways of thinking, organising and working. In an environment of what seems like chaos, uncertainty, ambiguity and constant change, our faithful old analytical tools are being stretched well beyond their limits. This requires us all to evolve as individuals to act more collaboratively and get leverage from each other's activities. It will impact every organisation on the planet, irrespective of what our business may be.

Nature (including species and those indigenous cultures and that live in balance with it) learnt how to respond to such challenges over billions of years, so mimicking its processes and lessons to work with it rather than against it, offers us a new confidence and hope for the future. We must learn to grow a form of organic leadership and project behaviours that cross organisational boundaries at all levels to exploit our diversity and use our co-creative power to find every opportunity that can help us together grow a rich future. This is the glue needed to drive collaborative programs of action that embrace individuals, communities, business, local and central government. (Listen to our Audio interview on Living Systems Thinking (1hr -68Mb)

This workshop is for people who want to think differently and are dedicated to action in local communities, alliance contracts or in organisations that involve cross organisational or cross agency programs and partnerships with diverse stakeholder needs. It is a team learning environment using models, exercises, role plays, case studies and real life challenges. We always invite as much participant diversity as possible as each brings different viewpoints to help us all question our assumptions and recognise the leverage we can get from each other. We tend to theme our public workshops depending on the nature of participants enrolling typically around the following outcome areas: (see schedule for dates, locations and details)

1. Program Leadership for Organisations - growing more agile, resilient and effective organisational cultures.
2. Community Programs - growing the ability to think globally and act locally, leveraging off networks.

(Note: This workshop approaches organisations and how they undertake projects from the perspective of them being living entities in a living world. For the more traditional skills and processes to lead a specific project, consider instead our 2 day PMSkills workshop)

DAY1: Will challenge much of the conventional wisdom that has been burnt into our minds since the industrial revolution. As a group we may first need to "unlearn" some things before we even consider replacing or enhancing them with new lessons from nature.

• Going beyond our current linear processes, we will explore "whole systems thinking" and how connecting with the diversity around us makes for resiliency and growth. Monocultures are very vulnerable in times of rapid change.
• Like nature, we will learn to treat chaos as a friend and learn to appreciate and exploit the wealth of opportunities for growth it opens up for us.
• We will think beyond the pre-occupation government, industry and our society has with risk management; prioritising and delivering things for today (outputs). Instead we will focus on the longer term legacy we leave for the future (outcomes), seaching for opportiunities that maximise the chance of delivering them.
• Our visioning will drive action by thinking back from the place we want to be (backcasting) rather seeing the future from the perspective of and the problems of today (forecasting). This is a practice of The Natural Step
• That takes us onto the axis of Leadership (leading people) and its ability to add a whole new dimension to complement the management thinking (managing things) which is at the heart of most of our existing organisational models.
• We reflect on leadership as being a horizontal and shared thing that courageously inspires the growth of a network alliance around a vision. That will balance the predominant view of it being a vertical thing concentrated in individuals at higher levels of the managment hierarchy, and thus allows us to make matrix management (a prerequisite for most projects and programs) better work for us all.
• We will consider the importance of our own behaviours and how we could learn to work together more collaboratively to unleash our diversity, collective wisdom and co-creative power.

By the end of the day our team will have together consolidated a collective vision of a different future for our organisation or community (where would we like to be), considered some of the outcomes sought (what would need to be in place there) identified some associated indicators ( how would will we know we are getting near them) and listed a whole raft of interdependent projects (what could we do now to help make this happen) . This forms the basis for a self organising program that can be locally actioned by a wide range of partners each operating in their own project environment but able to recognise and leverage opportunities that come with all other other parties and projects.

DAY 2: Will take day ones program and look at a number of tools that help a collaborative team to plan and manage it and all its inter-related projects more effectively in today's complex environment of inter-connectivity, seemingly chaos, rapid evolution, change, uncertainty and yes even ambiguity.

• Initiation - Strategic tools for doing a feasibility analysis that will help take an idea, get support from others (including funding) and turn it into an effective project that will deliver real outcomes
• Planning - Breaking down the work involved and creating a project roadmap that all can understand, support and use for top level monitoring and control
• Project modeling - Planning and processes, including contract procedures set in place before any work starts that help identify and manage risk, but even more importantly leave the door open for opportunities to be exploited by using the collective wisdom of our team; working smarter together.
• Decision making - Tools that allow a team to apply its diversity and collective wisdom to situations (including organic prioritisation, contract management, option evaluation) and employ its co-creative power
• Controlling - Tools for describing, controlling and transparently reporting on progress
• Learning - Tools for learning organisations to capture lessons by: learning before doing (research and prototyping), learning while doing (sensing and reflection), learning after doing (post project review or closeout reports), and learning if it really worked (outcome evaluation).

The workshop uses Tipu Ake Leadership Model see document "New Tools for Growing Living Organisations and Communities" from website www.tipuake.org.nz . It is supported by using the management tools of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) from PMI and others, enhancing their performance by applying them in a much more collaborative way.

This workshop suits those who have a very inquisitive, interactive and reflective learning style. The approach we use is organic, with the shape of the workshop changing where appropriate to exploit information, case studies and new opportunities for learning that the participants bring in. Do not expect to just collect templates, content and theory, but more importantly to experience the benefits of working in an effective team that questions individual assumptions and shares knowledge to really understand more about the challenges they face. In addition to a comprehensive workshop folder, participants receive a CD with templates and a range of useful follow on learning resources.

Read the report by Rendt Gorter a postgraduate student at the University of Auckland who attended. Also participant feedback

For monthly scheduled workshop dates . Prices are $660 + GST = $742.50 per two day workshop including documentation, a certificate and lunches in a Devonport restaurant. REGISTER HERE NOW:

Step out of your workplace to enjoy learning in the tranquilty of Devonport Relax over lunch in one of its restaurants Contact us and we will run this in any other location around the country

Location: Our offices at 20 Hastings Parade, Devonport a 10 min stroll up
Victoria Street from the Ferry (or elsewhere in Devonport depending on numbers)

We also run this workshop for communities and groups In-house anywhere. Contact us now

(c) Strategic Expertise Ltd, 20 Hastings Parade, Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand. ph 4454454, skype petergoldsbury pgoldsbury@stratex.co.nz
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