| Course DescriptionThis course is designed to increase your capacity to have a positive managerial impact within KCTCS and increase your sphere of influence. It is not a course to teach you about Appreciative Inquiry, collaboration and management; it is more like a practicum to build your understanding and expertise in the management practices that generate full engagement, collaboration, and accountability. In keeping with this, instead of an 18-hour management course condensed into three days, it is an 18-hour management course spread over six months.
The course format supports the implementation of new knowledge and new skills through daily practice, inviting you to accomplish your work in different ways. You should find these practices save you time and effort while they build strong relationships among your team. This mixed media learning course includes on-site training, bi-monthly 30-minute webinars, discussion, teamwork, reading, and practice. All sessions will be highly experiential and engage you in provocative discussions and practical applications of new ideas. You will be challenged to see from different perspectives, increase your curiosity, and to implement new procedures that increase efficiency, effectiveness, and collaboration. Required Reading Following my commitment to honor your busy work schedule, there is limited required reading for the course. A short reading assignment may be emailed to you the week before each webinar. Any reading will also be posted in the Library on our Web-Ex classroom LINK. Additional articles, recommended books, links to videos and relevant websites are listed at the end of this syllabus as well as in our Web-Ex Library LINK. Required Materials and Equipment
On-Site Sessions: Please wear comfortable clothing and rubber-soled, closed toed shoes (like tennis shoes). Bring paper and pen and an Attitude of Inquiry! This part of the course is essential and it will be fun and provocative. Expect to be challenged, surprised, puzzled, and inspired. Webinars: You will need access to the Internet and … Kathy, I need you guys to specify exactly what’s needed here.
Recommended Reading Additional articles, recommended books, videos and website forums are listed at the end of this syllabus as well as on the Web-Ex Library LINK. Course Objectives and Content
This course will increase your capacity to influence staff engagement, accountability, and creativity as your team collaborates to achieve your department or division’s strategic outcomes and support the overall mission of KCTCS. Objectives:
Course Requirements: The lessons in this course build upon one another; therefore, it is important to attend sessions in the order listed on the syllabus and to practice each week’s lessons and engage in the required discussions sequentially. On-site Class: Two half-day morning sessions will provide the essential foundation upon which all other lessons are grounded. These two sessions are mandatory. Bi-monthly Webinars: 30-minute live webinars are offered twice each month. Managers may participate in the webinars at their desk, laptop while traveling, or with their cohort- any place with access to the Internet. Each webinar will consist of:
It is HIGHLY recommended that you attend all of these webinars as live sessions since discussion and Q&A are part of the 30-minute session. It is understandable that there may be an occasional unavoidable conflict with a session. When this occurs, you can view the missed webinar in the Recorded Section of our webinar classroom. Questions can be emailed to me or you can call me. Attendance at a minimum of 75% of the live webinars is required for certification. Recorded webinars must be viewed within a couple of days of the live session so that you have time to practice that week’s lesson before the next webinar. Practice: In between each webinar, you will have the opportunity to practice new ways of working based upon the lesson. After each session there will be specific opportunities/ assignments for the next two weeks. These might be challenging but not difficult. You should find them highly rewarding! Cohorts: You will have the opportunity to learn from, support, coach, and inspire one another through one of two cohort practices-meetings or discussion board. Taking just a few minutes at least every other day to reflect and share how these new practices are impacting you and your team is an essential part of expanding your capacity and that of your colleagues. Feel free to participate in both if you want! (a) Cohort Meetings: For those of you who enjoy getting together with others to talk about your experiences or ask questions, make a plan to meet for coffee or lunch 2-3 times a week (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday). These don’t have to be long meetings, but they should be genuine reflections. A minimum of two meetings per week is required for certification. (b) Discussion Board: For the more introverted managers there is discussion board! Your posts should reflect genuine practice and commitment to one another. A minimum of 3 posts per week is required for certification. Staff Feedback and Exceptional Modeling: The fastest way to grow and build relationships is to ask for feedback. Appreciative Inquiry is a delightful way to request feedback. Once each month you’ll have the opportunity to solicit feedback from your staff (and other colleagues, if you choose). The questions you will ask will speak specifically to your personal goals for this course. You’ll be asking staff for high points, times in the last month when you were succeeding at your goal(s) and how that success impacted their work and engagement with the overall department/division. You’ll also be asking them for specific ideas about what they valued about the way you were managing. Finally, you’ll ask them for suggestions for what else you might do to further your success in meeting your goal(s). Final Report Your final assignment will be to reflect on your 6-month journey. You’ll have the opportunity to do your own personal reflection and to review feedback from your staff and colleagues. You will compile a list of changes you’ve made, results of these changes, and a personal statement about your sense of competence as a manager. Certification At the beginning of the course, you will establish your personal goals for your own management practice along with your commitment to your self and your colleagues in achieving your goals. At the end of the course, you and your colleagues will reflect on your efforts and progress towards your goals. Certification requires full participation in the course, feedback from your colleagues, and your own reflection in achieving your goals:
General Guidelines
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Tag Archives: expert on call
Inquiry Based Leadership
Developed with Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS)
 Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) has embraced the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process as a planning tool for moving our organization forward. Appreciative Inquiry is the study and exploration of what gives life to human systems when they function at their best. Within KCTCS , individuals from each college and the System Office (SO) have been trained to facilitate activities using the appreciative process; AI has been successfully used with the 2010-16 KCTCS Strategic Planning Process; KCTCS leadership, including the President’s Leadership Team and the KCTCS Board of Regents, have been trained in the Appreciative Inquiry 5-D (Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver) Process. Collectively, hundreds of KCTCS employees have participated in Appreciative Inquiry activities.
In an effort to immerse Appreciative Inquiry as a planning tool across KCTCS, an opportunity is being created for SO managers and supervisors. As a group that is critical to the overall success of KCTCS becoming AI, employees are invited to enhance their core interpersonal skills, learn additional techniques to manage change and innovation, increase the positive impact they have on KCTCS, and investigate new methods to manage performance. Two Programs: Creating our Future Together with Inquiry-Based Management Creating our Future Together with Appreciative Inquiry Programs Includes: Two days of on-site introduction to Appreciative Inquiry and 6 months of coaching. Coaching will be provided to teams in the form of 30 minute live webinar sessions that are scheduled bi-weekly. These coaching session will enable teams to increase the practice of Appreciative Inquiry in their daily work. |
| Program Facilitator: Cheri Torres |
 What might be possible if community and organization members were fully engaged and using their strengths to collectively achieve shared visions?
This is the question that motivates Cheri Torres and has her focused on collaboration. Given current global challenges, Cheri uses strengths-based organizational design practices to help clients respond effectively to increasing levels of complexity in their environments and growing demand for innovation and change. Her strategy is to expand collaborative capacity in communities and organizations using Appreciative Inquiry, Sociotechnical Systems Design, and Experiential Learning. She does this by partnering with her clients to intentionally design workplace environments, multi-stakeholder conversations, organizational systems and individual and team training to maximize value for all stakeholders. Her experience has taught her that systems and events that are intentionally designed for collaboration elicit our inherent collaborative capacity, regardless of our differences in background, views, or values. Expanding that capacity through lessons and intentional practice leads to increasing competence in thinking and working together with joy and creativity, resulting in sustainable innovation and ever-evolving excellence. |
Webinar FAQs
| What is a webinar?(Two definitions are found below)From Wikipedia: “Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings, training, or presentations via the Internet.In the early years of the Internet, the terms “web conferencing” was often used to describe a group discussion in a message board and therefore not live. The term has evolved to refer specifically to live or “synchronous” meetings”. From Webopedia “Short for Web-based seminar, a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the web. A key feature of a Webinar is its interactive elements — the ability to give, receive and discuss information. Contrast with Webcast, in which the data transmission is one way and does not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience.” What are the benefits of a webinar? Cost-Effective: No travel required. An engaging way to provide your team with a variety of professional development opportunities for one low price! WE encourage teams of five to seven to participate in any one webinar. This is an ideal number of people to collaborate on projects and further the learning with practical application on the job or at home. Webinar participants log into the webinar site with a username and password sent via email; we will send you information about the webinar via email approximately 2 days prior to the presentation. Once logged in, you are able to see the PowerPoint slides, ask questions and make comments via chat. For the audio portion, participants call in using a toll-free number. Is there a recording available? We do record some of our webinars. If your webinar has been recorded, you will receive a link to the recording approximately one week after the recording along with the log-in information. What equipment is required? A phone line and a computer with an Internet connection will be required to participate in the webinar. If there will be a large group present, we recommend Presenter phone and a LCD projector or large monitor to project the webinar easily for the entire team. How will I use these webinars? Self-Improvement: The webinars provide real-world experience to improve your skills whether you are unemployed, underemployed, seeking a job promotion or want to increase your ability to work with others. |
The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Students
Overview:
Designed For:Faculty, staff, counselors, advisers, and anyone who works directly with students. Learning Outcomes:Participants will gain insights into the viability of the Covey approach for achieving improved self-discipline and accountability among their students.
Materials Required:
Facilitator Bio:Your facilitator, Richard E. Lyons, has served as a professor of management, department chair, instructional dean, corporate trainer, faculty and staff developer, and independent consultant. His grounding in sound research and quality management practices, as well as deep learning from his varied experiences, has enabled him to exceed expectations of clients systematically.… More> Additional Information:To learn more about the price, availability, or to register for this webinar, please click here Space is limited, guarantee yourself a spot today! |
Since the publication of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989, the work of Stephen Covey has enabled millions to move from dependency on others, to independence, and on to interdependence. With his first book, and the 2004 sequel The 8th Habit serving as the foundation, this lively webinar provides valuable applications to today’s college and university students. Having employed Covey’s work in his leadership courses and workshops, Dr. Lyons has attained widespread feedback from students and faculty alike confirming the value of these proven habits.Business Roundtable Launches Broad-based Commission to Address Needs of American Workers
| The Springboard Project will recommend how to best equip the current and future U.S. workforce for success in the post-recession economy
Washington, D.C. – Today Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations, announced the launch of The Springboard Project – an independent commission that will develop innovative approaches to help American workers acquire the new skills and the education needed to thrive in the 21st century’s evolving labor market. The commission, which will bring together a diverse group of education and business leaders, labor experts, union chiefs, academics, foundation heads and government representatives, is holding its first meeting today in Washington, D.C. “Given the transformations in the current economy and the long-term impact they will have, this is the moment for business and government to join forces with labor and the online community to make sure that our workforce has the training and resources to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace,” said William D. Green, chairman & CEO of Accenture and chairman of The Springboard Project. “I am looking forward to working with such an esteemed and talented set of experts to tackle the unique challenges the American worker faces today and will continue to face even after the recession passes.” Today’s meeting will officially kick off The Springboard Project’s nine-month mandate to develop innovative and feasible recommendations to the Obama administration, Congress, the private sector, labor and individuals. “American business leaders are optimistic about the future of our economy and the long-term prospects of American workers,” said Harold McGraw III, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. “America’s talented workforce and strong history of innovation have helped us overcome economic hardship before, and we have assembled some of the nation’s best minds to help identify practical and productive ways to ensure today’s workers are equipped to help us succeed again.” The Springboard Project will:
The Springboard Project will issue its recommendations at the end of 2009. More information about The Springboard Project can be found at www.businessroundtable.org/springboard. ————————————————————————————————————————————————— |
The New Untouchables
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Last summer I attended a talk by Michelle Rhee, the dynamic chancellor of public schools in Washington. Just before the session began, a man came up, introduced himself as Todd Martin and whispered to me that what Rhee was about to speak about — our struggling public schools — was actually a critical, but unspoken, reason for the Great Recession. There’s something to that. While the subprime mortgage mess involved a huge ethical breakdown on Wall Street, it coincided with an education breakdown on Main Street — precisely when technology and open borders were enabling so many more people to compete with Americans for middle-class jobs. In our subprime era, we thought we could have the American dream — a house and yard — with nothing down. This version of the American dream was delivered not by improving education, productivity and savings, but by Wall Street alchemy and borrowed money from Asia. A year ago, it all exploded. Now that we are picking up the pieces, we need to understand that it is not only our financial system that needs a reboot and an upgrade, but also our public school system. Otherwise, the jobless recovery won’t be just a passing phase, but our future. “Our education failure is the largest contributing factor to the decline of the American worker’s global competitiveness, particularly at the middle and bottom ranges,” argued Martin, a former global executive with PepsiCo and Kraft Europe and now an international investor. “This loss of competitiveness has weakened the American worker’s production of wealth, precisely when technology brought global competition much closer to home. So over a decade, American workers have maintained their standard of living by borrowing and overconsuming vis-à-vis their real income. When the Great Recession wiped out all the credit and asset bubbles that made that overconsumption possible, it left too many American workers not only deeper in debt than ever, but out of a job and lacking the skills to compete globally.” This problem will be reversed only when the decline in worker competitiveness reverses — when we create enough new jobs and educated workers that are worth, say, $40-an-hour compared with the global alternatives. If we don’t, there’s no telling how “jobless” this recovery will be. A Washington lawyer friend recently told me about layoffs at his firm. I asked him who was getting axed. He said it was interesting: lawyers who were used to just showing up and having work handed to them were the first to go because with the bursting of the credit bubble, that flow of work just isn’t there. But those who have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work were being retained. They are the new untouchables. That is the key to understanding our full education challenge today. Those who are waiting for this recession to end so someone can again hand them work could have a long wait. Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive. Therefore, we not only need a higher percentage of our kids graduating from high school and college — more education — but we need more of them with the right education. As the Harvard University labor expert Lawrence Katz explains it: “If you think about the labor market today, the top half of the college market, those with the high-end analytical and problem-solving skills who can compete on the world market or game the financial system or deal with new government regulations, have done great. But the bottom half of the top, those engineers and programmers working on more routine tasks and not actively engaged in developing new ideas or recombining existing technologies or thinking about what new customers want, have done poorly. They’ve been much more exposed to global competitors that make them easily substitutable.” Those at the high end of the bottom half — high school grads in construction or manufacturing — have been clobbered by global competition and immigration, added Katz. “But those who have some interpersonal skills — the salesperson who can deal with customers face to face or the home contractor who can help you redesign your kitchen without going to an architect — have done well.” Just being an average accountant, lawyer, contractor or assembly-line worker is not the ticket it used to be. As Daniel Pink, the author of “A Whole New Mind,” puts it: In a world in which more and more average work can be done by a computer, robot or talented foreigner faster, cheaper “and just as well,” vanilla doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top. So our schools have a doubly hard task now — not just improving reading, writing and arithmetic but entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Bottom line: We’re not going back to the good old days without fixing our schools as well as our banks. ———————————————————————————————————————————————- Friedman, Thomas L. “The New Untouchables.” Nytimes.com. New York Times, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21friedman.html>. |
Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry
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Strategic Planning Using Appreciative Inquiry
Overview:
Designed For:Professionals involved in the following areas: business, education, government, health-care, human services, non-profit organizations, and management and organizational development consultants. Learning Outcomes:Developing Your Organization’s Next Strategic Plan with Appreciative Inquiry will provide executive teams and planning committees an overview of how Appreciative Inquiry works and answer key questions, such as:
Material / Technical Requirements:
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Appreciative Inquiry is an approach to planning and positive change that has been used successfully in communities and organizations all around the world. It is broad-based, highly participative, and energizing. It builds new skills in colleagues and staff, develops new leaders, encourages a culture of inquiry, and helps create shared vision and purpose for your organization by building on your organization’s core values and strengths. Perhaps most importantly-it leads to action, commitment, and results.Richard Lyons
Richard E. Lyons has served as a professor of management, department chair, instructional dean, corporate trainer, faculty and staff developer, and independent consultant. His grounding in sound research and quality management practices, as well as deep learning from his varied experiences, has enabled him to exceed expectations of clients systematically. Richard launched his consulting and presentation practice in 1999, shortly after the publication of his first book, The Adjunct Professor’s Guide to Success. He has since authored three other books – Teaching College in an Age of Accountability, Success Strategies for Adjunct Faculty, and Best Practices for Supporting Adjunct Faculty. His extensive research on these topics and familiarity with best practices that align with that research undergird his consulting. The strategies that he espouses have been well received not only by clients, but also by audiences in dozens of presentations at varied academic conferences. Richard has presented on the campuses of community and state colleges, universities and proprietary institutions, in three countries. Besides traditional institutions, these have included historically Black colleges and universities, historically women’s institutions, and those that serve significant populations of Native American, Hispanic and other diverse populations. He also regularly utilizes webinars to deepen workshop participants’ mastery of critical learning outcomes. His travel experiences in over forty countries enable him to address issues in a global, futuristic context – a factor of increasing importance at many institutions. Active throughout his career in professional organizations, Richard presently serves on the board of the North American Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development [NCSPOD]. Richard earned his B.A. in Management and M.S. in Business Education at Western Kentucky University, and his doctorate in college teaching and curriculum at the University of Central Florida. |
Specialties:
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