ABOUT
The quality of everything we do depends on the thinking we do first. From birth we are socially rewarded by our responses to others, and we’ve begun to live in a world where we listen to respond, not to truly hear. A Thinking Environment® creates a place where people can be truly listened to and as a result think for themselves, and benefit from the results of creative, new thinking.
We both create, and teach how to create, Thinking Environments for businesses from start-up to large corporates, from the Boardroom to the shop floor, through courses, workshops, team and one to one coaching.
Our work is grounded in the Thinking Environment which holds that the quality of everything we do depends on the thinking we do first. Over 35 years of seeing what behaviours impact on our capacity to think well, Nancy Kline and Time to Think have identified certain behaviours which, when used as a system for thinking, enable everyone to do their finest independent thinking and has a profound effect on the results of interactions. Collectively known as the ‘Ten Components’ these include Attention, Ease, Difference and Equality. We combine our expertise in generating independent thinking with knowledge of the latest neuroscience supporting these Components. We present this framework for thinking in a fun, interactive and profound way to greatly improve the quality of thinking in teams, businesses and through 1:1 coaching.
Laura Williams is the director of the thinking well and, along with associates where appropriate, delivers all our programmes. Laura is a Time to Think Coach, Facilitator, Consultant and Global Faculty Member, working closely alongside Nancy Kline for a decade.
“Laura, with both rigour and grace, and with her extraordinary expertise, unleashes people’s finest thinking. They then make good decisions – often the best they’ve ever made. Their teams, their organisations, their lives in turn turn corners that take them to levels of excellence and meaning they’ve longed for. Being with Laura is that powerful. That productive. And that much fun.”
NANCY KLINE, DECEMBER 2018
We consistently coach individuals and teams to:
~ Bring energy and dynamism back into their work
~ Enable powerful thinking to occur in meetings and in all interactions
~ Reveal assumptions and barriers to progress and change
We guarantee:
~ The highest levels of integrity and dedication
~ A commitment to results and improvement for the client
~ Passion and enthusiasm in every thing we do
We ask for a willingness to:
~ Think independently
~ Believe in your ability to solve problems
~ Be honest and open to change
Our Work
Heathrow
HEATHROW
Working alongside the L&D team at Heathrow we delivered a tailored two day course as part of a wider High Potential Leadership Programme, training over 100 managers, senior managers and directors over a 2 year period. The course was an introduction to the Thinking Environment®, and the delegates:
Were introduced to the concept of a Thinking Environment;
Learned and explored the behaviours that encourage independent thinking;
Developed an understanding of the Thinking Environments business applicability, particularly in running meetings;
Experienced the power of the Thinking Partnership Session or the Time to Think Council;
Strengthened their relationships within the group; and
Developed a higher self-awareness, particularly around their listening skills and shifting their mindsets towards their role as a leader in terms of encouraging others to think rather than giving orders.
Feedback from delegates included:
“Thank you for an excellent couple of days – really invaluable course with lots of things I’m already consciously beginning to put into practice”
“Thank you so much for the last couple of days, I am sure that I am not alone in saying that I gained a great deal from the tools and techniques that you introduced us to. I for one will be using these new techniques with my team”
“Thanks again for the last two days, I really enjoyed the experience”
“I have personally used some of the techniques with my team to some success. I have used thinking rounds and used the listening techniques when getting team members to think on a 121 basis. During the thinking rounds, I definitely felt a calmness in the room.”
We also delivered The Thinking Partnership Course and Transforming Meetings programme for Heathrow.
New Entrepreneurs Foundation
New Entrepreneurs Foundation
In the early years of this charity we worked alongside another L&D Consultant to design and deliver a development programme for young entrepreneurs, aiming to equip them with the skills needed to become successful entrepreneurs. We sourced and managed training partners for certain skills such as pitching, presenting and negotiation, as well as facilitating sessions ourselves around team dynamics and introducing the Thinking Environment. The overall shape of the programme we designed is still in place at the charity and managed by their in-house team.
ASDA
ASDA
The CEO at the time was receiving Executive Coaching that included a level of Thinking Environment® Coaching. Through this coaching ASDA identified that they spend over 80% of their time in meetings, which were largely an ineffective use of time. Alongside a Time to Think associate, we delivered the Transforming Meetings programme to over 300 members of staff.
Delegates were:
introduced to the concept of a Thinking Environment and the Ten Components;
learnt and practiced the four Building Blocks of a Thinking Environment as applicable to meetings and group discussions
practiced forming thought-provoking questions;
developed an understanding of the Thinking Environments business applicability, particularly in running meetings; and
experienced a new way of offering their thoughts to others through the Time to Think Council.
SOME PEOPLE WE’VE WORKED WITH:
