21st Century Leadership The Mayvin Game Martin Saville and James Traeger December 2011

Session Aims Defining some pivotal changes we can work with Investigate some OD tools Support your organisation’s leadership potential

Why we need a game-changing approach Ever-more complexity Blurring of organisational boundaries Increasing importance of Purpose Social Media and networked identities Gen Y Lost organisations, lost times ‘Strategy’, ‘Mission’ and ‘Values’ are no longer enough The ‘rational’ organisation is increasingly a myth

Capacities of C21L Collective Intelligence: ‘the edge has many eyes’ Wisdom of Multiple Intelligences Enabling Truths Networked Leadership Human Purposes

Who is this relevant for? Top leaders Aspiring leadership Gen Y People working on the ‘edge’ of the system Anyone seeking more creativity Those with ‘Drive’ (Dan Pink) Those who seek ‘Flow’ (Mihaly Csikszentmilhalyi) (and who might resist this worldview?)

Possibilities for HR / OD/L&D People Connectivity ‘Mercurianism’ (story-telling) Relationship Values-based change (holding people to account) Encouraging potential (at the edge) Modelling ‘multiple intelligences’

Foundation Principles of C21L Transformational and Systemic possibility Sceptical of (and supportive of) hierarchy Helping leaders ‘let go’ Knowledge is local, timely and specific Change processes are ‘always beta’ Openness and unpredictability of change Darwinism: ‘proliferation’

Think of organisations as… “Patterns of ongoing interaction between people [which] produce further patterns of interaction” (Ralph Stacey)

Where is the balance in your organisation? A Fundamental Tension EnergyContainment

What saved the bank? The ability to observe the world from 30,000ft and analyse at 3” The ability to inspire and enable followers Being there when it counts – willing to stand up and be counted Pathological collaboration with peers to solve problems and get things done

Mayvins and Connectors Mayvin (also ‘Maven’) from the Yiddish: one who understands stuff, and seeks to pass on the knowledge to others Mayvins work best with ‘connectors’: those with a wide network of casual acquaintances Based on a number of ancient and modern sources, such as Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point)

Principles of the Mayvin Game The organisation IS the systems of relationships that serve it (and don’t!) Choose which system(s) you serve Choose your (human) purposes You can be both Mayvin and Connector You are always in the right place Make ‘available and adjacent’ moves Meet your immediate needs in support of the system Help others do the same

Let’s Play! Round One – Locate our Connectors: – Find out everyone in the room who: You have spoken a few words with them – black & white dot You have had a conversation – pink dot You know them well enough to lend them money and know you’d get it back – red dot Be honest about it – we need a good picture of our connectivity What are the implications and possibilities of the stickers for us?

Stories – Show and Tell In pairs, A & B: A says why networking is important In pairs, B tells A about a time when they or someone they knew made something happen through networking

Let’s Play! Round Two Form groups of up to 5 Make a good circle (The quality of stories improves in a circle) Introduce yourselves - establish relationship Hear from everyone in the group – circle to the left Timekeeper follows storyteller

Stories Each tell a 2 min story about a time when you felt you were doing something (at work) you were really good at (in your ‘flow’) Don’t be modest! Describe the detail - let others interpret Not information or argument! (advocacy) ‘Show’ vs ‘Tell’ (inquiry) Best told as if you are there: what can you see, hear, taste, touch, smell, feel?

Stories - themes After you’ve heard all stories: – Be curious – ask anyone in the circle anything you want After you’ve done the cross-questioning: – What were the common themes/conditions of Mayvin-ness?

Where does our Mayvin authority come from? John Heron CONTEXT SOCIAL ROLE CONTENT GRAMMAR / SYNTAX FEELINGS BODY PRESENCE

So what? How can you use the mindset & tools we have used here? How are you a Mayvin? Which Mayvins in your organisation can you support, and how? What is the most ‘Purposeful’ narrative you can support and how?

Get in touch Martin Saville +44 (0) James Traeger +44 (0)