Strategic Doing enables people to form action-oriented collaborations quickly, move them toward measurable outcomes, and make adjustments along the way. It yields replicable, scalable, and sustainable collaborations based on simple rules. If you’re interested in becoming more skilled in your use of Strategic Doing, our training and certification series is for you.
(if you're looking for external help - rather than being trained yourself - see here).
Overview
There are training opportunities for those newer to Strategic Doing as well as those already highly experienced. Training is available throughout the US, opportunities in Canada and elsewhere are growing, and during the COVID pandemic is available online as well. Our trainings are all highly interactive - you'll learn Strategic Doing by doing it. Check out the video below for a peek inside one of our 2.5 day trainings as well as some thoughts from the instructors and participants.
Finding Training
Training is offered both in-person and online. For upcoming opportunities, check our Events page.
Becoming Certified
Strategic Doing practitioners (those who have attended our 2.5 day training) can choose to become certified by successfully completing an additional course and are then listed here. The certification process includes completion of training plus a hands-on component in which you demonstrate your new skills. Certification is good for two years; re-certification is based on demonstration of continuing use of the discipline and participation in the "community of practice."
Strategic Doing Training & Certification
Below you’ll find the details on what each course involves. In some cases, we use the 101/201/301 numbers to indicate the relative length of the session. Don't worry - unless otherwise noted, there are no pre-requisites; you can jump in at any level.
- Strategic Doing 101: Doing More Together - for those who want to experience Strategic Doing and learn about its key features, this half-day session includes playing the Strategic Doing Game. This course is generally offered as a custom session - contact us if you are interested in bringing it to your organization or community.
- Strategic Doing 201: Guiding Conversations - for those who want to use small group conversations to move collaborations forward, this offering focuses on the use of Strategic Doing to move forward in the course of a short session (usually 1 or 1-1/2 days). You'll explore the basics in a brief overview and then, with the guidance of experienced workshop leaders, you'll tackle identified challenges using the discipline. Contact us if you are interested in bringing this to your organization or community.
- Strategic Doing 301: Leading Complex Collaborations - for those who want to develop and lead Strategic Doing workshops (sessions in which teams use the Strategic Doing approach to address complex challenges), this 2.5-day training focuses on planning and using Strategic Doing with a team to create impact.
- Certified Workshop Leader training: this online course helps practitioners put their new skills into practice through a guided/coached process of planning, carrying out, and following up from a Strategic Doing workshop. You must have already completed the 2.5 day course to begin the certification process. The course is offered a few times a year; check here for the next dates.
- A limited number of Certified Workshop Leaders are invited to become Strategic Doing Fellow Candidates. As is the case with many disciplines, teaching Strategic Doing calls on a skill set that is significantly different than using Strategic Doing. Becoming a full Fellow requires completing an apprenticeship-style co-teaching program, planning and leading multiple workshops with existing Fellows and reflecting on their skill development though the process.
Related Training Offerings
The Agile Strategy Lab (really, a network) offers the courses below (upcoming sessions on this website) as well as trainings on approaches or topics that are complementary:
- The Ten Skills of Agile Leadership - if you'd like to develop as an individual leader, this online course based on the book Strategic Doing: Ten Skills of Agile Leadership, will help you do that. You'll learn how to use the skills as an individual in your professional life (no matter what your official "title"), in civic organizations in which you're involved, or even in your personal or family life. This course is not equivalent to Strategic Doing 301: Leading Complex Collaborations. However, because there is significant overlap, there is a follow-up online course (see below) for those that would like to complete the content of a 301 without "starting over."
- Planning & Delivering a Strategic Doing Workshop: this online course is the follow-up to Ten Skills of Agile Leadership. Over four synchronous sessions, you'll learn how to translate your new leadership skills into a team context in which you are guiding a new collaboration. It is only open to those that have taken that course (or existing Strategic Doing practitioners who would like a "refresher." These two courses together are equivalent to Strategic Doing 301: Leading Complex Collaborations.
Photo credits: Purdue Agile Strategy Lab; University of North Alabama
