Just Say “No”
“No. I’m not doing that!” That was the unexpected response I received from a team member while facilitating a strategy session. I had suggested that one person present the team’s strategy while the others role-played key stakeholders. I’ve used this activity many times. It’s a powerful way to empathize with stakeholders and test ideas before […]
Skillful Feedback?
Context, Source, Message, Recipient:“I think it’s better if you look for another job.” This was the ‘feedback’ I received from my first boss, 18 months after I had landed my dream job, age 22, as a Product Design Consultant. This feedback really hurt my ego. Since the start of high school, I’d dreamt of becoming […]
Welcome AI into Skillful Collaboration
Who have you enjoyed collaborating with so far this year? Earlier this year, I reached out to a few colleagues to have conversations about Skillful Collaboration. My starting point was simple: collaboration means “to work together.” The word comes from the Latin collaborare — col (together) and labore (to work). From there, the fun began. […]
Holon
I recently came across the term holon, created by Arthur Koestler. It describes something that is simultaneously a whole and a part. I love the artwork of the holon image (from Collaboration with the Enemy by Adam Kahane, illustrated by Jeff Barnum). To me it feels dynamic and complex — a perfect metaphor for individuals […]
Skillful Decisions
The most valuable task of a real team is when they make decisions together. Teams are almost always better at this than individuals — except in very simple cases where an individual can decide quickly and move on. In fact, research has shown that in “simple” situations, groups can sometimes make worse decisions than a […]
Community and Conversation
I just spent a few days visiting friends who live in a group of farmhouses in the beautiful rolling hills of Styria (Steiermark), Austria. It’s an amazingly calm place, surrounded by wheat fields, meadows, vineyards, and forests. The noise of farm animals and tractors occasionally drifts across the hills. Otherwise, you hear birds, insects, and […]
Skillful Conversations
I’m 53 years old — and only truly learnt how to have a skillful conversation a couple of years ago. I could talk from the age of 2. I was top of my class in most subjects at school. I went to university in the UK and France to study engineering, and even did a […]
Team Effectiveness
How can you design an effective team? Just over five years ago I was introduced to the research work of Prof. Ruth Wageman. She has studied thousands of teams and has some remarkable findings: I love teams and I love research, so I quickly signed up for training with Ruth and her business partner Krister […]
A Brilliant Team
A few weeks ago, I was in a room facilitating a brilliant team. They work in a highly successful and profitable part of their organization, contributing to double-digit year-on-year growth. The team leader and members are motivated, diverse, experts in their fields, and genuinely capable individuals. Life seems good in this organization, and they are […]
Fully Alive!
I love teams! Ever since I was a kid, I’ve played soccer — and I still play today at age 53. On a soccer field I feel ‘fully alive’, and that’s such an amazing feeling. Feeling alive means experiencing many emotions: anticipation, excitement, joy, camaraderie, frustration, fear, persistence, exhaustion — and so many more. On […]