Breaking News....

The DNA Team (over 25 people there yesterday from academia and industry) yesterday successfully achieved the impossible. An MSc in Complexity & Leadership aimed at high-level managers, CEO's, Directors. The MSc Complexity and Leadership Programme will comprise of the following awards;

o    MSc Complexity and Leadership
o    MSc Complexity and Leadership (Manufacturing)
o    MSc Complexity and Leadership (Public Service)
o    MSc Complexity and Leadership (Retail/Service)

This MSc Complexity and Leadership will introduce current practitioners to concepts and thinking concerned with the sustainable leadership of organisations in both public services, retail and manufacturing.

The speed of change and the associated complexity facing organisations in the 21st Century has meant that leaders are increasingly having to develop thinking and solutions which would have been considered unthinkable a few years before. This MSC deals with that change and indeed may even lead it....

For the challenge is to develop methods, thinking, structures, systems and cultures/climates which enable organisations to succeed in achieving (their) interpretation of organisational ‘effectiveness’ and ‘competitive advantage’.  This MSc based in the sponsoring organisation and will address current problems and use theory in practice.

Do you want to have 30 senior managers in your organisation, accompanied by world leading academics who are helping you achieve success, solve issues and suggest ways forward? Interested then contact us now....

Paul

I just want to remind everyone that DNA Wales at present is a Non-Profit making, cash neutral organisation. No one in DNA gains financially as a result of the work we do in company. Why? Well I suppose we do not want to be considered as consultants, only help. We also want to be able to walk away if we are unable to help. Honesty, openness, transparency, trust and passion are our core values. Its what we do, love, and enjoy. Helping managers change.

We do have costs to cover of course as well as day jobs and as such we sometimes ask for expenses and this is all we ask for in the process of helping you gain solutions to your problems/issues.

Why; well as being introduced to new perspectives of thinking, understanding and working, senior leaders DNA Wales helps 'managers' learn more about the skills and language needed to develop an engaged workforce through the use of Complex Evolving Systems (CES) thinking.

In today’s competitive environment it demands we consider new, emerging and differing perspectives on how we manage our organisation, which are in fact natural human-systems within which we live, work and learn. This is important, not only for the sustainability of private and commercial sectors, but increasingly for all organisations.

This common sense approach makes a real difference to employee empowerment and wellbeing, reduces senior leader stress and improves the agility of the organisation as a whole.

We always present....

•    The ‘real’ context and structures of organisational life and human interaction.
•    The limitations that the rational perspective has on organisational innovation, development and health in light of new developments.
•    A new means to deal confidently and selectively with the most complex problems involving uncertainty and disagreement.
•    A messy but sustainable approach to reducing absenteeism, sickness, stress and disputes to improve worker welfare.
•    An understanding of the basic tenets and applications of ‘ownership’ and trust in a in any organisational context.
•    The impact of targets and measures.
•    The impact of hierarchy, control and managerialism on sustainable change.

Just thought I would remind members we believe what we say, act the way we ask others to act.....

Cheers
paul

I keep getting asked why DNA are systems thinkers..... we are not....very simply, a system is a collection of parts and subsystems integrated to accomplish an overall goal such as system of people is an organization.

"Systems have input, processes, and outputs with ongoing feedback among these various parts. If one part of the system is removed, the nature of the system is changed." 

Systems of course range from very simple to simple to very complex. There are numerous types of systems. For example,  biological systems, mechanical systems, human 'systems' or bio-metrics, ecological systems, and social systems.

Complex systems, which DNA operates in is of course a system, a social system comprised of numerous subsystems, but quite different to the above. These subsystems are arranged in hierarchies, and integrated to accomplish the overall goal of the overall system. But this is where the simularity ends as each human, human subsystem has its own boundaries of sorts, which is movable, unclear and co-evolving and includes various inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes geared to accomplish an overall goal for the subsystem. Yet the outcome, goals are often unclear, unknown until after the event.

A pile of sand is not a system nor is a Human system (human). If one removes a sand particle, you've still got a pile of sand. Yet its different. However, a functioning car is a system. Remove the carburetor and you've no longer got a working car.

It scares me to find managers now diagnose problems, not by examining what appear to be separate pieces of the organization, but by recognising larger patterns of interactions. Managers maintain perspective by focusing on the outcomes they want from their organizations, yet these outcomes are almost always unknown. Most managers focus on the structures that create behaviors that determine outcomes rather than reacting to events as which is mostly done in good organisations.

I read this recently and wanted to share....

The Myth of MEANING…

People think words mean things and that they know what they mean. Both claims are untrue! When Government talks of change, reform, choice, progress, social contract, radical new initiatives, transparency, accountability etc. they mean nothing. But most people don’t know this as the world of politics, (like management) expect the opposite. If they say strategy, for example, it simply means strategy.

The test is simple! If someone is talking such ‘speak’ then ask if you can imagine successful action based specifically on what they say…..when we cannot, they are playing with words and assuming you don’t know

Another Myth...The SCIENTIST....

This claims that there is an expertise, science and that people who are good at it deserve a lot of attention. This is so false. There is no such thing as a scientist and its a shame that 'William Whewell', a poor philosopher invented the term. There are biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians and so on....Very bright people, but step them one pace outside their specialist area and they are no better than he rest of us. The myth is propelled by the routine 'white-coat' brought out as the 'Government Scientist' everytime there is a problem.

We have to remember there are no 'facts' only 'truths'...... a large number of them, used as and when to prove a point and gain power over others...

Final one honest..

The Myth of (yes you've guessed it) MANAGEMENT...

This claims you people can be managed like a warehouse and airport and that some people are better than others at it. This is entirely wrong. It suggests people can be controlled, ordered, given incentives, penalties, suppressed and motivated to work. Human mess can be administered but administration is not management. One tries to ignore individual needs and people by treating them as mere means to an end. However, as I am sure most will agree, to do so will simply result in people becoming irritable, subversive and quickly UNmanageable!

When we see the mess/damage management has on an organisation (people) our reaction is to respond by hiring more managers to manage the mess and then more layers of managers to oversee the managers.... Of course most organisations don't do this, they simply buy in the worst type of managers..... Consultant Managers!

Consultants claim to scientific management (see the link!) and therefore costs more. There are of course great reason for hiring consultants.... its easy to pass the buck, and justify public spend for a new structure....but the mess (people) still remain, if just a little more irritated, subversive and hardened to management...

PT...

Help

We recognise that the nature of 'Leadership', human systems and systems dynamics in all sectors in the UK has been under-researched in the past albiet from a critical perspective. However, we are convinced that there are many creative and effective leadership practices here in Wales to begin with, which merit being researched, documentation, and dissemination. However, we need companies in which to do this research.

We are as the Glamorgan Business School committed to providing an exceptional research agenda, to critically investigate and understand the nature of leadership in all sectors of industry and Public Sector provision, operating to the highest international values.  We desire a meaningful, research-informed exchange of ideas with the WAG Skills Providers, through research-based action workshops, projects, and conferences. We are also funding a number of practitioner-researchers within the sector. Do You wish to help Wales become world leaders again? Will you/your organisation allow us in to research your company. No catches, no consultants, just academic advice, support and data collection of practice.

WHY?

Well the speed of change and the associated complexity facing organisations in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries has meant that leaders are increasingly having to develop methods and solutions which would have been considered unthinkable a few years before. In other words leaders have more than ever before to come up with creative ideas that can be developed into successful innovations and organisations. While clearly this imperative can be related to new products and services, a crucial dimension is the harnessing of the creative abilities of employees such that the tacit knowledge they possess can be utilized to best affect.

The challenge is then to develop systems, structures, humans and cultures/climates which enable the organisation to succeed in achieving (their) interpretation of organisational ‘effectiveness’ and ‘competitive advantage’.

Is this possible in Wales?

You would be forgiven if you thought I was talking about your hobby or holiday in the above title. I'm not, for I'm referring to the organisation you work in at the moment. No! Then it should be, if you want to be sustainable, innovative and present in the near future. Do your workers want to come to work? Do they feel excited about driving to work? If not then you must re-examin youself, your organisation and what you are doing not for this to happen. Should we be having fun in work?

“Not invented here” and “we only do tools” are just two of the many syndromes which regularly undermine efforts to create a sustainable organisation. Attempts to benchmark performance, measure input, control output and create performance league tables often drives open, honest and trusting communication further underground, as departments and management defend their positions and compete with each other over power, money and status. There must be another way.....

What about letting go and giving your employees run the company? What about Democratic Leadership in Wales - Can we do it?  Why or Why Not? What's holding us back?

Ricardo Semler and his company SMECO are an excellent example that it can be done. Below is an interview with Ricardo Semler conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), where Ricardo releases some insight into democratic leadership at SEMCO. Watch the interview and post your comments to ths blog.

Can we in Wales adopt democratic leadership as possible alternative for businesses as opposed to measurement, command and control? I think we can!

Posted: Dr. Paul T. Thomas.