Designing Creative High Power Teams and Organizations


Book Description

The very best firms today are poietic organizations; that is, they are exceptional at streamlining the processes of ideation, creation, and production. These poietic organizations do two things well: They design and develop high power teams, and they create an organizational culture and context that supports improvisation, design, experimentation, aesthetic awareness, and strengths development. Great teams exhibit the same characteristics—trust, commitment, and energy. Inside you’ll learn how to design and develop creative high power teams and organizations by first assessing team member strengths using personality factors and multiple intelligences theory. Following these assessments, how to best represent and share this information to promote team development is illustrated, while examining three types of high performance teams—improvisational, design, and research teams. The second half of this book focuses on the major models upon which organizations are built, the pros and cons of these choices, and strategy. Using current research, examples and cases, the author articulates ways to transform your organization into a high power and poietic organization.




Fostering Creativity in Self and the Organization


Book Description

As a professional, this book will help you maximize your creative potential—learning that successful creative expression is a function of hard work and discipline rather than innate talent or genius. Reaching your creative potential requires an open mind and this book will help. The author discusses some of the mental models that facilitate or impede your development as a creative person. Since creativity encompasses so many things, the author focuses on four creative behaviors and cognitions critical to self-development and career advancement: improvisational capacity, design thinking, your experimental and scientific mind, and aesthetic awareness. These abilities are critical success factors for 21st century professionals. Inside, you’ll learn how to leverage these abilities along with innate strengths derived from your multiple intelligence inventory, which include linguistic intelligence, mathematical/logical intelligence, visual/spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, and naturalistic intelligence. You’ll also learn how to identify specific ways to accelerate your progress. The book concludes with a plan of action to systematically develop your creative potential over time.




Developing Informed Intuition for Decision-Making


Book Description

This book examines how to develop the main traits that are necessary to become an “informed intuitant”. Case studies and examples of successful “informed intuitants” are a major component of the book. “Intuitant” is someone who has the intuitive awareness to be successful. “Informed intuitant” indicates that the individual/decision maker not only applies his/her intuition but also verifies it through using data-driven approaches (such as data analytics). Some of this work resulted from research examining how well do executives trust their intuition.




Leader Evolution


Book Description

Most individuals who move into leadership positions expe-rience the modern day version of trial by ordeal. It’s sink or swim. To reduce the learning curve and create a more effec-tive process, this book describes a road map for leadership development, a series of four stages that expand personal competence as well as create a broader impact on the orga-nization or business. Each stage requires unique changes in thinking, perspective taking, and behavior, both those needed to acquire as well as those needed to jettison. The book is a pragmatic approach for self-motived individuals to take con-trol of their professional development by giving them the concepts, tools, techniques, and assignments to develop their leadership effectiveness where it counts the most—on the job. While highly relevant to new and existing managers, the book is ideally suited for technical professionals and leaders in technical organizations looking to develop critical lead-ership skills distinct from technical expertise. The concepts and principles are directed toward the individual for on-the-job application, however, this also serves as an organi-zational and leadership development resource for Executive MBA programs, as well as a blueprint for in-house leadership development programs.




Leading The Positive Organization


Book Description

Positive psychology and positive organizational scholarship have begun to have an impact on the enterprise. It is important for organizational leaders at all levels to understand this powerful new framework. This volume brings together a wide range of organizational scholars who have derived implications from positive research for the modern enterprise. Engaging topics from leadership, to self-esteem, and to conflict resolution, this book provides practical tools, actions, and processes that can be used to create positive organizations.




Followership


Book Description

Followers dominate all organizations, but a preoccupation with leaders hinders the consideration of the importance of followers and the relationship between followers and leaders. Followership: What It Takes to Lead will teach you how to become a better leader by becoming a better follower. The book includes chapters on the topics of: leadership theory, followership theory, preparation for the job, understanding what is required for the job, communication, initiative, positive attitude, responsibility, problem solving, and teamwork. It also provides suggestions for becoming an exemplary follower, which will demonstrate and manifest the skills associated with leadership as well as bridge the gap between leadership training and followership.




You're A Genius


Book Description

If you want to excel at any art form, you have to master the craft. Artists spend years mastering their craft and then their whole lives working on that craft. The same is true for professional athletes. If you want to practice the art of leadership, you have to master the craft of leadership. What is the craft of leadership? Leadership is the craft of working with other humans in order to motivate and inspire them to complete their tasks and reach their goals. This is a “how-to” book for learning the techniques of reflective practice in the action science and action inquiry traditions in order to develop and practice that craft. The book explains how to use various tools, such as the Ladder of Inference, the Learning Pathways Grid, and the Change Immunity Map, for offline reflection and active experimentation in order to develop and practice the craft of leadership.




The Search For Best Practices


Book Description

The Search for Best Practices will help you do the right thing and in the right way in spite of organizational roadblocks. It gives a real “how to” look to assist management and operations personnel to analyze their operations in a program of continuous improvements and on-going search for best practices so that each entity operates most economically, efficiently, and effectively—tied into why the entity is in existence in the first place. Best practice techniques assist the company in identifying its critical problem areas and treating the cause and not the symptom. With sensible business principles as the hallmark for the company’s quest for best practices, the company can be clear as to the direction of movement and avoid merely improving poor practices or matching competitors’ less than desirable practices—that is, being less inefficient than competitors. Clear business principles that make sense to all levels of the organization allow the company to identify and develop the proper best practices. In this manner, everyone in the organization is moving in the same desired direction—and singing from the same songbook. The viruses that corrupt a business organization can be widespread and quite contagious. Nouveau quick fixes may be okay in the short term, but over the long haul, the company needs to know what they are doing. If the company doesn’t, some other company will.




Marketing Your Value


Book Description

“This book is an excellent read for college students, recent graduates and mid-career professionals as they navigate their careers and prepare for the next step towards their professional goals.” Pareena Lawrence, PhD, Provost and Dean of the College, Professor of Economics, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois “In the tradition of ‘What Color is Your Parachute’ and ‘What Should I Do With My Life?’, ‘Marketing Your Value: 9 Steps to Navigate Your Career’ is likely to be invaluable to anyone who is entering the job market, considering a change of direction, or advising those who are.” William Pannapacker, PhD, Professor of English, Director of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program in the Arts and Humanities, Faculty Director of the Great Lakes Colleges Association’s Digital Liberal Arts Initiative, Hope College. Navigating the chaos in today’s global marketing place, including global unemployment and underemployment, the digital revolution, and technological advancements, requires a sophisticated strategy that is built upon the paradigm that professional development is directly linked to personal growth. To grow as a professional, therefore, one must increase their self-awareness, build a compelling brand, and then communicate their message in a clear and consistent fashion. This book explains how professionals can market their value to navigate their career and live a life of purpose. Divided into three sections, this publication offers you an opportunity to assess your personal and professional skills, challenges you to create a compelling personal brand, and helps you develop the communication materials necessary to navigate your career.




High-Impact Tools for Teams


Book Description

Take advantage of a powerful visual management tool for teams as you work together and deliver great results. It's been used by thousands of teams for project success! 59% of U.S. workers say that communication is their team's biggest obstacle to success, followed by accountability at 29% (Atlassian). High-Impact Tools for Teams explains a simple, powerful tool that helps team leaders and members align and get clarity on exactly who is responsible for each part of the team's most important activities and projects. The tool is complemented by 4 trust add-ons that help teams build trust and increase psychological safety, so every member can be confident in sharing ideas or concerns about obstacles the team may face. It's a proven tool for project teams, based on years of research, and thousands of teams are already using the Team Alignment Map to run effective "get-to-action meetings", give projects a good start and de-silo organizations. Co-author Alex Osterwalder is the international best-selling author who co-created the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool used by 1 million+ industry leaders globally. Plan as a team and know who does what Uncover and proactively remove the most likely obstacles to any project Boost team member contributions Run more effective team meetings Get more successful projects With the guidance of High-Impact Tools for Teams, you can be better prepared as a team leader or team member to plan effectively, reduce risks, and collaborate with others. Your team will be accountable and ready to deliver results!