The Cynefin framework has had a huge impact on being able to talk about complexity in systems thinking, and its widespread use facilitates many of us situationally finding which approach might suit our current problems. However, as simple as it looks, it can be difficult to learn and use.

Sure, there are alternative ways of exploring Cynefin. I've used the corridor game, designed a 3D printed model (see below), and even scripted a Lego stop-animation movie for it -- but recently got a lightbulb over the head moment -- maybe it would be easier to learn as a board game?

I've had some initial thoughts, but thought it would be fun to collaborate with others on this, to co-design what it could look like. Dave Snowden is already on board and keen to see what could be developed (he's also keen on the Lego movie, but that's for another day).

Whether it’s lack of alignment between team members, or friction between areas within an organisation, conflict leads to unhappiness and poor flow of work. Learn how to run a workshop to surface the antidote to conflict – empathy and common ground.

This workshop is designed to support teams or organisations who are eager to find a functional way beyond either silent, or outspoken conflict. It uses several tools from systems coaching (Relationship Myth, Lands Work and Third Entity), but no special skills are required to adapt it to your own team or workplace.

You can use this workshop in contexts such as team or organisational reset activities, or as a standalone conflict resolution intervention.

This is a learning by doing workshop, so expect to jump in and have a go!

At the core of Agile was the attempt to strip away the traditional hierarchical structures in order to empower people and help teams to succeed. However, just because some job titles and line management lines may have gone: power, rank and privilege can still stalk these organisations in many guises causing confusion, conflict and potentially toxic environments. Some might argue, that even with all the best intentions in the world, what we have actually created is a "Lord of the Flies" situation where that flat heirarchy and "empowerment" has actually stripped the support structures away from people who needed them most (such as minority groups, gender, race). Has "better ways of working" actually propelled us backwards? Have we forgotten to support and nurture the "people and interactions" piece with our focus on stripped down process? Or has helped shine a light on issues long covered up by making them more visible but we now have to find out new ways to approach power, rank and privilege in our modern environment. 

In this workshop we will explore this usually avoided topic in the modern Australian Workplace (and within the Agile community) using an organisation and relationship systems coaching (ORSC) approach where we can start to reveal a system to itself and then start to use the natural intelligence and creativity within the group to help address this difficult but fundamental issue.

This is a very interactive workshop, with no slides and those that will be attending will be expected to do most of the work(!) while guided by the experienced ORSC facilitator.  Therefore each session of these workshops can be profoundly different depending on the system of people who attend. However, all participants should leave with a deeper understanding (or at the very least a whole new set of questions) on the meaning of "power" within a working environment and also an experience of how a systems inspired approach can help address such "edgy" topics.

Have you ever felt frustrated when you cannot influence change?

Have you felt you tried your very best but things don’t seem to improve?

If any of the above resonate, this talk will unlock a new perspective for you!

Using a Systems lens to understand a complex system can be a game changer for teams, leaders and coaches. A Systems perspective will shed light on the ‘unseen’, ‘untouched’ or ‘ignored’ parts of a system, without which any system-level action would be ineffective over the longer term.

Inspired by Donella Meadows 'Dancing with Systems’ and ‘Leverage Points’,  this talk will help you look through the Systems lens and use it in your everyday work. It's for everyone - from a novice to a seasoned Systems Thinker – we will explore the concepts together and identify various ways to put them into practice. Don’t be surprised if you realize you have been using Systems Thinking concepts already!

The aim of this session is demonstrate the process of analysing a business domain using Wardley Strategy Maps by walking through real-world example.   This case study describes the process of using Wardley Strategy Maps at construction-tech start-up SignOnSite to map the customer needs and competitor landscape in order to refine the product strategy and agree a roadmap of product features to best leverage their increased investment.

Wardley Mapping are difficult to understand and difficult to start. They have as steep learning curve but are very valuable as a strategy collaboration tool.

My goal is to introduce Wardley Mapping in a more informal manner. I'll talk through the case study with lots of ongoing Q&A to ensure that each concept is well understood before moving onto the next concept.

Coaching is one of the biggest drivers of performance improvement.  This workshop will help everyone, in particular Team Leaders,  Technical Leads and Managers understand and practice the basics of coaching which will enable you to to be a more effective leader and coach.

International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.

LAST (Lean Agile & Systems Thinking) involves many changes in mindset, process, practice and ways of working.  We often get stuck as we try to figure out how to incorporate LAST into our daily work.  Coaching is an approach for helping people to get unstuck and trying to accelerate their transition to a different way of thinking and working.  In this workshop we will also move away from Agile and Agile Coaching and explore Professional Coaching as described by ICF and how it can help people's personal and work lives in general.  

In this workshop we will explore two parts of coaching.  The first part consists of supportive behaviours and the second part the coaching-specific skills.  We will then have the opportunity to practice coaching skills in pairs.

Do you lead a team who gets frustrated by the endless hamster wheel of getting shit done and wondering why this work is important? 

No doubt there's a layer of management at work obsessed with velocity, delivery dates and getting more done with less. Sound familiar? If so, this session is for you. But, only if you're keen to be part of the answer. This will be an interactive workshop and you will be challenged!

A core tenant of high performing teams is clarity of purpose and clear goals. Basically a mission with waypoints giving a sense of progress. This is what connects people with something bigger than themselves. Done well, you can unleash an incredible sense of purpose and meaning within the team. The energy created is the secret sauce that enables teams to create wonderful products for customers.

But who's responsibility is this? Is it up to management? Or the team? No, it's you. Your role as the leader of the team is to make this connection and create this environment of empowerment.

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is one means to enable this, but I'll only be touching on this. Together, we'll walk away with specific actions to move our teams to more fulfilling work, and influencing management to not only support, but lead this movement.

From this session, you'll elevate your team to be known as the group which gets shit done. Although, we all know you simply connected them with something meaningful. 

Do we know our stuff?
OKR Quickstart coaches and consults businesses on how to create strategic clarity, achieve audacious goals and build high performing teams. We've helped hundreds of people and businesses introduce OKR so that everyone finds crazy value out of them (not just the exec team). We've made every mistake in the book and this session summarises some of our biggest learnings!

Crossing  edges - the challenges and path through change - what happens when an organisation changes its identity and what to do about it 

Organisational changes such a restructures, transformations and agile operating model implementations are prone to many challenges. Agile Coaches, Change Leaders and the Business Leaders themselves can struggle with guiding others towards the new world and ultimately a lot of transformations fail due to change fatigue and lack of engagement.  

In this talk we will use theory and practical examples to explore how sustainable change can occur.