Blogging about networks, collaboration and leadership

Getting started with Peer-to-Peer Networking

Getting started with Peer-to-Peer Networking

The Peer-to-Peer Networking process combines state of the art management content with the benefits of social learning. This approach provides a cost effective way to develop people and is easy to implement.  Employees can either have a face-to-face experience in your organization's meeting rooms or participate in a Peer-to-Peer Networking module virtually with other colleagues online. Your business can take the following three steps to introduce this process into your organization: 1. Test it with a team   If you are intrigued by the concept of the Coaching Ourselves approach by Henry Mintzberg - try it out.  Select a team for a 90 minute [...]

The Context The EKN division of E.O.N. - a German based energy company - convened a meeting in the form of a systemic dialogue in order to enhance employee engagement.  150 employees out of a total EKN workforce of approximately 800 participated at two locations - Hamburg and Landshut.  During the course of these meetings, multiple proposals were made that could potentially have a considerable impact on EKN's workplace.   However, over 600 employees were not able to participate directly in the formulation of these proposals.  How could these employees not only be informed of the potential proposals being considered, [...]

Focusing on the future Feedback is an essential element of good leadership and high performance teams.  Individuals cannot function in a vacuum.  They need to know what they are doing well and what they need to improve. Dr. Marshall Goldsmith - a well known management educator and coach notes that feedback has a fundamental limitation.  Feedback by its very nature looks at the past instead of looking ahead towards the future.  This makes feedback potentially static and undynamic.  The past cannot be changed. It is in the future that possibilities for development reside. To address this fundamental flaw in feedback [...]

Cultivating Network Cooperation with Leadership Reconnaissance The design of most leadership development programs has traditionally been utilized to provide a space and opportunity for individuals to reflect upon their leadership strengths and weaknesses away from day-to-day business pressures. Typically the individuals who attend such leadership development sessions are pre-selected based upon their previous performance and perceived future promise to the organization. By that as it may,  the cutting-edge leadership paradigm has another focus on  the level of the network through Network Leadership . Fostering such a novel approach to leadership from the network perspective requires fundamental shifts from the long-established [...]

Catalysers of the World Awake!

Catalysers of the World Awake!

Reeling from an unexpected end of what I thought was an on-going initiative, I found myself in bewilderment. Shortly thereafter I was fortunate enough to have not one, but numerous encounters which helped me to come to grips with my situation. I am not alone in my current dilemma. Out of my bewilderment emerged a wonderful realization: I am a Catalyst. According to the research, there are not too many of us – only about 5- 7 % in any social group. We are the people who strive to enable sustainable change. But I as I have learned firsthand, traditional [...]

New leadership skills and sensibilities are essential for a rapidly complex and changing business environment.  The growing need for agility has led to the realization that leadership is a team sport which requires the co-ordination and collaboration of many leaders. Moreover, the importance of leadership lies not only at the level of a team, but increasingly at the level of the network. With information flowing at unprecedented speed, no single person can possess a complete overview of the current state of affairs in a business. Due to an environment characterized by complexity and rapidity, it is crucial for leaders to [...]

In times of crisis and rapid change, exploring new ways to foster group learning is fundamental. Research has determined that o ne of the most effective ways to promote learning takes place in small groups.  A  study from Eastern Michigan University  confirms this assertion. It investigated different learning methods for students who were learning statistics.  The study determined that students improved their scores through collaborative learning (learning in small groups) by up to 23 points on tests based on a scoring system from 0 to 100 as compared with with traditional lecture learning. Collaborative learning is acknowledged to work extremely well [...]

In the wheat growing areas of the world, grain is stored in large towers known as silos. Each silo rises high into the sky, independent of the other silos. Multiple silos are usually required. This colorful metaphor that has become commonplace to describe separation and lack of coordination in organizations and in society which is not necessarily understood across the entire world. Silos are not to be found in rice based economies. When in 2005 the newly appointed CEO to Sony – Howard Stringer (an Englishman who had led Sony’s North American operations) – made his first strategy speech in [...]

NEZWORK CONNECTIONS is an innovative approach to employee development The use of NETWORK CONNECTIONS enhances a company’s development programs in a myriad of ways. At the same time it also improves  organizational effectiveness.  Any business or organization can achieve the following goals through the use of NETWORK CONNECTIONS by:  1. Providing development opportunities for KMUs or Family-owned companies  2. Enhancing existing development programs 3. Supporting the effectiveness of existing competency models  4. Promoting inter-organizational networking  5. Bolstering change initiatives and  6. Turbo-charging internal communications Your employees can use NETWORK CONNECTIONS to work towards these goals either face-to-face on-site in your [...]

Culture and competitive advantage are connected

Culture and competitive advantage are connected

A unique Global Culture Survey which involved 3,200 management leaders around the globe was just released. Managers responded to questions about the influence of culture on business success. The Katzenbach Center, an institution which is part of the accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers carried out this annual Global Culture Survey. There are many key takeaways from the results of the survey. One in particular really got my attention: "66% of the C-Suite and board members surveyed said that culture is MORE important to performance than the organization's strategy or operating model." This assessment is supported by more detailed data. Respondents were [...]

We have encountered the enemy and the enemy is us A four year research project conducted by the MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte has just come to an end.  For a period of over four years, more than 16.000 people were surveyed about their experience with digital disruption and the adequacy of their organization's response. The results are in. "The true challenge of mastering digital disruption (and a major part of the solution) is enabling people.   Companies can effectively navigate the challenges of digital disruption by undertaking initiatives which are far more organizational and managerial than technical." Source: [...]

Focus on Culture! In his initial run for President, Bill Clinton is famous for reducing his campaign message to campaign staff to one simple sentence: "It's the economy stupid!"  During his presidential campaign, there were many competing issues to engage with such as foreign affairs (the first Iraq war had just ended and the Soviet Union had just been dissolved), healthcare, trade policy, attacks on his character - to name only a few.  However, he told his campaign staff that the only issue which really mattered was the economy. With the support of this fixated focus , he was able [...]

Developing leaders for your business’ future

Developing leaders for your business’ future

The greatest challenge for current leaders throughout any organization is to continuously learn and adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. Their ability to do so defines not only their capacity but also the quality of their ability to lead others. But how do leaders come up with the time to cultivate their commitment for continuous learning and motivate colleagues during their busy work schedule?  How can they be motivated to welcome curiosity and experimentation as a fundamental approach to their daily business? To date the classical paradigm of leadership development has been to host multi-day workshops off-site. Why not [...]

A unique process to foster individual, team and organizational learning Coaching Ourselves is a Peer-to-Peer Networking process which enables employees to learn from and with each other. It provides a framework through which employees are able increase both their knowledge and skills in specific business areas either digitally or on-site at their business location. By expanding their skill-set and know-how, employees are empowered to personally contribute to creating a more agile organization. (Take a look at the following introduction for a detailed overview to Enable Enabler's approach to Peer-to-Peer Networking: The Value of Peer-to-Peer Networking for your Organization Recognizing the [...]

True Change comes from within

True Change comes from within

The influence of over 300 years of traditional thinking patterns is being swept out faster than we think. It’s happening right now, step-by-step…Our blog The Ensemble Enabler aspires to explore this shift in thinking and what its means for all of us – both in the world of business and our daily lives. Each blog post of the The Ensemble Enabler will explore the “shifting sands” of our challenging and complex world by sharing stories and insights about organizational culture and its networks, their impact and importance. Our aim is to have each of our blog posts add a “grain [...]



The 4 Enabling Disciplines

Dexterity
Dynamism
Discourse
Discovery