Just back from the second residential, and feeling pleasantly stuffed, both with lovely Roffey food and with the new information and perspectives from the various speakers and conversations that we have experienced over the past few days.

I was struck again by the feeling of ‘away’ that being in the physical surrounds of Roffey can generate. Sitting in a meeting room looking out through a floor to ceiling glass window at squirrels and deer bounding by in front of a forest backdrop has a tendency to put a bigger picture perspective on most topics of discussion. But of course this is Roffey, so as well as covering the traditional territory of learning theory, research methods and so on, we and the squirrels are also treated to a real brain stretch with Ralph Stacey sharing insights and thoughts from complexity theory.

I have some practical things I can take away and start using immediately – a useful checklist for best practice in designing e-learning for example – and I am still processing a lot of the newer and more reflective parts of what I have learnt.

One of the things I am still reflecting on is a discussion the group had about using particular models in the workplace. One of the speakers -a senior practitioner in the financial world - discussed a particular model of change and how and whether this was used in, and applied to, the workplace. She pointed out that a lot of the language for this model of change (‘guiding coalition’; ‘create short-term wins’; ‘get the vision right’) was pretty much common parlance in organisations talking about large scale change – but that the majority of people wouldn’t be aware of the link to this particular model (Kotter’s for anyone interested).

This rang very true for me - a lot of the language and concepts were very familiar from my time on large scale change projects working at one of the large consultancies. And at the time – with impending deadlines and often ridiculously long days delivering – there wasn’t much space or possibility for the luxury of questioning where these ideas and approaches came from, what assumptions were inherent in them, what they might be missing altogether. I would be interested in others views and experience of using different models in the workplace. Are there particular models that you currently use in your work? Do they actually translate into practice? Are you aware of the debates on the pros and cons of the models you use and of the alternatives?

So I left our second residential with plenty of food for thought. Now I just need to work out how to fit in the next piece, a 10,000 word critical review of the field of People and Organisational Development, alongside the day job. I am hoping that the impromptu 45 minute ‘speed’ speed-reading course put on by Course Director Andy Smith on the Tuesday night will help with that...