TO WHAT EXTENT ARE YOU AWARE OF YOUR FRAGILITY AND HOW IT INFLUENCES HOW YOU SHOW UP?...
It is common to hear people in Organisation Development (OD), Leadership Development and related fields talk about the importance of being critically reflective. ‘Self as instrument’ started out as a radical invitation in OD, the idea being to use one’s own experience of self as the primary sense making lens. Here you treat everything in the ‘here and now’ as data in service of forming hypotheses and devising responses to messy reality. Yet this is set in the context of a relationship where the overarching need for clients is to find someone onto whom their projections of ‘expert’ and ‘expertise’ are validated, namely their helper – for that read consultant, coach, advisor etc.
This therefore means that those of us working with clients need to be aware (enough) of our own ego ideals, the intoxicating effect of projections that feed our narcissism and the lurking shadow of shame. We can of course not go there, and maintain a relationship that is superficially useful, but what might be avoided or missed that could make a difference?...
The little acknowledged, maybe undiscussable, feature of this relationship is therefore what happens when the fragility of the client or leader meets that of the practitioner? What do we do when our shame – whether related to our work identities and roles or more archaic – is evoked? Do we really embrace ‘self as instrument’ and do our work, or collude by keeping the inquiry relatively superficial? It is all well and good gathering in communities of practice to reflect, and the question arises as to how deep we are really prepared to go.
stretch
+ learning
one day workshop
"Thought provoking and validating."
Simon Payne, Founder of Be More Punk
"An excellent session that has left me with lots to think about, both in terms of the inquiries you led us through, and how we were enabled to talk with each other gradually throughout the day"
David Jones, OD Consultant & Exec Coach
"...a wonderful opportunity to explore some of the unconscious challenges of leading and supporting change with a community of thoughtful, experienced and inspiring fellow travellers.
I found it stretching and a breath of fresh air."
Hannah Fromageau, Senior Consultant
"Steve creates an environment where useful and meaningful exploration and learning can flourish... The workshop helped me to recognise where most of the self-imposed limiting factors in my practice are coming from and play out. "
Darryl Warden, OD & HR Consultant
This is not ‘drive by’ learning
Come prepared to engage in useful discomfort in service of your own and collective learning; and bring your sense of humour, because even in the darkest moments absurdity lurks. This is one of those events where participation is a prerequisite. Whilst there will be no requirement to disclose anything you do not wish to, the territory we will be exploring – and the way we will be working – will mean that you will have the opportunity to explore whatever emerges in a way that serves you.
In No Silver Bullet: bursting the bubble of the organisational quick fix, I explored how unconscious processes driven by shame and anxiety fuel collusive behaviours that maintain the market for quick fix/’Silver Bullet’ solutions. In this event, we bring that inquiry into the room, moving from the safety of ‘talking about’ to ‘being in and with’ aspects of ourselves that we rarely talk about. Here I will host a conversation and inquiry that explores how we may be part of the problem, both colluding with clients, each other and ourselves.
Next date
Tuesday 1st December 2026
Venue
The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Unit I, Second Floor
50 Featherstone Street
London EC1Y 8RT
Details on how to get to the institute are here.
Cost
General admission is £390+VAT and a limited number of early bird tickets are available for £290+VAT.
Breakfast included.
Photo by Eric Alagra