Courses

Action Learning Courses

Action learning is a way to help people in organizations to deal more effectively with complexity, change, and uncertainty. People learn from real-life experience. Unlike experiential learning, which focuses on games and simulations, action learning offers people a way to learn while they do real work. Apply the easy step-by-step process using the comprehensive Action Learning Guide for understanding, using and facilitating action learning.

Strategic Practice Courses

Many change efforts meet a tidal wave of resistance, marking out the boundaries of learning capacity. This is often blamed on something called resistance to change, which can occur at any level of an organization. But resistance to change is a complex concept. More often than not, it is a lack of understanding and an unconscious reaction to uncertainty -- an attempt to stabilize change. This course helps you to understand and work with the dynamics of corporate culture, power, and politics, so that you can create the conditions in which people and their organizations change and thrive.

Organizational Design Courses

Within every organization there is a flow of available energy – money, resources, attention, dedication, engagement – that should go to where it is most needed, when it is most needed. However, every organization faces blockages in the energy flow that inhibit its ability and capacity to make sure that the available energy goes to the right places at the right time. These blockages slow down or stop the processes of organizational learning, which, in turn, hurt an organization’s capacity to deal with rapid change and increasing complexity. In this course, you are introduced to the Energy-Flow model that can be used to analyze the energy flow and blockages in any organization or group. From this analysis, you can create a strategic plan of action that will minimize the blockages of energy flow, and create a sustainable learning organization.

Reflexive Practice Courses

Everything that we do, as individuals and as groups, involves relationships. These relationships can be with our own ideas, assumptions, and values, with other people, with our jobs, or with the organization. Every situation is defined by its relationships. Fragile relationships translate into inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, low productivity, and a lack of innovation. Resilient relationships translate into high levels of effectiveness, productivity, and innovation. Examine fundamental reasons why people struggle with uncertainty. Apply the easy step-by-step process for understanding and facilitating change using the comprehensive Reflexive Practice Guide.

Systemic Storytelling Courses

Individuals are complex — a mixture of genetic personality traits, influenced by an environment full of experiences. Put several people together in a group, and complexity increases. Put several groups together into a community, such as an organization, and complexity increases even more dramatically. In fact, every time you add another person to a group, another group to a community, complexity increases substantially. We are caught in the wave of complexity and change, and we so often act as if we have to run faster and faster before it sweeps us under. But there is another way — you can surf the waves of change. In this course, you are introduced to the Decision Support System, which integrates the thinking processes of systems thinking, reflexive practice and strategic practice, and creates emergent leadership. Combined with action learning, you will discover a way to engage the energy of change and complexity to shape the future you desire.

Systems Thinking Courses

Peter Senge, a leading researcher in the fields of systems thinking and organizational learning, defines systems thinking as both a thinking skill and a language for understanding and working with complexity. When you understand the complexity of a situation, you are better able to think and act in ways that produce desired results, without causing harmful side effects. In this course, you will learn an approach to systems thinking that has been tested in a number of organizations and situations, and has enhanced organizational learning. Apply the systems-thinking method and comprehensive Systems Thinking Guide to real situations that you face in the workplace. Learn how to use systems thinking as a method and tool for managing change, solving complex problems, and creating individual and team learning and a consulting tool.

Thinking Styles Courses

Each person has a unique thinking style that determines how he or she learns best. Thinking styles dictate how people think, communicate, manage projects, give feedback to each other, coach and train others, make decisions, solve problems, take actions, and work in a team. Successful leaders and trainers recognize the power of understanding and using thinking styles to promote individual and team learning. One week before the course, you will need to complete an online survey called the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). You will receive the results of this survey during the first day of the course.

Learning Styles Courses

Each person has a unique learning style that determines how they learn best. The most successful leaders and trainers realize the connection between understanding and using learning styles. This course will explore three inventories that focus on learning and training style, discover how people demonstrate their preferred and non-preferred learning and training styles in a variety of situations, identify activities that create learning environments that both meet people’s preferred learning styles and stretches people into their non-preferred learning styles and apply the strategies and concepts to the workplace. Apply the easy step-by-step design system and comprehensive Course Design Guide for creating learning experiences that engage learners.

Managing Performance Courses

As change accelerates, it creates a greater degree of complexity and uncertainty, which then increases the speed of change. It is a vicious cycle - with change and complexity feeding off each other to create even more change and complexity! The result is that people experience general feelings of disorder and loss of control. As a manager and/or supervisor, it is likely that you are responsible for dealing with the problems that result from the increased uncertainty that change creates. In addressing these problems, most supervisors and managers typically deal with one problem at a time. However, in the complex systems in which people work, you can’t be effective if you are dealing with problems as if each one was an isolated case. You need to deal with each problem by analyzing and understanding the system that is creating the problem. In this course, discover how to use systems thinking to analyze performance problems and opportunities, and to develop actions that produce optimal performance and business results.