If you were to ask most managers if they trust their teams, they would probably look at you a little shocked and say ‘of course!’ And yet many aspects of our organisations have not been designed for trust. And because we live inside the organisations we are often blind to how a lack of trust has been designed into, well everything (including technology). Let me give you an … [Read more...] about Using Purpose to Design and manage for effectiveness, learning and autonomy
Effectiveness
Senior Leadership Knowledge seeking for strategy formation – a case study
Most modern organisations are drowning in information, but often short on knowledge. And as we all know, without knowledge there is no meaningful learning or action. Therefore it is wise for Senior leaders to get knowledge before taking action. I wanted to share what effective knowledge seeking behaviour from leadership teams looks like. The Situation Some years … [Read more...] about Senior Leadership Knowledge seeking for strategy formation – a case study
Beyond Command and Control by John Seddon
If you are interested in profound thinking on transformation, change and improvement then I recommend John Seddon's ‘Beyond Command and Control’ (2019). And for those of you who have read the precursor 'Freedom from Command and Control' (2003), prepare to be surprised. This book marks a genuine departure in both tone and style and I believe it to be Seddon's best work. For its … [Read more...] about Beyond Command and Control by John Seddon
To understand effectiveness university leaders should study demand
One of the quickest ways for university leaders to understand the effectiveness of their services is to study demand. When done right, such studies will provide a student perspective that can act as a sophisticated way to reframe student services. Studying demand in a university As a consultant I conducted a demand analysis (adapted to meet constraints and to fit within … [Read more...] about To understand effectiveness university leaders should study demand
Consulting advice is serious business
Despite widespread humour about business consultants giving advice, it is a serious endeavour. Bad advice harms companies and livelihoods. I wanted to illustrate the mechanics of advice-giving with an example from internal consulting practice. A CIO asks for an opinion A Chief Information Officer (CIO) asked for advice during an IT development freeze. One team had … [Read more...] about Consulting advice is serious business