Program Information

Program Faculty

Collaborating Up, Down and Across: Harnessing Power in Systems

with Barry Oshry & Karen Oshry

Pre-Program: June 3-4, 2010

Collaboration is critical to an organization's success. Effective teamwork, client relations and cross-sector cooperation rest on a healthy and robust view of partnership. What systemic frameworks get in the way of partnership, and what is our role in facilitating partnership within and beyond the organization?

This workshop will use a systemic lens to enable us to see human systems and relationships more clearly, provide us the leverage to create and sustain satisfying, productive partnerships and be more effective members in all the systems of our lives.

In this workshop you will gain a whole systems view of your organization, which will enable you to

better understand your impact on others
improve cross-organization interaction
appreciate the value of organizational cultures different from your own
develop partnership and entrepreneurship throughout your organization
add system-level understanding to your personal and team leadership models
strengthen partnerships between your organization and its clients/customers

This workshop involves interactive exercises, individual and group reflection, and solid knowledge about system life. In the first exercise, we'll be exploring how we move in and out of top, middle, bottom and customer relationships, primarily (although not exclusively) in the organization. In the second we'll examine issues of dominance and others in systems. In both we'll look at the reflex responses when we don't see or understand the whole systems of which we are a part, the all-too-familiar dysfunctional consequences that result, and the alternatives available to us and our systems.

Listen to the April 28th teleconference, when Barry reviewed some of the content of the workshop.

Schedule and Location

June 3: 8:30am - 5:00pm
June 4: 8:30am - 5:00pm

Location: Mount Saint Vincent University, off the Bedford Highway.

Registration Fee

$950 Includes lunch both days. There is a $100 discount offered to participants who register for a Core Program module.

Flyer (pdf) available here.

Barry Oshry has been on a single-minded quest for nearly 40 years to unlock the mysteries of system life. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Seeing Systems, Leading Systems and In The Middle. Barry is the developer of The Organization Workshop, The Power Lab, and The Merging Cultures Workshop. He has conducted workshops for clients across the globe in the high tech, health care, government, manufacturing, and education fields. Barry has also written the 3-act musical, "What A Way To Make A Living" that has been staged in the U.S. and England.

Karen Oshry is President of Power+Systems, Inc. and has been a close collaborator with Barry Oshry in the development of The Organization, The Power Lab, and The Merging Cultures Workshop. She is the organization's link to current and potential clients, as well as to Power+Systems' international network of trainers.

“The people at the ALIA Institute talk about creating a container in which powerful experiences can occur. And they do this extremely well. This was among the richest experiences of my life—insightful, provocative, deep, invigorating.”

—Barry Oshry, author, Seeing Systems and Leading Systems
2003-2004, 2010 program faculty

Sustain and integrate the learning, deepen the impact. Pathways for Authentic Leadership is a nine-month course that begins with the Summer Institute and continues in your home organization.