Adaptive Capacity (Second Edition)

This book explores and demonstrates the transformative learning experiences that organizations and their leaders can derive from the arts. It is through the arts that we have always explored our humanity: through dance and music; art and sculpture; theatre and poetry. The arts allow us to explore our own selves and our relationship to others and to the world around us. This central role of the arts is commonly accepted in everyday life, but the implications of this are not typically extended to the world of business.The authors argues strongly that, to the contrary, the methodologies and approaches that are fundamental to performing artists of all kinds can provide exactly the kind of inspirational, people-centred and performance-related techniques that are missing from much of the typically mechanistic, systems-based and process-driven training and development of managers and executives. Technical proficiency and expertise are not enough to deliver an award-winning result; what enables a truly outstanding performance is the elusive but entirely recognizable element of artistry – the spark that transforms a technically good performance into something extraordinary.

Maintaining performance today is no longer simply about having an annual appraisal and telling employees “you must try harder”. Research demonstrates that regular discussions about performance and providing feedback to the people you manage is a more effective way to motivate them and keep them on track. Distilled into this single, handy-sized volume are 50 tips, advice and techniques to help any manager become quickly skilled at regularly discussing performance, setting goals and objectives and providing the necessary feedback to ensure individuals and teams thrive in the company. Structured into five key parts, each of the 50 concise chapters also contains a practical exercise to help the reader understand and implement the concepts and ideas of this book.