InfluencesI am always curious about what influences others in how they work, whether they be individual contributors, leaders or external coaches, facilitators and consultants. I spent some time reflecting this week on what are some of the key influences on my work. The following are my “stronger” influences  as a people, team and organisational developer and are in no particular order.

Systems thinking: Early on in my career, before moving into corporate,  I got hooked on systems thinking through the work of Peter Senge. Since reading his book, I have been using systems thinking, particularly Systems Dynamics and Soft Systems methodology in my work as a leadership developer, facilitator and coach. A few years ago I completed an MSc in Systems Thinking in practice with the Open University.

Visual Thinking: Back in 1994 on a large organisational transformation project [36,000 people I’m 36 months] we combined training and experiential learning and supported that work with fantastic visuals from the late Paul Richardson. That got me interested in visuals for training, which led on to me mind mapping my whole MBA. I now facilitate and coach with a whole range of templates. My work in this areas is particularly influenced by David Sibbett of The Grove and also “canvases”, which are one page ideation and planning templates.

Process consultation: Process consultation is the creation of a relationship with the client that permits the client to perceive, understand, and act on the process events that occur in the client’s internal and external environment in order to improve the situation as defined by the client.  It is heavily influenced by Gestalt Theory.

The “process consultation” Model Assumes that:

  •  “Clients” do not really know what is wrong & need help in diagnosing problems.
  •  “Clients” need help in identifying what to improve & how to improve it.
  • Only “clients” know what will ultimately work for them and
  • Avoids the “one-up one-down” / consulting relationship.

My work in this areas is particularly influenced by Edger Schein and Peter Block. I am an Associate of Peter’s Company “Designed Learning” and can deliver his “Flawless Consulting” courses, based around the seminal best seller of the same name.

Emotional Intelligence: I have been fascinated by the way in which people interact and particularly the ability of some people to manage themselves effectively and connect appropriately with others.In the late 1990s I picked up Goleman’s “Emotional Intelligence” book and started an exploration of the subject. I am now certified in three different emotional intelligence psychometrics and qualified to certify others in the use of one of them: MHS EQi and EQ360. I regularly use these tools in coaching and leadership development.

Type / Style: Back the early “noughties” i got involved in using a few style psychometrics and continue when appropriate to use these. More than anything they are tools to kickstart a raised awareness around how we are seen by others and how we can flex / adapt our style to be more influential. I am certified in MBTI, Social Styles, DiSC and TetraMap.

Thinking tools: Early on my career I read a couple of books by the prolific author Edward de Bono. He developed a range of thinking tools. The ones that I most use are the Direct Attention Thinking Tools and Six Thinking Hats.

Experiential learning: Having come from a background of mountain guiding and outdoor management development in the early nineties, I still use experiential learning to support my work. Rather than the barrels and planks of my early career,  the work often now involves sophisticated board games or computer simulations.

Three areas of interest are starting to significantly influence my current work:

1) The idea of “beta” change and organisations – organisations that are self managing and rapidly evolve based in their needs, rather than coming from a place of “heavy” formal structures or places of “power”

2) Complexity thinking and the role of sense making / decision making in “post VUCA” scenarios.

3) The role of sustainability in my work and that of my clients.

What has influenced your work and what is starting to influence it now? Please share below….