Reflective and Reflexive Practice According to Plato, Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living” as he faced trial for alleged “impiety and corrupting youth”. Subsequently used to promote the virtues of philosophy, the quote may also be seen as a precursor to more recent encouragements for leaders and professionals to engage in reflective… Continue reading X marks the spot for reflexive practice
Month: August 2022
Sensemaking Schemas, Frames, & Mental Models
A better understanding of the dynamics of sensemaking interactions between directors in the board room, between directors and managers, and between managers and staff, is likely to improve your nonprofit’s governance and organisational effectiveness. Schemas everywhere Insights regarding ‘schemas’ (sometimes called ‘frames’) from the fields of Psychology and Sociology can help us in this undertaking.… Continue reading Sensemaking Schemas, Frames, & Mental Models
Red flags, risk matrices, or bow-ties?
Red Flag Memes Last year red flag emojis became something of a meme on social media. While red flag warnings were used most frequently in posts about personal relationships, they were also used in posts on political, sports, and business matters, amongst others. While it may be stating the obvious to observe that red flag… Continue reading Red flags, risk matrices, or bow-ties?
Clarifying expectations – when specifics matter
Misaligned expectations are often an underlying cause of error, tension, and conflict. This is true for nonprofit organisations as much as for any business entity (and family and friendship groups for that matter). When we expect one thing, and something else happens instead, many of us experience emotional responses ranging from delight and surprise, through… Continue reading Clarifying expectations – when specifics matter
Organisational ‘Archy’-tecture
We have referenced ‘enterprise architecture‘ previously when describing the system ‘layers’ which make up a nonprofit’s ‘system of systems’. The whimsical title of this post seeks to broaden the lens to consider the relationship between organisational structure and functions (including products and services). The term ‘architecture‘ shares linguistic roots with numerous terms used to describe… Continue reading Organisational ‘Archy’-tecture