Services Capacity Building Individual Capacity QQSR offers tailor made programs and coaching as well as workshops (see below). As details differ from person to person, you should contact us directly if you are interested in our services. In broad terms, however, we offer: A series of self-completion tests which can be used to evaluate aspects of your personality and performance Assistance with creating a 360 degree assessment, which will allow you to get constructive feedback from people in your social network - friends, family, co-workers and so on Interpretive commentaries and profiles based on test and 360 feedback, which helps you to understand yourself better, including obtaining a good appreciation of your strengths and weaknesses A program for goal setting in your life On-line coaching which helps you achieve those goals Team Capacity For an organisation to operate at its best, it needs to get the best from its people, it needs to be focused on what it is doing and how to improve so that it becomes a 'peak performing organisation', and it also needs a long-term vision that can help it orient itself to the future. Drawing on success in research, organisational development and high-level advising, QQSR offers workshops and planning activities for senior managers. These workshops lead to: improved workplace relations; increased organisational effectiveness; and greater focus of direction and purpose. QQSR has developed a three part renewal and development series that speaks to each of these three needs. Each component can be accessed as a standalone program or combined with others. We aim these workshops at senior management because the research evidence shows unequivocally that if you improve the way the top people 'do business' then this 'cascades' through the organisation. (In contrast, improving the way that junior people do business, without work at the top of the organisation, does not result in a 'bubbling up' of improvement.) Workshops Individuals Much of QQSR's work in this area is done either on an individual basis or is part of work related endeavours. However, currently the company is expanding its interests and is developing workshops that individuals can join, where they will work through self development issues in a group setting. LifeScape is the name that we give to these workshops. LifeScape: Improving Self Knowledge, Communication and Interpersonal Skills (a two-day intensive session with follow-up coaching). LifeScape workshops are currently in the development stage. However, they share a broadly similar structure to WorkScape (without the work specific elements). Teams Increasing individual capacity is an important first step for organisations and our experience shows that when we work with members of a team on individual capacity building, using the WorkScape approach we create the synergy for a collective improvement - that is, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We can also go beyond this and create a program that builds greater team capacity. This strategy rests upon our TeamScape approach. Two fully developed workshops are currently available: WorkScape: Improving Communication and Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace (a two-day intensive session with follow-up coaching). WorkScape is commonly used for members of a work team who undertake the personal development work with colleagues. TeamScape: Checking Where We Are and Need to Go (One half-day plus one full day session, about two weeks apart, with follow-up implementation work). A third workshop FutureScape: Developing Long Term Vision using scenario forecasting is under development, based upon past and current workshops conducted by QQSR. QQSR tailors the details of workshops to meet the specific needs of the people involved. WorkScape, TeamScape and FutureScape form a suite of workshops for organisations that wish to optimise their internal function and orient themselves to a productive and profitable future. The workshops are outlined in detail below. WorkScape This is a comprehensive personal and development workshop based upon cognitive behavioural principles. It differs from most management workshops in that in addition to important cognitive information, it also develops a basis for behavioural change, hence offering long-lasting impact on how people act and react. The workshop moves through three phases. 1: Looking In The 'Mirror' "The most difficult matter is not so much to change the world as yourself." - Nelson Mandela In this phase individuals provide material about themselves that, along with other information, is used to create a picture of their strengths and weaknesses. This creates a 'mirror' in which the person recognises things about themselves, including areas where they are doing well and others where they need to improve. The material is gathered via an extensive self-completion questionnaire. In addition, each person nominates others with whom they work who can provide independent ratings of some aspects, to create a '360 degree feedback'. Topics covered in the questionnaire include: Work-style Measurable psychological dimensions such as self-esteem, assertiveness, anger, control needs, etc Conflict styles Common fear patterns that undermine performance Emotional intelligence. Based on the material gathered, each person is provided with a personal profile in the period before the workshop, so that they can reflect upon that profile in advance. In addition, each person is asked: to discuss their profile with a trusted other such as a partner, close friend, sibling, etc - in effect getting a 'reality check' on what has been said. This is valuable both because it allows the individual to see how a general description (e.g. 'impatient') applies to them specifically and also because it helps overcome denial. to prepare and bring to the workshop a scenario in which they describe a recent incident at work (with colleagues and/or clients) in which things went wrong and where the poor outcome was due to their lack of skills, forethought or self control. (This is used later in the workshop as a basis for discussion and exercises.) to prepare and bring to the workshop some topics that they can use in discussion, such as changes they would like to make in their life, current problems they are prepared to discuss in a 'problem-solving' exercise, etc 2: Skills Development "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle In this phase individuals consider a wide variety of material concerning communication, conflict resolution and emotional intelligence as well as issues such as personal, cultural and gender difference in the workplace. Emphasis is placed on practical exercises and upon connecting the skills to identified areas of personal strength and weakness. Areas covered include: Development of rapport Further self reflection exercises with a partner and in the group (these highlight similarities and differences between participants) Listening skills Problem resolution via asking questions Goal clarification by asking questions Giving and receiving critical feedback Simple conflict resolution exercises 3: Goal Setting "Hope is not a method." - General Gordon Sullivan (former US Chief of Staff) In this phase individuals are presented with material about successful personal change mechanisms and goal setting. They link this with the skills outlined in the previous phase in focused exercises to identify what their weaknesses are and how they link to deep-seated habits of thought. They are then given a blank 'personal action plan' to complete that takes them through the steps necessary to create a realistic action plan that will address developments they self-identify as helpful. Finally, each participant makes a presentation to the group. In this they identify areas of weakness that have been a problem for them in the past, outline steps they will take to redress those problems and develop new habits and explain how they will achieve those steps and measure performance. Following the completion of the workshop, we are prepared to offer online back up and coaching for a period to help people keep to and improve their plans. We have found this important in translating the plans into concrete change. This is a challenging experience for everyone involved. Part of the reason that this workshop delivers collective as well as individual benefit is that in addition to the obvious pay-off of airing some issues that are difficult in the workplace in a way that is not hostile but rather supportive, there is also the fact that sharing the challenge builds rapport. "We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time." - T.S. Eliot TeamScape This workshop uses a series of collective reflection exercises and brainstorming techniques designed to ensure that a full range of views and ideas are collected, collated and then synthesised into an action plan for development. The focus is upon making your organisation a 'peak performing organisation'. Our product does not replace - but rather complements - more conventional products such as strategic plans and/or business plans. Complementing these more 'technically' oriented products, our workshop ensures that the organisation does business in a way that ensures the highest degree of cooperation, teamwork and creativity, thus raising morale and job satisfaction, improving the retention of valuable staff and, in broad terms, helping you to win the 'war for talent'. The workshop moves through three phases. 1: Reality Checking (first half day) "Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise." - Sigmund Freud In this phase individuals are first introduced to some simple brainstorming and workshopping techniques. Using these techniques, we then examine a sequence of five questions that we have demonstrated give a comprehensive view of where any organisation currently finds itself. The questions are: What is going well? What is going badly? What should we do more of? What should we do less of? What are we doing that "gets in people's faces" and what gets in ours? This simple sequence has a powerful effect in getting internal, cultural issues and problems on the table, even more so if a team has previously improved the level of functioning and trust by undertaking the WorkScape workshop. The workshop produces a list of issues that need resolving. Each manager then takes this list for discussion with their team, and asks them a second set of questions centred upon visualising success, as follows: "Tomorrow, the CEO announces a prize for the best-operating unit in our organisation. Two years from now, we win the inaugural prize". Against which criteria were we measured? What new skills and habits did we acquire? What did we stop doing? What did we start doing? If we do not make this future, what do we miss out on? Overall, what are the key things we should do to move in this direction? After discussion with the team, each manager prepares a short report that updates the list of issues for discussion and reports the team's answers to the second set of questions. These reports are circulated to colleagues and the facilitator ahead of the second phase. 2: Envisioning Success (start of second day) "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson In this phase the group works with the reports each person has prepared to collate a full answer to each of the second set of questions. Again, the workshopping and brain-storming techniques covered in the first phase are employed here. By following this sequence of questions about success, the group actively envisions success - what it looks, sounds and feels like - thus creating a positive commitment to success. This commitment is strengthened by the fact that all the ideas are generated from within the organisation and, through this enabling approach, 'ownership' is greatly increased. Problems - and solutions to them - are self-generated, not defined and 'solved' by outside gurus (which in contrast is a disabling way to proceed). 3: Choosing Priorities For Action "Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear." - Anthony Robbins Awaken the Giant Within In the closing phase, participants work together using a series of planning and prioritisation devices. These devices allow the team to select specific areas for development and improvement and then create a detailed action plan that will make immediate gains towards creating peak performance, high morale and improved job satisfaction. These tangible outcomes will rapidly cascade through the organisation with obvious benefit for all and for productivity. "Two words came up repeatedly in top management discussion of the change program. One was 'cascade' the other was 'embedding'. The values and behaviour cascade down one layer of the organisation, become embedded there, then cascade down again to the next level, and so on." - Richard Price and Dick Evans Vertical Take-Off: British Aerospace's' Comeback from Crisis to World Class QQSR also offers follow-up advice and support with implementation of the changes that the workshop creates on an 'as needs' basis. FutureScape FutureScape is an exercise that helps organisations imagine their future and orient themselves towards various possibilities. It is a long-term endeavour since meetings for it need to allow time in between for reflection and development of ideas. This workshop is still in the active development phase, thus what follows is a brief sketch. (Note: We currently have an active FutureScape underway for a client, looking at the future of sport and recreation in the Australian Capital Territory, as a basis for forward planning for local sports organisations.) Futurescape is based on a series of workshops and activities that involve key personnel in senior management. The output from the activity is a set of scenarios. None of these scenarios should be read as a specific prediction. Rather, the intention of the exercise is to stretch the envelope of futures that are being considered. Once fully developed, each scenario includes a set of 'drivers' (factors that take change in one direction rather than another), a description of how this future might look, a set of 'signposts' that indicate that change is heading down this road rather than another and also (a) a set of policy responses that help to promote or delay this change, depending upon its desirability; and (b) a set of plans to respond to it if the scenario or something very similar comes about. The 'drivers' that we use are developed by the group. They consist of 'critical uncertainties'; i.e., those crucial areas of social and economic change where the direction or impact of that change is still uncertain. This differs from important changes where the direction is clear in the medium term. For example, the aging of the population as the 'baby boomers' retire yet there are fewer children may have great impact upon the future an organisation faces - but while critical the change is not 'uncertain'. On the other hand, what the baby boomers do when they retire - will they reduce civic participation and have fun on their own, or will they provide a pool of willing volunteers who increase their participation - is less clear. The direction this takes may be both uncertain and critical if one is imagining the future for community sport, where volunteer labour is essential. Managers are helped in their endeavours by gathering expert data to feed into the process. This can take place in a number of ways. QQSR has experience with two main methods: Various invited experts address meetings in the early phase in order to ensure that a wide range of ideas and material are gathered to inform the activity; or A 'think tank' of experts is created to write a detailed report on current change processes and possible drivers, so as to inform the working group. Either way, the overall 'shape' of the process can be thought of as a diamond lying on its side. In the first half of the time as the diamond 'widens out', the working group gathers information, picks people's brains and gets as many ideas as possible on board. This is the divergent thinking phase. In the second half, where the diamond narrows down, the working group organises the material and ideas into a coherent picture that it can use for a wide variety of purposes. This is the convergent thinking phase. Even more than the other workshops, this workshop needs to be tailored to the precise needs of different organisations, and QQSR is happy to discuss your needs. Our current experience with FutureScape reflects a variety of activities, ranging from setting a new research agenda for road rage research (NSW Roads & Traffic Authority) through considering changes in sport in rural and regional Australia (Sports Industry Australia) to considering the impacts of societal change on young people's expectations for compensation rates for sea-going service (Royal Australian Navy). Other Training QQSR has been involved in a range of other training and educational programs. A central theme here has been dealing with gender and equity issues, and courses have been developed for various groups, ranging from Pfizer senior managers, through incoming staff at Defence training establishments to all commissioned officers in the Victoria Police. Change Management QQSR has an established record in change management, where our research and evaluation skills combine with our capacity building skills to produce a unique blend of advice and development. We have worked in some large and a number of smaller such projects, the largest ones being with the RAAF and the RAN. Clients who may be interested in change management are advised to contact us, on a no obligation basis, to consider whether our approach may be useful to them. We are currently working on several major papers which outline our approach to change, based upon a combination of psychological, sociological and management theories. Research & Evaluation QQSR has a demonstrated track record in research and evaluation. Both principals published in professional journals and books before working for QQSR as well as writing major research reports. These covered a wide range of fields from illicit drug use and domestic violence to policing issues, social networks, aging, marital adjustment, survey research and data archiving. Since forming QQSR, numerous research and evaluation reports have been written. An example is listed below. Currently, QQSR is involved in a longitudinal research and evaluation program (2002-2004) for the Defence Legal Service, focusing on the introduction of alternative dispute resolution methods to conflict management within the Australian Defence Organisation. 2001 Evaluation of the True Champions Campaign. For Australian Sports Drug Agency. 2001+ Research to inform sea-going allowance pay case. (Included a report on a range of generation, gender and technological change issues.) For Royal Australian Navy 2001 The Status Of Sport In Rural And Regional Australia: Literature, Research And Policy Options. For Sports Industry Australia. 1999+ Report of The Review of The Royal Australian Navy Good Working Relationships Project. Report to the Chief of Navy and the Defence Personnel Executive on equity and diversity, and work culture issues. 1999 Retention of Personnel: A Scoping Exercise, for the Director of Personnel Navy, Department of Defence. 1999 Athletes' Motivations for Using or Not Using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Report to the Australian Sports Drug Agency. 1998 Limiting the Impact of Illicit Drug Use in the ACT: Stage 1 Research. Three reports to the Department of Justice and Community Safety, measuring links between drug use and crime, 1998. 1998' The Attitudes of Health Professionals Project (AHPP) Report to the Department of Health and Family Services on behalf of the National Mental Health Strategy. 1998*' Report of the Review into Policies and Practices to Deal with Sexual Harassment and Sexual Offences at the Australian Defence Force Academy (The Grey Review). Australian Defence Force, Commonwealth of Australia. 1996+The Soldier Induction Process Culture Study (SIPCS). Final Report to HQ Training Command, Australian Army. 1996 ACT Domestic Violence Strategy, developed by QQSR for ACT Women's Consultative Committee, Chief Minister's Dept, ACT Government. 1995* Development Of Anabolic Steroids (And Other Anabolic Substances) Use Indicators In Australia: Final Report. National Drug Strategy, Research Report #2. AGPS, Commonwealth of Australia. 1994+ Evaluation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Awareness Program at the Australian Institute of Criminology. Report to the Australian Institute of Criminology. 1994+ A Decennial Evaluation of the Office of Government Information and Advertising. Report to Office of Government Information and Advertising. 1993 The Value Of Sport, Ethics And The Control Of Performance Enhancing Drugs: A Study In The Australian Sports Community. Commissioned by the Australian Sports Drugs Agency. 1989+ Drug Use, Social Relations And Commodity Consumption: A Study Of Recreational Cocaine Users In Sydney, Canberra And Melbourne. A Report To The Research Into Drug Abuse Advisory Committee, National Campaign Against Drug Abuse. ' Indicates a report where a QQSR principal wrote one or more chapters in a larger work + Indicates a report where a QQSR principal/principals wrote most of the chapters in a larger work, with assistance from other authors * Indicates a published report.