What is Nine Conversations in Leadership?

by Lucille Greeff, Associate and 9C Facilitator

Nine Conversations in Leadership, generally refered to as 9C is a learning journey for leaders, future leaders and teams in a business. It was developed by Worldsview and it is being used globally to develop leadership and organisations. It combines the best of Organisation Development with the best of learning and training methodology to offer organisations maximum return on investment for their development spend.

9C consists of 9 conversations or contact sessions of 4 hours each. Groups, or cells, consist of 8 to 12 people each. The cell members can either be a cross-functional selection of leaders, intact team, executive team or managers from a specific organisation. There are different benefits to the different options and they all have value. Your 9C cell then go on a journey of learning and development together. Ideally the sessions are spread over 6-9 months as part of the journey requires project implementation after every conversation.

The journey has its roots in the methodology of conversation but these roots grow out of the rich soil of the latest and most up-to-date leadership theory and practices. It is however not a theory session – the material is provided as a backdrop to the conversation itself. The journey starts with the big picture and organisational vision and then progresses through other aspects of the organisation and team until you complete the journey looking at your development and energy as a leader.

The 9C journey is a process that encapsulates all three centres of intelligence – the head, heart and hands. It is therefore about allowing leaders to connect to thinking as well as feeling and action oriented aspects of leadership.

9C includes a 360 evaluation as part of the journey. It is also supported by an E-Learning platform to track projects and performance. Organisations and teams craft their reasons for going on the journey as a statement of intent which underpins each one of the nine conversations.

Organisation Development theory shows that most learning does not happen within a classroom context. The frustration with the lack of results from traditional management and leadership training supports this theory. So where and when do we learn? Most learning happens when we go and apply things. It therefore happens between contact sessions. If leadership development can be supported systematically over a period of 9 months, rather than over 2-5 days of training, the results become transformational. This bridges the gap between training and organisation transformation.

Treetops have trained 9C facilitators that would love to walk alongside your team and organisation in your development journey. Contact us to explore 9C and the benefits for your team further. It will change the way you think of leadership development forever!