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Notes for team leaders:

Catalytic Thinking Labs are guided self-education based on social learning. The professional development programs (Arenas and Certificates) follow a developmental path. Like learning math, some things logically come before others.

The sequence of Labs and Arenas build on the other. Each Lab creates value and is relevant and related to all other Labs. For some teams, an á la carte approach to the Labs may work best.
Recommended Arena sequence:
1) Applied Critical Thinking
2) Navigating Complex Issues
3) Self-Knowledge for Leading and Supporting
4) Disciplined Social Innovation
You may want to include various team members in charting the path for your organization's professional development.
Lab times range from 1 to 2.5 hours. You can customize Lab time in the activities. We have suggested minimum times and most activities can be expanded. About 80% of Lab time is spent in activities.
Labs can easily be adapted to work virtually. At most, we recommend two Labs in a session. A full day is too much screen-time.
You might add a Lab to each staff meeting.
You might design in–person professional development days including four Labs, lunch, and a group Synthesis and Gratitude Circle. Facilitating Catalytic Thinking Labs in Get Started provides all of the details you need to customize agendas and create a meaningful experience for your team.

View Lab Catalog or Download Lab Catalog

These Labs create truly new ideas! Business rarely takes an honest, systemic view of its goals and strategies – the Labs that Jane and her Team have created do just that, and the insights are incredibly useful.

Cornelius Fitzgerald

GreenMBA, 2010
Co-Founder, Managing Partner
Clean Energy Holdings, LLC
Director of Finance & Strategy
Wind Harvest International, Inc.

Read his full testimonial and others, here.

The following letter from our Co-Founder, Jane Lorand, expands on the above recommendations, helping you imagine how the Labs might fit into your group or organization's flow.

Welcome, and I wish we could review this in a personal conversation. I think a question you may be asking yourself is, "How could I use these Labs to identify a meaningful professional development experience for my team?" I'll share how we're trying to help you answer that question.

The Catalytic Thinking Labs are guided self-education based on social learning. What does that mean? We learn best by doing. We learn to strengthen our thinking best by working with new ideas, meeting them with colleagues, and working them out to see if they have value.

Each Lab takes between 60-90 minutes, based on how much time your team wants to use to develop the Activity or Activities in that Lab. We are trying to take time pressure off learners by giving flex time. Some small groups may finish early and can then audit their colleagues, learning all the way. About 80% of the Lab time, participants are in their Activities.

One non-burdensome and rhythmic way to engage your team is to add a Lab to each staff meeting, and thus build capacity while also connecting with your everyday work. Rhythm helps us build new habits, which in this scattered reality of 2020s, can help us stay calm and open to learning things that will help.

Lab Activities can easily be adapted to work virtually. Participants can view a Presentation on their own time and come together online for an Activity. Each Lab has an ebook that provides additional instructions for the Lab activities and suggests additional Activities to deepen learning.

From our experience, 2 Labs in a morning or afternoon session would be appropriate. Your team will get to know each other and strengthen their interpersonal relationships through the Activities, building on their understanding of the core ideas in the Presentation.

When we are again able to reconvene in person, retreat professional development days could host 4 Labs, with lunch and a final Synthesis and Gratitude Circle at the end of the day. We have prepared a Facilitation Guide to help you host such retreat days. You may also want to invite stakeholders or alliance partner staff to join you. Participants can review the Presentations as they like to reinforce their learning. We do not recommend doing any full day virtual sessions; a morning or afternoon Lab Session with 2 labs could work well.

Catalytic Thinking Labs

It's time to move beyond just talking about change.
We'll change how we act when we change how we think.
Strengthening my thinking now is something tangible I can do.

Get Started

View Lab Catalog

Applied Critical Thinking

Navigating Complex Issues

Self-Knowledge for Leading and Supporting

Disciplined Social Innovation

Guide to all Arenas

Professional Development for Teams

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