NEW: OD Masterclass – 10 Oct 2024
Refresh and revitalise your OD practice with our 1-day Masterclass
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Leadership in a VUCA world, every day!
VUCA used to be a buzzword. Now leading in a VUCA world is an everyday reality. But how many leaders are equipped for leadership in a VUCA world? The good news is that you can upgrade your leadership for a VUCA world by developing a complexity mindset. Read on for tips on how you can do this.
Organisation Design – so much more than structure
We’ve been doing a lot of organisation design consulting work and running many organisation design courses recently. Hot off the back of a global pandemic and in a changeable world, it’s no wonder that many top teams are taking stock right now. They want to adapt to seize new opportunities arising from changing markets, changing…
Why your change project needs OD!
OD is short for Organisation Development. But it doesn’t really matter what you call it, it’s what OD does that matters. OD works on the invisible connections that make or break your business. But many change projects overlook them!
5 things leaders should know about complexity
Many leaders misunderstand complexity. They think they can and should avoid it. They couldn’t be more wrong!
Hybrid working – much more than a question of ‘in’ or ‘out’
As we well know, the ‘in’ or ‘out’ debate polarises opinion. More importantly, it diverts attention from what really matters, which is ‘how’.
Webinar: Leadership & hybrid working
BOOK NOW: Henley Centre for Leadership Webinar – 29 June 2022 – 12.00-13.00 BST – Leadership Flexibility and Adaptation for Hybrid Working. The panel will be exploring the importance of leadership flexibility and adaptability in hybrid working and what it means for managers.
It’s a live session, so join with your questions.
Podcast: Leadership in the Midst of Constant Change
Does complexity science hold the key to leading in the midst of constant change? On this episode of the Cohere podcast, Lauren and Bill talk to Dr. Sharon Varney, author of the new book “Leadership in Complexity and Change”, and leading researcher and practitioner in the field of Complexity Science. Listen Now
Advancing your OD practice – Part 3
You are the primary “instrument” in OD!
Organisational Development is a wide and varied field, but let’s not overwhelm ourselves, it simply starts with you.
Organisational change: finding your way
Journeying into the unknown Organisational change is a journey into the unknown, along changing terrain. Finding your way in that changing terrain requires (i) new understanding about the dynamic patterning of change; (ii) new processing skills of sensemaking and learning; and (iii) new tools to help people in the midst of on-going change to notice…
Advancing your OD Practice – Part 2
Part 2: A framework for advancing your OD practice – Dr Sharon Varney & John Hovell OD practice – an evolving field Part 1 in our series on Advancing your OD Practice explained how Organisational Development (OD) thinking and practice has evolved over the past 70 years to ensure it remains relevant and important in…
Advancing your OD practice – Part 1
Part 1: A mindset, skillset and toolset for change – Dr Sharon Varney OD is for you! Saying that Organisational Development is just for OD specialists is a bit like saying computers are just for IT professionals. In the past, OD was the preserve of specialists. Yet, with increasing organisational complexity, the job…
Why line managers need change expertise
by Sharon Varney and Sue Ells Line managers are the most critical people in any change effort. Yes, we repeat, THE MOST CRITICAL. Success or failure often depends on the energy and engagement of line mangers. But they’re often just left to get on with it, with a sink or swim attitude. We want to…
From hero leaders to engaging leadership
A tough job that needs both women and men If you’re the kind of person who wakes up in the morning feeling like a heroic leader, ready to jump into their super(wo)man suit and save the world, then this article probably isn’t for you. But it should be. Because the working world is becoming…
Adaptive and responsive action. What’s the difference?
Normally at this time of year, I’d be reaching for the winter woollies – cardigans, jumpers, coats and scarves. But not this year. Not yet, anyway. When I went out earlier this week, I instinctively put another layer on and grabbed a scarf to keep out the expected Autumn chill. Yet within 5 minutes, the…
Beware the mad dash for change!
The morning after the Scottish referendum on independence and there seems to be a mad dash for constitutional change in the UK. That change has been called for is not in question. Some want greater self-determination. Some want a new system for social justice. Some want to grab greater personal and political power. Some…
The balloon under the stairs – Pt 2
To my surprise, I’ve realised that the red party balloon under the stairs is now two years old. A bit more actually – it’s 751 days old today. That seems very old for a party balloon. It was blown up for a party during the London 2012 Olympics, and it’s still inflated. This is an…
Small data, the new BIG thing!
An edited version of this article was originally published in theHRDIRECTOR in June 2014 The buzz is about Big Data, but does that mean ‘Small Data’ is brushed under the carpet? Big Data is a fashionable phrase describing the vast amounts of digital information now available – from stratospheric growth in online traffic and…
What does the future hold?
This is an important question for governments, businesses, organisations and individuals. Because when we make decisions today, we are often making bets on an unknown future e.g. about retirement or energy needs and provision. Some are sceptical, rightly so, about the limitations of prediction in a complex and uncertain world. [See new blog posts from…
When systems go mad
Although this blog post was borne out of frustration with a major telecoms ‘supplier’ who has consistently failed to supply – don’t get me started – there are important insights about the unintended consequences which can arise from complexity. So here’s the scenario: We recently contacted a major telecoms company. Can we have broadband please,…
Weak signals in change
A recent article in McKinsey Quarterly highlighted the strength of ‘weak signals’. If you haven’t read it, the authors explain how snippets of information, often hidden in social-media streams, offer companies a valuable tool for staying ahead. Their focus is external scanning for potential opportunities by capitalising on weak signals hidden within a torrent of…
Coffee, communities and innovation
Not all that long ago, there were 3 places you could go for coffee in my town: a popular independent coffee shop, with somewhat variable service, near the town centre supermarket a chain coffee shop, normally full to gills with mums and toddlers and a café bar (over 21s only) with wifi. In the past…
Women on boards – the complexity science case
Recently I’ve found myself reflecting on gender diversity in business. What kicked it off was a report by Cranfield School of Management entitled Women on Boards. The headline shouted: ‘Cranfield report reveals 25% target is in sight’. A few days ago, the FT announced: ‘Proportion of women on FTSE 100 boards tops 20%’. Shortly after,…
Re-organising? 3 things we often neglect and shouldn’t
Whether you’re thinking about a re-organisation or you’re in the middle of one, it’s important to remember that it’s about much more than tinkering with the org charts. Here are 3 vital things to keep in mind… Pay attention to informal connections between people. An organisation is so much more than just what’s on the…
Contradictions in change
Just do it? Get it right? Be radical? Plan strategically? Over the past couple of days I’ve read four posts about innovation and change. The trouble is that, while each makes sense by itself, they offer conflicting advice to change leaders. This thought piece gets to the heart of those contradictions and suggests that…
The balloon under the stairs
The party balloon in the cupboard under my stairs was blown up on Super Saturday during the London Olympics. It’s now 489 days old, and counting… We threw a party on super Saturday – well it was just Saturday 4th August 2012 until all the GB golds started rolling in. A friend brought round some red,…
Organisational storytelling – a game of whispers?
My 8 year old niece loves a game of whispers when the family is gathered together. You know the one – someone whispers something into the next person’s ear and they pass it on, until the final person says it out loud. Then you find out all the different versions of the message that…
Don’t forget small data!
A Harvard Business Review (HBR) blog entitled The Embarrassment of Complexity concludes that we need to: “Draw on the faculty of human judgment to focus on the smaller picture in order to comprehend the larger one” But why, at a time that Big Data grabs so many headlines, should we focus on small data? Well,…
Hello world!
The new space for learning website is now up and running. A big thank-you to all those involved: – Thanks to Julie for her amazing photography. – Thanks to Susy for her graphics skills. – And a massive thanks to Jim for his web advice and technical assistance.