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One of my favourite drama theorists when I was doing my degree (many moons ago now) was Peter Brook, and his book The Empty Space. It’s a seminal work on theatre theory and practice, in which Brook argues that theatre can be created anywhere: "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage."
Even when leaders recognise the need for it, getting others on board with change can be a different matter entirely. Executive teams might push for transformation, but if they don’t acknowledge the emotional side of change, they risk passive resistance or outright sabotage.
Executive Coaching is not that well known in the world of Education and the label often conjures images of remediation or inexperience for this profession, rather than a reflective space for leadership development, resilience building, and enhanced performance and results. With the importance Headteachers have in helping shape our society and educate our children, what more can we be doing to support them?
If Drucker was right, if culture eats strategy for breakfast, what does that mean for organisations that don’t pay attention to it? Have you ever wondered why your strategy isn’t understood by employees, or isn’t being delivered? The good news is there is plenty you can do to influence it.
What is your organisations shadow, and why does it matter? If we don’t know the ways that we work, don’t notice, don’t talk about how can they be managed, what risk do they pose, what opportunities are missed? Only when we integrate ourselves as a whole, with all our nuances and idiosyncrasies can we be healthy.
A myth, a story, builds trust, cultivates norms, transfers tacit knowledge, facilitates unlearning, and generates emotional connections. It’s a smart way of exchanging knowledge in organisations and is regularly used by leaders in managing change and influencing others.
If you’ve been privy to the human dynamics of being in a family, you’ll be au fait with complexity. Often it’s easy to avoid human dynamics because it’s hard to understand. But it can be very useful not to avoid it because we can use complexity in creative process, and as part of a strategy for change.
Pain tells us something, as a felt physical sensation it draws our attention to be more present and embodied. We notice and experience what the system is experiencing. We might create a moment to reflect on how to restore. How useful this is as a diagnostic tool, something to bring our conscious to our cognitive dissonance.
When we discuss gender issues in leadership, is it about hitting targets and quotas, or are we interested in questions of leadership style, culture, and how we recognise power, and whether the qualities of alpha male leaders are the same as what makes businesses successful? In order to achieve boardroom success, have women had to become just like men?
Organisational transformation starts with ambition. The CEO sees the destination clearly, the strategy is set, and the message is out. But quite often, there's a hitch: the Executive Team isn't fully aligned.