OUTCOME OF WORLD CAFÉ BY PARTICIPANTS ON STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THE LIMITS OF A LEARNING ORGANISATON (HELD AT WOODGROVE SECONDARY SCHOOL): STRATEGIES (AS IN THE SESSION’S NOTES) Integrating initiatives Scheduling time for focus & concentration Trusting people to control their own use of time Valuing unstructured time Building capabilities for eliminating busywork Saying “no” to political game-playing Saying “no” to non-essential demands Experimenting with time Investing early in help Creating the capacity for coaching Finding a partner Building coaching into line management Attitudes about seeking help Build strategic awareness among key leaders Explicitly raise questions about relevance in the pilot group Make more information available to pilot group members Keep training linked tightly to business results Inquire openly about perceptions that some people are getting “carried away” Revisit relevance periodically Develop espoused aims and values that are credible in terms of the “living qualities” of the organization Build the credibility of organizational values and aims by demonstration, not by articulation Don’t go at it alone – work with partners Cultivate patience under pressure Develop a greater sense of organizational awareness Think carefully about your beliefs about people Make room for talk about individual values Cultivate patience with bosses Practice shuttle diplomacy Start small and build momentum before confronting difficult issues Avoid “frontal assaults” Set an example of openness Learn to see diversity as an assest Use breakdowns as opportunities for learning Do everything possible to ensure that participation in pilot groups and change initiatives is a matter of choice, not coercion Remember that skills matter As a manager, work to develop a common frame around vision and current reality Don’t shoot yourself in the foot Remember, and remind people that fear and anxiety are natural responses to the precariousness of a learning situation Learn to legitimate and value network leaders as carriers of new ideas and as coaches Pay explicit attention to existing communities of practice Release information about new innovations with less constraint Get “the system” in the room Design more effective media for internal information exchange Cultivate “appreciative inquiry”; other people are probably not as crazy as they seem Make research part of executive accountability Develop the managerial capability to conduct research, especially by line leaders Remember that all boundaries are ultimately arbitrary Become “bi-cultural” Mentoring Build the pilot group’s capability to engage the larger system from the beginning Cultivate reflective openness Respect people’s inhibitions about personal change You don’t have to convince people Deploy language consciously Lay a foundation of transcendent values Pay attention to your boundaries and be strategic when crossing them Articulate the case for change in terms of business results Make executive leaders’ priorities part of your team’s creative thinking Experiment with cross-functional, cross-boundary teams, if you can get them sponsored by the hierarchy Begin at the beginning: with governing ideas Develop specific structures that guard against “authoritarian drift” Deploy new rules and regulations judiciously Never underestimate the power of small changes in complex situations – if they are the “right” changes Be prepared for a long journey and don’t embark alone Appreciate the time delays that are involved in profound change Build partnership with executive leaders around assessing the assessment process Learn to recognize and appreciate progress as it occurs Make assessment, and developing new abilities to assess, a priority among advocates of change Use scenario thinking to investigate the blind spots and signals of unexpected events Combine scenario thinking and explorations of organizational purpose Develop stewardship as an organizational ethic and practice Engage people continually around organizational strategy and purpose Expose and test the assumptions behind your current strategy Focus on developing better strategic thinking and ethical thinking capabilities Learn to pay attention to subtle shifts in the sense of possibility ACTION PLANS SUGGESTED BY PARTICIPANTS Short-term: Stop focusing on least important elements Start making good use of unstructured time – well spent and be constructive Stop gossips Continue discussions after office hours Start empowerment – seek own help Stop procrastinating Continue giving resources (time, people, money,, training, books) to interested people within organization Continue listening to all levels of staff Continue updates to everyone Stop doing same things over and over again Continue questioning Continue open-door policy Stop assuming the future is the same as past Continue sharing sessions with staff Medium-term: Continue scanning exercises which involve a diverse group of people Managers spend 10 mins a day listening and sharing with their staff Identifying assumptions and add that in planning Start asking what do they really need Look for the right people – at management, expert guidance, change agent / activists, shows passion Invest in help – collaborate with partners Clarify roles Stop complaining Continue to think big but start small (small changes can bring big results) Stop irrelevant training Start accessibility to internet Stop ordering directives Continue involvement & ownership Stop degenerative conversations Continue to clarify mental models (deeply ingrained assumptions – that one holds) Start conversations with “Yes …, and …” Start conversations that CR and acknowledge that it might not be relevant Reward questions, especially “stupid questions” Stop defending or denying Start reviewing  explicitly questions about relevance Start having fun and building relationships Stop telling people what to do Stop public admonition Stop quantifying qualitative processes Continue viewing diversity as an asset to the organisation Encourage airing of diverse views Long-term: Start prioritizing key elements of the initiative Start pulling in all resources Start allocating time according to the prioritized elements Start identifying strategic thrusts Continue monitoring progress of all initiatives Start checking current reality and future reality pictures and find the gap! Stop waiting for management to lead the change Acquire skills and tools of Systems Thinking and archetype to help teams and organizations make sense of complexity Let staff choose LNA Stop classifying “confidential” To optimize individual strengths, talents and passion Leaders share personal failures and learnings Identify potential stewards and develop their stewardship abilities

Practitioner Sharing Forum Notes 12