Ambassadors and Members of The Organizational Zoo Ambassadors Network (affectionately known as OZAN) used the Zoo Character Cards to explore the behavioural DNA of Leadership. That is, which metaphors best represents the complex behavioural capabilities required to inspire others to follow you when the situation is ideal and the organization is performing well. Clearly, a successful leader (consciously) adjusts their behavior when the context changes and this is the critical point of facilitating "Conversations That Matter" using the Zoo concepts. The most...
The Organizational Zoo character cards were used to assess the which metaphorical "animals" (representing behaviours) supported or detracted from a creative environment at Creative Bangkok. This activity was repeated at the HEC Creativity Summer School in Montreal in June 2015. The Montreal group was larger (about 70 people broken up into 18 groups) and of a more mixed cultural background. Despite this there were strong similarities in the outputs of the activity. For example the strongest characters supporting a creative environment...
The participants of Creative Bangkok 2014 engaged in assessing what “animals” (Organizational Zoo metaphor characters representing behaviours) supported creativity and which were detrimental to it. After a very quick introduction (because we wanted intuitive interpretation and creative open exchange of perspectives with minimal preconception) to The Organizational Zoo, participants allocated character cards into 4 categories for the context of generating creative environment: Expected (required for creative outcomes) Desired (not absolutely required, but a positive influence on creativity) Tolerated (not desirable, prefer not to...
The limitation of many psychometrics is the way they are used by some. Used well, they can provide insights into the preferences a person has “generally”, though this cannot be applied to all situations. However, they often are used to stereotypically categorise the person, with the implication that this may inform them what roles they may be best suited to. That is, applied in ways that puts the person in a box. This is dangerous given often this largely based...
We rarely afford ourselves with the luxury of engaging in sufficient time to do what Donald Schön called "reflection in action". When we do so, we realise just how much more there is to life and we enhance our learning experiences. One of the biggest challenges in our lives is productively engaging with others. Group dynamics is a double edged sword! Groups enable us to share workload, enjoy learning from other’s perspectives and engage in a deeply rewarding relationship that...
Most organisations have some sort of "year end" breakup party just preceding the holiday season of their culture. A celebration of what has been achieved and what there is to look forward to in the following year. These are the absolute best times to understand the REAL culture of your organisation. As an example, over the next few days many organisations around the world will be breaking up for Christmas where there will be ample flow of alcohol and consequently...
A group of my students studying knowledge based performance are each asked to research a separate topic and then write about it in a wiki. They insert links in the context of their own topic to the topics researched by other students to demonstrate the interdependence of each field. After this has been done they are asked to engage in a "Conversation that Matters" (see Jan 4 post) about the relationships between each of the topics. Whilst they have this...
Leadership is behavioural - not a position! The person at the top of an organisation may be a poor leader. They may occupy the top job and command decisions, but this does not mean they are a GOOD leader. A real leader is a person who has WILLING followers. People want to help them because they are inspired by them and respect them as a person. To become a leader of great standing requires a history of proven performance where your stewardship and demonstrated...
Collaborative employee A We are between a rock and a hard place, they will not change their plans and we cannot force them to. I honestly believe this training proposal is necessary for the program be successful, but they simply won’t resource it. Collaborative employee A’s manager I'm almost to the point of saying "to hell with it - let them rot", but I know that isn't the answer. If they persist then we need to be prepared to assist when the...
The most common question I get when facilitating conversations around behavioural metaphors is "Which animal am I?" This is of course the wrong question. People need to think outside the box when it comes to behaviours. So many profiles try to put you into a box, when they should be highlighting behavioural strengths and potential opportunities. This is where the adaptability of the animal metaphors work their magic. The key is to be the right animal in the right context...
I ambitiously started this blog two years ago and had not revisited it again until now? How does that happen? When I was young I had an anonymous quote on my wall "There must be something to reincarnation - it is hard to believe I could get this far behind in only one lifetime". Time is a resource that is difficult to manage. We all get the same amount of it each day and yet for some it is not...
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