How can? Without camaraderie...

At ISCTE showing some conclusions of a work done in Portuguese prison system. Values of camaraderie were very low, what is a issue that have to be fostered. Without sense of camaraderie how can we develop a cooperation culture, a real team?

It was applied a construct of Kets de Vries, INSEAD professor, that measures happiness in organizations. Furthermore, other items were measured, like leadership trust, communication process, training opportunities, family balance, sense of justice, and creativity in workplace.

So, change is needed in this institution. It's not easy, because prison system is a kind of paramilitary organization, with tough rules and procedures, a tight leadership, very conservative environment, bureaucratic.

Change your thoughts = change your character

Changing our thoughts is the first step to change our words, the way we talk. Afterthat, come our actions. And if we are able to change our actions, our behaviors will transform. Then we enter deeper in new habits. So, guess what? The new habits become your character.

You can change your character, yes, by starting changing your thoughts. Start today. Doing things differently is possible but only if you want to.

Coaching lesson at ISCTE, by Alexandra Lemos

Alexandra Lemos, Joseph O'Connor's partner (Mindcoach) in her coaching lesson at ISCTE business school. As you can see, all the furniture was organized in a different way. We moved some desks and armchairs to the background of the class. So, we all had eye contact with Alexandra, and we could do some exercises in the middle of the room. Coaching is not something we can learn with a traditional view.

This videolog was recorded just in the early moments of the lesson. Students were coming from their work day and Alexandra was giving some sugestions about how a coach have to perform. There are a structure that coach has to follow in order to succeed in his approach, she explains to a student that had made an exercise the day before, not so well succeed as he could expected.

The three R of change

Organizational change is nowadays issue. All we know a lot of things are changing. Many things have do change anyway. We know we have to change. We only don't know how to or what to do. I've been at ISCTE talking about changing organizations giving some examples of what can we get from organizational diagnosis. But after that the worst part comes from changing the inside.

In the videolog I finish my lesson with the example of 3 R of change. Reestruturing (become smaller), Reengineering (become better), Reinventing (become different), linking the idea to a tree. First we have the smaller and easiest part of change, cutting just cut some small branches. Then it's time for larger trunks, and finally comes the root, to change values, the tough part.

Joseph O'Connor in the first lesson

Joseph O'Connor, a global authority in coaching, has given the first lesson in a portuguese University. For the first time in Portugal, a public institution has included a module of coaching in a business school program. ISCTE Business School (INDEG) has invited one of the best gurus, and Joseph O'Connor has accepted.
Students have been excited and very motivated. Mindcoach is the organization that gives ICC certificates under supervision of Joseph O'Connor.
I post here a short video of the first lesson, only to mark the event, where Joseph started explaining the business coach wheel. Joseph O'Connor has several written books about Coaching, of course, and Neurolinguistic Programming. Check here some of his books.

Organizational Spirituality

Isabel Albuquerque, master in Health Services Management, at ISCTE Business School, Portugal, makes a lecture about her research in organizational spirituality.
She's applied the inquiries inside health centers, just to study in what extent levels of spirituality affect performance and commitment.

With a sample of 267 individuals, Isabel found consistency between performance and spirituality, that, as a concept, means «a place where people have a inner life, which is fed by a work with meaning». This is definitely what we need in organizations of the future. Spirituality as a feeling is going to reflect in produtivity as a mirror of success in organizations.

Here are a small part of her lecture for about forty students at ISCTE Business School.

How to change organizations (III)

The dramatic role of leadership

In this last of three posts about change, leadership is under spotlights. With no effectiveness leadership, the new reality never will be accepted. So, in order to be succeed in a changing process, here are five essential items, according Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD's professor:

1 - Sense of purpose. Leaders can create it making a loudly public announcement of the vision of the future. That's the only way to get strong teams with identity.
2 - Self-determination. Essential. Each person should feel control over their lives and about the choices they make.
3 - Impact. If people had the perception of the importance each one have in a changing process, steps will be strong toward the new reality
4 - Competence. That comes from training. Which means that people must feel they can evolve and develop.
5 - The last item. Concerning to a shared system values. And here the leaders have a dramatic role. More important is knowing «how things are done». Values as the respect for the individual, empowerment, client focus, goal oriented, attitude, satisfaction, responsability, continuos development and trust foster a changing and a successful climate.

What can we say more? Change has come to stay, with or without our approval. Did you know that an Herald Tribune page has more information than any person in the Middle Age could be exposed in their whole life?