PRESS RELEASE

With the origins of its research in space and its high profile presence in projects such as Mars 500, a new system has been launched in the UK to support a wide range of team-based applications in businesses, the community and educational settings.

Real Time Sociomapping is an exciting new addition to the existing suite of Sociomapping tools that facilitates the presentation of live, visual data about teams.

Traditionally, information about teams is provided via surveys including on-line versions. Real Time Sociomapping on the other hand, uses hand held electronic data input devices [tablets], similar to those used in televised audience polls, to collect people’s attitudes and thoughts at the touch of a button. Data inputs are then instantly and wirelessly transferred to the portable system for analysis and the output is in the form of Sociomap. This instantaneous access to group or team feedback means that dynamic information can be generated immediately to support decisions in critical situations..

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead through its trading arm, Two 5 Nine Limited are reviewing Real Time Sociomapping with a view to integrating it into their organisational change management toolkit to offer clients a more comprehensive change management service. Two 5 Nine’s Commercial Director, Kevin Griffiths stated, ‘we are always looking for ways we can develop our Transformation proposition and Sociomapping gives us a real competitive edge in demonstrating to clients how they can improve their services whilst delivering savings”.

Pauline Willis Director of Lauriate Ltd, the UK Regional Distributor notes that “Real Time Sociomapping is a practical, robust toolkit that makes analysing and understanding complex human relationships instantly accessible to a wide range of people in many work settings. Instant access to this kind of analysis supports effective team working and decision making processes and complements the other tools we introduced to the UK in 2008 which are also based on the Sociomapping methodology. ”

NOTE TO EDITORS
Accreditation is necessary for the trainers, facilitators and coaches who use the system,

The second in this exciting series of events focusing on creating success through teamwork is scheduled for April 14^th at the Oxford Hawkwell House Hotel. Leading across Space and Time Zones focuses specifically on Key skills for leaders to create success with virtual and distributed teams.

The keynote session presented by Professor David Clutterbuck from General Physics Ltd and Zulfi Hussain MBE from Global Synergy Solutions Ltd showcases ideas for improving team performance through working effectively with virtual and distributed teams. Professor David Lane from the Professional Development Foundation and Pauline Willis from Lauriate Ltd will then share their featured case presentation, showing how Team Sociomapping of communication has been used with a multinational distributed team in an international technology business.

Concluding with posters, refreshments and networking, both clients and suppliers of team development services have the opportunity to share their experiences. Leaders attending the event will benefit from practical ideas and tips for working effectively with their teams and be able to learn from each other as well as from leading academics, researchers and practitioners in this key area of team development.

Free places are available to leaders and internal HR professionals in the Oxfordshire region. Book early to avoid disappointment at www.oxfordteamdevelopment.co.uk

A new website just launched in December will inspire local business leaders to make a positive start to the New Year. To mark the occasion, Oxfordshire’s business leaders are being invited to take a free place at The Keys to Team Success event which focuses on team performance, well-being and organisational success. Hosted at the newly refurbished Oxford Hawkwell House hotel, this event will be the first in a series of mini-conferences throughout 2011 to share ideas and best practices on creating successful teams.

Providing business leaders and senior HR professionals with practical ideas for supporting their teams to meet the challenges ahead and showcasing the partnership model of working between internal and external consultants and coaches, these events are designed to feature both the art and science of team development.

Dr John McGurk Senior Policy Advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) will present the opening address and share latest CIPD research and ideas on partnership model which is becoming increasingly popular as organisations seek to reduce consulting costs whilst at the same time ensuring access to expert external support that genuinely adds value.

Dr John McGurk commented:

“Organisations are searching for value in the current environment but value isn’t just about taking out costs. It’s also about benefitting from the best of research and practice. Sometime that resides outside the organisation. Partnering with organisations with expertise in areas like the delivery of e- learning, team diagnostics, coaching and leadership development can help organisations get added value from pinched budgets and thus greater impact. External providers supporting internal resource is a symbiotic relationship which helps build organisational capability. That is exactly what this event is about as it blends the best of practice, research and technology on how teams deliver now and in the future.”

The keynote session provided by Professor David Lane from the Professional Development Foundation which specialises in work based learning and Dr Michael Cavanagh from the University of Sydney Coaching Psychology Unit. David and Michael will showcase ideas for improving team performance through effective team conversations and creating positive organisational stories.

Concluding with posters, refreshments and networking, both clients and suppliers of team development services will share their stories. Leaders attending the event will benefit from practical ideas and tips for working effectively with their teams and be able to learn from each other as well as from leading academics, researchers and practitioners in the area of team development.

Invitations are being sent out to local business leaders and HR professionals this week.

The Keys to Team Success event will cost £175 plus VAT. If you would like to nominate a business leader from the Oxfordshire area to receive an invitation for a free place or to reserve your own place, early booking is recommended at www.oxfordteamdevelopment.co.uk.

1st International Congress of Coaching Psychology
14-15 December 2010
City University London

Pauline Willis will be delivering a Masterclass on the subject of
“Driving organisational success with Team Coaching”

With the challenges now facing organisations Team Coaching is becoming increasingly popular as a mechanism for supporting organisational success. By focusing on the overarching needs of the Team, Team Coaches work with the team as a whole as well as with individual team members to ensure that the Team is successful in delivering the impact organisations need to survive and flourish.

This Masterclass is designed for coaching psychologists and coaches who are interested in underpinning their Team Coaching practice in well established psychological theory. We will reference cutting edge research in Team Leadership as well as outlining methodologies sourced from a wide range of disciplines within the wider field of psychology to support you in taking an integrated approach to the delivery of Team Coaching services. Using case examples, we will also show you how these approaches to Team Coaching are being implemented to drive successful Teams in a wide range of industries and Sectors.

Further details on the conference can be found on the BPS website
http://www.bps.org.uk/sgcp-conference/conference-programme/conference-programme_home.cfm

EMCC Turkey
8th December 2010
Grand Hyatt
Istanbul

Pauline Willis will be talking on the subject of
“Using assessment and evaluation to create successful team coaching programmes”

With increasing emphasis on the team or the individual executive within the context of the team, coaches are turning to team coaching as a means of driving organisational success and impact through coaching. When applied constructively assessment and evaluation provide a means of analysing team needs and supporting a targeted coaching programme to deliver on team needs. Assessment at the beginning of the programme can also indicate when not to apply coaching or what type of team coaching would bring the most immediate rewards. This short session will introduce you to the key ideas and providing a starting point for those who are interested in using assessment and evaluation in team coaching practice.

LinkedIn is rapidly becoming a powerful network for developing contacts and generating new business as well as staying in touch with professional contacts and colleagues. Lauriate Ltd is now using LinkedIn to complement the professional development options for Team Sociomapping Service Providers and Programme Co-ordinators. The new LinkedIn forum is also a great way to stay in touch with news and upcoming developments for Team Sociomapping and Team Profile Analyzer.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=3068619

EMCC
18th March 2010
Park Crescent Conference Centre
229 Great Portland Street
London
W1W 5PN


Whilst there is divided opinion within the coaching sector about whether psychometric or psychological assessment should become a standard element of the coaching process, what is increasingly clear is that it is important for coaches working at the Mastery level of coaching practice to have a clear understanding of what assessment methods are available to coaches and when it is appropriate to apply these approaches ethically and appropriately in organisations. The key issue is being able to support clients in making decisions about when and how assessment can be integrated into the coaching process to ensure maximum client benefit.

This session will cover both individual and team assessment providing an overview of the different assessment options available to coaches. We will also highlight the issue of boundary management and the issues associated with when and how to refer a coaching client to an expert provider of psychological services for an in-depth psychological assessment.

Individual and team assessment processes will be explored through case examples using Saville Consulting WAVE, Team Profile Analyzer and Team Sociomapping as illustrative examples to show how an integrated approach to assessment works in practice. We will also show you how it is possible to apply assessment at different stages of the coaching process to ensure maximum client benefit.

Speakers
Pauline Willis & Dr Rainer Kurz

Further Information can be found here :-
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs022/1102142477117/archive/1103073727916.html

The IET Oxford Local Network
24th February 2010
St Antony’s College, Oxford

The terms team and team-working are probably the most overused buzz words in organisations and often applied inappropriately to all kinds of ‘work groups’. A team is not just a group of people working alongside each other, the term team when applied correctly refers to a key organisational unit consisting of people who work interdependently with each other towards the attainment of a common goal. Teams are fundamental to most engineering & technology businesses and vital to the success of research, development & manufacturing in this sector. This short session will focus on delivering core concepts and skills that engineers and technologists can cultivate to create and maintain high performance teams.

Pauline Willis is the Speaker at this event
For further details and to register for this free event
http://www.theiet.org/local/uk/thames/oxon/skills.cfm

With the UK still firmly in the grip of economic recession, HR buyers are looking at ways to ensure that every penny spent on coaching programmes delivers tangible return on investment. Team Sociomapping® offers a process for measuring the impact of executive and team coaching as well as providing organisations with a way of measuring impact on team performance. Major projects are currently underway in the UK within local and central government as well as in the private sector.

Team Sociomapping® is an innovative suite of tools based on a unique methodology for visualising complex systems and is ideally suited to the coaching environment as a means of stimulating and supporting coaching dialogue as well as evaluating coaching impact on team dynamics. This toolkit has been packaged for use in the coaching and organisational development sectors to support a range of Team Development needs and it is now possible for appropriately qualified & experienced coaches to use this powerful toolkit to support Team Coaching.

Members of the UK Team Sociomapping® Provider Network now includes, Leading Edge Coaching, The Academy Of Executive Coaching, Zeal Solutions, The Professional Development foundation (PDF), Stephenson Consulting, CFM Consulting, Intuition Discovery and Development & Prosperity in Business.

Richard Clarke from the Academy of Executive Coaching said:-

“We initially used the Sociomapping system internally and found it to be a revolutionary and unique toolkit ideally suited to support dialogue in team coaching conversations.” “The AoEC has now become a UK Sociomapping Provider so from January 2010 we will be supplying Team Sociomapping analysis to our clients as part of an integrated Team Coaching service”

Lauriate Ltd is the UK distributor for Team Sociomapping®. For more information go to www.sociomap.co.uk or contact pauline.willis@lauriate.com +44 (0) 1865 784388

Lauriate will have an exhibition stand focusing on Team Sociomapping and TPA.

On Thursday 14th January there will be a workshop on TPA.
Workshop
Advanced analysis of team profiles using Team Profile Analyzer (TPA)
P Willis, Lauriate Ltd, T Srb, QED Group a.s., R Kurz, Saville Consulting UK Ltd

On Thursday 14th January there will be a development paper on using Sociomapping in the Mars flight simulation.
Development paper
Using Sociomapping of crew communication and cooperation as a tool for team performance management in the ground based experiment simulating manned flight to Mars
T Srb, QED Group a.s.

Further information can be found on the BPS website www.bps.org.uk/dop2010/dop2010_home.cfm

Further information on Team Sociomapping and TPA can be found on our website at www.sociomap.co.uk