In our personal and professional lives many of us exert a great deal of effort attempting to maintain order rather than to change. For many, change tips us off balance and threatens our need for control.
Living systems continually self-organize to adapt and respond to feedback and change. Rather than trying to take control over change, we can learn to engage in a relationship with change and better navigate the unpredictable.
Creating a collaborative culture
Creating a collaborative culture requires changing the conversations by which people interact and the structures that shape these interactions. Collaboration improves as people shift their mind-set (or mental models) from one of control to one of learning.
A culture of innovation is necessary for companies to actively respond to customer needs and expectations. Innovation improves as we give up our preconceived ideas of what the solutions should be in order to find what truly meets and surpasses customer expectations.
Relationships are primary
“Ownership, the emotional investment of employees, describes a personal connection to the organization — the powerful emotions of belonging that inspire people to contribute. It is the participation process that makes the plan come alive as a personal reality. People can commit themselves because it has become real for them. Participation, ownership, subjective data — each organizational insight returns me to a central truth — relationships are primary.” — Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world
We help you develop the conditions for collaboration and innovation to emerge — a safe space to learn how to jump barriers, experiment with new ideas and celebrate failures.
When the whole system is working in unison, you’ll find new energy, confidence and passion for curiosity, play and joy. Contact us today.
Recent client challenges
- “How can I encourage people to take ownership of their work?”
- “I have an important position to fill. How can I do this differently? Help me decide the strengths to look for.”
- “How can we improve our collaboration? How can I encourage people to be innovative?”
- “How do we find the time to do team building? …the work we need to do?”
- “We’ve tried to correct this problem more than once, with little or no success.”
Organizational change work
- Organization renewal & reinvention
- Developing a customer-focused culture
Executive coaching and team training
- Support courageous leadership
- Improve collaboration and creativity
- Engage the strengths of each individual
- Designing meetings that work
- Listening for customer insight
- One-on-one coaching
Resources
- Change and transition resources
- Creativity resources
- Leadership resources
- Systems thinking resources
“Insightful questions at poignant moments were elegant and simple, surfacing the issue without surfacing the drama, never confronting a person and yet always personally challenging. Paul’s questions were open allowing each of us to find our own space in exploring what had been asked. His questions were timely, patiently delivered and asked with what I perceived was a true sense of wonder (and often delight).” — Project design team member
