Managers are dinosaurs, say world experts

Managers are dinosaurs, say world experts

Two world authorities on leadership and dispute resolution arrive in New Zealand this month for a short public lecture tour, sponsored by Massey University.

Husband and wife Professor Kenneth Cloke and Dr Joan Goldsmith will give public lectures in Wellington, Auckland and Palmerston North.

Between them they have published more than a dozen books on leadership, mediation and other workplace issues. They include Thank God It’s Monday! 14 Values We Need to Humanize the Way We Work, The End of Management and The Rise of Organisational Democracy. Professor Cloke’s latest book, The Crossroads of Conflict: A Journey Into the Heart of Dispute Resolution, has just been published.

Professor Cloke has been described by clients and fellow mediators as “a giant, a hero, a role model” and “a true pioneer in the field of dispute resolution”. He is Director of the California-based Centre for Dispute Resolution. He specialises in resolving complex multi-party conflicts, including workplace disputes, collective bargaining negotiations, organisational and school conflicts, sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, and public policy disputes.

He was an administrative law judge for the California Agricultural Labour Relations Board and the Public Employment Relations Board and a judge pro tem for the Superior Court of Los Angeles.

Professor Cloke’s visit is sponsored by the University’s Centre for Dispute Resolution.

Dr Joan Goldsmith is an organisational consultant, mediator, educator and expert on leadership. In addition to her list of Fortune 100 corporate clients, she was the founder of Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is a former faculty member and administrator at Harvard University, the University of California Los Angeles and Antioch University.

Dr Goldsmith has also been a family therapist, a coach to women leaders and an advisor to the Woman’s International Health Coalition, Disney Institute for Women Entrepreneurs, Women’s Lens on Global Issues, and Women International League for Peace and Freedom.

Her visit is sponsored by the University’s Centre for Women and Leadership.

A joint public lecture in Palmerston North will provide guidelines for creating democratic organisations. “Managers are the dinosaurs of our modern organisational ecology,” Dr Goldsmith says. “They must be replaced by visionary leaders, coordinators, coaches, mentors, facilitators and conflict resolvers if we are to succeed in creating organisations that will thrive”.

Professor Cloke and Dr Goldsmith arrive on 26 September and Dr Goldsmith will deliver her first public lecture at Massey’s Wellington campus. Her Auckland lecture will be held at the University of Auckland, co-hosted by Massey University.

Amongst other commitments, Professor Cloke will run a two-day workshop in Wellington at the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand.

For further detail go to:
http://gsb.massey.ac.nz/massey/depart/cob/gsb/drc/special-events/special-events_home.cfm

ENDS

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