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| Challenge: New CIO in a large financial institution determined to move in an entirely new strategic direction. As changes were being introduced and resistance encountered, an organizational culture of alignment and acceptance was needed. |
Solution:
Process: An organizational alignment project, entitled The Champion Within, was undertaken in the Systems and Technology division. Everyone in this 2500 person technology division took part in this initiative. It started with the senior management team and eventually rolled out to all team members. In the Discovery phase, the current operating culture profile revealed an organization still in shock from recent downsizing and cost containment and unable to support the very aggressive goals for market growth that the Business units were pursuing. Each level in the organization took part in the roll out of the Champion Within process as an intact team. During each session, the culture results were presented prior to each leader receiving either their Leadership Impact report or each team member self scoring their own Life Styles Inventory. This is done deliberately so that people feel compelled to consider changing their individual attitudes and behaviors in order to create the constructive culture needed to support their strategic plan. The Group Styles Inventory was then used after a simulation to allow the intact teams to gauge their team effectiveness and to then begin the action planning necessary to align their team performance with the organization’s vision.
Results:
- Creative ideas flowed.
- The hiring profile for managers changed from a focus on task management only to a balance of task and people management skills.
- Other results included a 10% increase in cost savings per annum and an increase of 33% in on- time project deadlines and a very successful story in client satisfaction.
- The internal IT department became the vendor of choice of the business units who now are less inclined to use outside consulting firms as their technology providers.
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| Challenge: Leadership team at Health Authority experiencing challenges in leading change initiatives. Experiencing policy issues, increased stress, missed deadlines and issues within the leadership team. With teams assuming increasingly more responsibility for problem solving and decision making, it’s good business to be sure they have what it takes to get the job done. it requires paying careful, focused attention to what makes a team successful, including the interaction styles that emerge as members work together to accomplish a task. Assessing these styles enables the team to determine what’s working and what’s not, as well as how to improve overall performance—for sustainable gains in results and outcomes. |
| Solution: Retreat with leadership team including exploring leadership team efforts through use of simulation and the Group Styles Inventory, articulating an ideal culture, identifying attitudes and behaviours currently rewarded, and exploring team leadership systems for navigating and sustaining change by tapping into existing practices and experiences and exploring new avenues, leaving with specific individual and team plans. |
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Challenge:
Leadership Training -- Ministry of Education – Jamaica (2005) Served as key personnel on site in Jamaica in designing and implementing the Management Training Program for 180 top personnel of the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education restructuring all departments and service delivery, creating new structures while reducing number of positions. Program instituted for senior officials and senior school administrators in navigating and leading change. Judith’s responsibilities included enabling personal mastery to integrate vision and developing realistic goals and strategies that allow navigating change and staff development. Develop leadership skills so that individuals actively take a higher degree of responsibility, are motivated by values, are more likely to see possibilities and opportunities, and to identify and develop realistic long-term goals. A series of interactive seminars and Open Space Technology were used as processes. |
Solution:
Design curriculum, learning material, and deliver leadership, organizational behaviour and conflict resolution programs as well as harvesting best practices, as part of award winning program. Deliver program to senior officials in Kingston, Christiana and Montego Bay areas. Design support materials for additional on-line learning.
Outcomes included:
A group of Ministry leaders who have examined the process of developing and managing effective schools in an international comparative framework.
A culture of instructional leadership and school administration operating to improve classroom practices and curriculum implementation.
A culture of positive relationships between Ministry officials and schools to effectively support the achievement of each school’s mission.
A group of leaders with increased and relevant technological skills and knowledge applicable in improving effective school leadership and the creation of a positive learning culture in the school context. An effective leadership training curriculum that can be made operational effectively. |
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| Challenge: A manager identified a problem area that she believes is significantly influencing performance and requests help in developing a definition of what the problem is, why solving it is important to the organization and some suggestions on approaches which could be used for resolving the problem. |
| Solution: Interview manager to begin to develop plan and create trust in a short time frame. Set up schedule for coaching, assist in developing vision and goals, through the art of vision-based diagnosis, which draws both on one's intellect and one's intuition. Collaboratively set up framework to support a successful collaborative coaching initiative, guiding an experienced public service manager to undergo personal growth as it relates to the challenges of leading herself and others through transition in a values-based public service. Coach client through agenda to achieving goals. On her initiative, her department took the lead on a training program, resulting in client receiving a reward. |
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| Challenge: (2003) State Medical Academy of Novosibirsk (Siberia) to assist in action oriented capacity building. |
| Solution: Conducted vision based diagnosis sessions at Academy, Open Space Technology sessions, participated in curriculum meeting, strategic planning, and developing curriculum. Coached Head of International Division in designing organizational strengthening for a system. |
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| Challenge: (2004) Jahangiry Family Foundation (Afghanistan/Canada) seeking assistance in rebuilding schools in Afghanistan, with a vision to bring books to children rather than guns. Project includes building of schools, training teachers, and enhancing existing curriculum, introducing League of Peaceful Schools, develop health centers in schools for students and teaching basic health to community. |
| Solution: Work on and with management team to clarify and articulate vision, liaison with governments of Afghanistan and Canada, develop concept paper required by World Bank, liaison with international organizations involved in completing project, project management. |
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| Challenge: A manager is seeking to design programs to assist transition in merger and seeks some coaching support to help finalize the approach to be used. |
| Solution: Interview manager to begin to develop plan and create trust in a short time frame. Determine current programs for incentive and ideas of corporate culture. Coach senior manager on strategies for obstacles through theory and role play. Develop the best coaching questions to use in corporate culture. Clarify values and interview techniques for accountability using appreciative inquiry to support emphasis on personal reflection, values and continuous learning in ambiguous or changing environments. Develop coaching action steps to facilitate the client’s agenda. |
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| Challenge: (2004) Canadian University Nursing Center of Excellence experiencing transition in certification of Nurses, students, faculty, and merging program with second institution desired to move to collaborative and collegial culture, self-directed and engaged staff, managers as “coaches” to improve performance and ease in transition. |
| Solution: Working with the Transition Group, we began the vision for this center of excellence with a Group Charter. The Group surveyed colleagues and held focus groups in the Centre regarding their concerns and issues and from this developed Standards and Indicators. The need to create a new culture in was evident from the input of the members of the Centre to the theme of Interpersonal Rapport. The next stage of identifying and implementing strategies to help move toward the Standards and Indicators, and to develop Strategies for Interpersonal Rapport was facilitated using a large group process of Open Space Technology. Twenty-three agenda items were generated. At the end of day two 12 Action Plans had been established, and priortization was done by the entire group. The Transition Group met to discuss forward movement of plans – overlap, delegation, involvement and resources. Developed executive team retreat and systems for moving forward. |
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| Challenge: As a result of discussions among many peacebuilders and peace educators in Canada, the Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace will be hosting an Open Space Conference with a theme: "Issues and Opportunities for a National Culture of Peace Program in Canada -- Canadian Peace Initiative ("CPI")". |
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| Challenge: International Department of Siberian Academy of Public Administration requested assistance in building on collaborative and participative work begun in 2003 to develop a transition strategy. |
| Solution: Provide Coaching and vision based diagnosis sessions with Head of International Department in Siberia. Explore implications of suggested transition plans. Ongoing coaching of Head of International Department in Siberia. |
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| Challenge: Organization going through ISO standards seeking to build team excellence. Discovered a need to work with the human element of change. |
| Solution: Team activities to mentor clarity, setting intention, and discover team standards and boundaries through games. We examined Argyris’ Ladder of Inference in communication and decision-making, Scharmer’s theory of Profound Innovation, and issues of choice. The group then explored organizational purpose based on values – assumptions that lead to behaviours and action. The group also explored the organizational life cycle, explored assumptions vs. agreements and highlighted, among other assumptions, that their clients assume they can make their businesses a success; we assume others have skills; and we assume shared understanding – all of which can lead to conflict. Used appreciative inquiry and strategic attraction plan to identify essential partnerships to make collective meaning and strategies. Set strategies to activate acquired knowledge into practice and integration. |
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| Challenge: Coastal Development Strategy initiatives had not moved forward. Provincial Tourism Association desired taking a lead, bring strategic stakeholders together to define a business case and move the initiative forward. |
Solution:
We approached this inquiry initially, for the first few hours of the morning, engaging in an “out of the box” process to emerge themes for the strategy. Using the mandate of
Create and advance a sustainable tourism development strategy for the Province’s coastline, groups will form to create strategies around a vision based diagnosis – adopting different lenses. In articulating where we are now and where we want to be in 30 years, we activate a gap. With a vision based diagnosis approach, participants generate a coherent, complete, and compelling picture of a future that naturally elicits action – energizing the change effort. Our work once we emerge these strategies is to generate an action plan calculated to close the gap.
We use this method:
To give those affected a ‘voice’ and a role to play in resolving the issues
To provide a supportive forum in which issues can be discussed, clarified and resolved
To strengthen relationships and build capacity in participants and your committee
To resolve issues in a timely and responsible fashion A frame of reference is an essential element in the ability to make sense out of the stimuli one’s senses register. One’s initial frame of reference is not the only possible one. This exercise invites us to think in multiple frames, adopt creativity, and use breakthrough thinking. We will then take what emerges from this initial vision based diagnosis session, build on themes, and begin to articulate strategy. Specific initiatives were also explored and expanded into an action plan. |
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| Challenge: Siberian/Canadian Work-Study Feasibility Tour. Participants from Novosibirsk State Medical Academy to tour educational institutions, national and provincial professional associations, hospitals and long-term care facilities to learn established practices and Canadian models of care, develop partnerships, explore curriculum and future projects to build capacity and professionalism of nurses in Siberia and Russia. |
| Solution: Identify issues in environment, nursing management, nursing research, eg nurses unskilled at pain management. Create and influence support informed decision-making, research, analyze issues and make recommendations. Respond to Government legislation, identify issues pertinent to nursing practice, respond to position paper from nursing and health care organizations. Meet with Russian Embassy in Ottawa (Canada) to outline project and receive indication of future assistance. Work with Associations to develop itinerary and contacts. Attract funding sources and funding. |
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| Challenge: Students in University Bachelor of Education Program experiencing conflict and confusion that disrupts learning. |
Solution:
Facilitate an Open Space Technology session where voices of difference, issues, opening to possibilities, and creating compelling visions could occur. Article found at: http://www.nstu.ca/pklot/AvisoSpring05.pdf (page 10) |
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| Challenge: 2004 18TH TOPSHEE MEMORIAL CONFERENCE People’s Globalization: The World WE Want. Bring all the voices into the room – honor wisdom in the room. |
| Solution: |
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| Challenge: Regional Diversity Advisory Council of the Canadian Federal Government desires to become more relevant to stakeholders and provide a direct channel for communication. |
| Solution: Aboriginal Network has caused a shift in the thinking of the Regional Diversity Advisory Council. The Regional Council were set up throughout DFO. The Employment Equity Program is in effect – it is built into the bureaucracy. RDAC was going through a period of exploring their existence and purpose. As the Aboriginal Network was emerging, the committee began to see themselves as a voice for the designated groups to reach upper management. A central place for networks to meet, share perspectives and ideas, challenges and aspirations. |
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| Challenge: Service business looking to transition from service provider to solutions provider and partner with clients in business and health. Leaders wish to enhance self-organizing capacity of staff, incorporating new level of management. Essential that form of coaching support existing organizational structure. |
| Solution: Coach leadership team in aspects of managing as a coach. Facilitate and train leaders, coordinators, associates, and staff in strategic attraction planning, building a culture of acknowledgement, business renewal, wealth consciousness, and performance management with a team approach. Individual and group coaching was undertaken to encourage cross-team understanding and participation, creating a pathway for how to make the change by setting a goal for innovation levels and assess current capacity. Counseled senior management team in their development and in response to sensitive human resources issues. The process presented for meeting these challenges was based on the fundamental belief that the most valuable knowledge about the team lies in the minds of the people within the team. Thus the job of the coach was not to supply answers but rather, through a series of individual coaching sessions with management, facilitating participatory monthly staff meetings on communication, limiting beliefs, relationship transformation, prosperous thinking, strategic attraction marketing, and specific experiential workshops, to take the team on a journey of discovery that invited the team to find the answers that were right for it. Once shared goals were articulated, teams and individuals were coached through articulating strategic plans to meet their goals. Senior management also coached in strengthening partnerships. Two things happened as the members of the team interacted with this previously hidden knowledge; the individuals grew and changed; and the individual springboards for change became aligned as the attitudes, understanding, and priorities of the individuals became aligned. In one month this business experienced an increase of 20% in both sales and service. |
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| Challenge: Member of senior leadership team experiencing overwhelm, missed deadlines and lack of focus. Other members of the team noticed leader was becoming rushed and unavailable. |
| Solution: Executive Coaching assisted this leader in discovering in that being widely known and valued as a problem solver, led to a decrease in his creativity as the demands of others began to take over his priorities. We articulated values, boundaries and process for building exertion and periodic recovery into the work day and integration practices to move through the organizational culture. He became more responsive to his immediate team’s needs. |
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| Challenge: A government department in the midst of leadership changes faced
resistance in placing new management from existing employees
questioning values and corporate purpose. |
| Solution: Provided Executive Coaching examining leadership issues and how those
in the role of formal leader choose to show up – including boundary
setting, clear communication, humanistic-encouraging attitudes and
behaviours, creating a culture of acknowledgement and achievement. |
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| Challenge: Minister of Education seeking input and needs analysis from businesses
and to provide voice for business in preparing Nova Scotia graduates
for the workplace. |
| Solution: Created methodology for series of round-table discussions across the
Province with 200 CEO’s to meet with the Deputy Minister of
Education. Each session contained space of coached individual
reflection, small group brainstorming, round-table sharing of
experience and vision-based diagnosis. Used open processes with
objectives to:
Build greater trust and input between education and business.
Increase and deepen the awareness and understanding of education and business
As Deputy Minister and Executive Director were present, many questions,
concerns and initiatives from CEO’s could be addressed immediately,
building the capacity of business on the spot. Create an open
process where participants build capacity by making connections with
others in the room, articulate current strategic business objectives,
share strategies that are working, articulate what attitudes,
behaviours and skills are required by graduates to meet their strategic
business objectives and to successfully compete in both local and
global markets. |
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| Challenge: Teambuilding for leadership team seeking to shape relationships. |
| Solution: In this project we worked with turning the team’s attention to
shared issues and developing a coach approach to management.
Assisted in building team capacity as they established communication
norms to counteract negative attitudes among staff, developed an
efficient planning process for multiple change initiatives that were
just over the horizon and committed to shared expectations about
meeting participation and management. We asked questions to
unfold their answers. We asked questions that required them to
think and act like a team. As they built their capacity, they
began to ask themselves and each other the questions that led them
along to greater performance.
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| Challenge: Leadership team seeking assistance in developing strategies and priorities to shape the work of a newly merged department. |
| Solution: As friction surfaced, questions turned to internal communications
and expectations. Patterns of interaction surfaced and using the
coaching approach to management for objectivity, client identified
current patterns and desired pattern – this set up the questions and
options for action that begin to shift the pattern away from the past,
toward the desired future. |
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| Challenge: Health Authority seeking to increase organizational health and
balance and create more effective working relationships and efficiency
in Mental Health division. |
| Solution: Following workplace surveys, the leadership team met to explore
current organizational culture and desired culture. We explored
organizational culture theory, perception and leadership.
Leadership team then chose to host a large scale participatory meeting
to build capacity, generate ideas and encourage affiliative and
self-actualizing behavior: Open Space Technology two full day
meeting. Sixty (60) participants generated thirty-one (31) topics
that were discussed and a final eight (8) were prioritized and next
action steps were generated. Our participation included
meetings with leadership team were held to explore role of team in OST
meeting. On-Site Strategic Planning and Consulting,
Overview of Participative Methodology, Exploration of Organizational
Change Theory, Generate Theme and Invitation, Articulate logistics
On-site facilitation of large group methodology – Open Space
Technology, Set parameters and open space for agenda development,
Maintain News Wall, Generate reporting information, Facilitate
participants and leadership team throughout process,
On- site Support and facilitate full group debriefing, Collate
generation of initiatives and book of proceedings, Facilitate large
group decision making on priorities, Develop framework for theme
analysis, evaluation and moving initiatives forward.
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| Challenge: Five schools facing reduced resources, seeking to foster internal
capacity, collaboration between faculty and creativity to promote
student learning. |
| Solution: Administrators met to form event leadership team, exploring
organizational theory, decision making and theme analysis. Chose
to bring five schools together in Open Space Technology with the theme
of IMAGINE A School Culture That Makes A Difference. Staff
explored student issues, positive energy management, discipline,
accountability, relationship with School Board, community liaison and
more. Collaborative projects emerged and joint applications for
funding were generated. |
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| Challenge: An organization in the midst of leadership changes in placing new management faced resistance from existing employees questioning values and corporate purpose. |
| Solution: Provided Executive Coaching for new manager examining leadership issues and how those in the role of formal leader choose to show up – including boundary setting, clear communication, humanistic-encouraging and achievement attitudes and behaviours, creating a culture of acknowledgement and achievement. Improved leadership skills and general management expertise, relationship skills, added facilitation techniques to encourage team participation in meetings, focus on results and encouraged individual strengths in process leading to results, manager promoted. |
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| Challenge: Minister of Education seeking input and needs analysis from businesses and to provide voice for business in preparing Nova Scotia graduates for the workplace. |
Solution:
Created methodology for series of round-table discussions across the Province with 200 CEO’s to meet with the Deputy Minister of Education. Each session contained space of coached individual reflection, small group brainstorming, round-table sharing of experience and vision-based diagnosis. Used open processes with objectives to:
Build greater trust and input between education and business.
Increase and deepen the awareness and understanding of education and business As Deputy Minister and Executive Director were present, may questions, concerns and initiatives from CEO’s could be addressed immediately, building the capacity of business on the spot. Create an open process where participants build capacity by making connections with others in the room, articulate current strategic business objectives, share strategies that are working, articulate what attitudes, behaviours and skills are required by graduates to meet their strategic business objectives and to successfully compete in both local and global markets. |
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| Challenge: Business manager tasked with project to streamline processes experiencing difficulty in setting strong boundaries and discomfort with conflict. Team members found him indecisive and passive and turned to each other for insight, rather than the leader for direction and insight. |
| Solution: Executive Coaching focusing on establishing and articulating values, mental preparation, treating others with respect while holding ground, exploring conflict and conflict resolution. |
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| Challenge: Sales manager experiencing lack of focus, level of engagement, and ability to concentrate. |
| Solution: Executive Coaching focusing on priority setting, reducing resistance, exploring daily rhythm and team participation. |
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| Challenge: Advertising executive experiencing lack of creativity in team due to inability to connect and motivate. |
| Solution: Executive Coaching in becoming more humanistic-encouraging and achievement oriented in attitudes and behaviours, prioritizing investment of time. |
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