Oxford SPREAD Talks 2014: Storytelling Change
Thea Hazel Stals – Developing healthy financial behaviours in young people
Many young people have difficulties managing their money. In this talk Thea presents four different types of young people. She explains how her agency uses co-creation to reach young people to develop workshops and online tools to improve youth financial behaviour.
https://youtu.be/BQi70Z741LU
Mark Clark – “Camp K. When A to Z doesn’t work. Systems thinking for adaptive change”
Sometimes a linear “A to Z” plan doesn’t work. Clark explains the non-linear, adaptive approach required in complex social systems, whether large organisations or the world’s largest refugee camps. He highlights using multiple frames, using dialogue to transcend polarized debate and compromise, and re-expanding situations of collapsed complexity to generate more options for action.
https://youtu.be/2f_5gYvT9dA
Lars Theusen – Co–creating solutions in our welfare societies
Lars talks about how we co–create solutions to wicked social problems in our welfare societies. His talk illustrates how it is possible through inquiry processes where we look for behaviors that already work – the “what” and the “how” – to solve and disseminate sustainable solutions to some of our most pressing problems.
https://youtu.be/RMHK8SQV_2o
Tom Miller – Transforming the city of Dallas, Texas with inclusion
A Dallas real estate developer is transforming a portion of The City of Dallas using a very human approach to change. Historic populations are being offered a place in a community in transition as opposed to being forced out of homes, business and neighborhoods. By focusing on community, character and choice, human needs are being met while economic goals are also accomplished.
https://youtu.be/LTJN_wkMvfI
Mike Staresinic – “Get Vision Back”
How to “get vision back” in a world that seems to have lost its compass?
Mike outlines twelve essential tips on forming an inclusive vision, especially for those change agents working on vision in the EU and US. Generated by an unprecedented look inside the flawed outcomes of seminal nonviolent protests.
https://youtu.be/MO28-f9LfAA
Martin Thomas – “How much represents enough?”
How does ABC’s new CEO set about balancing environmental, social and economic impacts in ways that make meaning? The MultiCapital Scorecard engages stakeholders to answer “how much represents enough?” Financials and non-financials set standards for sustainable performance in local and global contexts. Common principles and practices allow meaningful consolidation.
https://youtu.be/ptUJR36r9ZY
Paris Conference 2014 - The Posture of the Open-Minded Executive
On Friday afternoon at the Paris conference, we sat captivated while David Jestaz, Director of the Corporate University of Management, told his story of change in a business unit of EDF (EDRF). David had created an award-winning training programme to support a major culture change – the business needed to compete in a market where they had previously held a monopoly. This needed a different approach from people at all levels. His story added detail to the award report and supplemented the already interesting case with layers and texture that allowed us to build an even deeper understanding of his Change Program challenges and successes.
At the completion of his story, after questions had been asked, and answered, we were divided into groups and given time to compile some feedback about David’s approach and process. David sat on a chair in the middle of the room, listening attentively, responding to comments and jotting notes as each group presented their observations.
We appreciated David’s open mind and curiosity. Even though the program was over – and had been more successful than imagined – he was interested in mining the group for more ideas and perceptions and to test where he could have improved his process. He was already thinking about, and planning for, the next big change program.
This feedback (or post-surgery) session was as rich for the participants as it was for David. As well as anchoring some fundamental concepts and beliefs about how we frame Change so that the client/sponsor understands its urgency, it led to some interesting discussions about recognizing the different levels of Change (for example: “Wicked” vs Simple). In a matter of a few hours, we peeled back various layers and considered ways to program change resilience into a workforce that was being rocked by the evolving landscape of its industry.
The group specifically picked out the following strengths in David’s approach:
- How he created ownership with sponsors a step at a time
- The design of the programme round a concrete “transitional object” – helping people to understand the difference between a business and a public service by thinking as business owners
- How he orchestrated several specialist suppliers to deliver a seamless programme
The case provided a platform for further discussion that evening and throughout the weekend. What other ways were there to approach “chaotic” and / or “complex change”; how to recognize emergent issues and engage the organization productively to move forward; when was enough change, enough?
David’s note of thanks was validation that the session had been a valuable interchange of ideas and concepts for him, with a link back to the relevant theoretical backgrounds, as well as sharing of practical ideas. The participants left the weekend with rich ideas and were more in tune with current issues faced by industries going through wide- and large-scale change. David’s story was an intense reminder of the challenges that change agents face, occasionally alone, when they know the difficult path – sometimes the unknown path – is the only path to take.
David told us after the conference: “I never got such a smart and friendly feed back from a group. I learned a lot and took good note of what I got”. We, in turn, appreciated the opportunity to analyse the case, and more importantly, the privilege of working with such an open-minded Executive.
Post by Lisa Francis-Jennings, with support of Jane Lewis, Roberto Saco and Cécile Demailly. Photos by Cécile Demailly.