Ahead of their Time - How can we Support Change Leaders inside Organisations?
By Bernard Chanliau, Saturday 07 November, 2009
Xenergie Consulting launches Change Leader Network "Promoting Leadership from Within the Organisation"
28 January Dublin and 10 February London.
Xenergie Consulting announces Change Leader Network, a collaborative community to support people in organisations who are in positions of managing, influencing or part of change. The Network particularly energises those who find themselves a step ahead of others in terms of understanding the scale of cultural change required, able to grasp the essence of the paradigm shift in behaviour and systems thinking that is necessary to minimise further collapse but who frequently experience denial, ignorance and resistance from within their organisations.
The Network helps such people to develop their understanding of largescale organisation change and integral thinking at a strategic and applied level, in a way that will enable them to influence more effectively within their own organisations and benefit from a collective experience pool. They may come from any role or hierarchy in an organisation and are indentified by a personal inclination to want to make a difference.
The Network has been formed in response to:
a) the extreme tensions of our times and recognising that, in change situations, people transition at different stages according to their openness to new learning and flexibility to adapt.
b) the fact that new times demand new thinking and the problems that come at us today in the transition can only be resolved by solutions that they themselves create. In such times, it is important to work "from the future to the present" not "from the present to the future", yet at first the pull to focus on the latter is far stronger and easier than quantum leap to the future.
Says the network's founder, Lorna McDowell of Xenergie Consulting, "Change agents, by their nature, are ahead of their game, think widely and deeply, are highly motivated (and easily demotivated) but need a lot of support to energise their work and sustain themselves in organisations. This is particularly prevalent when they can see collapse around them, but their colleagues can't see the wood for the trees. It's important to help change agents develop the skills of leadership.
"Often the pull of short termism and dismissal of new concepts from the 'conventional' colleagues stifles the very valuable contribution change agents can offer in organisations - they see things that others can't. Learning the language to connect conventional and post-conventional people and organisations is a vital skill that Change Leaders need to develop in order for their vital input to be heard and for them to bring others onboard. This is a key area in which the Change Leader Network will help to upskill its members, as well as deepening their understanding of the paradigm shift and testing concepts."
The group's purpose is to "bridge the chasm" between the conventional world and the post-conventional world in terms of sharing learning and experience, testing and developing new models that members can take back into their organisation to help their teams "cross the chasm".
Connection happens through on-line live webinars - to serve an audience which is increasingly time-poor and needing to be close to the office - and some 'in-person' events. The membership is predominantly Ireland and UK although members have also joined from China, Israel, Australia and the United States.
In addition to McDowell, the network is stewarded by seven change specialists in Ireland and UK who have been immersing themselves in new paradigm thinking, leadership and largescale system change for some years now following significant experience in corporate and public sector life and having found that other establishment thinktanks or initiatives miss the mark in terms, often gridlocked or stumped by their own system behaviour and a lack of attention to the behavioural and social aspects of change leadership. In its membership, the group promotes and encourages diversity of expertise, culture and behaviour style, and representation from all walks of organisation life in order to stimulate the right kind of climate for innovation.
The invitation to join the network is extended to all those who are involved in organisational change, scenario planning and organisation design. Join the workshop 'Journey of the Change Leader' on 28 January in Dublin or 10 February in London - sign up on-line or join the network
Introductory FREE webinars are held once a month.
More information: Lorna McDowell, Xenergie Consulting
UK: +44 (0)753 116 3515 / Landline: (0)844 7743856
Ireland : +353 (0)87 919 0622 / Landline +353 (0)1 640 1951
Biographies of Change Leader Network Stewards:
Glyn Owen: Systems & Organistion Design Consultant: Glyn is a management consultant with a track record of sector level innovation associated with internal and project performance coaching; which enabled business differentiation. In 2004 Glyn with this work was a finalist in the UK National Business Awards. Glyn has depth experience of organizational development & coaching within the Engineering, Construction, Housing & Utility sectors, particularly associated with collaborative / partnering forms of organization and departmental cultural development. He is part way through a Professional Doctorate in Coaching & Mentoring through Oxford Brookes University in which he is developing an approach called Systems Coaching. Systems Coaching is a sophisticated coaching approach integrating systems thinking with strategic planning, leadership & team development, business improvement, strategic risk management & business differentiation. Glyn is a Chartered Engineer, with a Masters Degree in Engineering Management through Bristol University. He holds the following supplementary qualifications:
Chris Chapman, Change Exploratory: holds an MSC in Change Agent Skills and Strategies from the University of Surrey and is well linked in with highly relevant global networks such as the Association of Sustainability Practitioners, the Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations that Matter and the ALIA - Authentic Leadership in Action. Chris has a strong network of people that he likes to work with across the worlds of sustainability and coaching / facilitation, both in Ireland and internationally. He is committed to bringing together the best possible team for each job and committed to passing on skills and knowledge so that each piece of work has the maximum lasting benefits. Chris consults extensively for thought leading projects within the social and environmental sector including the Cultivate Living and Learning Centre, Glencree Reconcilliation centre and Cloughjordan, Ireland’s first sustainable community project .
Marie McCrea, CIL: Organisation Analyst and Scenario Planner/Change consultant and coach with a breadth experience in corporate financial services, process improvement, corporate governance, systems thinking, scenario based strategy, strategic alignment, project management, training, facilitation and team profiling – enables her to combine the practical and results focused requirement of organisations and their overall sustainability without losing sight of the individuals needs within the organisation. As project manager and consultant for clients such as Irish Life & Permanent - Group HR, Superquinn and DHL Express, she supported the review, improvement and implementation of changes; both team, process and structural. Result - effectiveness of operations, enhanced competency of teams and reduction of operational and financial risk. She has also facilitated with her affiliate company CIL (Centre for Innovative Leadership), strategic change workshops for Irish Life, Eskom and Skillnets, working with scenario planning, leadership and systems thinking.
Mari Kennedy, Transformational Space: is a qualified Personal and Business Coach and Movement Therapist. Over four years ago Mari "took the leap" leaving a busy career as Project Co-ordinator for President Mary McAleese set-up her own company, TransformationalSPACE. In that transition her whole life changed, and she discovered the joy and the terror of leaving her comfort zone, in pursuit of living life to the full. Her experience of that change awakened in her an inquiry into human potential and a questioning of why so many people limit themselves in their lives and careers. This examination, now her passion, has subsequently lead her to an in-depth study of self mastery through coaching, yoga, movement, voice, mindfulness, meditation and (of course!) continued self inquiry. In the past 4 years she has found enormous fulfilment teaching yoga, facilitating workshops and running a personal coaching practice. Now she has returned to the business world with the intention of sharing the skills, techniques and knowledge she has acquired. With 17 years experience working in management in the arts, public service and political arena as a strategist, event manager, marketing manager she is acutely aware of the challenges faced by individuals and teams in the highly pressured environment of business
Helen Stanton, Vantage Point Coaching, is an outstanding executive coach who is powerful at raising the performance levels of senior managers. Helen's portfolio of clients includes national and global companies; third level educational organisations; and voluntary agencies including Eircom where she coached 80 of the top 120 senior managers and lead initiatives to develop a coaching culture when she was an employee of the company; Dundalk Institute of Technology where she coached eight members of the Executive Management Team including the President and the Head of the School of Business and Humanities; Trinity College Dublin where she coached the Head of a Research Institute; The Peter Bradley Foundation where she has coached at CEO level; Accord where she coached the CFO and Shire Pharmaceuticals ( a FTSE100 company).
Bernard Chanliau, Leadership Coach & "practical hands-on businessman.", Xenergie Consulting, Bernard’s vast experience in European business management spanning seven countries and emphasis on practical applications makes him a resource for leadership, team and culture development, change management, interpersonal skills and organisational analysis. With 18 years of corporate experience, where he executed in strategic operational and collaborative leadership roles throughout EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa), he has a proven track record in Pan-European channel sales development with excellent project and influencing skills and the ability to drive change and influence cross functionally. Bernard is currently a co-director and owner of Xenergie Consulting Ltd, where his clients have included GE Capital, Pfizer, ICON, St Andrews and Boston Scientific. Before joining Xenergie, Bernard worked for major global Fortune 500 corporations including Xerox, Symantec and ATL Quantum.
