Change Design in Action:
Thinking Partner
Hands-on help to connect the dots
on your planning, designing or decision making
Nothing about Timbs and Co is typical, so of course we've totally reimagined what's possible when it comes to help for leaders.
Your Thinking Partner is someone to go into the thinking trenches with you,
who isn’t attached to organisational hierarchy or politics - but has an appreciation of the influence those things have on challenging tasks.
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Going beyond wise questions, or advice, your Thinking Partner gives real support and can roll up their sleeves to help you get the job done.
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Our Thinking Partner service is a combination of a sounding board, a sanity check, a sensemaking ally, and a critical thinker who challenges your thinking to elevate it to a higher level of quality, so you can confidently put forward your best work yet.
What can I gain as a leader from working with a Thinking Partner?
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Unlock insights that elude you.
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Reveal perspectives you’ve not yet seen.
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Shape new ideas you’ve not tangled with before.
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Validate what you’ve already achieved.
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Incidentally acquire skill and knowledge to fill gaps that you’ve sensed existed but not been able to name.
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More than a coach who asks good questions, someone who can roll their sleeves up and give practical assistance in the task if that would help expedite things.
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Not a therapist yet someone who gets that any challenging task can have emotional content to explore in addressing obstacles to progress.
Work with a Thinking Partner today
Determine the challenge you'd like help with
Common situations we help out with are:
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developing an annual plan or strategy
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framing up a project or initiative
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progressing a stuck project or initiative
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wading through a body of research/analytical output to shape a business case or report of recommended actions
There's always new challenges for leaders and your Thinking Partner is here to help support you to delivery quality work.
Engage a Thinking Partner for you or in a pair with another leader you collaborate with
Sessions are a minimum of 90 minutes and can occur face to face or in a virtual environment. We offer a free discovery call with our Thinking Partners to help you get to know them, and then provide you with a recommendation for our Thinking Partner Packages. Depending on what kind of work you'll do together you may only need a single session, or a pack of 3,6 or 9 sessions.
Love the difference between a Thinking Partner, a coach and a mentor
Importantly, your Thinking Partner is not your coach or mentor. They hold expert knowledge in strategic thinking, big-picture macro thinking, critical thinking (asking great questions), abductive logic (exploring what if), synthesising large amounts of disparate information quickly, calmly tangling with ambiguity, generating insights (seeing things others don’t see), designing programs, and listening without judgement.
They won't ask questions without providing their opinion as a traditional coach would do - in fact they are there to give you the benefit of their knowledge.
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And they won't be experts in your specific business like a mentor might be - but their view from the outside will lead to new perspectives and fascinating insights that an insider might not share.
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Importantly, they will get involved and roll their sleeves up when it will make things move forward for you. Discussing a great new approach in your session and you just don't have time to rework that information into that format? If you want your Thinking Partner to take action to support you - they will! It's an important part of our service that we provide not just ideas but execution when it helps our leaders put their best work forward.