Prof. John Kotter states “Both thinking and feeling are essential, but the heart of successful change is in the emotions.”
The effectiveness of our approach is due to two elements: Content and Delivery
Content:
In 2003, my business partner and I set about compiling a set of leadership and management tools that were relevant, easy to understand and apply, and essential to the running of any successful organisation, department, or team. Every month, we would set aside a whole day to deconstruct a common business model or approach, capturing its essence and establishing the most effective way to apply it. We were often able to strip out jargon, reduce the number of steps, or even combine one model with another. This process gave us a set of leadership and management tools that are clear, simple, practical, and relevant.
Delivery:
However, no matter how excellent the content, it must be delivered in a manner that causes behavioural change. Our delivery approach is influenced by the work of Professor John Kotter (Harvard Business School), who concludes that:
“Changing behaviour is less a matter of giving people analysis and information to influence their thoughts… it is more about helping them to see a truth to influence their feelings.” “Both thinking and feeling are essential, but the heart of successful change is in the emotions.” Prof. Kotter calls this See/Feel/Change, and this concept is central to everything we deliver. Trainees are taken through the process below.
Our approach is also underpinned by adult learning principles such as:
- Adults are self-directed; preferring to discover things and knowledge for themselves.
- Adults prefer minimum instruction and maximum autonomy.
- Learning should be directed towards practical application with current plans/issues/problems and not only towards understanding theory.
- Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning.
It is the combination of the interaction and interlinking of the content and delivery that gives rise to our one-of-a-kind training approach.
“The level of engagement, application, and personal change in the women was exceptional, resulting in strengthened participation in natural resource management and decision making within the community. It has transformed the women, as evidenced by their increased self-esteem, self-confidence, and problem-solving without requiring external support. All the projects spearheaded by these women’s associations are showing great progress i.e. mangrove restoration, octopus fishing management, women’s micro-finance projects, and plastic management and recycling projects.”