Launching the Tavistock Institute Action Learning Space

The purpose of The Tavistock Institute Action Learning Space is to open spaces for comprehending and staying with meaningful and sometimes difficult questions. In this talk Milena Stateva explored with guests what it means to be a member, to convene and to nurture such a space and a range of meanings of a group.

Transcript

1. You  are  good.     Launching  the  Tavistock  Ins6tute  Ac6on  Learning   Space   Dr  Milena  Stateva   Tavistock  Ins3tute  Lunch3me  Talk     Jan,  20th    2016  
2. Ques6oning  the  traces   •  Can  we  think  differently  about  the  consequences  of   our  ac6ons  and  inac6ons?     •  How  do  we  live  with  what  has  been  done  before?     •  Is  there  another  way  of  thinking  about  strategy  and   future?  
3. Leadership  development   •  Developing  organisa6ons  by  bringing  together  craG  and   business  in     –  senior  prac66oners     –  decision  and  policy  makers     –  especially  those  in  high  risk  businesses  and     –  those  working  with  overwhelming  experiences     •  BeJer  equipped  leaders  who  are  supported  to  deal  with   the  inherited  difficul6es  and  the  challenges  of  our  6mes       •  Staying  true  to  their  organisa6onal  purpose  and  keeping   the  promises  to  their  customers  and  to  their  employees.  
4. Community  development   •  Working  with  self-­‐selected  members  of  the   community   –  women     –  young  leaders  and  children  as  aspiring  leaders   –   and  people  who  feel  they  have  lost  sense  of  purpose  due  to  age     •  Helps  them  geNng  in  touch  with  their  capaci6es  to   par6cipate  in  a  more  fulfilling  way  in  the  social,   economic,  cultural  and  poli6cal  life.  
5. Working  with  people  in  their  poli6cal   roles   •  Evoke  in  people  these  parts  of  themselves  that  are:   –  ci6zens     –  academics     –  researchers     –  consultants     –  ac6vists     •  Foster  democracy  and  democra6c  values  of   par6cipa6on,  social  jus6ce  and  social  cohesion.  
6. Empowering  marginalised  scholars   •  Invites  prac66oners  and  theore6cians  from  fields  that  are   currently  marginalised:   –  Ar6sts   –  Cultural  anthropologists   –  Writers     •  Supports  them  in  a  context  that  favours  simplicity,   objec6vism  and  bureaucracy.       •  Supports  them  to  overcome  the  constrains  of  a   consumerist  and  marke6sed  context  that  leaves  liJle   space  for  their  social,  educa6onal,    poli6cal  and   enlightenment  func6ons.  
7. Methodology   •  Large  group  interven6ons  for  rapid  change   •  Series  of  reflec6ve  spaces  based  on  blending  object/ group  rela6ons,  cri6cal  theory,  and  crea6ve   techniques   •  Developing  a  research  mode  of  mul6-­‐media  ac6on   learning   •  Ar6s6c  produc6on  and  dissemina6on   •  Ac6on  learning  sets  for  mul6-­‐disciplinary  teams  
8. Current  status  and  next  steps   Future search conference Prep Design conferences Action learning Administration Action Research Phase 1: Case formulation Action Research Phase 2: Planning Action Research Phase 3: Action Action Research Phase 4: Evaluation Action Research Phase 5: Case re- formulation Action Research Phase 0: Reflection
9. Recovering  the  status  of  soul,   wondering  and  reason   •  Slowing  down   •  Tenderness   •  Embedding  pockets  of  s6llness   •  Installing  new  opportuni6es  for  building  cultural   capital   •  Building  a  “referent  organisa6on”  to  address  the   probléma6que  -­‐  meta-­‐problems  or  messes   •  A  contemporary  return  to  the  roots  of  Western  pre-­‐ modern  thought  and  Eastern  teachings  
10. What  is  a  group?   •  What  Bion  called  ‘a  storm  between  minds’  and  how   this  storm  nourishes  selves  in  a  role,  organisa6ons   and  communi6es;     •  The  group  as  the  home  and  the  guide  to  moral   ques6ons;     •  The  group  as  a  gate  to  crea6vity  and  recep6vity  that   bridges  the  contemporary  doer/thinker  divide.  
11. What  would  you  like  to  discuss?