LEADING WITH PACE

As our trading environments become increasingly uncertain and complex, our natural response is to try and go faster to keep up with the rate of change around us. “I’m Busy” becomes the new “I’m fine”. When we no longer have the luxury of operating in commercial environments that are easily identified, understood, and able to be controlled, the old paradigm of command, control, time management and planning becomes inadequate. PACE based leadership focuses on four new leadership practices which enable leaders to have higher impact in complex commercial systems: to nurture the capacity for Play and thus be comfortable with things in a state of emergence, grow Adaptability and thus learn how to be equipped to change course mid-direction, build Curiosity as a way to prevent flawed commercial acumen and dogmatism and have the Energy to drive growth and expansion. PACE based leadership thus builds easier adaptation to change, helps us to manage our risk and reframes our thinking, helps us to build the focus to get things done and ensures that there is not an over investment in one solution.

Leading with PACE - Better Business without the Burnout

How does one do more with less? How does one run a business which can create a better business impact without increasing the burnout of ones employees and one's self?" 

There is a new model for leadership which addresses these things. It is called PACE based leadership. Its philosophical underpinnings are grounded in four new leadership practices which take into account the need to create greater traction with less resources. Leading with PACE focuses on Play, Agility, Curiosity and Energy to achieve this.

This workshop has been designed for organisations looking to generate a more meaningful impact through less resources, and to gain more traction through a more fulfilling way of leading and doing

WHY ATTEND?

Leaders must be equipped for the changes and strategic innovations that they are often required to think and lead through. Leading at PACE is crucial for achieving these goals and a necessary fundament on which to build strategic innovation and astute commercial acumen for implementable solutions. This workshop is aimed specifically at leaders wanting to develop their impact by being able to be equipped to operate effectively in complex and uncertain commercial environments.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This workshop is aimed at those wanting to develop their impact as leaders by understanding and being able to implement PACE based practices as a sustainable leadership advantage.

METHODOLOGY

This workshop has a strong focus on practical application. Utilising a series of experiential learning techniques like LEGO Serious Play, construction and prototyping, play, and dialogue the process helps leaders to grapple with and immerse themselves in the practices of PACE based leadership.

KEY OUTCOMES

> Reframe Thinking

> Practise Leading at PACE as a mindset

> Build a PACE-based Leadership Practice

> Grapple with a strategic challenge

> Attention Audit

> Energy Audit

DURATION

One Day Workshop

AGILE LEADER'S TOOLKIT

Agility is increasingly viewed as a critical leadership practice, both for organisational effectiveness and leadership capability. But what exactly is Agility? And as a leader how does one practise it? The notion of Agility is an umbrella term for a set of leadership capabilities that serve as the foundation for developing high impact leadership practices today. Counter to popular belief, one is not quick to market by trying to “just go faster”. An agile leader does not respond to volatile trading environments by trying to match the speed thereof. Instead they work with a different order of things, finding ways to adjust their own behaviour and perspective. As Rumi said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself”.

By slowing down to build the practices which deliver results in today’s environment they are able to match the pace required. They go slow to go fast.

WHY ATTEND?

Helps one address challenges around engagement, accountability and change. In this one day workshop, a handpicked group of delegates will be introduced to a newly developed toolkit which helps to understand the observable behavioural changes that are required to be an agile leader, palpable in the conversations which their employees have but one which also drives the operations and the decision making processes their leaders engage in daily. It is an effective driver for building the mindset required to lead through change, building new leadership practices for engaging in volatile markets, and developing an appetite for prudent risk taking, prototyping and quick wins.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This workshop is aimed at those wanting to develop their impact as leaders by understanding Agility, one of the critical leadership drivers of today.

METHODOLOGY

This workshop has a strong focus on practical application. It moves delegates from understanding the principles of Agility to building the practice of Agility. It works from the premise that we need to develop playful approaches to serious problems in order to achieve impact. Play, construction, dialogue, reflection, thinking partnerships and interactive exercises and techniques are used to help delegates grapple with the nine lenses of agility.

KEY OUTCOMES

> Clear understanding of what Agility is (and isn’t)

> Introduce Agility into the DNA of one’s leadership practice

> Reframing thinking

> Building Agility as a mindset

> Attention Audit

> Energy Audit

> Agility Audit

> Building an Agile Practice

DURATION

Half Day Workshop

THE SMELL OF BRAVERY

Using the power of scent to evoke your commitment and courage to change.

Incence making

Bravery is a value that can help build confidence and creativity, to make smarter decisions and to be a better leader. Bravery is linked to integrity, influence and trust. As one gains a deeper connection with your own bravery so you are better able to express yourself and your purpose in life without the fear, judgment and cynicism that hold us back from following through. 

The partners of the Creative Leadership Consultancy went to Japan to study the art of incense making in the ancient samurai tradition. The way these warriors used smell to unlock and embed bravery is a powerful way to engage your own courage.  Participants go through a unique process of crafting their own unique smell of what Bravery means for them into incense in this intervention.  

This workshop is an unforgettable and transformative experience of sense, emotion and action. The process allows participants to engage all the senses and allows access to deeper parts of the unconscious mind in order to experience deeper understanding and transformation. Especially powerful as an awakening and memorable team building process. 

Read more about this process here.

TESTIMONIAL

"The Smell of Bravery workshop was a very significant journey of uncovering what bravery really means to me. As a creative business owner, I often find that I am expected to make courageous decisions and step into risky spaces. The workshop took me through beautiful rituals of contemplation and collaboration, allowing me to understand the influence and connection that scent has on bravery.  It truly is an inspiring process, filled with memory, emotion and creativity." - Karin Rae, owner Dear Rae

DURATION

Full day Workshop

LETTING GO RESPONSIBLY

Balancing ownership and collaboration

THE ART OF JAPANESE KITE MAKING

This process is a creative learning response to the difficulty of passing on work responsibly to others to amplify or change. How does one let go of what one has created in a responsible and enabling way? The Art of Japanese Kite Making is an embodied experience of creating and learning how to let go responsibly. 

Using the tenets of this craft, learners will not only learn how to make a kite but also the lessons that are threaded into it regarding creating and letting go with responsibility, ease and grace. 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This workshop is aimed at those in current and future leadership positions in all industries.

METHODOLOGY

Practical individual and peer-to-peer discovery, blended with riveting historical overview, structural kitemaking components and leadership case studies. 

KEY OUTCOMES

An increased awareness and developing proficiency in:

> how to delegate responsibly; the art of the brief/directive

> appropriate micro VS macro-management

> appropriate modes of solo VS collective work

> how to harness and mentor the talent pipeline

> strengthening juniors

DURATION

One Day Workshop

GETTING UNSTUCK 

Building beyond personal blockages through Value Based Leadership

WITH GLUE GUNS

The complexities of daily life often create hindrances that impose unnecessary ceilings on leadership development. Obstacles such as fear, regret and judgement limit our growth and impact on the quality of our decision making and relationships with others. This practical master-class makes use of a rich toolkit of learning techniques and reflection in order to help identify these hinderances on a personal level, and enable delegates to identify practical ways to overcome them. With glueguns as the modality, delegates are taken through a rich and experiential learning process to grapple with the voice of fear, cynicism and judgement. 

WHY ATTEND?

Work through a personal blockage in a context of care and support.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Teams wanting to build closer and more empathetic connections with themselves and others.

METHODOLOGY

This carefully crafted workshop helps each participant unpack their unique leadership challenges by engaging with personal value systems through practical exercises and reflection.  

Glue-guns provide a powerful prototyping platform for experimentation and exploration. 

KEY OUTCOMES

> Understand how personal values inform your leadership style

> Get insight into the value basis of your team

> Identify the blockages in levelling-up as a leader. 

> Break-through areas of ‘stuckness’ in your team

DURATION

Half day  workshop

PLAYFUL, PRODUCTIVE TEAMS

Games for High Impact Performance

We are experiencing a crisis of Leadership in South Africa. In a study quoted at the Business of Design in May, for a research project undertaken in sub saharan Africa, 57% of employees are not engaged and 33% are actively disengaged. That means that we have only an engagement rate of 10% of employees at work. 

According to an article in the Mail & Guardian this month, "South Africa is stressed out and suicidal". We have 21 South Africans committing suicide every day with 20x more South Africans attempting but failing to take their lives. We have the 7th highest rate of suicide in the world and in a recent study conducted by Bloomberg we are the second most stressed-out nation in the world, following Nigeria. 

This clearly shows an epidemic of Overseriousness. The symptoms of Overseriousness are disengagement, cynicism, fear of failure, lowered quality of output (mediocre work) and an increased focus on overbureaucratisation, more building of systems and processes to attempt to control the environment. 

We live in a world where Volatility is no longer symptomatic, but systemic. With markets growing and changing exponentially and levels of complexity rising, the environments we operate in are now inherently environments of uncertainty; part of what is now our new DNA. And for that we need new systems of being and leading. The beauty of design thinking is that it is a response to a world of uncertainty. It encourages us to experiment and play, to iterate and prototype not to over-invest in one solution. 

Design’s wingman is Play.

Play gets us out of Overseriouness immediately. Play increases your confidence, your creativity, your sense of mastery and purpose, your attention and your levels of engagement. It is an urgent and necessary requirement to build into our new ways of leading today if we want to break our current crisis in leadership and our immanent epidemic of Overseriousness.

Helps one address challenges around engagement, accountability and change. 

WHY ATTEND?

If you are experiencing an increasing Overseriousness in your team. For managers wanting to re-engage their teams and heighten the sense of connection, collaboration and creativity.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This workshop is aimed at those wanting to develop a high level of engagement in the teams they lead. If you are looking to inject a fresh burst of energy into your team, this is the process for you.  

METHODOLOGY

We have designed and developed a playkit for managers to play with their teams to help re-engage them. The toolkit has been created to focus on different times in the day when different mindsets are required. This 2 hour workshop takes managers through the games that can be used as tipping points during the day. Each delegate leaves with a detailed playkit of how to play the 3 min games with their teams. This is an intensive and highly practical session to equip managers to re-engage employees. 

KEY OUTCOMES

> Greater Team Engagement

> Playkit for managers to use with their teams. 

> Increased sense of Connection and Collaboration

> Heightened Awareness and Focus

DURATION

3hr workshop

ACTIVE LISTENING

Tools for Tuned-In Leadership

Leaders who listen are able to build trustworthy and transparent relationships, foster loyalty, harness diversity, conquer blind spots and make informed decisions. This workshop offers a series of simple steps to help you develop and strengthen your active listening skills. 

WHY ATTEND?

The greatest gift you can give someone is  the gift of your attention. Learn the skill of actively listening to others. In this workshop focus will be on the Chinese symbol of Listening and insight into the type of Listener you are through identifying traits of ambiversion, extroversion and introversion. 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

If you are interested in improving the quality of your thinking, you need to start by improving the quality of your attention. This workshop will equip you with all the necessary skills to be a better active listener. 

METHODOLOGY

Somatic learning. Active Listening practices. Conversational-led learning. 

KEY OUTCOMES

> Learn to Listen Attentively

> Create a Culture of Listening in Teams

> Bring the Voice of the Client into your Organisation

DURATION

3hr workshop

CULTIVATING CURIOSITY 

Curiosity as a Critical Leadership Practice

In the world of business, success is often driven by the ability to notice opportunities.  In an environment which is increasingly uncertain, complex and fast, the likelihood diminishes as we default to what we know in order to get things done. In response, Curiosity will be identified as a critical practice to develop in order to cue our attention and help us see other possibilities. In this workshop, leaders will be exposed to what the conditions are for creating a curious state and what the three mantras are to help embed curiosity into your company’s leadership toolkit. 

WHY ATTEND?

Grow the culture of Curiosity in your organisation.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Leaders who are experiencing the need to grow their Curiosity to better manage risk and diversity of thinking. 

METHODOLOGY

Practical and engaging class which provides delegates with a simple and effective way to nurture their own Curiosity. 

KEY OUTCOMES

> Understand what Curiosity is and Isn't

> Benefits of Curiosity

> How to Create the Conditions for Curiosity

> The 3 Mantras of Curiosity

DURATION

3 hour workshop