Chicago OD Practitioners Network
Influence and Authority in the Organizational Wild West (Influence Part 3)
Friday, November 30, 2018
7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Optional 9:00-10:00 open networking and discussions re: business challenges faced by attendees.
Location: Northern Trust, 181 W. Madison-7th floor
RSVP PROCESS for building access.
If you plan to attend the meeting, please reply to codpnetwork@gmail.com by noon on Tuesday, November 27, with your name as it appears on your photo ID. On the morning of the meeting, security staff in the main lobby will ask to see a photo ID, confirm your registration and provide you with a visitor’s pass. If you do not RSVP by November 27th your name will not be on the list and you will not be able to join the meeting which is located on the 7th floor.
Program Format
Mix of presentation, large group & small group discussion. Informal atmosphere; please bring your own coffee/tea/snacks (note: there is a convenient Au Bon Pain connected to the building as well as a place to buy coffee and snacks on the 7th floor near our meeting).
Program Description
Our group has spent the last two sessions in September and October talking about Influence without Authority. In our final session of this three-part series, we are going to see the Seven Steps in the Influence Process applied in a real-world consulting firm scenario that our presenter likes to call, “Influence and Authority in the Organizational Wild West.”
The Wild West isn’t all bad. There are truly beautiful moments from being on a team where you are all building from the ground up and riding through the desert terrain together. The adventure and excitement of seeing the work of your hands is part of what draws people to this type of organizational culture. The rough and unbroken terrain of the wild west presents different challenges that can impede basic business survival. These obstacles include lack of processes & policies, shotgun communication styles and/or the allowance of aggressive territorial behavior. In this environment, small organizational issues have the potential to do more harm.
Our presenter will use a storytelling presentation format that will include exploring what creates a wild west culture and both the advantages and disadvantages of the small business ecosystem where this commonly occurs. She will share her personal experiences and journey in building a learning culture in the firm, including her influence wish list, methods used to identify organizational needs, sources of bargaining power, the art of effective evangelism and the current state of affairs in the firm. She will also lead the group in exploring the Millennial dilemma and revisiting the story of the Titanic to help shed another light on using Influence to save an organization from itself.
Bring your thinking caps and your stories to share with the group!
Facilitator:
Abigail Baker is an Author and independent Creative Consultant along with being the Communication and Operations Director for Echelon Consulting, LLC. in Chicago. In that capacity, she crafts organizational development, change management & talent retention/management strategies and initiatives for the firm and manages all creative strategy/execution along with the communication and operations components for this boutique IT consulting firm.
