Toolkit

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Whether you’re a distributed team, predominantly in the office or a hybrid of the two, taking the time to tune into what’s going on with your staff and colleagues has never been more important.

Overview

Deep listening is a muscle that needs to be exercised. Use this structured exercise to sharpen your listening skills and to reflect on what may be lying beneath the surface.

What you’ll need

• Two other people
• Pen and paper
• A timer

Purpose

If we're able to tune up our listening skills to try and discern facts from emotions, it's one of the ways we could pick up what’s truly going on in a meeting. Deep listening is a muscle that needs to be exercised, and this simple structure will help you sharpen the skill and allow you to reflect on what's lying beneath the surface.

Process

Each round takes eight minutes. The process involves three roles:

Person A: Speaker
Person B: Listener (facts)
Person C: Listener (emotions)

Step 1: two minutes

Reflect on a difficult challenge or dilemma you're facing personally at the moment.

Step 2: decide who'll take each role first

Step 3: complete the exercise three times – 3 rounds x 8 minutes

Round 1:

• For three minutes:

Person A talks uninterrupted.
Person B listens for and notes down facts.
Person C observes, listens for and notes down emotions.

• For two minutes:

Person B responds, repeating the facts heard.
Group waits in silence if all time isn't used.

• For two minutes:

Person C responds, talking about the emotions heard or observed.
Group waits in silence if all time isn't used.

• For one minute:

Person A thanks the group for listening.

Rounds 2 and 3: repeat, rotating roles until you've each taken part in being person A/B/C.

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How often do you sit down and reflect on your day – the conversations you had, the decisions you took, the thoughts and feelings that sprung up?

Overview

Journaling helps you build awareness of your thinking, track your experiences and identify how your perspective develops over time.

What you’ll need

• Pen and paper
• Dedicated, distraction-free time

Purpose

Journaling helps you capture and make sense of your experiences and go deeper to interpret their meaning. By collecting and collating thoughts and ideas, journaling allows you to observe connections, providing perspective and clarity to challenge your own assumptions.

Process

Journaling is simply the act of putting pen to paper to record, reflect, express or make sense of what’s going on around you. It's important to manually jot down what comes to your mind in long-hand rather than typing your thoughts and feelings.

Top tips on how to journal:

• Journal about an experience or event (ideally within 24 hours) to maintain its specificity.
• Set quiet time aside to journal. Turn off devices and remove distractions so you're undisturbed.
• Keep the intention in mind that this is something that'll ultimately serve you rather than seeing it as a chore for someone else.
• Although it’s a discipline, feel free with it. It should be enjoyable and eventually you should feel able to turn to your journal in times of need, creativity, confusion or when you want to be inspired. It might be the most helpful leadership book you’ve read or written!

You might use journaling to:

• Come up with new ideas or find creative solutions to problems.
• Make sense of new concepts or points of interest. More than just note-taking, journaling helps assimilate and integrate new ideas with existing beliefs.
• Revisit your thoughts and feelings to observe any change in perspectives or evidence of growth.
• Rehearse or prepare for difficult conversations or big decisions to test your logic.
• Reflect individually (as part of a team) then bring those together to understand the impact of an idea more broadly.

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Have you ever wondered if we all see the world in broadly the same way or dramatically differently?

Overview

This is a chance to tune up your skills of curiosity and observation. Use this exercise to help you reflect on what you notice, how you see things, the conclusions you draw and how this can differ greatly from individual to individual.

What you’ll need

• Someone to observe with – a colleague, friend or family member will do nicely
• A suitable ‘scene’, e.g. a cafe, station or bus stop – anywhere things are happening
• A timer

Purpose

Observation is one of four practices we believe to be important responsible leadership behaviours. Through the act of observing, you're more curious and alert to what’s going on. You ask yourself what you're noticing, feeling, seeing and thinking, helping to bring more purpose to how you lead.

This exercise will help you reflect on what you notice, how you see things, the conclusions you draw and how this can differ greatly from individual to individual. For those of us inclined and trained to make quick decisions and take action, it requires discipline to hold back, observe and let reflections
develop over time.

Perception and attention are selective. So it can be helpful to explore ways to heighten our conscious awareness of events, experiences, emotions and perceptions that we may otherwise ignore.

Process

Find a partner and somewhere where you can both sit or stand facing the same way to observe the same ‘scene’ (ideally where things are happening, e.g. a café, station, bus stop or shopping area).

Step 1: observe the scene in silence, side by side – 10m

Watch the same scene/view/activity for the full ten minutes in silence without conferring at any point.

If you notice your mind wandering, just bring it back to the scene in front of you. Set an alarm on a phone to time this exactly.

Step 2: note down what you saw – 10m

Again in silence, separately write down in a notebook or journal what you observed and what you thought about it. Avoid just making a list and try writing this out in long form. Again, set an alarm.

Step 3: compare your notes – 20m

Now you can talk! Compare what you both observed, what you noticed, what you paid attention to, what thoughts came into your mind and what opinions you found yourself forming.

Virtual adaption

Currently working virtually or away from your colleagues? You can do this with anyone you’re able to meet physically – it could be your partner, kids, family, a neighbour or colleague.

This is a fun exercise that's quick to conduct and illuminating (to anyone doing it).

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How often do you get the chance to talk uninterrupted about who you are and be heard?

Overview

This is an opportunity to develop deep listening skills and build trust as you share who you are with others (ideally in a trio) and vice versa.

What you’ll need

• Two other people (or more) inside or outside your organisation to share your story with
• A timer

Purpose

This is a chance to talk uninterrupted about who you are and to be heard. It's also a chance to develop deep listening skills. Both of these will help you create a connection and build trust.

Process

Gather in a group of three. While one person is talking, one person will be listening for facts and the other person will be observing and listening for emotions.

Use your phone timer to make sure that each person sticks exactly to the time. It’s useful if you can agree upfront who'll manage the time. If you don't use up all of your time, each sits in silence thinking until the timer has sounded.

Step 1: reflect on your story – 10m

Spend a few minutes on your own reflecting on the questions below as preparation for talking about yourself to two other people for five minutes. You don’t have to answer all the questions.

• Who are you?
• What events in your life have shaped your values?
• What are you afraid of?
• What do you hope for?
• What matters most to you?

Step 2: decide who'll take each role first

There are three roles:

Person A: speaker
Person B: listener (facts)
Person C: listener (feelings/emotion)

Each person should take the role once so that the exercise is repeated three times.

Step 3: complete the exercise three times – 15m x 3 rounds

Round 1:

• For five minutes:

Person A talks uninterrupted.
Person B listens for and notes down facts.
Person C observes, listens for and notes down emotions.

• For four minutes:

Person B responds, repeating the facts heard.
Group waits in silence if all time isn't used.

• For four minutes:

Person C responds, talking about the emotions heard or observed.
Group waits in silence if all time isn't used.

• For two minutes:

Person A responds to listening to the facts and emotions, and reflects how they felt listening to the summaries from Person B and Person C. Did they feel heard and understood? Anything more?

Round 2:

Repeat with Person B talking for five minutes, Person C (facts) and Person A (emotions) responding each for four minutes, and Person B responding for two minutes and reflecting how they felt listening to the summaries. Did they feel heard and understood? Anything more?

Round 3:

Repeat with Person C talking for five minutes, Person A (facts) and Person B (emotions) responding each for four minutes, and Person C responding for two minutes and reflecting how they felt listening to the summaries. Did they feel heard and understood? Anything more?

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Are you struggling to see a new or ongoing challenge with fresh eyes?

Overview

Friendly Consulting allows participants to bring a particular challenge they’re facing and to obtain tangible feedback, insight and advice from colleagues and friends.

What you’ll need

• Four peers (or more) inside or outside your organisation to share your challenge with
• A timer

Purpose

Friendly Consulting is a process for collaborative learning through presentations, questions and group feedback devised by Prof Jonathan Gosling. The aim of the exercise is for each participant to bring a particular challenge they’re facing and to obtain tangible feedback, insight and advice from colleagues and friends.

It involves active listening and discipline to keep to the process. As distinct
from some coaching tools, the focus is on the ‘how’ one plans to tackle something rather than the ‘what’ and ‘why’.

Process

Each round takes 25 minutes. The process involves three roles:

Interviewer: in charge of the process – keeping time and managing the group dynamics and interactions. This person mediates between the Challenge Owner’and the Consultants.

Challenge Owner: the focus of the consulting process. They present their issue(s).

Consultants: all others in the group. The Consultants' contribution is to listen, question and discuss.

Step 1: presentation of ‘My leadership challenge’ – 8 minutes

Challenge Owner presents leadership challenge to the Interviewer. Consultants listen.

The presentation should be given more or less without interruption while Consultants listen silently and attentively. It's the Interviewer's responsibility to keep the Challenge Owner on track – on topic, to time and with eye contact to them only.

Step 2: questions for clarification – 7 minutes

• Consultants ask question for clarification to the Interviewer (Challenge Owner listens) – 4 minutes

Questions should be short and to the point (without discussion), directed to the Interviewer. The Challenge Owner remains silent. This isn't the time for suggestions, even disguised as questions.

• Interviewer puts the questions to the Challenge Owner (Consultants listen) – 3 minutes

The Interviewer prioritises the questions given time constraints. Consultants listen silently and attentively.

Step 3: discussion – 8 minutes

The Interviewer and Consultants discuss and explore possible actions (Challenge Owner listens).

The aim now is to get the collective input of the Interviewer and Consultants. The Challenge Owner turns their chair around so that their back is to the group, listens and takes notes.

Step 4: Wrap-up on ‘My leadership challenge’ – 2 minutes

All together as a group. The Challenge Owner now highlights what they've heard and comments on one or two thought provoking ideas or what might be followed up later.

Rounds can now be repeated so that all participants have presented their challenge to the group.

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How would you codify your current or desired future work culture?

Overview

The Culture Web is a tool used to map an existing or future culture of an organisation. It's a way of seeing and understating the different influences that affect organisational culture.

What you’ll need

• Several staff/colleagues to discuss with
• Pen and paper

Purpose

The Culture Web identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up what Johnson and Scholes (1992) call the "paradigm" – the pattern or model – of the work environment.

The Culture Web is a tool used to map the culture of an organisation and is a way of seeing and understating the different influences that affect organisational culture. It can be used to map an existing culture or to map a future culture based on the question: ‘what does the culture need to
look like to make this change happen?’

The two maps can then be compared to promote discussion and highlight what, where and how change can be implemented.

Possible questions to provoke a conversation on your organisational culture:

Stories

• What stories are communicated to our employees and other stakeholders?
• What do employees talk about when they think of the history of the organisation?

Rituals and routines

• What do employees expect when they walk in? What do customers expect? When a new problem is encountered, what rules do people apply to solve it?

Symbols

What organisational symbols do we have? Think logos, size of offices, dress codes, jargon.

Organisational structures

• Is the structure flat or hierarchical? Formal or informal?
• Where are the formal lines of authority? Are there informal lines?

Power structures

• Where does power and influence over decisions, strategic direction and operations lie? This may involve one or two key senior executives, a whole group of executives, or even a department or team.

Controls

• What process or procedure has the strongest controls? Weakest controls?
• Do employees get rewarded for good work? What incentives exist?

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How often do you think about who's in your 'social pod' and the roles that they play?

Overview

Your Personal Boardroom helps you think about how you create and use networks. One of our lead faculty, Margaret Heffernan, introduced this concept to our Fellows after a conversation she had with a mentee. If you want, it can also be a more developed concept worked up by Zella King and Amanda Scott in their book Who Is In Your Personal Boardroom?

What you’ll need

• 6-12 people in mind to populate your board

Purpose

A core insight of the Forward Institute is that our moral choices are shaped by our character, the company we keep and the context in which we operate. If it's true that we become like those we spend time with, it makes sense to be intentional about who we surround ourselves with – and where and how we seek information, counsel, encouragement and influence.

When people think of networks in a professional context, they tend to think about conversations with strangers, exchanging cards and connecting on LinkedIn. Zella King argues there's more value in focusing on a few important people who can truly help you succeed and investing time in those relationships. She suggests there are only 6-12 people in a Personal Boardroom. Investing time with them wisely means you can spend less time networking and more time getting on with the job.

Personal Boardroom roles

Information roles: Customer voice, Expert, Inspirer, Navigator
Power roles: Unlocker, Sponsor, Influencer, Connector
Developer roles: Improver, Challenger, Nerve-giver, Anchor

Steps

1. Define what your Personal Boardroom is for
2. Choose 6-12 people – remember diversity/diverse perspectives give you strength
3. Assign roles to each Personal Boardroom member
4. Have purposeful conversations
5. Offer help to others

Once you've put names against your Personal Boardroom roles, consider:

• Is there anyone on the list who's much younger than you? Much older?
• How many are men and how many are women?
• How many are of a different nationality or race to you?
• How many are in the same organisation or sector as you?
• What different life experiences and perspectives does the whole group bring?
• Are there ways in which you could widen the circles of those you turn to?

Approach this as a reciprocal exercise – networks are strongest when people within them both give and take.

Why, despite our best efforts, do we seem unable to solve some of our most compelling problems?

Overview

SystemCraft is a framework for identifying actions that drive change. It can be expanded or contracted to suit the time and resources you have. Use it for comprehensive strategy development and intervention delivery, or to quickly help groups think in an unfamiliar way about familiar problems. Read the primer to unpack what makes a problem complex and to discover how to create system-level change.

What you’ll need

• A complex problem to initiate a cycle of action and iteration on, and a group to draw in as you build momentum for change

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Do you have dedicated support to help you think through how to apply your ideas?

Overview

Action Learning is a group-coaching approach to problem solving that involves taking action and reflecting upon the results in small peer groups. The aim of each session is for the problem holder(s) to come away with a set of realistic actions that'll help to solve or understand the issues at hand. During your programme, you'll be guided by your facilitator. We encourage you to take this activity back to your workplace and facilitate this approach for your teams. 

What you’ll need

• 6-7 people
• A problem holder

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