The 36th IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference

Abstract

As organisations have moved on from a pandemic-induced 'survival mode' they find themselves struggling with a lack of innovation and creativity at team or individual employee level. The dust has settled, and companies are vying for position and to (re-)establish themselves. Past habits that were formed are now making them less competitive in existing markets and making it tougher to branch into new markets. So, how did we get here? 

During the pandemic, organisations and the people within them became largely transactional in their nature and activities. Among other consequences, this led to less cross-team communication and collaboration within organisations, less creativity, less innovation and more of a focus on ‘getting the job done’. Siloism has increased, networks have broken down, and new joiners find themselves struggling to build their networks in the post-pandemic hybrid-working world. Could the same also be said of the (business English) training sector? Many of us may have also switched to ‘survival mode’, sticking to what we know, and keeping our heads above water, but has this come at the cost of our own innovation and creativity in terms of what we offer to our clients and participants as well as the in-training experience we deliver?

Mike has experienced the trends described above from multiple perspectives; as an active trainer, directly through his course participants, as an organisational development consultant and project coach, and through his close links with business leaders across a range of sectors such as manufacturing, pharma and banking & finance. This talk will track the development of this trend, look at where we are now (both client-side and as trainers), draw conclusions and present a range of suggestions for how we, as trainers, can become more agile, creative and innovative as well as supporting our participants and their organisations to do the same.

Bio

Mike Hogan is a leadership, team and people development trainer and coach with a focus on enhancing individual and group performance in international contexts.  Mike has over 20 years' experience across 25+ countries supporting leaders and teams to succeed through effective communication and collaboration across numerous corporate sectors, as well in the institutions of the EU. Business English titles co-authored by Mike include ‘Basis for Business’ (Cornelsen) and ‘Business English for Beginners’ (Cornelsen), which won the 2017 IATEFL BESIG David Riley Award for Innovation, as well as ‘Business Partner’ (Pearson). He was a regular columnist for Business Spotlight magazine in Germany between 2010 and 2021.