Strategic Intent

October 2007

We’ve had an interesting year at Strategic Intent.

Julie and I have been involved in a major change project for the Tasmanian Government, we’ve continued to conduct coaching workshops and individual coaching and to address stress for individuals in the workplace—through the surprisingly popular “Getting Unstuck.” It is the relationships with organisations, teams and individuals that keep us fascinated and appreciative of the privilege of working with others. This newsletter will focus on group relationships, whether they are a team, a division of an organisation or the organisation as a whole.

Three Essential Elements of Organising:
For many of us, it would be a rare experience to be involved in a newly-formed organisation. Most of us work in organisations that have been designed (and redesigned) previously, with an established culture and network of relationships. So how does an organisation or team come into existence and what makes it work well? In her book, “Finding Ourselves – Leadership for an Uncertain Time,” Meg Wheatley describes three essential elements:

Feb 2007

Happy New Year
I’m not entirely sure why the end of one year and the beginning of another creates a reflective time for a lot of people, but I must admit I’m not immune to those forces myself!
Already, 2007 is shaping up to be a year of changes for Strategic Intent. In this newsletter we’ll share with you our new product offerings, some of the latest research on work/life well-being and our expansion into new premises.

Personal Goals and the Positive Life

The beginning of each year inspires many of us to take time for reflection and goal-setting. For the last twenty-five years, one area of psychological research has focused on understanding how personal goals are related to long-term levels of happiness and life satisfaction. Not surprisingly, it shows that goals and life meaning are inextricably linked.

August 2006

I’ve been travelling recently - which is another way of saying I’ve been spending a lot of time in airports!
Airport bookshops must be lucrative - they have a captive audience and are fantastic for killing time and looking for the next great book to read. Of course, I instinctively wander over to the ‘self-help’ section – being forever interested in who is saying what about change – and there are always titles promising a ‘new and improved’ you in any number of days and ways. I’m sure that some of the books are helpful and have contributed to positive change in people’s lives - but when I look at the titles I feel tired and I wonder - why is that?

Perhaps it’s because I’m cynical about ‘new and improved’ anything, especially me. I feel tired thinking about the lists of things to do and not do which many of us tie ourselves to in the hope that somehow we’ll feel better or be happier. Aren’t we already living lives with interminable lists? Mostly though, I feel tired with the salesmanship of Hope.

October 2005

Personal and organisational change.

Learning and the Emotional Brain
It’s been accepted for some time that we each learn differently. Often, structured development programs include a variety of learning methodologies to suit visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners. In addition, research into where and how the brain assimilates learning is now available. This is exciting news for those of us who are interested in what it takes to learn and effect sustainable change in our lives.

Different types of learning, (ie: technical and analytical learning vs emotional learning), take place in different parts of the brain. The neocortex, our thinking brain, is a fast and efficient learning machine that links new ideas to our extensive cognitive network. Using our neocortex we can change the way we operate a computer, use a mobile phone, or project manage, sometimes on the basis of a single reading or hearing of new information.

Our emotional brain is housed in the limbic system. Re-educating the emotional brain for leadership learning requires a different model from that required by the thinking brain. If you have ever taken a short training course on improving your people management skills, you’ll know that, back at your desk, the learning often seems elusive. This is because the emotional brain is a slow learner. It needs lots of practice, repetition and feedback in order to change.