The Six Big Ideas of Adaptive Organizations: Sense-making Sessions and Coaching - Beyond Frameworks: The Six Big Ideas of Adaptive Organizations

Sense-making Sessions --> Frameworks have their place, but they shouldn't be at the forefront of agility or change. If we only focus on swapping out processes (we do it this way now; we just need to do it that way) and adding some technology (like installing Jira) to manage our work, what have we really changed?

This is not your typical course. It consists of multiple hands-on sense-making sessions where you, your co-workers, and your leadership can make sense of what's really going on in your organization when it comes to change, whether it's working well or not.

The course is comprised of seven short sense-making sessions (one 120-minute session and six 90-minute sessions). You can drop into any session as each one is all-inclusive of its specific sense-making subject. Or take them all consecutively or over time-whatever makes the most sense for you.

*** This course is one of the prerequisite options for applying to the Leading Transformative Change Mastery Program. ***

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***This course requires you to bring the context of a transformation, large change initiative, or other substantial change effort as the basis of your sense-making. It might be best to bring some co-workers, or better yet some decision-makers, with you so that you can make sense of the change together***

Course Purpose

Throughout these sessions, participants will learn to apply the 6 Big Ideas to complex change in ways that enhance organizational adaptability.

Attendees will learn to:

Understand and differentiate between optimization and evolution strategies, and learn to apply both strategies incrementally to transformative organizational changes.
Learn to use the 5 Universals of Change to create a purpose-driven approach to change that harnesses bottom-up intelligence for change that is supported top-down.
Explore a systemic approach to change in the 5 levers—People, Processes, Technology, Strategies, and Structures—to create holistic and sustainable change within their organization.
Develop an understanding of a holistic and systemic approach to organizational agility, one that addresses not just Delivery Agility but also Change and Leadership Agility.
Navigate the 5 Waves of Transformative Change to understand the mental journey people take as they attempt to implement strategies that advance the organization through each wave effectively.
Apply the 4 Dimensions of Change—Self, Stance, Big Ideas, and Tools and Practices—to balance the art and science of change.

Who Are These Sessions For?

Organizational Leaders who are looking to get their transformative changes unstuck.
Agile coaches and organizational change management professionals who have worked on large-scale transformations and wondered why it hasn't worked out the way they hoped.
Coaches and consultants who desire a modern approach to helping people and organizations change; one that accepts the inherent complexities that transformative change brings.

The 7 Sense-making Sessions

Start with whichever session fits your current needs. Take one or take them all; each one is a self-contained sense-making adventure that will help you get your change unstuck.

Learning to Make Sense of Your System (120-minute session)

In this session, we'll explore the effect complexity has on our organizations and the strategies typically deployed in organizations to address uncontrollable social, industrial, and market disruption. You'll begin thinking about your own organization's context as an interconnected set of nested systems and you'll uncover what actions you might want to take to help.

The 2 Strategies of Effective Organizations (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll differentiate between optimization and evolution strategies and how they can either enhance or hinder an organization's ability to transform itself into an adaptable organism.

The 3 Agilities of Effective Organizations (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll explore how an organization is a constantly changing ecosystem that requires being really good at adapting. We'll discover agility beyond Agile frameworks and software development.

The 4 Dimensions of Change (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll explore how tools, practices, and strategies (big ideas) are helpful but often not enough to help others change effectively. It often takes focusing on ourselves and doing the hard work to improve who we are and how we show up.

The 5 Levers of Change (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll discover how changing one thing often leads to a ripple effect of new challenges that weren't understood before. We'll also learn how people's beliefs, behaviors, rituals, and capabilities affect an organization's ability to adapt.

The 5 Universals of Change (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll examine change through a different lens to see how it could work for your organization if it stopped focusing on urgency and started focusing on cause and purpose.

The 5 Waves of Transformative Change (90-minute session)

In this session, we'll find out just how far from the shore our change efforts are and if we're thinking about how to get back to shore in one piece. It sounds dangerous, but it's not.

Interactive Activities and Breakout Sessions

Throughout these sessions, you will participate in various interactive activities designed to reinforce the 6 Big Ideas and their supporting concepts. These activities will include:

Hands-On Exercises: Engage in practical exercises that allow you to apply the concepts discussed. These exercises will help you internalize the ideas and understand how to use them effectively in your change context.

Small Group Breakouts: Work in small groups to make sense of your organization's change challenges in new ways. These breakout sessions provide an opportunity to collaborate with co-workers, organizational leaders, or peers.

Unravel Your Thinking: Understanding the 6 Big Ideas means understanding yourself and your organization in ways you likely never have before. Each big idea is a multi-layered opportunity to think about your change context in new and different ways.

What You Get

Up to 12 hours of interaction with your class cohort and licensed instructor. You choose how many sessions you want to attend.
Free access to the Event Hub, ExperimentoR Tool, and AI Hub on the Lean Change Website Portal.

Live Session Requirements:

A quiet and comfortable place to be for the duration of the live class sessions
Be mindful of potential interruptions (e.g., children, pets, etc.).
Camera and microphone (there will be lots of interaction)
Reliable internet connectivity
Ability to access Microsoft Teams and Mural

Commitments:

Please participate in the live sessions as if you are there in person.
Please arrive on time and commit to full 100% class session attendance.
Please pay full attention and participate fully (with your camera on).