Tools for Change: An Invitation to Dance

Tools for Change: an invitation to dance provides essential background knowledge and understanding as well as tools and techniques for sustaining organisational change in complex systems. It is based on the premise that the ideas embedded in the theories of living systems provide us with explanations as to how organisations actually work. Consequently we can derive insight as to how to act and intervene more effectively in such systems.

The ideas for the handbook originated from collaborations with a number of key workers, scholars and thought leaders on complex systems since the mid 1990’s. Additionally, the authors have been working with these ideas for many years, exploring the implications for leadership, for organisational processes as well as experimenting with practices.

The material covered focuses on:

• Key concepts and ideas on complex systems
• Applications to organisations
• Designing interventions
• Practices including:
  • Core practices for groups and teams
  • Conversations for understanding and learning
  • Conversations for possibility
  • Conversations to determine values, principles, agreements
  • Conversations for actions.

In this timely and informative handbook, Becky Malby and Martin Fischer offer an excellent account to share what they have learnt as well as providing an “invitation to dance” to enable leaders at all levels in organisations to enhance their capacity and capability to intervene effectively in their teams and organisations.