THIS PAPER DESCRIBES A research and development project that trialled a coaching and mentoring methodology with pedagogical leaders in early childhood settings in Aotearoa New Zealand. The methodology, which drew on ‘third-generation’ cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) was taught to leaders who were coached and mentored to use it as a mediating tool to identify connections between everyday leadership tensions and systemic contradictions (as identified within CHAT). The paper elaborates on the way in which participants came to understand the centre as an activity system and learned to ‘play the system’ rather than the person in the exploration and resolution of contradictions. They did so through engaging in productive change conversations with colleagues within their workplace settings. The paper concludes by confirming the potential of CHAT as a tool for building pedagogical leadership capacity through using tension and/or conflicting views as starting points in developing shared meanings and practices.
Offers advice on strategic and tactical approaches to marketing new business libraries or information services, based on the author's personal experiences at KPMG in setting up a new information service. The focus is not restricted to the mechanics of marketing processes but is more concerned with ways of winning the hearts and minds of prospective clients and moving from a more traditional transactional relationship with users to a more consultative one. Suggests six rules to guide practitioners, with the proviso that these are the core ones that worked for the author and that there could be others equally valid: segment the service's market; adapt the products to make them relevant; define and position the service; build relationships; understand how people work; and manage expectations and maintain momentum. Concludes that the underlying consideration governing all these rules is the shared values held throughout an organization and that these can provide a powerful driving force and focus for all its actions. Understanding this organizational culture and the critical business drivers is the key to how to adapt and develop the information service.
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