The artefacts of organisational culture
February 17, 2016
The Senior Citizen’s Clubrooms where I was running a workshop seemed to have every nook and cranny plastered with small, and some not so small, laminated signs issuing instructions of what NOT to do or specifically how to act. It struck me at the time, as the sort of club I would want to avoid. […]
Read moreChange your meetings, change your culture
February 1, 2016
1st of February – it’s when the new year ‘really’ starts here in Australia. The kids are back at school, most people are back at work, we’re all planning our next holiday…the weather is great. It really does feel like the new work year has properly begun. And you’re stuck in a meeting! Johnnie Moore […]
Read moreHow to start meetings on time
September 2, 2015
I’m asked this question a lot. Meetings start late, and run over time. It becomes the norm, expected even. Everyone knows, and everyone compensates in their own way – generally turning up late. It becomes part of the way the organisation operates. If this is true for your organisation, or your group, there’s an easy […]
Read moreHow to do more of what works
October 15, 2014
Funny how things come together sometimes – an online course about decision-making in complexity and uncertainty, a book about being an astronaut, a workshop on social labs, and an exhibition on making animated movies. I didn’t plan it this way, it just happened, and now I have something to write about. I’m reading Chris Hadfield’s […]
Read moreLanguage matters
September 24, 2014
It matters more than you think. The language we use reveals a lot. The language I use as a facilitator reveals a lot about me (so much so that Sascha Rixon did a whole PhD on facilitation language) and the language you use can be like an open door, welcoming me into your world, or […]
Read moreListen up. R U OK?
September 10, 2012
Some of us are better at noticing than others. Facilitators get a lot of practice at noticing. Noticing is not the same as knowing. I might notice someone frowning, but that doesn’t mean I know the reason why. I need to ask, and there needs to be enough trust for the person to answer honestly. […]
Read moreHi. Why do you do what you do?
April 7, 2012
Imagine if this is what we said to each other when we met for the first time? Imagine if we were able to answer the why, instead of defaulting to what? My friend Andrew Suttar has been exploring this and sharing it around The Hub in Melbourne. I’m thankful to him for challenging my thinking. […]
Read moreGood advice
August 31, 2011
Two things caught me eye in the newspaper this week. Sarah Wilson was writing about trusting the process. She was referring to the creative process – the sometimes messy, unconnected, seemingly random process that we go through when being creative. The secret? Just start. Good advice. And the other was an interview with Eva Cox, […]
Read moreAre you trying to win, or succeed?
August 14, 2011
Let’s say you have an idea. A great idea. And you want your work colleagues to know about it. There’s a meeting coming up where you might get a chance to share your great idea. What does winning mean to you? What about success? Are they they same thing? Many of us wouldn’t give a […]
Read moreExploring the edges of the way we work
August 4, 2011
I’ve started a little research project to explore the edges of how we work. When facilitating workshops with many different groups and organisations, there is sometimes a disconnect between what people want to do and how it is expected to be done. Approaches that were once just fine are now struggling in the face of […]
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