Bringing out the very very best in people.
We work with individuals and teams, providing tailored interventions and development programmes that deliver substantial improvement in attitudes, thinking and behaviour.
What we do
Using the Socratic method of facilitation (Dialectic), we provide tailored development programmes and interventions that meet the people needs of organisations with flexibility and precision.
Our Programmes
Each of our programmes is unique in terms of scope, content and duration. However, the aim is always related to bringing about much needed transformation in attitudes and behaviour. Ultimately our business is about bringing out the very best in people.
Our Services
We provide a complete service from initial consultancy through to the design and delivery of a programme or specialist intervention. Our projects use a combination of delivery formats and services including executive coaching, individual training workshops, group workshops, meeting facilitation and mediation.
Our Approach
When it comes to people’s development we take the view that whatever we are trying to develop is already there in the person, but latent. Development then is a ‘drawing out’ rather than a ‘putting in’ process. These are two very different perspectives. The latter has resulted in the conventional ‘teaching’ or ‘telling’ approach that at best achieves compliance. The former view, held by Socrates, gave rise to Dialectic which is a process that respects the inherent capacity of each individual to discover within themself, the already known answers and solutions, a discovery which is totally a matter of practice, self-examination and experience.
Areas of Expertise
Mastering Ourselves & Building Capacity
- Wellbeing - Eliminating stress, building resilience and increasing energy.
- Effectiveness - Exposing the "I'm too busy" myth, eliminating time-wasting activities and learning how to manage ourselves more effectively.
- Confidence - Dissolving ideas which hinder performance, overcoming fear and building true confidence that is independent of circumstances.
- Assertiveness - Debunking misunderstandings about assertiveness, developing real inner strength and cultivating the capacity to speak or act with conviction.
- Communication - Making communication open and honest - overcoming the self-imposed obstacles that stop us from connecting with people, bringing congruency into our speech and actions and learning to truly listen, free from assumptions.
- Teamwork & Relationships - Making relationships strong and harmonious, taking responsibility for our role and contribution, shifting the reference point away from 'me and mine' and to the team as a whole.
Areas of Expertise
Leadership & Managing People
- Servant Leadership - Developing leadership that serves people with integrity and honesty, guided by vision and principles.
- Managing People - Managing people in a way that we ourselves would like to be managed - a people-first Vs. the all too common task-first approach.
- Management Styles - Understanding our management style and appreciating how to adapt it to suit the needs of different individuals and bring out the very best in people.
- Managing Staff Needs - Understanding the nature of the manager-staff relationship and taking responsibility for identifying and responding to the needs (not wants) of our people.
- Addressing Issues - Addressing difficult or sensitive issues with staff in a way that substantially improves their performance and materially develops the individuals.
- Authentic Appraisals - Cultivating a more authentic approach to performance management and appraisal leading to sincere engagement between managers and staff.
- Facilitation - Facilitating meetings where people are not afraid to speak, where silos are dissolved and decisions are made in the best interest of the whole organisation.
- Decision Making - Developing a principle-based approach to decision making.
Areas of Expertise
Shifting Mindsets & Changing Culture
- Managing Change - Dissolving resistance to change and fostering willingness, communicating in a way that ensures no rumour gap and moving the reference point away from 'what is good for me' to 'what is in the best interest of the whole organisation.'
- Changing Cultures - Overcoming habitual ways of working, "the way we do things around here", shifting ingrained attitudes and closed mindsets and building capacity to lead change and innovate without fear.
- Vision - Making vision, values and ethics a practical reality on the ground, moving them from paper to person, making them manifest in the behaviour of all staff from the CEO to the front lines.
- Dysfunctional Teams - Restoring dysfunctional teams, renewing relationships and eliminating historical baggage and conflict.
- Dialectic - Training in Dialectic - understanding the application, use and dynamics of this approach and developing the necessary skills.
