Accelerating Learning |
Children learn so fast. Here are some thoughts about how we can keep doing this. The implications for people and organisations are staggering. |
Appraisal |
This suggests several alternative ways to appraise staff and a process for managing this.
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Appreciation |
Genuine appreciation is a simple and powerful way to develop and motivate staff |
Attention! |
Attention is wonderful to receive and rewarding to give, but there is not much of it around in our busy lives and work. This gives a few ideas about how to give and have more. |
Authenticity |
This article is about the power of being authentic and the impact we can have just by being ourselves. |
Appreciative Inquiry by Kendi Rossy |
This describes a very positive and energising way to manage change that starts from what is working well to help people build their future together.
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Building Effective Relationships that Work |
This describes what we can do that will build relationships that work and what to avoid. These principles are universal and apply in and out of work. |
Building the Organisation Team |
How to build teamwork in an organisation within and between teams.
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Building understanding between groups |
This design helped three interest groups in Education understand each other better and have an open discussion. |
Change management questions and answers |
This answers some questions on managing change raised by a change manager.
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Civility at Work by Tom Terez |
This contains twenty simple things anyone can do to make work more enjoyable and more effective.
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Coaching |
Brief note on the how and why of coaching.
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Coconsulting |
This is a very simple, quick and effective way for people to help each other. It will improve effectiveness and morale and stop problems escalating. |
Coping with change |
Brief notes on how to cope with and manage change.
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Coconsulting - introduction |
This introduces people quickly to the practice of "coconsulting". Two people take equal turns listening to and supporting each other. The introductory session can be both rewarding and great fun.
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Conference using Appreciative Inquiry |
This conference used appreciative inquiry to help people develop their team working, learning and customer service. It was positive and successful. |
Conference Design |
How to design and facilitate a rewarding conference
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Counselling Skills Workshop |
A small multidisciplinary group of managers learned counselling skills to help their subordinates develop and build their team. They also built their own team. |
Creative Organisation |
This gives some ideas on what makes an organisation creative and how personal and organisation development can help.
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Developing the plateauxed manager |
This gives some ideas on how to develop the older manager who may feel or be stuck in her/his career. It also discusses alternative career paths to the conventional "vertical" one.
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Developmental Culture |
This describes some of the features of an ideal culture to support development and some things you can do to create one.
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Design of Learning Events - Principles |
This describes the principles that lead to effective learning events such as away days or courses.
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Developmental Meetings |
A developmental meeting is a meeting to think about how to do things better. This describes how to run one effectively. |
Eliminating work |
Much of the work people do in organisations is unnecessary. This gives a few practical ways to reduce this waste.
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Extending Team Building |
Have you considered building team work between pairs of people or within systems. Both can produce good results. |
Feelings at work |
People's feelings can stop them doing effective work. Sharing feelings effectively can transform blocked situations quickly and dramatically. |
Guide for managers - Practical ways for managers to develop their people. |
This guide describes simple practical activities, in bullet points, that managers can use to develop their people.
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Guide to team working-Practical ways to help your teams work better |
This guide describes simple practical activities that managers can use to help their teams develop.
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How to have more effective meetings? |
This gives some simple ideas you can use straightaway to make your regular meetings more effective. |
Idea Ping Pong - a simple way to get ideas to flow |
This is a very simple way and effective way to generate good ideas. It works well in pairs or very small groups |
Influencing Skills |
These are the vital skills we all need to gain the co-operation of others in the long term.
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Large Group Development Day |
This article describes the structure, process, planning, what happened and the outcomes of a development day for a large administration department.
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Levels of human communication |
There are five levels of communication that people use. We overuse being critical and judgemental and underuse sharing feelings. Sharing feelings helps us solve problems. |
Listening |
Listening is one the most valuable, rare and underrated social skill there is. It is a vital skill for managing and motivating people. |
Managing Change |
These notes outline some principles and practices that have been found to help with the practical management of change.
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Managing Conflict |
This shows five ways to manage conflict and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
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Managing Conflict - Tools and Techniques |
This gives tools and techniques for managing and resolving conflict, with some stories to illustrate them. |
Managing large meetings |
This describes a controlled and supportive process for handling a large meeting. This provides the efficiency of large meetings and the effective interaction of small ones
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Managing Time |
This describes how organisational culture and personal preferences affect the way we manage time. It also gives some practical ways to do it better.
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Meeting for support |
How senior people with different needs and interests can work together and help each other. |
Practical ways to resolve conflict |
With appropriate tools you can handle conflict so well it can lead to magnificent creativity and growth. |
Profiling for Excellence |
"Profiling" is a systematic method for discovering what excellent performers do that gives them the edge. When you know this, development and recruitment decisions become much easier.
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Puzzles, Problems and Predicaments |
This describes three classes of issue, mechanical, emotional and spiritual and suggests ways to resolve them.
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Releasing Creativity |
This has some simple ideas about how to help people be more creative at work. |
Rules of thumb for change agents |
This is a classic article by Herb Shepard. It gives some powerful and clear thoughts about how to get change to happen effectively |
Secretaries or PA's and Managers Workshop |
This helps managers and their secretaries or PA's work together better as a team. You can use this method for other pair relationships in an organisation. |
Setting Clear Boundaries by Lee Hogan |
People expect us to stand up for our rights and to clearly express our needs. They have more respect for us, research shows, and they learn very fast how to treat us.
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Setting Priorities |
This provides a mechanism for thinking about personal and group priorities. Then you can concentrate your energy most productively.
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Shared faiths response to the credit crunch |
A wise and clear report of an interfaith approach to the credit crunch. Very strong on "Wealth is more than money". |
Strategic Relationship Building |
This a very simple way to build trust and co-operation between the top people in very different organisations who have to work together. |
Team Building between Groups |
These methods can help to build understanding between groups that may otherwise stereotype each other unhelpfully. |
Supportive Organisation |
How to create effective co-operation throughout an organisation.
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Team Building between Teams |
How to create teamwork between teams. |
Team Discipline in Meetings |
Disciplined team meetings are more effective and more enjoyable. Simple structures, rules and skills help. |
Team Objectives |
Once a team has developed a vision and purpose, it can be used as a basis for creating team objectives.
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Team of Two |
Much of the business of an organisation takes place between pairs of people. These interactions can be positive and developing or frustrating and destructive. You can improve them using this simple tool.
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Team Vision and Purpose |
Building your team requires strategy, planning and time. Creating a shared vision and purpose will help you to focus your energy and get results. |
Teams in the real world |
This links to a model which illustrates the internal and external relationships of a team. |
Ten questions to help you think about managing time |
Ten questions to help managers save time by doing less work, especially useless work. |
Time Planning |
This is a simple way to think about the major demands on your time and how to handle them |
Time Planning Maps |
The maps help you become more aware of what you want to do with your time and where you could get some help.
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Vision Building |
A common vision in a company releases energy for co-operation towards the achievement of a common goal. These notes give some ideas on how to create one.
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Work laundry. How to do more of the work we love that makes a difference and get rid of the rubbish. |
This can help people in organisations concentrate on those activities that are most rewarding, life affirming, creative and contribute to the long-term well being of the firm and the wider society. Part of this is about getting rid of dross and avoiding making low value work for each other.
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Work goals map |
The things you do and think today help create the work world you live in tomorrow. A simple mapping tool can help have your work more the way you want it.
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The wider system |
All teams have critical interactions with other teams and individuals. Some of these are outside the organisation. |