Does this sound familiar? You are tired, overtired, at the end of your rope? You have too many things going on, you haven’t eaten well or moved your body in hours. And just at that moment, something important comes up. Perhaps it is a difficult conversation you have to have with a colleague, client or friend? Perhaps an unforeseen opportunity crosses your path requiring quick action? Or maybe you get a flat tire or run out of printer ink? And there you are, exhausted unclear and unprepared physically, mentally and emotionally for what is in front of you. You go on anyway, but at what cost? read more
Read moreEspecially in our hectic and future oriented societies, it is important to remember and practice reflection. In this guest blog I speak about the way good reflection supports action in the future. Read more
Read moreAnother in my series of guest blog’s for the Genuine Contact Program website. This time about the wisdom of slowing down, a necessary element when you want to make progress.
Read moreI wrote this post for the Genuine Contact™ Website about how believing and acting like everyone I meet in an organization (or in life) is precious has transformed the way I interact, and the way I work. You can read more about it here
Read moreWhen I first began to study organizations back in the 90’s the dominant view of larger groups was that they were dangerous. Expressions abounded about the futility of bringing large groups of people together; “an individual can be a genius but a group of geniuses becomes an idiot,” was the conventional wisdom. I was taught as a trainer that working alone with groups larger than 16 asking for trouble. The consensus was, and to a great extent still is, that large groups of people become like a mob, exhibiting no real intelligence, following blindly a leader or descending into chaos. Read More
Read moreThinking the same is not a pre-requisite for being able to find alignment on approaching challenges and tackling difficult issues. Open Space Technology is a method that enables you to allow difference to create transcendent knowledge and great solutions. Read more
Read more “Thank you for helping to remind me that the people I work with are human beings.”When you do you can resolve an ongoing conflict by recognizing the full humanity of each person. Read More
Read moreIn October I had the opportunity to give a talk at conference organized by the COS Collective on the subject of Wise Action and Uncertainty. During a stormy week in October we explored how people from different sectors of society both personally and professionally can address the question "What do you do when you doing know what to do?"
Read moreYears ago I moved to the Netherlands to work in a Dutch professional University. I was surprised that many students had real difficulty with even the basics of writing academic papers. In talking to my colleagues, I found out that they were very frustrated about this. Their explanation for it was that it the students weren’t intellectually curious. Read More
Read moreHave you ever noticed that when when you’re not feeling well nothing goes right? Maybe it’s physical, a flu or dealing with the flair up of a chronic condition. Maybe it’s emotional, you had a disagreement with a friend and it is wearing on you. In these moments almost everything is just one thing too much? Even needing to make an extra phone call or taking an extra trip to the store can be complicated. Read More
Read moreIn 2009 I was at a Summer Leadership Intensive from the Genuine Contact™ Program. The facilitator, Birgitt Williams, invited the group to reflect on this question: “How much structure do you (personally) need in order to feel free?” I have carried this question with me ever since. It informs my work facilitating emergent, participative and co-creative organisational development. Read More
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