As facilitators and change agents we are constantly expending cognitive, emotional and vital energies to inform and guide other people in their creative work. It is necessary to pause, relax, reflect and regenerate – as they say, to re-charge your batteries. There is nowhere better to do that thanat High Trenhouse. Come and discover the peace within, thinking and perceiving with fellow travelers in a small bubble of calm we will construct together.

In November this lightly structured residential weekend event will enable you to unwind, listen, learn and refresh. Under the direction of John Varney, founder of High Trenhouse, Centre for Management Creativity this event will be largely self-guided, with opportunities for meditation, visualisation, conversation and dialogue as well as local walks and excursions. Of course we will all benefit from great food and the wonderful location in good company.

Nine Steps to a successful off-site leadership retreat

Taking a leadership team on off-site retreat can transform what is possible – what seemed hugely challenging becomes achievable. Done well a retreat brings about new relationships and a new level of thinking. The retreat gets you to a different starting point. Such events are essential to making a difference. Ideally you will find an oasis of calm, so that new visions can emerge.

Here are some points to consider that will help you make the most of going off-site.

Deeper Learning Integrates Theory and Practice

Kurt Lewin said “there is nothing as practical as a good theory”. It must be clear to anyone that action is more effective if people know what they are doing, on top of which, no action is ever without some kind of theoretical source – “I do this because… or I do this so that…” even if it is not articulated. Hence theory and practice are intimately connected. However, that does not guarantee that when, for instance, we need to learn some new procedure or process, we can put into practice what someone has taught us. Deeper Learning Integrates Theory and Practice

I studied architecture part-time which meant I connected theory and practice on a daily basis. When I switched to full-time study I discovered my fellow students were unable to relate lessons in structures, construction and systems to the practice of building design. What I had integrated was, to them, no more than unrelated parts. Learning “about” seems to be different from learning to do. We can learn a lot about skiing from books and videos, but that may not enable us to perform well on the slopes.

This is a matter of different levels of learning, as in Bateson’s Learning I, II and III. Learning I is the accumulation or revision of skill and knowledge (the product of most education) and Learning II is a meta-learning that, while enhancing Learning 1, also integrates it with experience, enabling contextual understanding to inform our actions.

It seems likely that, without integration through experience, we can only ever achieve Learning I. Furthermore, only with adequate Learning II might it be possible to achieve learning III, which enables insight to change how we see the world, how we act within it and who we are becoming. Leadership development depends upon Learning III as well as I and II.

On many professional training programmes, people get a great deal of instruction, often divorced from any experience outside of the learning environment and thus integration eludes them. The cumulative effect of this disconnect invisibly erodes society’s capacity for effective action.

At High Trenhouse we have tried to work on all three levels of learning since our inception in the 70s. In the early days sheer necessity obliged us to immerse ourselves (and our clients) in rural subsistence. Our cows were good teachers! When we began to apply what we had learned to management development in the 80s, we

retained group-work and outdoor experiential learning along with a country lifestyle, coupled with theories a

nd thinking processes that enabled people to gain strategic insights. Now, in our Deeper Leadership Programmes, visceral learning is inherent in every aspect; learning from colleagues; learning from nature; learning from activity. Between residential modules: learning from one another; learning from exposure to real-life events; learning from real-life situations. The emphasis is on behaviours at every scale – for the individual, group, organisation and society. People learn to explore, observe and reflect, to give and receive feedback, to seek higher-level learning and to put into practice their evolving theory.

The place itself has evolved to suit this kind of work and is ideal for any facilitator who knows how to work effectively with groups. It has its authentic roots in the land, based on those early days and its origins. It has a wonderful combination of simplicity and appropriateness for development work. This, combined with genuine hospitality, excellent food and immediate access to nature, make it fit for learning I to III! There are very few venues where space and place contribute so effectively to your developmental process.

John Varney

Newsletter Spring 2018

Open Day

You and a colleague are invited to join others for an Open Day at High Trenhouse 10.30am – 3.00pm on Tuesday 1 May 2018

Especially relevant for facilitators/coaches/consultants, internal change agents and line managers.

Come and enjoy a visit to High Trenhouse – a day in the country to discover how using an exceptional facility can enhance your work. Explore new concepts with new colleagues.
Chill out and refresh yourself.

Format

10.30	Welcome and refreshments Introductory Talk by John Varney and discussion “Design for Deeper Learning” Lunch and informal chats Guided tour and/or optional walk.
15.00	Depart

To reserve your place click here.

Forthcoming Open Events

As well as many corporate programmes, this year High Trenhouse is again proving popular with organisers of a broad spectrum of open events. Yoga, health, wellness and reflective retreats are all on the menu, as is painting and, of course, walking. Recess College returns yet again with a ten day personal development programme. On a more technical theme, Museums and Resilient Leadership return for another of their powerful programmes. Anyone wanting to make good use of time away at weekends and bank holidays will find something of interest. Do take a look and book early because these open events fill up fast.

See our events page for open programmes.

Thought piece – The Leaders Are Us

By John Varney – Centre for Management Creativity

Having developed leadership in client organisations for more than 30 years I have come to understand leadership as that quality which guides the flow of energy towards common purpose.

However, when you look at the literature on leadership or listen to speakers, it is clear that leadership is often conflated with management. Indeed the media go further, in that they often identify senior managers as the leaders – the two words manager and leader are interchanged freely. An unfortunate consequence is that everyone who is not called a leader is consigned to the role of follower, denying them their leadership capability. This happens because of our dominant paradigm of hierarchical, control and command organisational structures on the one hand and on the other, our predominantly fragmentary mode of thinking incapable of grasping organic wholeness.

Everyone is capable of leadership. Indeed in any transaction between humans, someone is providing leadership at every moment, hopefully in a desirable direction. Thus leadership passes to another person, freely flowing like a stream. Who is providing leadership is unimportant. What matters is that the system responds. This phenomenon is seen most readily in self-directing teams. In fact it is almost commonplace outside of control and command hierarchies. We are all familiar with it in various aspects of our lives. Why, then, do we fall into the linguistic trap of identifying leadership with so-called leaders?

Because of this trap we consign ourselves to waiting for these mythical leaders to step forth, little realising that they are us. If people can suspend their habitual way of thinking, they will discover their own leadership capability and be better able to play their part in sustaining the flow of energy towards their chosen purpose.

It is tempting to suggest that the word ‘leader’ be banned. We can see the phenomenon of leadership not as a personal attribute but as a systemic quality in which all participate. Look carefully and see what would change if you take the “leader” word out of any text and rephrase it to talk about “leadership”. The effect can be magical.

Wildlife

There has been snow on the ground for much of the last few weeks. It is rather pretty – not enough to seriously inconvenience us but the wildlife are not too happy. The snow can be magical as a recording medium and in it we see the tracks of many birds, especially the moorhens that live with us. We can also trace the movements of mice and rabbits, hares and stoats and more particularly deer. A couple of Roe deer seem to have adopted High Trenhouse as their winter feeding ground which is a bit tough on our smaller trees. Still, what a joy it is to catch a glimpse of all these creatures from the dining room window!

Our clients say

“A warm welcome and homely atmosphere. A nice change from the usual corporate experience. Great walks on the doorstep” Participant on What if? programme

“A unique setting that provides a basis for creating exceptional results” Engineering Manager – Yorkshire Water

“First class location, first class accommodation, first class food, first class staff” Professor of Corporate Communication – University of Huddersfield

We need your help!

Much work has been done to the High Trenhouse website to help people discover it in their Internet searches. Please take a look and tell us what we can do to improve it further.

It would be great if you could let us know what keywords and phrases you use when searching for venues for Team Development workshops or any other events.

Please let Bernadette know what you search for.

We have published this short guide on ‘Nine Steps to a successful off-site leadership retreat’. Would be glad to receive your feedback so we can improve it.

Helping palliative care

Herriot Hospice Homecare is a charity providing support to enable people to end their life at home. To help them raise funds we are delighted to donate a self-catering weekend at Bennett ‘s at High Trenhouse to be auctioned at their annual dinner in March.

If you are not among the bidders you can still enjoy self-catering at Bennett’s at High Trenhouse.

Call 01729 830322 or email Sue for details.

For a future generation

At the request of Founders4schools John Varney will be talking to students at The Holy Family Catholic School in Keighley in March about the interesting story of how High Trenhouse became a leading centre for management learning.

New article in the April issue of the HRdirector issue 162

John Varney’s latest article for the HR director magazine, on Collaborative Achievement, explores links between teamwork and leadership. It highlights the stark contrast between mechanistic teams and the more organic teams that replace them. Are you sure which kind you are after and how to set about it?

Previous articles. John presents informal talks to professional groups on a wide variety of themes. Please get in touch if you would like John Varney as a speaker.

A weekend workshop for facilitators

26-28 October 2018

Join a small and friendly group and enjoy a weekend of relaxation and reflection and explore informally with peers the thinking that shapes our world; work and play, personal and family, social and political.

Theme talk and discussion
Relaxation and guided visualisation
Conversations and Dialogue
Visual thinking and Logovisual Thinking
Some togetherness and some solo
Local walks and excursions
The comfort and joys of High Trenhouse

Whatever your profession, role or position, this refreshing event will enrich your leadership and bring more value to your work.

Cost £295 (inc VAT) per person in single en-suite accommodation includes meals and refreshments from dinner Friday evening to Lunch on Sunday.

For further information or booking see www.centreformanagementcreativity.com.

Spirit of Wholeness

Resilience is an internal quality that enables an entity to survive and even to benefit from stress and change. It is an emergent quality of teamwork. By emergent we mean that the system as a whole has characteristics that were not there in the parts – in other words an effective team can have more resilience than any of its members.

The wholeness of a team is a function of the wholeness of the people within it. You cannot have a mature team of immature individuals so teamwork must be developmental for all involved. If we want to survive and thrive, we need to work on our own maturity and contribute to the maturity of teams. In this short article we explore these qualities as they emerge in teams and as they mature in individuals.

Read the article – published in HR Director November 2017, issue 157

What do we mean by Space for Co-creation?

Co-creative space is where people can come into relationship to make something new together. This is especially valuable when you are seriously challenged – a new team sorting out its vision, the executive developing a new sense of purpose, a project team tackling innovation, a team seeking High Performance and so on. Co-creation demands a higher level of thinking than the day job and therefore requires special conditions.

Firstly there is the physical space – ideally away from everything that supports normality – somewhere close to nature but well equipped and well serviced. In such physical space you can then develop the emotional container to enable people to drop their defenses and “play” together as equals. Once you feel secure and safe you can discover the cognitive space where diverse experience and perspectives can interact. The three kinds of space conflate as Space for co-creativity where novelty emerges. Of course you need skilled facilitation – someone who understands the psychology of creativity and can guide you towards extraordinary outcomes. For them to work in authentic space for co-creation enables them to achieve outstanding results.

This is the ambience that high Trenhouse has evolved over forty years and which you will struggle to find anywhere else. Hotels and conference venues cannot provide it because it is a specific market niche that few people understand. It makes it worth the journey and the sacrifice and yet it costs little more than your average hotel. Clients enjoy having a place to themselves; comfort without pomp, good food and wonderful seclusion. Facilitators rejoice in high levels of support and service, responsive to the needs of their programme. It works! Co-creation is more likely and more productive when given ideal conditions. Find out more

Newsletter Autumn 2017

Discover Space for Co-Creation

When your future depends on collaborative thinking you need to find space for co-creation. Space for co-creation is a subtle combination of the physical, emotional and cognitive that is not easy to find because it demands a quality of wholeness which promotes new levels of relationship.

High Trenhouse has evolved over the years to provide such “Creative Space”, for corporate groups in particular. For forty years we have been users as well as providers of creative space to many blue-chip clients and are proud to have developed an exceptional facility. An important value-adding feature is that your group gets exclusive use – a whole place of your own. Come and see for yourself www.high-trenhouse.co.uk.

“Perfect location to do deep thinking and stimulate real creativity” – Director of H&S – Yorkshire Water

International Facilitation Week, 23-28 October 2017

John Varney, founder of High Trenhouse, will give a talk in association with Jagiellonian University of Krakow, “Make Space for Co-Creation – and let ideas flow” and also a half-day workshop on “Logovisual Technology – Tackle complex challenges with collaborative thinking”

Partner News

Collaboration is the key to future success and we are delighted to present our current partners.

Team Leaders “Facilitators in Residence” provide team and leadership development at High Trenhouse. Discuss your needs and reserve space now or attend an introductory open workshop which introduces aspects of teamwork and leadership.

Current guest providers:

Landrover Experience offer exciting 4X4 driving experience and development from High Trenhouse – or you can use their special driving course at Broughton.

Carnegie Great Outdoors – Leeds Beckett University offer outdoor experiential learning for team and leadership learning.

“An excellent location away from the pressures of the office environment to build the team”
Vice President PV – Kyowa Kirin International plc

Deeper Leadership

This terrific in-company leadership programme, designed by Centre for Management Creativity, comprises a series of four residential workshops for 5 to 15 participants. Between the workshops participants experience putting ideas into practice, giving them many months of development with only four days away. Deeper Leadership is not about simplistic techniques but develops the inner depth to be truly effective.

Forthcoming Events at High Trenhouse

Check out our events page, especially the Open Courses with Team Leaders
see high-trenhouse.co.uk/events/

Book review

The Patterning Instinct

A cultural history of humanity’s search for meaning
by Jeremy Lent, published 2017 by Prometheus Books
This is a superb easy-to-read history of human cultures around the globe from the earliest days until now with glimpses into possible future scenarios. It stimulates an off-world perspective that might help you think afresh about society in our modern era. Strongly recommended.

Interesting Articles

Pattern Thinking
the HR Director – Look out for John Varney’s piece on Resilience in the November issue 157

Celebrate

Book a minimum 24 hour event in December or January by the end of November and your group can enjoy a free festive dinner (Christmas dinner or celebratory feast). Contact sue@high-trenhouse.co.uk

Enquiries

Enjoy outstanding personal service “like staying with friends in the country” – with generous space for co-creation. We welcome all enquiries and will work closely with you to design your perfect event with or without facilitation or activities. Whatever you are looking for, please call us to discuss … after all we are the Centre for Management Creativity.

Help us the spread the word! Send this newsletter on to colleagues who may be looking for an exceptional co-creative space.

Do call in to see us, the coffee is always on!

Creative Space

by John Varney, founder of High Trenhouse – Centre for Management Creativity

I am preparing a presentation on “Space for Co-thinking” Creative Space for the business department of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow. Reflecting on how creative work has evolved at High Trenhouse during the last 40 years I have come to understand how appropriate physical space needs to be overlaid with (metaphorical) emotional space to contain relationships as well as cognitive space where ideas can co-mingle. When all the conditions are optimised, the space between them is pregnant with creativity. Then it is ready for facilitation to work its magic.

In our modern era people are being manipulated and exploited, mostly through pleasure seeking, instant gratification and the stimulation of unnecessary appetites. Because creativity occurs mostly in the space between us and is dependent on high levels of trust, attention, sharing of information, pooling of diversity and so on, conditions for co-creation have to be carefully nurtured. Creative space rarely arises by chance and most spaces in which we are expected to be productive are seriously out of balance.

For instance, you book a room for a team meeting and, although it may be technically well-equipped, it perhaps lacks a good outlook (or even a window). Because “meeting” means no more than being in the same room, the décor frustrates your attempts to focus, the furniture no doubt needs re-arranging and the room has no soul. While providing a tolerable physical environment, display surfaces may be insufficient and the confines of space will hardly allow ideas to flow. Distractions abound and the energy of your event will leak away through the bar, dining room and other channels during breaks and overnight. Getting the depth of relationship your event demands will be difficult when so many aspects of space are stacked against you.

Of course, your ingenuity and dedication may enable you to overcome many of the obstacles. However, I urge you to take note of the multiple qualities of space that make a difference. Resist the temptation to put up with whatever space your client is content to use, just because it is convenient or cheap or because it is what they always use. Discover spaces that work best for you and then insist on using them so that you can do your best work on your client’s behalf.

Forty years of being both provider and user have enabled us to produce, here at High Trenhouse, special conditions that work exceptionally well for small residential groups (e.g. management teams) seeking a quantum leap in performance. Come and see for yourself. No doubt there are other places that have some of the desirable qualities. They will be worth seeking out. When you find them please tell us so we can champion their cause.

The Patterning Instinct

Book review

by Jeremy Lent

This is a superb easy-to-read history of human cultures around the globe from the earliest days until now with glimpses into possible future scenarios. It stimulates an off-world perspective that might help you think afresh about society in our modern era. Strongly recommended.

See full review

Discover the Dales

Enjoy a luxurious four-day walking holiday house-party with Jonathan Smith to guide you through some of the finest scenery in the Dales, introducing you to the rich history and folklore of this fascinating area.
Waking up to the quiet of Malham Moor and the beautiful gardens overlooking the Malham Tarn (SSSI and internationally acclaimed Ramsar site) sets the scene for each day. Well-designed guided walks ensure a most refreshing break from the rigors of everyday life.
Return to the peace and comfort of High Trenhouse to refresh and relax in good company. Your group will have exclusive use of this wonderful retreat, famed for delicious food and warm hospitality. Seclusion and safety enable you to fully appreciate the beautiful natural surroundings.
Jonathan Smith, experienced mountain guide, outdoor enthusiast and lover of the Dales, is your guide on the walks and also your host for dinner. For further information or to book click here

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