The CDRA Leadership & Management Development Course
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Why this course?Effectively leading and managing a a civil society organisation in a complex world towards an uncertain future, sometimes feels like an impossible challenge. Staff are more empowered and want their say, while the work pace accelerates and the pressure to deliver results climbs higher than ever. In addition, it is clear that strategies and practice must become more partnership-based, but experience has proved this to be more than difficult.
The things that matter are not getting the right attention. Organisations are social beings with a life of their own and cannot be treated as mechanical things to adjust and manipulate. They are creative, purposeful human processes of dynamic relationships that leaders and managers can learn to observe, to listen to and to facilitate, rather than to impose and control. Occasionally you must lead from the front, at other times from behind and sometimes you are there to walk alongside. The promise of purpose, passion, insight, curiosity and joyfulness that first attracted you to this work can still live at the heart of your organisation doing the right work in the world. If you, as leader and manager, can find the right approach and balance. This course is a safe learning space to bring your leadership and management practice, your challenges and hopes, to share with and learn from others, to be stimulated by approaches and frameworks that will help you to ask the right questions, to discover fresh ideas, to both solve nagging problems, and to open up new possibilities for a thriving and purposeful workplace and practice. Our ApproachYou will be in a safe, collegial learning space where we creatively engage your experiences and help you to frame them in better questions and concepts so that you can identify what matters and what approach and steps to take in future. We challenge you with different ways of seeing social change, organisations, people and yourselves. We use a number of active methodologies to help you to experience organisational dynamics through gameplay and creative expression. Through taking time to slow down, breathe out and reconnect with what matters you will gain invaluable insights into your real work as a leader.
You will receive a comprehensive Handbook for Leading and Managing a Civil Society Organisation as well as several practical tools and techniques, learned from the course, that you can use to facilitate organisational processes yourselves. Application & Queries
Any questions about the course content or process can be addressed to: Doug Reeler: doug@cdra.org.za |
Course Design and key elementsThis is a 2 x 5-day modular course to help leaders and managers to step back and find insights and responses to these questions and issues:
A. Module One · What is the real work of social change and how can various theories of change help to deepen your own programme theory? · What organisational design and culture best supports your particular strategy, approach and practice? · How do organisations develop over time? What kind of leadership and management is required in different organisational life phases? · How can organisations open themselves to effective collaboration? · How do you ‘lead from within’, working out of your own authentic, facilitative and generative leadership style and approach? · How to facilitate a variety of empowering organisational conversations. B. Back Home Application 1 Applying lessons and ideas to your challenges and possibilities. Reflections on these to be brought to Module Two. C. Module Two· Collectively sharing, reflecting on and learning from the Back Home Applications. · What do different individual staff members and teams need to enable their best selves and how do you better supervise, support and help them to develop? · How do you develop into a more skilful learning organisation that can help you to stay with the real work and also adapt to shifting and unseen realities of an uncertain future? · How do you ensure that planning, monitoring and evaluation are not dry lifeless procedures, but bring insight and energy to relationships and practice. · How can you deal effectively with donors and their needs while staying true to your own mission and values? · How do you approach and manage alliances and collaborations with other organisations? D. Back Home Application 2 Taking back change initiatives, ideas and questions to work with, to reflect on and bring to the Learning Webinar. E. Learning Webinar An online process to share and reflect on Back Home Applications. About the Facilitator - Doug ReelerI have been working in the CDRA for the past 20 years, accompanying and facilitating organisational change processes, strategic planning and strategic review conversations, evaluations, leadership courses, theory of change seminars and a variety of other processes focused on supporting civil society leaders, practitioners and organisations, networks, movements and alliances. I have done this on all continents and with hundreds of organisations.
I also co-pioneered the Barefoot Guide Connection (www.barefootguide.org) and have authored several articles and journal pieces focused on social change theory and practice and on organisational forms that can best mobilise co-creative human initiative. Download my resume here |
