LEADERSHIP FOR A THINKING ENVIRONMENT
Creating a Thinking Environment® is fundamental to good leadership.
Leaders, creating and shaping change at unprecedented rates, have to be able to think for themselves and to set up the conditions in every interaction and in every meeting that will allow people at all levels to think for themselves, too —with rigour, imagination, courage and grace.
Leading in these exigent times is a sophisticated process of articulating a vision compellingly, and getting the best from people so that their work manifests that vision.
Of course, getting the best from people means getting their best thinking.
This means knowing how to be with people, how to offer them the highest quality attention based on genuine interest in what they think and on the expectation that they can think for themselves better than anyone can think for them.
If you are interested in this course, please email us and we will be in touch with possible dates.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline
TIME TO THINK MENTORING
When Mentoring relationships weaken or fail, it is often because the Mentor takes over the sessions, doing most of the talking and thinking for the Mentee, rather than using expertise to help the Mentee find their own answers and insights.
The Thinking Environment Mentoring process turns this around. With this Mentoring approach, the Mentee is in charge and is the focus, using the session to do their own thinking with the expert skill of the Mentor.
They then also use this process to learn from the Mentor in ways that keep the Mentee in charge. Both parties find the sessions deeply rewarding. The Time to Think Mentoring group programme takes place over 2 days with 4 quarterly half-day workshops to develop the mentoring relationship into a true Thinking Environment.
In addition, there are 12 (monthly) 2-hour sessions for Mentor and Mentee develop their relationship. When Mentoring pairs can learn this process together and meet quarterly for a few hours to advance their skill, share their experiences and consider interesting issues as a group, the Mentoring experience is enriched even further.
If you are interested in enrolling in this programme, please email us and we will be in touch with possible dates.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline
TIME TO THINK COUNCIL
The Time To Think Council process teaches simple, dynamic steps to get the very best thinking, first from the presenter and then from the group. It is a respectful, elegant way to progress one person’s issue through the wisdom and experience of each person in the group.
Thinking for yourself involves judicious seeking and sifting of the ideas and experience of other people.
Most of the time people interrupt with their thoughts before we have even formed our own ideas clearly. Even when people do listen through the thorough development of our own ideas, they too often then offer their thinking as advice rather than as their knowledge and experience. They also too seldom respect our focus, veering instead onto tangential paths of their preference. The result is that the progression of our idea stagnates in the wake of poor skill and self-absorption on the part of the other person.
The Time to Think Council process is useful for anyone’s issue, challenge or question, and has been described as an excellent Knowledge Management tool
If you are interested in finding out more about The Time to Think Council and possibly booking such a course for your organisation, please email us.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline
TRANSFORMING MEETINGS
The Time to Think Transforming Meetings Course teaches leaders and teams how to use the acclaimed meeting structure of a Thinking Environment to generate each person’s finest thinking.
This structure ensures robust, un-interruptive creative conversation and practices behaviour that is consistent with the Ten Components of a Thinking Environment. This helps to develop a meeting culture that improves people’s thinking and engagement dramatically. Meeting this way, teams experience unusual dignity as well as decision-making of exceptional quality.
With this course, you will learn how to turn meetings into Thinking Environments and lead meetings that fully engage the best thinking of every member, produce stunning results and take less time.
If you are interested in this course, please email us and we will be in touch with possible dates.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline
TIME TO THINK PRESENTATIONS
Almost every meeting has a presentation of some kind. In fact, in a sense, every time a person speaks in a meeting, they are ‘presenting.’ Formally or informally, people are speaking to a group, and they need to know how to have the greatest impact on the group’s thinking.
People engage with and think best about the presentation when they feel a connection with the speaker. This entails expertise in keeping the group thinking afresh during the presentation.
The Time to Think Presentation Course teaches the role of a Thinking Environment in engaging the thinking of the audience, the value of connection between the audience and the presenter as well as how to think well during a presentation.
If you are interested in this course, please email us and we will be in touch with possible dates.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline
TIME TO THINK DIVERSITY PROGRAMME
What does it really take to champion diversity? To answer that we have to start with this observation: in order to think for ourselves, we have to think as ourselves. This requires us to reclaim pride in all our identities.
The Time to Think Diversity Programme teaches the skills for creating a Thinking Environment in which this profound level of understanding and change can take place.
In organisations this requires us to explore the untrue assumptions that the world makes about these identities and to remove them with Incisive Questions.
Because the culture of the course is itself a Thinking Environment, the participants’ engagement with each other is wholly appreciative and respectful.
Copyright 2010 by Nancy Kline