A ten-day TA course by Traian Bossenmayer (PTSTA-O) and Debbie Robinson (TSTA-O)
If you want to investigate the complexity of organizations, then the TA Management & Organizational Development program might just be “IT”. This training is about increasing your own effectiveness in managing groups and organizations and daring to work on the edge of change.
The English saying, "There are no such things as organizations, there are only people who behave", true or not, makes it clear that those who want to influence an organization must deal with people and their behavior. And as soon as people are involved, linear causality disappears and there is mainly complexity and uncertainty. In your role as a member or leader, it comes down to learning to manage that complexity and to learn to tolerate the not-knowing.
This program will help you work more effectively with living systems. It will foster clarity around your professional identity through building professional competency and personal growth.
Program
The Management & Organizational Development training is a 5 months program divided in 5 workshops. Each session covers a relevant, yet different topic, which facilitates the understanding and working within everchanging groups and organizations through the means of TA theory and thinking.
You will learn how to influence organizations with the help of TA and you will expand your knowledge of the development of individuals and groups. This will enrich your critical thinking and self leadership by providing a repertoire of available options and actions to foster qualitative decision making.
In addition to participating in the five sessions, all students participate in a peer-supervision group that meets in between sessions throughout the year. These meetings are planned by the participants themselves.
Sessions
S1 - First things first, getting to know about ‘us’ and ‘we'
Getting acquainted, working contractually and managing expectations in organizations
How do we make contact? How do we meet another person within the liminal space of the encounter? In this first session we will take time to acknowledge this important phase that sets the stage for any healthy communication and good partnerships in groups and organizations. We will also explore the concept of ‘we-ness’ and how we as a group can best learn together.
S2 - Tolerating complexity
Personal scripts and organizational scripts
How do we navigate the different challenges that group life brings our way? Working with and within any group or team comes with its own share of provocations. Most times we are dealing with different frames of reference that must converge towards one common goal. This is not always easy and it can trigger defensive patterns both at an individual and group level. Getting to know our own preferences and trigger points and making sense of the individual’s and group’s complexity is key to moving from defensive, unproductive loops to smoother, constructive ways of making contact. In this session we use concepts such as life positions, life stories and we look into ways of changing an organisation’s/team’s narrative.
S3 - Groups grow, straight or crooked
Psychological Games in organizations and breaking through the stagnation
What are the stages of group/team development and how can we influence them to create a sense of belonging and purpose? Are these linear or emerge in the complexity of human interactions? With the use of ‘imagos’, seen as subjective imprints of our reality, we can increase our understanding of the deeper processes that affect us when we are in groups. It can facilitate ways to improve group dynamics and reduce Game playing. The concept of cycles of development offers some very practical ways to support teams and groups through change, as well as providing insights into our behaviors and feelings along the way.
S4 - Leadership & membership
Managing self, roles and boundaries
What’s our preferred role when we join a new group? How does that change as our experience matures? Are we acting out as members, leaders, or is there actually no difference? The ability to explore and understand the different levels through which leadership shows up in a group are key to any mindful participation in a group’s life. We will be using Berne’s ideas on organizational structure and psychological processes, coupled with principles of co-creative TA.
S5 - Working on the edge
Facilitating change through systemic coaching
What does it take to instill change into a team or organization? What do we need to nudge just enough for the right change impulses to emerge? When we take up the roles of change makers we are often working on the edge or the boundary of the system and that can feel like a lonely place. And that takes courage and skill. But sometimes that’s also where the highest impact is found. In this session we’ll be using system theory and TA concepts to guide us through this process.
Results
At the end of the program:
- You have knowledge and insight into development phases of groups and an extensive set of methods and techniques to work effectively with teams
- You can use a clear theoretical TA framework and you can tolerate, understand, and influence change and uncertainty in organizational life
- You can integrate your personal learning experiences into your professional relationships and contexts
- You have pushed your personal and professional boundaries, expanding your confidence and abilities in working and being outside of your comfort zone
Attitude and methods
Join us on this journey into an atmosphere of mutual esteem, respect and interest, within clear structures, agreements and boundaries. We will be working and learning in the present, noticing, accounting and making sense of past experiences. Throughout our work together there will be emphasis on the phenomenological processes taking place within the group, so they can be used and reflected on as a direct learning experience for all those participating in the program.
For whom?
The training program is intended for professionals who are involved in their work with issues concerning the effective influencing of people and systems. Think of trainers, (team) coaches, directors, advisors, consultants, senior managers and people with a leadership position within companies and organizations.
To participate in the TA Management & Organizational Development program, a higher level of work and thinking is required. It is also important that you have a work situation in which you can apply what you have learned.
Practical information
The training takes place online via Zoom and will begin in September 2022.
This course complies with the guidelines of the International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA) and the European Transactional Analysis Association (EATA).
The first day of each workshop, which falls on a Friday, consists of a session from 14.00 - 19.00 with coffee breaks. The second day, which falls on a Saturday, consists of 9.30 - 13.00 working time 13.00 - 14.00 h lunch break and then 14.00 - 17.00 working time.
For more details about the cost of the program, please send us a message.
After registering, you will receive an invitation for an intake interview with one of the trainers. After your participation has been confirmed by the trainer, you will receive an invoice. Your participation is final after receipt of your payment. The training group has a maximum of 12 participants. The study load, in addition to the training days and peer-supervision meetings, is approximately 6 hours in between sessions.
About the trainers
Traian Bossenmayer PTSTA O
Traian is an organizational development professional, with experience in training and leadership development initiatives. He is currently working for a multinational gaming company as HR Director and as a freelance consultant and TA supervisor and trainer.
He is passionate about facilitating change within teams, by encouraging an authentic contact through meaningful conversations. Traian invites and supports growth in a thoughtful, caring and enthusiastic way.
Debbie Robinson TSTA O
Debbie uses TA as a basis for individual growth and organisational change. She has extensive experience in developing leaders, supporting organisational change and coaching. Debbie has been running a Transactional Analsyis training programme in Suffolk for the last fifteen years, she works creatively & co-creatively to facilitate learning and promote autonomy and homonomy.
She currently offers training and supervision in the UK, France, Kiev and St Petersburg
Her passion is to develop the use of the positive aspects of TA theory in personal and organisational change.
