For some background to our thoughts on culture change see Issue-12 of our Conversational Coaching E-News. Download CC E-NEWS issues here

Bill Cropper of The Change Forum will discuss "Leading with Feelings - 7 Practices of EI Leaders" at the Leadership Lounge to be held in Brisbane on February 13, 2007. Register your interest through Leadership Connexion

The Leadership Lounge is a monthly learning forum for Queensland public sector leaders. Why not take a look at what's coming up at the next Leadership Lounge in Brisbane...
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The Leadership Lounge held regularly each month in Brisbane -- Find out about upcoming events and Register your interest through Leadership Connexions... http://www.leadership-connexion.org

Leadership Lounge #57

Wednesday April 14, 2010

9.00 am - 12.00 noon

Guest Presenter:

Bill Cropper

Director, The Change Forum

If you missed Bill's presentation on April 14...
you can download a Transcript here...

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What is this thing called culture? How hard is it to turn around? Can you re-engineer a culture like a piece of machinery? Why is culture so hard to grasp and why should leaders bother with changing it?

Leading Culture Change – Fact and Fantasy

“There is now abundant evidence that culture makes a difference to performance; we know that leaders increasingly need concepts and tools for working with culture in varied and subtle ways.” Edgar Schein

Culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin. We often define a great leader as someone who turns around a dysfunctional culture. “We need to change the culture” is a much-repeated management mantra, yet culture is notoriously difficult to change. Culture profoundly effects every facet of an organisation. Companies from Google to Virgin are quick to trace their success to cultures that foster commitment, innovation, satisfaction and brand-identification.

Bill Cropper draws on 20 years practical change management experience in organisations ranging from councils to courier services. He runs a suite of clinics for leaders on change topics that include Leading Change, Challenging Change Resistance, Preparing People for Change and Cultural Renewal and Revitalisation. In this session, he explores why culture is arguably the ‘X’ factor in success or failure.

This conversational-circle style event will elicit lively exchange of views, ideas and experiences of culture change efforts. It looks at the deeper patterns that make up culture, what leaders can do to change or revitalise it, what gets in the way and what we can learn from each other about this crucial change arena. Topics we touch on include.

Culture – ‘The Blob’ in the background

What makes up culture – icons or ideas

Cultural dimensions and characteristics

Phases in cultural growth and decline

Encountering cultural resistance

Why culture surveys can’t cut it

Leading culture change – tips & traps

The challenge of culture change

While there are no magic bullets or quick-fixes, coming along to this session might just help you understand the subtle nuances of culture and pick up some lessons about what seems to work and what doesn’t when it comes to changing it.