 The
Kirton Adaption-Innovation Measure (KAI). The Kirton
Adaption-Innovation measure and its supporting theory are used
extensively in the US, UK and several other countries for planning major
changes that entail considerable re-thinking of current (organizational)
structures and procedures in the areas listed below. Syre
Consulting is one of only two teams in France which has a person
certificated to use it, in French and in English.
Management
of Change: Homo Sapiens is a problem-solving animal. Dr.
Kirton shares with William Bridges the knowledge that human beings do not resist change.
They may resist a specific change, but this has more to do with a lack of
information, a lack of shared understanding of the problem.
"Resistance to change" can often be explained by the pain
of having to let go of an old structure, field, domain or paradigm while still unsure about the
validity of the new one. Where people do openly resist a change it
is usually because they perceive it as someone else's change, not their
change and that someone else is usually of a different creative or
problem-solving style. Using the KAI, Managers and team members can
learn how to work
successfully with different-thinking colleagues during times of planned or
unplanned change.
Management
of Diversity: Group training and individual development in
personal awareness can be very successful in teaching people to work
effectively with diversity of thinking styles. This aspect of KAI
can be particularly useful for Human Resource professionals.
Group
Cohesion and Effectiveness: The KAI has been used extensively as
a tool to increase group cohesion and effectiveness through an increased
ability to work appropriately with ranges of individuals who think inside
and outside the paradigm (or "inside and outside the
box"). You need both.
Leadership:
The KAI is effective in building and enhancing individual leadership
skills. Syre consulting's approach is Leadership based on Talents
and Strengths and KAI stresses that one of the primary tasks of good
leadership is to create an environment in which everybody can work in a
way which builds on their their preferred decision-making style.
Stress in an individual usually comes about because this principle is not
respected or even understood.
Problem
Solving and Team Building: top management teams, R & D
groups, Marketing departments and Project Management groups have been made
more effective using skills developed through the KAI.
Only
certified users (such as John Gaynard and the other people mentioned on
this page) may administer and interpret the
KAI.
The
KAI approach contains a set of tools which are useful in the following
fields :
-
How to link Creativity, Problem
Solving, Decision Making and Change Managementq (it is usually the
person who introduces the change who is accepted or resisted, not
the change itself)
-
The paradox of structure
(which is
at one and the same time limiting and enabling)
-
Why some people prefer
to work always within a structure whereas others wish always to work
without structure and even systematically attack all attempts to
build a structure
-
KAI and Personality
(this links into mental models and cognitive bias)
-
KAI and how to make the
most of diversity in groups (KAI is a way of talking about diversity
without always bringing it back to national and organizational
culture. The basic distinction that KAI makes is relevant for
all human beings and is more important than and cultural difference
between people of different nationalities);
-
Thinking gaps between
individuals and groups;
-
Coping Behavior (how and why
people can assume coping behaviors for only a limited period of time
before they burn out or revert to their preferred behavior);
-
How to create bridges
between different thinking styles within groups;
-
Leadership, Conflict and
Stress (A good leader should know enough about his or her own people
to create an environment in which they can work to their
strengths. This aspect of KAI has obvious links to managing to
people's strengths, positive psychology and appreciative inquiry)
-
The difference between
creative intelligence and creative style
-
How to build a climate,
a structure and a culture for innovation
-
Management of Diversity; further
uses of KAI, from extensive Practice and Research Findings
Who are we ?
Qui sommes-nous ? |
John
Gaynard of Syre Consulting is at present participating in the creation of
a network of registered French-speaking KAI users. The members of
this network are based in France, Belgium and Canada. If you would
like creativity consulting based on use of the KAI in French, please do
not hesitate to contact him or any one of the other founding members :
Diane Houle-Rutherford, Isabelle Jacob or Luc de Schryver (whose websites
are given at the bottom of this page). Little by little Syre
Consulting will use this page
to point you to more KAI information in French.