Förändring är enkelt? Change is simple?

Please, scroll down for English.

Vem sa att förändring måste vara svårt? Det finns enkla metoder när organisationer behöver ändras. För det behöver de! Varje organisation har en höjdpunkt när den fungerar som bäst och sedan bär det utför, tyvärr. Då gäller det att hitta nästa kurva som bär uppåt och hoppa på den. Både för att hitta den nya vägen och för att få med sig alla, behövs hela personalens kunskap. Det är inte längre gångbart att några få bestämmer för de många. Då missar man viktig kunskap och stort engagemang.

Men man behöver inte leta svåra och krångliga metoder, som bara kan ledas av några få specialister. Man behöver enkla metoder som alla kan snabbt kan ta till sig. Genuine Contact™ programmet skapar ett bra förändringsklimat och ett annat arbetssätt genom att helt enkelt kombinera två mötesmetodiker, som alla kan lära sig, Open Space-metoden och Whole Person Process. Kontinuerlig användning av de här metoderna bygger in ett nytt ”operativsystem” i organisationen. Detta operativsystem gör att alla blir delaktiga, bidrar med hela sin kunskap och tar ansvar för helheten. Det är ungefär som att lära sig baka, först följer man receptet och när man kan grunderna så kan man också ta ut svängarna och skapa sin egen kaka, genom att tillföra sådant man redan har tillsammans med de nya ingredienserna.  

De här två mötesmetoderna kombineras, tillsammans med ett par enkla verktyg, på det sätt som passar organisationen just då, vare sig man behöver göra en analys, utveckla en idé, skapa en strategisk plan eller bygga nya lokaler. Personalen lär sig metoder och verktyg på några dagar och sedan har organisationen alltid tillgång till det nya arbetssättet.

Så hur börjar man? Ett enkelt sätt är att göra en diagnos av organisationen inklusive ett möte där hela personalen deltar. Redan där lär man sig verktyg och metoder samtidigt som man jobbar med det som är viktigt för förändringprocessen. Man kan också välja att använda metodiken på nästa konferens och utvärdera resultatet av den. Kontakta oss för ett samtal om vad som passar bäst i din organisation eller delta i någon av våra kurser. Du hittar mer information på www.gatewayc.com

 

English

Who said change need to be hard? There are simple methods available when organizations need to change. And they need to change! Every organization has a peak and then it unfortunately only descends. You then need to find the next rising curve and jump to it. The staffs whole knowledge is needed to both find the new path and to get everyone onboard. It is no longer viable to have a few people making decisions for many, because you will lose important knowledge and dedication.

But you don´t need to search for difficult and complicated methods, that can only be conducted by a few specialists. What you need are simple methods that everyone quickly can learn. The Genuine Contact™ program creates a good climate for change and a different work approach simply by combining two meeting methodologies that everyone can learn, Open Space Technology and Whole Person Process. Continuous use of these methods will implement a new ”operative system” in the organization. This operative system will invite everyone to participate, share their full knowledge and take responsibility for the whole. It is as when you learn to make bread,  first you have to follow the recipe and when you know the basics you can expand and generate your own cake by adding what you already have together with the new ingredients.

The two meeting methodologies are combined, together with a few simple tools, in a way that suits the organization in that very moment, whether it needs to do an analysis, develop an idea, create a strategic plan or build new premises. The staff will learn the methods and tools in a few days and the organization will then always have access to its new work approach.

Where do you start? One easy way is to do a diagnosis of the organization including a meeting with the whole staff. Already in this work you will learn tools and methods when at the same time working with what is important for the change process. Or you could choose to use the methodology for your next conference and evaluate the results. Feel free to contact us for a dialogue about what is best for your organization or attend one of our public workshops. You will find the needed information at www.gatewayc.com

 

Don´t we all want to change the world?

What kind of world would you like to leave for your children or grandchildren? One where they could be as creative, energetic and happy as they are when they were born? One that is safe and kind to all human beings? I think most people would agree that they really want their children to have a better world than we have today.

Changing the world is a huge undertaking and I am sure it can be done. Look at the world as one big organization, consisting of interdependent relationships between people and between many millions of organizations! You start to see all those different organizations such as United Kingdom, the USA, Sweden, the European Union or United Nations. You also start to see organizations such as Microsoft Corporations, General Motors, IKEA, Walmart, Volvo, and other business organizations as nodes in the big spiderweb of relationships that makes up our world. Within those organizations you find even more webs of relationships between people. All these webs are connected.

This huge multidimensional web of relationships makes it possible for each being within it, to have an impact. Think of what happens when you start rocking a thread in a spider web. The whole web is moving and sometimes it even breaks. So when you do something to the threads that you are holding on to in the world web, it could have an impact very far away from you.

A good way to start the world change is to change the organizations we are parts of. If we change one organization, that will influence others, some of them closer to us but also some that are far away. The organizations we have today are mostly outmoded because the world has changed since they were created in the early 1900. So instead of having organizations that are designed for a time when people are seen as machine parts, that could easily be exchanged, we need organizations that are designed for today when we see people as valuable assets. One reason for starting with changing organizations instead of starting with change in people is that the organizational culture is almost always stronger than the individual. When a person has changed and want to work in line with his change, the organizational culture might force him/her to retreat to the old fashion or leave the organization.

What would the organizations look like if we want them to change the world? It will certainly be an interesting discussion! Bring your thoughts to our next CollaborativeCircle on Sept 11. Register at www.collaborativeways.com.

The big jelly bowl called Universe

Yesterday I talked with my friend and colleague Richard Schultz about what it means to be environmentalist and in contact with nature these days. He said some people think we have to move back generations and live as they did in the early 1900 and through away the evolution we have gone through since then.

I think being environmentalist is being conscious about our connections and relationships. We are all unique beings and important parts in this Universe. Some years ago I read an interesting book, given to me by another dear friend, Birgitt Williams. The title was “Stalking the Wild Pendulum” and it explained the physics of our world and some of Einstein´s theories in ways I could understand. In the book, the notion of connectedness was described as if people were all raisins in a big pot of jelly. If you push one the whole jelly pudding starts to move. When we think of this picture, we become conscious of how our behavior, thoughts and actions affect other people, nature and the whole big bowl of jelly where we live.  I think that is when we become more cautious of how we treat other people and nature.

It would be so easy today to feel this connection, because we now have the technology that makes so many of our connections visible, such as Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram. The technology also allows us to connect across the world in a second and to have friends on all continents. But somehow the consciousness is buried deep within some people, so deep that they are not aware that when they start a war against someone on the internet, in fact they affect the whole universe including themselves.

We have the opportunity to be responsible for our actions, to create the connections and networks that are life nurturing both for us and the world we live in and to act for the good of the whole. You are invited to discuss how that might happen. On Sept 11, we will talk about the future regarding organizations and collaboration. Organizations are in fact connections and relationships between people and places. How we create them will affect everyone in the huge jelly bowl. Register for this conversation at www.collaborativeways.com

What will organizations look like in the future?

And what about collaboration in the organizations, how will that happen?

Have you thought about that? Many of the organizations we have today are organized and structured from a model, created in the early 1900. Not much has changed since then. Now, you might say that I am wrong and that much has changed. We are working more and more online. We are spreading our organization all over the world. Today we are so much more intelligent and creative and civilized, or are we?

Look at who is leading your organization. In my experience, most organizations are still lead by a group of managers, a CEO or a board or similar. Those people make decisions for the whole organization, structure the work and set the tone and climate for how to work in the organization.

Look at the control systems that are in place. Most often there is a financial control system and when times get tough the system increases the control and you have to deliver financial reports more often, as if that was a good way to get more money.

Look at the approach and protocols for how to work in the organization. Still most organizations have regulations for the way work should be done and those regulations are decided by the board or the CEO or group of managers. In many places people are still expected to do as they are told without using their own creativity and inventiveness. Sometimes people are actually supposed to leave their emotions, spirit and creativity at home, because it seems to cause chaos at work. And in most cases people are still expected to work in an office even when they could have worked from anywhere in the world. Some say that is needed in order to collaborate as if collaboration could not happen online too.

Have you ever thought of these things? Come meet with us and discuss how the organization of tomorrow can be structured? How can we better use the full capacity of the people we hire? How can we use all the technology in a more efficient way to support thriving organizations? How can organizations be changed to fit the world of tomorrow?

Join us in a Collaborative Circle on Sept 7. Register right away so you can participate in this mind challenging discussion together with people from all over the world.

 

Höstakademin - Holistic Leadership Development

 

 

Have you ever wished that you knew which of all the leader theories you have learnt that would be useful in the chaotic situation you are in right now? Have you then thought that it is no use to know because you have already forgotten what was said about it in the leadership book? If your workdays are sometimes chaotic and your leadership theories are not enough for you, then this workshop is designed for you!

You will get deepened insights about your own unique leadership, your values, your way of being and working and how that relates to and impacts the organization. You will learn tools and experience methods that are useful both for you personally and for the organization.  You will create a plan for how you can reach the potential that you know is within you and within the organization.

 

Tider: 30 okt-1 nov 2013. Ons och tors kl 8.30-17.00, fre kl 8.00-13.00.

Plats: Forshälla, Uddevalla.

Pris: SEK 8.700 ex moms, including work material, lunch and snacks.
Language Swedish and/or English.

More information, please send a mail to eiwor@gatewayc.com

 

Har du någonsin önskat att du visste vilken av alla ledarskapsteorier som du lärt dig som skulle vara användbar i den kaotiska situation du befinner dig i just nu? Har du sedan tänkt att det spelar ingen roll om du vet för du har redan glömt vad som stod om den i läroboken? Om dina arbetsdagar ibland är kaotiska och dina ledarskapsteorier inte räcker till, då är den här kursen designed för dig!

Du får fördjupade insikter om ditt eget unika ledarskap, dina värderingar, ditt sätt att vara och arbeta och hur det relaterar till och påverkar organisationen. Du får lära dig verktyg och uppleva metoder som är användbara både för dig personligen och för organisationen. Du kommer att skapa en plan för hur du kan nå den potential som du vet finns både inom dig och inom organisationen.

 

 

Using meetings for change

Using meetings for change could have a big impact on the results of an organization and also make the change really quick if the meetings are well designed when it comes to methodology and timing. Many organizations contract a facilitator for their annual conference because they feel the need to set some time aside for participation from the staff. Sometimes they even use most of the time for collaboration and only have a few speakers, if any. That is great! Who would better know what is needed for the organization than the real experts, the employees. When the leaders are courageous and leave the space open for the staff to be really creative and work with what has heart and meaning for them, the results could be stunning. The leaders are very often surprised with the ideas and solutions that have come up and how quick and smooth the work was. They might also be surprised afterwards at how soon the decisions are implemented.

These annual conferences could be a door opener into a new way of working, where innovations and ideas are worked with on a daily basis. That is, if the conference is designed that way. The annual conference could have a lasting effect on how work is done in the organization. It could even change the culture or climate in the organization. Organizational change will get a quick start with a well done meeting that involves everyone in the organization and allows them to use their full potential. But it can not end there. These meetings need to continue for the whole year around and the meeting methods have to be brought into the organization and used over and over again.

All meeting methods are founded on values and assumptions so when you choose one that is founded on the values that people are a valuable asset and extremely important for the organization to thrive, the staff will know that and act accordingly. They will take responsibility, be creative, collaborate and try new paths. Sometimes they will fail and learn a lot. Most of the time they will be really successful and learn even more.

So are you thinking about the need for change in the organization? Start with a well-done meeting!