​Join Dr. Josephine Palermo from Melbourne, Australia and Jenny McDonald from Wellington, New Zealand in a practical webinar on how to reset and re-energize your teams after periods of disruption. Discover research-backed strategies and real-world examples from both sides of the Tasman to help your teams perform at their best. 

Key points: 

​​This trans-Tasman collaboration brings together the expertise of Dr. Josephine Palermo, an experienced academic and consultant in team leadership development and diversity and inclusion, and Jenny McDonald, a seasoned coach and leadership facilitator from New Zealand. Together, they will share proven strategies to help you, and your teams thrive in the face of disruption.

Introduction  
 
We have recently completed work on Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y with the leadership team at Lynmore Primary School in Rotorua. This the start of the next part of their organization development strategy.
 
 
Background 
 
The school has been on a journey over recent years to improve its performance, the school recently got an excellent review from the Education Review Office. The dilemma they faced is where to now? 
The senor leadership team were introduced to the Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y. model and decided to use it to develop the management team across the school, some 10 leaders in total. The aim was to create the space that would tap all of the talent of the wider management group and facilitate them to be even more creative in the way in which they approach their teaching philosophy. 
 
 
What Did We Do? 
 
We used the Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y assessment tool from the Academy of Brain Based Leadership and put all ten leaders through that assessment. This is a self-perception inventory (as opposed to a personality measurement tool). Secondly, each participant had a one on one debrief about their scores, triggers and how they might manage those triggers. It is backed by some of the latest neuroscience research. Each debrief lasted 1 ½ hours and was undertaken by a trained coach. After that the school decided that they wanted to spend a day off-site both unpacking what the results meant for the team and also how does it impact the way the management team operates as individuals and as a collective especially given the differing styles around the table. 
 
 
The Result 
 
It was a large investment in professional development from the school. They are now wanting to put all their teachers through it. It has given them a common framework and language to have more challenging leadership team debates and they understand the impact of their behaviors and triggers and those of others in those discussions.
 
They are now having some robust conversations about where they take the school and how it will look and feel. This is very different to where they are now. So, this process has helped them create that space so that the value of everyone is honored and they can tap into the true creativity of the whole team. 
 
 
 The Last Word – Goes to the client
 
We were struggling to move the organization forward from good to great. Technically the school delivered good outcomes and a clearly trodden and successful path.  
 
To move to a sustainable continuous growth model would require new thinking across a larger team of individuals. Leveraging the collective skills in the entire leadership team was essential but knowing what to leverage required us to become aware and notice the skills and attributes of all members, some of which were fairly deeply hidden. 
 
Moving the thinking of the team leaders away from ‘their team’ to ‘their leadership team’ as a collective was key. Making everyone aware of the potential challenges of the “turf v trust” model and finding ways to develop true collaboration by giving up turf was at the forefront.  
 
Developing collective efficiency in its truest sense would lead us to have a positive impact on student outcomes, which is our key strategic imperative.  
 
Benefits of this process from Lynmore School’s perspective? 
 
·       Gaining a greater understanding of the purpose of working together as a team and the purpose of having a leadership team in place. 
 
·       Developing a shared understanding of the purpose and strategic direction of the organization. 
 
·       Understanding the personal strengths, motivations and triggers of individual team members. 
 
·       Being confident to moderate our interactions with each other, give up some sacred cows (turf) and to leverage skill and insight across the entire team.
We were initially nervous about the process as it was potentially exposing for individual members but the structure of the programme built in a way that by the end the level of trust across the team was exceptionally high giving a very strong foundation to build the next iteration of the organization on. 
 

​Pay close attention during your next team meeting. Observe how your team is coping with today’s complex business challenges. Listen to the way your team communicates in the face of constant change, ambiguity, and increased diversity. What do you notice? Is your team engaged in the battle of best opinions? Or is your team working to cultivate a ‘Coaching Culture’?

​A Coaching Culture is the opposite of the battle for best opinions. A Coaching Culture is the collective set of group beliefs, values, and behaviours, that when supported by the right environmental conditions and leadership practices, cultivates mindful curiosity and supportive team member development. This cultivation of mindful curiosity and supportive team member development allows for new shared understandings of the world to emerge. Such new shared understandings of the world are essential for innovation in today's increasingly complex and evolving marketplace. In the words of Albert Einstein "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”.

​

Seven daily essential mental activities to optimise brain matter and create well-being.

​​Focus Time
When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, we take on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.

Play Time
When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, we help make new connections in the brain.

​Connecting Time
When we connect with other people, ideally in person, and when we take time to appreciate our connection to the natural world around us, we activate and reinforce the brain's relational circuitry.
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Come and join the group for the next Brains in Business meeting on December 7th from 5pm - 7pm.

We thought we would ask you, the people who have supported the group for the last few years…we are inviting anyone who would like to give a 7 minute presentation on any aspect of the brain and work. This could be something you’ve learned, something you’ve applied or something you promote or sell - the only criteria is it MUST be solidly brain based - no tenuous links please 😄

Please let Kailee ([email protected]) know your topic by Friday 19 January and we’ll organise an order of play.

Look forward to seeing you all.​

Meanwhile… watch Dr Paul McDonald talk about the brain and leadership at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Qz5mbKh5Y&t=26s 
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RSVP to [email protected]

With the emergence of the information age people have been promoted based on their ability to think.    As information quickly became a source of competitive advantage, this ability has become more and more valued.  We are inundated with data, and we expect our people to be able to keep up with it all, at the same time as being “learning agile” and developing themselves and others.

In spite of this increasing demand, business has not paid much attention to the very tool that each of us has at our disposal in this battle for competitive advantage – the brains that belong to the people who come to our workplaces each day.

Organisations such as Google are learning from the field of neuroscience and creating brain friendly workplaces and practices – giving people the means and space to think effectively, while at work.
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Join us for the next Brains in Business meeting on June 27th from 5pm - 6.30pm. We are delighted to advise that we will be having Michelle Dalley talk with us. Michelle will share the findings on Conversational Intelligence. In this session, you will get to have an experience of what conversational intelligence is and how you might apply it to help yourself and others to transform conversations. Your facilitator for this session is Michelle Dalley who is a certified Conversational Intelligence coach and part of the inaugural group of international coaches to learn this methodology.

RSVP to [email protected]