ABOUT US
Life Dynamics was formed around a consortium of individuals from different backgrounds and skill sets, but all sharing a commitment to developing practical solutions to help individuals “live the good life in the real world.”
Andrew Munro (MA, C Psychol) has over 20 years consultancy experience in talent management and leadership succession. Author of “Practical Succession Management: How to Future Proof Your Organisation”, he is a Director of AM Azure Consulting Ltd.
Alan Kitching is a Director of PsyTech Ltd, founded in 1989. PsyTech have pioneered the use of innovative measurement systems, initially through their work in flight/task simulations for the RAF and then the global airline industry. Over recent years, Alan has been at the forefront of computer based assessment systems for the Human Resource community, providing a range of on line systems in recruitment and selection, performance management and career profiling.
Eric Gaskell is a graphic designer, artist and illustrator who has been working in the field of art & design for 25 years. Principally involved in design for print and web for small to medium sized businesses, he has worked with educationalists and psychologists since 1988.
Duncan Armitage is an occupational psychologist and former partner of Accenture’s Human Performance practice in Australia, leading major change programmes across a range of industries. Duncan now runs a successful Sydney based coaching firm in combination with his writing and acting careers.
Sue Baker has held a variety of Organisational Development roles (utilities, Information Technology) with a particular focus on change management and cultural transformation through people. For the last eight years Sue has operated as an independent consultant, with expertise in performance management, succession planning, leadership development and executive coaching.
Peter Birkholm is the founder of Into the Zone, a high impact coaching practice. He has eight years Board experience, operating in a range of Sales and Commercial roles, leading strategic, operational and cultural change. His coaching focus is now on the development of potential directors, helping them make the progression to broader business leaders.
Dr Tom Kennie is a Director of Ranmore Consulting Ltd. Tom is an experienced coach, facilitator and leadership development specialist, with considerable experience in the professional service and higher and further education sectors. Prior to moving into consultancy 9 years ago he worked as HR Director for DTZ.
Johan Olwagen (MA Couns Psych) is a Director of Kitso-Khumo and Managing Member of AMST Consulting, based in the Republic of South Africa. With experience across military health, academia, private practice and OD consulting, Johan’s expertise includes change management, leadership development and business coaching.
The Drivers of “Success”
First of all, what do we mean by “success”? The definition
by Marcus Buckingham - “making the greatest possible impact over
the longest period of time” – is a good start. The definition
doesn’t attempt to pinpoint the focus of success; success means
different things to different people, but it highlights some important
themes. “Greatest” is an appeal to stretch and excellence
rather than a belief that this is as good as it gets. “Impact” indicates
that “success” is not “in theory”, it makes
a practical difference, personally as well as on others. “Longest”:
success in life is not simply short term achievement, whether that
is fame or fortune. Real and meaningful success is something about
consistency in the long run.
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another. There is no recipe for living that suits all cases.”
Carl Jung
What is clear is that simple prescriptions of success are misguided. There is no “one thing”, a cause of success that applies to everyone all the time. The drivers of success are complex. Bio demographic and educational factors are relevant. As are hard work and talent. Life Dynamics focuses on that element of success associated with “self management skills”, goal setting, insight and wisdom to manage the “laws of life”, and tactical shrewdness to address the full range of challenges which life presents. It does not however pretend that self management is the only or best route to success.
How People Change
People change in different ways and for different reasons. For some
change seems “effortless”, for others change is extremely
difficult. Some life “projects” – problems and
attempts at improvement – are easily completed. Other life
projects seem so demanding that change seems next to impossible.
(see for example, Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology,
on the constraints of change in “What You Can Change and What
You Can’t”)
Change is an amalgam of behaviours to change, skills and knowledge to manage that change process, mental attitudes and cognitive processes which can help or hinder change, experienced emotions which embrace or avoid change, and unconscious forces with the potential to sabotage change. Unconscious forces – the dynamics of childhood experience and family interactions – may have to be identified, worked on and resolved. But the focus on Life Dynamics is less on exploring the past and what forces underpin the individual’s life situation, and more on putting in place practical stratagems to face the future.
There are only two overall positions in change. Individuals can either “change their world”, finding ways of changing their life situation and environment to make it easier for them to be who they want to be and do what they want to do. Or they can change themselves by beginning ways of speeding up the process of personal change to become a different person. Life Dynamics encourages you to work with clients in exploring both strategies. For some individuals the focus should be about the environment in which they find themselves: “exiting” an impossible life situation (e.g. a stressful job that is ruining their well being) to find one that is better, or “improving” life circumstances to make the environment more conducive to their life goals. Other individuals will advance improvement by committing to a practical programme to develop new and additional skills or, more ambitiously, “re-invention”, embarking on a full scale review of life priorities to implement radical personal change.
Who will benefit from this perspective:
- currently “successful” individuals, looking for ways to maintain and build on that success, highly successful individuals know that “what got me here won’t get me there”, and recognise that current success is no guarantee of future success and want to keep ahead of the “game of life”
- individuals operating effectively and motivated to find ways of optimising their impact by developing self management skills to enhance and deploy their strengths in a more focused way or tackle any shortcomings and constraints
- individuals undergoing change – personal or work related – and want to take stock of life priorities and realities
This approach is obviously not for: individuals in “bad shape” and in need of medical and/or psychotherapeutic intervention.