We can help you achieve your goals through action
Appreciative Inquiry
Built around the concept that building on what works is more effective in achieving desired results than trying to solve problems, Appreciative Inquiry a philosophy as well as a process. Pelerei uses the principles of Appreciative Inquiry in all of its activities, and especially in all of its organizational development work. Using these principles, Pelerei interventions only add to the client's ability to achieve goals.
Example: working with all of the staff of a key business unit, Pelerei facilitated a two-day retreat in which the group refined the mission for the business unit so that the group would be ready to present the ideas to an incoming management team. The group members completed their task and found themselves fully energized to present and defend what they had done.
Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management has many definitions. The one that seems to be understood most easily is to define it as providing access, creating an environment of sharing, and supporting a willingness to learn the information and knowledge needed to accomplish and improve the work.
Example: Pelerei has been involved in many knowledge management projects. A major international agency asked Pelerei to design their knowledge management course for delivery around the world. Later, Pelerei was invited to teach the course as well. But the most challenging work is when a client asks Pelerei to design a KM strategy for the organization. In a recent project, Pelerei was able to provide a strategy for KM that took into account the culture of the organization so that the specific activities were ones that felt natural to the staff.
Team Building
Knowing how to communicate within a team, understanding the value of clarity of goals, valuing diverse perspectives, allowing creativity to 'happen', are just a few of the things that are needed to assure that teams work as effective units, instead of just as a group doing a project. In other words, these things are needed to tap the potential synergy of a team to gain the added value of what a team can do.
Example: Pelerei has helped numerous clients create strong teams to deal with difficult issues. In one case, Pelerei was asked to work with a group to develop an action plan to address gender issues within the organization. The members of the group had differing opinions about what those issues might be and whether they existed at all. In addition to gathering lots of information about the issue, the more important task for Pelerei was to help the group come to value the differences within itself so that by listening to each other they could come together with a single voice. Over a period of a year, the group formed into a strong, cohesive unit. Differences had been expressed, discussed, and resolved as the group evolved into a team. The action plan that eventually came out of the work of this group had an extremely impact on the organization. Today, after more than five years, this impact remains.
Facilitation
Group work is difficult at best. When the group has to deal with hard problems that threaten some or all of its members, help is often needed to assure that everyone is heard. Specific processes, as well as group management skills, are called for. Pelerei has worked with both large and small groups, applying the processes that match the type of problem and the size of the group.
Example: Pelerei designed and facilitated a work session for a sub-group of staff who desired to have a separate session for themselves while the rest of the department was in retreat. Within two hours, the group both better understood their own goals and had designed a way to bring it to the larger group for definition of actions. Pelerei turned the podium over to the sub-group in the full session so that their representatives could present their request. The entire department grasped the need and approach, spent the next hour working on it in small groups, and developed actions to for each of the goals. Everyone went away pleased with the results.
Diversity and Gender Programs
Diversity and gender programs are all about helping people see their hidden biases and learn how to translate that knowledge into actions that overcome those biases, thus, releasing the targets of the bias to full membership in the organization. Pelerei has worked with more than 20 organizations examining the issues of women and minorities in the workplace and helping organizations develop action plans to address them. This work was done often within international organizations that have no legal compulsion to deal with such issues.
Example: Working in an international organization, Pelerei assisted by researching the impact and perceptions of those who were citizens of countries considered not "Western" enough. The challenge of the project was to help those in power to see what behaviors triggered their judgment and to understand the negative impact on those targeted and, ultimately, on the organization. Success in this arena has taken several years, following the actions developed from the original work with Pelerei.
Storytelling
The use of story is a powerful tool for helping any organization become more aware of the sources of its real power and how it can best utilize them. The technique of using storytelling is woven into many of the techniques used by Pelerei, including Appreciative Inquiry work, our research designs, and our training.
Example: When asked to do a policy analysis, Pelerei included interviews of staff to allow each to tell the stories of how they used the policies or felt used by them. The resulting analysis was significantly stronger. So much so, that the recommendations were quickly accepted by management. The stories allowed management to see and feel the effect of the current policies - intended or not.
Strategic Planning
Strategy is the pattern of decisions in a company that determines its objectives, purposes or goals. Strategy then moves on to develop the overall game plan or map to help lead or direct the organization toward the desired objectives. Pelerei has worked with numerous organizations, companies, work units, and boards in strategic planning.
Example: Pelerei designed and facilitated a strategic planning project for a company that was in a major growth period. The company wanted to assure that the growth was in the right areas and would not change the qualities the company was known for. The process was done over a period of two months. This allowed the staff time to explore the values that made the company what it had been, to explore what the clients saw and valued about the company, and to develop specific strategies for maintaining what clients and staff valued most. |
