| Been a loooong year,” sang John Lennon, as the music faded away on the last track of his 1975 album Rock’n’Roll. This December we know what he meant.
It has been a year of high anxiety. Good news has usually been followed by bad, making it hard (and unwise) to believe that the worst was over. For those who had never experienced it, bumping along the bottom has become a meaningful concept. But let’s not slump into excessive end-of-year doom. Looking ahead, here are three ideas to help business leaders have a happier time in 2010. Having realised there was a problem, Commissioner Kelly took action. Four years ago, NYPD established its Real Time Crime Center, a 24-hour, seven-day data warehouse that provides information and support to detectives who are investigating violent crime. Information is delivered to them at the crime scene. Clear-up rates and speed of operation have both improved significantly. This is what managing with “analytics” can do for you. Successful companies – Google, Amazon, Tesco, Netflix – have got terrifically smart at extracting the right amount of relevant data from their businesses, and making it work for them: finding unexpected, unseen patterns in customer behaviour, and exploiting them. In 2010, it will be time to get serious about managing proliferating data more intelligently. But don’t spend all your time poring over the stuff, because idea number two is going to require putting the spreadsheets down and getting out of the office … When I asked the chief executive of the global recruitment business Manpower, Jeffrey Joerres, about his management style recently, he spoke eloquently about the need to get out of the office and meet people face to face. Being a leader involves a lot more than just sending e-mails and “gazing at charts”, he said. “We are a company of do-ers, and if you have this big chasm between executives and [staff], you have no idea what the challenges are.” Increasingly, the gurus tell us, strategy is execution. In other words, it’s how you do things that matters. Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, gets it. In a speech at the US military academy West Point two weeks ago, he argued forcefully that business leaders have lost their way. “We are at the end of a difficult generation of business leadership, and maybe leadership in general,” he said. “Tough- mindedness, a good trait, was replaced by meanness and greed, both terrible traits … rewards became perverted,” he added. Large sections of Mr Immelt’s speech could have been written by Ken and Will Hopper, authors of one the most important business books of the past decade, The Puritan Gift. Indeed, in it they salute the GE boss as their kind of leader. The Hoppers’ book emphasises “the importance of a good managerial culture in determining the nature and direction of any society”, as Will Hopper puts it. Good managers master their craft, while also possessing what Mr Immelt calls “domain knowledge” – that is, they know what they are doing in their specific discipline. If only bankers had been better at banking, how much happier we would all be. It has been a long year. With hard work, and after drawing on these ideas, next year could be better. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Resources: Stern, Stefan. “How to Raise Your Game in 2010.” Ft.com. Financial Times, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 2 Jan. 2010. |
Tag Archives: experts on call
Creating our Future Together Through Inquiry Based Management
| 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
|
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.Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry
|
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:
|
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.Online Workshop Feedback
We thank you for attending and participating in one of our online workshops. We value working with you and look forward to hearing from you. We have made this short – as we know how valuable your time is.
[SURVEYS 2]
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Webinar Feedback
We thank you for attending and participating in one of our webinars. We value working with you and look forward to hearing from you. We have made this short – as we know how valuable your time it.
[SURVEYS 1]
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Supervisor Workshop Series
Designed For:
Perfect for new, experienced, and future supervisors. This is a skills based series led by experienced facilitators. Successful organizations recognize the need to hire and talented supervisors and employees
Looking to meet the challenges of the future? These workshops will give you the skills you need for today and tomorrow.
Purpose:
This workshop series provides an opportunity for supervisors to begin a journey toward combining a solid foundation of knowledge along with the skills development taught in this workshop to position you to meet today’s challenges and be ahead of the rapidly changing work environment.
Our Supervisor Series consists of workshops (30 hours of training*) that are facilitator-led, interactive, and engaging. Each workshop in this series may be taken separately. Once you have participated in 30 hours of training and completed the Action Plan Portfolio, you will receive a Supervisor Certification.
* Each workshop in the Supervisor Series is 3 hours each except for the Action Plan Portfolio which is 6 hours
Workshop Series Includes:
- Communication
- Maintaining good labor relations is not an optional requirement for a supervisor; it is how work gets done and how others perceive you. Learn how to develop and maintain relationships in union and non-union environments. Technology and the use of social media has changed how we interact and communicate. Do you feel like a Word Processor in an IPOD world? Learning to communicate in a multi-generational organization and engaging in new methods of communication are essential for your success.
- Employee Relations
- Maintaining good labor relations is not an optional requirement for a supervisor; it is how work gets done and how others perceive you. Learn how to develop and maintain relationships in union and non-union environments.
- Keep it Legal
- A safe and friendly working environment is good for morale and increases loyalty and productivity. Issues arise in the workplace all of the time. Learn the skills to keep yourself and your company risk free; identify potential problems; investigate complaints; be proactive; and take appropriate action when necessary.
- Managing Professional Relationships
- Successful relationships are essential to any effort to create sustainable change and ongoing improvement, yet they are often an overlooked or undervalued element of a supervisor’s responsibilities. Participants learn essential skills for developing and maintaining successful relationships.
- Motivating and Keeping Talent
- Hiring and motivating talent is a key part of any supervisors’ job. Learn the skills to encourage individual and team success and to build self-esteem and motivate employees.
- Supporting Change
- Change and its impact on employees and organizations is a fact. Supervisors learn the tools and techniques to lead change effectively in their work environment.
- Time Management
- Understand how your personality affects the way you manage your time. Techniques to manage your time and cultivate your interests and talents.
- Action Plan Portfolio
- Develop a work project to implement on the job is the outcome of the completion of these workshops. We offer guidance and coaching to achieve your intended outcomes.
Materials Required:
This workshop may require books, materials, online assessments, or the use of proprietary software which typically will be included in the cost of the workshop.
Customize Your Training:
Company of Experts, Inc. delivers its workshops in a variety of ways: on-site, hybrid, or online; providing users with the option to decide which learning method works best for their organization and/or individual.
If you would like to have this workshop on-site, please email Kathy at Kathy@CompanyofExperts.net to find out how easy and affordable this program is.
Space is limited, guarantee yourself a spot today!
