By Carter McNamara on March 27, 2012
(This is a guest post from Professor Günther H. Schust and is based on his free ebook “Supportive Leadership.”) More than two thirds of all problems in our society result from a decrepit leadership culture in economy and politics which allows indispensable profound reforms (i.e. climate protection, finance and tax legislation) and “green” technologies for [...]
By Carol Mase on November 15, 2011
Last week I had the opportunity to hear Thomas Lockwood speak about design thinking at the ODN Conference in Baltimore. His ideas support those of others writing on this topic as well as Cairn Consulting’s Situational Thinking. To start let me reinforce his comment that design thinking is not the same as “design,” the former [...]
By Carol Mase on October 6, 2011
Last week I worked with a group of telecom executives navigating Adaptive Change, change that is complex and unpredictable. During the check-in and check-out the challenge of connecting came up. So, close your door, ignore the phone, and let’s explore connecting. Connecting with others requires that we first connect with ourselves. This means being present [...]
By Carol Mase on August 16, 2011
When we first step out into the space of Adaptive Change, we are never sure what our experience will be. As we encounter Adaptive Strain, the red line of the organization, we experience Personal Strain, our personal red line. Personal Strain arises from the complex interactions between our emotions, feelings, attitudes, desires, and goals. We [...]
By Carol Mase on June 16, 2011
In Skills for Leading the Fall (May 11, 2011) I wrote about a learning cycle for leaders that has three components: Self-Awareness: Understanding the forces acting around you and within you, observing your behavior and using this to course correct. Self-Discipline: The discipline to be “who” you need to be at the moment to deliver [...]
By Carol Mase on June 6, 2011
Over the last 20 years numerous business and management authors have identified awareness as a key success factor for leaders. One way to broaden your awareness uses a 4Quadrant approach to frame your perspective, thinking, behavior, decisions, and actions. Unlike the BCG 2×2 matrix, these four quadrants metaphorically capture the four topographies of an organization: [...]
By Carol Mase on May 25, 2011
Innovation is a hot topic these days. From what I have seen, organizations have been outsourcing innovation for the last 10-15 years. It began with a reliance on ad agencies and then shifted to “design” companies like IDEO and JUMP. Now the business airwaves and media announce the need for more innovation, faster and more [...]
By Carol Mase on May 11, 2011
The book I find most useful during Adaptive Change is The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ron Heifetz, Alex Grashow, and Marty Linsky. When Destabilizing Events arise our first response is to act, and in some cases this is the best response. But those cases are actually rare. In order to truly understand the adaptive [...]
By Carol Mase on January 21, 2011
Recap from VUCA – A Leader’s Dilemma A multinational organization faces a major structural reorganization that contains significant functional changes and leadership challenges. Facing the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) are four leaders responsible for implementing a significant part of the organizational change without losing strategic momentum. Finding VUCA Prime Like most organizations, the [...]
By Steven Ober on November 14, 2010
Working with Human Systems In my last post, I emphasized the importance of complex human systems–we live and work for our whole lives in and as part of them. I suggested model building, practice, and reflection on our practice as effective ways to understand them more effectively. Finally I described how the model we [...]
Carol Mase, President of Cairn Consultants, is an educator and coach-consultant who has worked in global marketing, strategic planning, and large scale organizational change. [Read more ...]
Kristin Keffeler, MSM, of Kinetic Enterprise, is a business development and leadership coach who specializes in supporting entrepreneurs and business leaders to bring their Big Ideas to life.
Dr. Steven Ober is a senior executive coach and consultant. He has worked successfully with executives and managers in high tech, business and industry, health care, government, and education. 