In with the New! 7 Signs that your organization/team is ready for agile Part 1

Is your organization ready for AGILE? Here are 3 of 7 signs.

1.     They can make mistakes

2.     They can facilitate 

3.     They can delegate

They can make mistakes When economic pressure builds, leaders and managers tend to have less failure tolerance. As any athlete or musician can tell you, it takes a lot of practising to internalize a new technique, move or team strategy, especially if they’re complex. Practicing is listening to your mistakes!

They can facilitate Agile is very much based on the art of open facilitation. This is not just about the ability of the Scrum Master or Agile Coach and a far cry from the misconception ‘we don’t have a project plan, we’re kind of agile’. Open facilitation evolved in the 60ies and 70ies with tools and methods such as World Café, Open Space and Visualization techniques. As Agile expert Eric Rapin says “A Scrum Master is a Zamboni”. An Agile Coach does not push his/her own agenda!

They can delegate On the flip side of the coin delegating requires trust and openness too. Sponsors are open to delegating the process to agile as a methodology, and Product Owners know how to apply the right dosis of support and involvement with the team and letting the team organize and get on with it themselves. Delegating openly means letting the team members' expertise shine!

See you on the other side ;) Happy solstice!!

Intercultural Competences in Change Management

Intercultural Competences in Change Management

Try Charms, not Charts

Today's projects are often made up of international members. And while collaboration has a fair chance when international people of the same designation work together, problems multiply when the road gets rocky, which is not altogether unlikely in Change Projects.

This article contains an interview with me on best practice tips to avoid pitfalls intercultural business communication.

To summarize the German language article: Taking up cross cultural business relationships can comparable to courtship in various cultures - different rituals may be required in different countries, and while Germans tend to be straightforward, good planners and drill down to the fact of the matter immediately, they should focus on small talk bonding more often, turn on their charm, and linger on the level of business relationships a little bit longer.

Cross cultural communication means respecting others' values and behaviours without bending over backwards.

Last but not least, - "What are you ssinking about?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLoYL-6Y6vg - a sense of humour helps to weather storms and navigate around cliffs in cross cultural collaboration.

Competitive edge in Diversity: Female project management experts take off

On 09 July 2007,  Entrepreneuresses and female project managers from all over Germany met at the Frankfurt “Cosmopolitan” on invitation of Roswitha Müller-Ettrich (Munich, founding member and Head of the Board of Trustees of the GPM, (German project management association-IPMA) and Dr. Dorothee Feldmüller (Bochum, IT-project management and consulting; Leaders’ Team of GPM Chapter Dortmund). 

Dr. Katharina Kettner took part in the newly founded GPM work group as an associated expert for Diversity and Inclusion.

Strategic objective is the creating space for themes of gender within project management, and will be basis for enhancing collaboration and effectiveness in project management work by diversity, as well as tackling questions of marketing achievements, image and profile, for example by means of success stories.
Talking about successes and failures is an important element of future oriented management. Diversity belongs to the field of intercultural competencens, by which added value can be improved in many projects. Contrarily, ignoring cross cultural differences not only wastes nerves, but also assignments, time and money.

Expertise, tools & innovation to tackle „Change Management“ - 1st milestones of associate work group reached

As we know nothing is as constant as change: the frequency of restructuring and change processes is rising – after the Change is before the Change.
On 12 June 2007, Dr. Dorothee Feldmüller, Dr. Jan Mütter and Dr. Katharina Kettner presented the topics that have been explored in the workgroup „Change Management“ since August 2006 at IT-Center Dortmund. The next group meeting will be on 31 August 2007 in Düsseldorf.

Training & Coaching between cultures: Arts & Business, or What can business people learn from artists?

Around 20 leaders from Rhine and Ruhr came together for an interactive lecture concerning the question: "Arts & Business: What can business people learn from artists?" by Dr. Katharina Kettner of wave-concepts.

Usually these two contexts are thought of as "two separate worlds" but here they were explored for their cultural common grounds, transfer possibilities and value systems.

This meeting has not only been interactive because of the stimulating questions, and all participants  sharing insights, but the rather special exercises.

An extraordinary highlight were the emerging synergetic light sculptures made - almost in silent consonance, as it were - from all the single light spots created by the participants.

Here, input, reflection and action combined into a new, direct experience.

Special Thanks to the Gabal-Team for their support and to IHK-Bochum (Bochum Chamber of Commerce) for the workshop  space!

Training & Coaching zwischen den Kulturen: Arts & Business, oder Was können Geschäftsleute von KünstlerInnen lernen?

Unsere Gesellschaft ist im Umbruch: die wirtschaftliche Lage, die politische Situation, die Formen zwischenmenschlicher Interaktion verändern sich rapide und stellen die Menschen, die hier & heute leben, vor scheinbar ungekannte Herausforderungen.
Change Management Training, welches Methoden und ‚Strategien' isoliert vermittelt, greift angesichts dieser komplexen, dynamischen Realität zu kurz.

Gefordert sind Ressourcen, die Mitarbeitern in Organisationen andere Fähigkeiten vermitteln oder Fähigkeiten anders vermitteln. Diese Ressourcen bietet die Kunst in idealer Weise.

• Welche Methoden und Fähigkeiten aus der Praxis von Künstlerinnen helfen Fach- und Führungskräften, den kommunikativen Herausforderungen in ihrer Organisation zu begegnen?
• Welche kulturellen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede lassen sich erkennen?
• Wie trägt ein interkulturelles Wertesystem in diesem Sinne zur Personalentwicklung bei?
• Wie können Teilnehmer diese Entwicklung nachhaltig in ihre Berufspraxis umsetzen?

Und weil wir finden, daß das Ruhrgebiet eine ideale Homebase für diesen Ansatz ist, erfahren Sie auch, warum.

Vortrag, Diskussion, ggfls. praktische Demonstration

Zeit: Freitag, 16. Januar 2004, 16.00 - 18.00 (im Falle einer praktischen Demonstration ggfls. 20.00)
Ort: IHK Bochum, (Industrie- und Handelskammer im mittleren Ruhrgebiet zu Bochum) Ostring 30-32, 44787 Bochum (Nähe Hbf)
Referentin: Dr. Katharina Kettner, wave-concepts