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 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

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.

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

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

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

Everywhere you look these days you see the term coaching. Coaching took off as a niche in the personal development industry in the 1980′s. Since then a number of organisations providing specialist coach training and development services have been at the forefront of a rapidly growing industry. One of the themes highlighted at the CAKO IMC was the fact that expertise in the practice of coaching is drawn from a number of different traditional areas of practice. As this is the case it is important to ensure that practitioners are appropriately qualified both in coaching practice and have relevant training or qualifications in related domains of practice. Discussions and a presentation by leading UK Coaching Psychologist Pauline Willis highlighted that the Business and Psychological underpinnings of coaching are key areas which are gaining popularity and importance. Increasingly advanced coach training programmes are looking to traditional disciplines such as psychology, organisational development and management for tools and techniques that will increase the depth and power of the coaching relationship.

The open and collaborative climate set in the Czech Republic though the 1st IMC is a fitting precursor to a major event due to be held in Dublin 2008. The Global Convention on Coaching or GCC as it is known, has been brought together to support the mutual exploration of the future of the coaching industry by all stakeholders in coaching. Difficult questions such as ‘what does the specialist domain of knowledge for coaching consist of?’ and ‘what training and qualifications are really needed for a practitioner to set out shop as a ‘professional’ coach?’ will be covered through the process of dialogue and scenario development.

One of the leaders of this initiative speaking at the Czech conference was Australian Psychologist and co-editor of the ICPR, Dr Michael Cavanagh. At the end of three days of sharing and dialogue, Michael extended a warm invitation for all coaches and other stakeholders in coaching, from all backgrounds and all countries, to come forward and take a place in a global consultation process that will continue in the spirit of openness and collaboration that was modelled in the Czech Republic in September 2007. Support for the GCC has been strong across the coaching community with a number of prominent names stepping forward to take part in the working groups that form the operational engine of the convention.

Participation in the open consultation in the lead up to a convention event to be held in Dublin in July 2008 is open to everyone who has an interest in any aspect of coaching as a domain of practice. The consultation leading up to the convention over the next six months is taking place online, so participation is free and easy if you have computer access. If you are interested in taking part you can complete the online application form at
www.coachingconvention.org

I am inviting people who experienced coaching whilst working in a managerial role to complete an on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire takes approximately 10 minutes to fill in, and it is completed via a survey dedicated website which guarantees complete anonymity.

If you received coaching, I would be grateful if you would spare some time to complete the questionnaire. I would also appreciate if you would forward this message to your colleagues who have participated in coaching.

As a member of the British Psychological society, I am bound by strict ethical guidelines.

All answers are confidential & anonymous, and are for research purposes only. In the final report only aggregated results will be reported, which means that no-one can be personally identified by their answers. Participation is voluntary, and you can withdraw from the questionnaire at any time.

If you decide that you can take part, thank you so much, I am extremely grateful for your input.

The questionnaire can be accessed here
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=789862690885

So that I can meet my project deadline, I would appreciate if you would complete the questionnaire by 25 October, 2006.

Should you have any questions or comments please contact me at LJStewart@mail.com.

Once again, thank you so much for your assistance and for your participation in my research. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards
Lorna Stewart

coachingpsychologist.net professional development and supervision network offers an innovative and cost effective approach to professional development and supervision for coaching psychologists. Coaches and mentors who are interested in the appropriate application of psychology to coaching and mentoring practice are also welcome. Membership is ‘free’ for anyone who is eligible to join. However, if you have products or services that are relevant to the coaching psychology and are interested in promoting them a fee will be charged for any ‘advertising’.

How does it work?

The professional forums offered at coachingpsychologist.net essentially work as peer consultation or supervision groups very much like the ones that are set up either formally or informally by colleagues offline. These online forums will, however, provide continuous access to professional support groups as well as a diverse range of members from across the profession of psychology globally. This international perspective provides significant benefits to professional practice and facilitates the flow of new ideas and practices.

Another key aim of coachingpscyhologist.net is to support the practice of coaches who are not themselves psychologists but who are committed to the appropriate application of psychology within coaching practice. Coachingpsychologist.net takes a very welcoming view that facilitating the transfer of psychological ideas and methods through coaching for use in all aspects of life and work is a good thing. However, this bounded with a very clear caveat. And this is that it is important that if coaches are going to use psychological ides explicitly in their pracice they need to have access both to the knowledge base of psychology and professional support in applying psychological principles appropriately within coaching practice. Coachingpsychologist.net does, therefore, offer a range of ‘open’ forums where coaches and psychologists can discuss issues of common interest.

International referral service for coaching psychology services

The site will also include a referral service so that coaches who are seeking specialist coaching supervision in coaching psychology can find appropriate supervisors easily. The referral service is powered by the CMN www.coachingnetwork.org.uk referral database. If you are interested in joining the referral database more information is available Here

To register interest in joining the coachingpsychologist.net community of practice go to http://www.coachingpsychologist.net

Many thanks to everyone who has generously shared their experiences so far. We have collected some interesting stories. As this has proven to be a valuable way of collecting information from the clients perspective we have decided to keep the research element of this project going.

So if you are a client of coaching or mentoring services and would like to share your experiences of the coaching process please do let us know.

All responses will be treatest with the strictest confidence and only grouped summary data will reported unless you give your explicit permission for us to share your story as ‘case study’. We are planning to select ‘indicative’ case studies to share with coaches and mentors to support continuing professional development. Research results will be written up and submitted to publications such as the International Coaching Psychology Review and Coaching at Work magazine and all participants will be sent a copy of the research findings if they are interested in seeing them.