Overview
Strategic Doing practitioners have completed a course called Strategic Doing: Leading Complex Collaborations (or an approved course covering the same material), which teaches individuals how to use the “10 skills of agile leadership” in a wide variety of situations, as well as how to use the skills in a coordinated and structured fashion to lead a “Strategic Doing workshop.” Strategic Doing workshops are sessions in which groups work on an identified challenge, develop a strategic outcome with measurable characteristics, pick a starting (or “Pathfinder”) project, and create an action plan that includes responsibilities for each member of the group – all within a ~3 hour block of time. The training also teaches practitioners how to help groups continue the progress they have made after the workshop.
Practitioner training is offered both in-person (throughout the US and Canada, as well as periodic sessions in Europe) and online. Both versions of the training include a minimum of 18 hours of instruction. Training is led by Strategic Doing “Fellows,” who are experienced in using the Strategic Doing approach and have completed both Workshop Leader certification and a training program to learn to teach the course content. Fellows are approved by the Strategic Doing Institute and engage in continuous improvement related to their teaching practice.
Some, but not all, practitioners choose to go on to become certified Strategic Doing workshop leaders.
Course Content
Participants in the course will learn:
- why traditional approaches to strategic often fail
- what effective collaboration is – and isn’t
- the 10 Rules of Strategic Doing:
- create and maintain a “safe space” for deep, focused conversation
- frame conversations with an appreciative question
- identify assets, including those that may have been hidden
- link and leverage assets to identify new opportunities
- choose a “Big Easy” from the range of opportunities
- convert the “Big Easy” into a strategic outcome by defining success and appropriate metrics
- develop a starting project or prototype to test an idea
- build an action plan that includes everyone
- use double-loop learning in regular check-in meetings
- nudge, connect, and promote your network’s progress
- how to use the 10 skills as an individual to improve the effectiveness of meetings and 1:1 conversations
- how to manage a group conversation: maintain “equity of voice” (all participants contribute equally), keep discussions on topic and within a stated time window, help participants listen to differing opinions respectfully, identify and articulate what a group is learning as they work together, and respond effectively to non-constructive behavior
- how to plan, deliver, and follow up from a Strategic Doing workshop with a small team
Course Components
The in-person version of the training combines direct instruction with hands-on group learning activities, individual assignments in which students apply the concepts, and an extended workshop simulation. The online version of the training includes videos, quizzes, individual assignments from an accompanying workbook, discussion forums (all asynchronous), and the simulation and final exercise delivered in live videoconference sessions.
Assessment
Assessment varies depending on whether the course is delivered in-person or online. For in-person trainings, participants must complete a set of learning exercises during the sessions as well as homework assignments. The final exercise is a summative one, in which participants make preliminary plans for their first Strategic Doing workshop and receive peer feedback on their plan. The Fellow serving as lead instructor provides a report on which participants have successfully completed all parts of the training. For online trainings, participants complete assignments in a workbook designed for the course as well as participate in the live simulation; the final exercise is identical to that for in-person trainings. An 80% average is required in the online course for successful completion.
Digital Credential
Participants who successfully complete the course receive a digital credential from the UNA Agile Strategy Lab (which manages the administrative aspects of the Strategic Doing Institute) that can be included in a LinkedIn profile, on social media, and on websites, resumes, etc. The credential includes the date of issue, which is the date on which the training was completed.
Contact us with any questions related to the practitioner course.
