KAI Foundation

Save The Date! Our 5th Annual KAI Symposium is on 12th February and 13th February, 2025. Co-hosted with the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving and Virginia Tech. The theme is "Every Mind Matters", recognizing that KAI practitioners can help people get the best out of themselves and others for optimum outcomes. Dr Kirton, originator of adaption-innovation theory, said that “One has to know oneself to make good use of oneself”. To make the best use of yourself, an understanding is needed of the problem to be solved, and mutual respect in working with others who may prefer to solve the problem more adaptively or more innovatively than you. Our daily lives are made up of a series of challenges – from how to get a child into school uniform in the morning, through to collaborating with colleagues to land a person on Mars, and every type of problem in between. Whenever we interact with others to get something done, our personal problem-solving style – and those of the people helping us – immediately comes to the fore. This Symposium will explore this and its implications in the wider world, in many different industries, applications and also personal/family situations. We do hope you will be able to join us. #symposium #annualevent #everymindmatters #onlineevent #kaifoundation

We would like to share with you a story Dr Michael Kirton regularly told, during his years as a lecturer and practitioner. In the University where he worked there was a woman with a teenage daughter. The mother, Sally, was always immaculately, but conservatively dressed, and had a reputation for efficiency and being methodical, considerate and thoughtful. Her husband, James, worked in process engineering, and was wonderful with ensuring that things ran smoothly and when he made changes, they were small and always beneficial. Dr Kirton knew her well and had met her husband on several occasions. One day, the mother, Sally, sought out Dr Kirton. She knew he was a psychologist, so could he help her with her troublesome teenage, Petra? What’s the problem? Petra had recently ended up in hospital having taken an overdose. She was 16 years old. In this very personal, sensitive circumstance, Dr Kirton’s work provided extraordinary insight to the girl’s parents. Nicola Kirton, FRSA, daughter of the founder of KAI, has written all about the specifics of what took place from then onwards – and how her father helped 16 year-old Petra (spoiler alert – a happy ending!). Read about it in this case study on our website: https://lnkd.in/eAESSbUV #family #children #happiness #health #lifestory

There’s not long left until one of the most exciting events of our year: the next KAI Accreditation course! From 25th November to 13th December, this is the ultimate place to be for anyone interested in problem-solving and how teams work together. For the first time since #Covid19, this course features both online and in-person teaching. From 25th November to 9th December, online coursework will be completed with the assistance of our practitioners. And then, between 10th to 13th December, it’s time to visit Roanoke, Virginia, for 3 days in-person at the Virginia Tech campus! The course involves 35 instructional hours in total. Tickets are already flying for this annual accreditation event – so don’t miss out! Special thanks to the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving who make this all possible. Click here to book your spot: https://lnkd.in/ewVFmiyh #accreditation #practitioner #personaldevelopment #skillstraining #virginia

A recent report shows that there are over 2,500 different personality and behavioural instruments in the USA alone. With figures like this, it has become increasingly difficult to separate the dependable from the debatable. The internet is flooded with personality and behavioral assessment tools. We all want to know more about ourselves and others to improve our relationships, find meaningful careers, and identify the best people for a particular task. So, how do you know if a particular psychometric inventory has scientific merit, or is just based on claims of organizations trying to make a quick profit? To answer this question, Dr Curtis Friedel FRSA shares his expertise on the KAI Foundation website. He outlines all the hallmarks of a trustworthy and reliable personality assessment tool – along with all the ones to avoid! Click here to read: https://lnkd.in/eHbwhBuj #personality #personalitytool #problemsolving #measuring #behaviour #behavior

Believe it or not, Dr Michael J Kirton (originator of the KAI) worked until he was 93 years old! Indeed, one of the last people to collaborate with him in a formal setting was Dr Rob Sheffield, who is an active and valued KAI practitioner, leadership consultant and author. In this interview, you’ll hear that Dr Kirton was planning another book (!) to be cowritten with Dr Iwan Jenkins. Iwan will now have to undertake this on his own – to fulfil the last words that my father said to him – ‘publish, good man, publish’! For anyone keen to hear some of Dr Kirton’s reflections on his life, career and research, this final interview with Rob Sheffield is an excellent public record. It was filmed in late 2019, less than a year before he sadly passed away. Watch the video below – and if you’d like to learn more about Dr Michael Kirton and his work as the originator of the KAI, please visit our website: https://kai.foundation #lifestory #drkirton #academic #psychology #lifestories #interview

🚨 Call for Presentations and Roundtable Discussions 🚨 On 12th and 13th February, 2025, the annual KAI Symposium is BACK! And this means that it’s time to issue our call for presentations and roundtable discussions at the event. Next year’s Symposium is around the theme of ‘Every Mind Matters’ – the importance of knowing self, understanding and empathising with others, and having an inclusive approach. Are you a KAI practitioner, or an expert in the field of consulting and problem-solving? Are you interested in presenting or attending? If so, we would love to hear from you!  The Symposium brings together the world’s leading experts and discussions in the fields of how humans think, collaborate and solve problems. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eWR5GyWC Further details about the type of submissions we accept, and how you can send your application, can be seen on the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving website. Click here to view: https://ccps.alce.vt.edu/ #symposium #academics #thoughtleadership #seminar #practitioners #discussions #presentations #roundtable

“When work makes us sick” – a new feature in Workplace Wellbeing Professional, written by Dr Megan Seibel, PhD, RN, one of our leading experts in problem-solving style and KAI. At a time when mental wellbeing has moved to the forefront of our society, it might not surprise you that an estimated 875,000 workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2022/23. So, what does this mean for work-related stress? Dr Megan Seibel explains how Adaption-Innovation Theory can shine a light on “coping behavior” (a leading cause of stress) and what both employers AND employees can do to feel at ease in the workplace. Click here to read the fascinating full article: https://lnkd.in/eWXvjX5Y #workplace #wellbeing #happiness #teammorale #workplaceculture

High innovators are not necessarily the only early adopters of new products – contrary to what most people think. Dr Michael J Kirton, originator of Adaption-Innovation Theory, was very interested in new product development and adoption. He wanted to find out who was most likely to adopt a new idea, and how they went about this. After some early research, he was surprised by some interesting results. As he expected, “innovators” (as defined in the KAI theory of thinking style) were highly likely to try new products – but not every time. However, surprisingly, he discovered that there was a small number of adaptors who systematically and consistently tried every new product, within a framework they had drawn up. So interestingly, my father found on average, early adopters are more innovative, however, he found this additional group of adaptors who had a system for trying all new products which would be important to them. Now take a look at the well-known “Rogers Adoption Curve” below. (Please note that here the term ‘innovator’ is not used in the same way that we use it at the KAI Foundation, and thus does not mean the same thing). So, would you be surprised to learn that the ‘innovators’ group on the graph below was actually filled from both ends of the KAI thinking scale - from most innovative through to the most adaptive? Dr Kirton always argued that the term ‘innovative’ was too widely applied to be useful: he preferred a narrower and precise meaning – and this is a good example where the broader term isn’t so useful to people looking at marketing new products! Sadly, he did not publish his findings before his death in 2020. However, perhaps more research is needed! Please let us know what you think. #research #innovation #marketadoption #newideas #disruptivetech

Pleased to share the Call for Presentation and Roundtable Discussions for the 5th Annual KAI Symposium! 👉The 2025 theme is "Every Mind Matters" 👉The Symposium will be held February 12-13, 2025, online. 👉Deadline to submit proposals is November 29th. The KAI Symposium is co-hosted by the KAI Foundation and the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving, at Virginia Tech. For details on submitting a Symposium presentation or roundtable discussion, see - https://lnkd.in/eZ-ksayK #adaption #innovation #EveryMindMatters #cognitivediversity #leadership #coaching #management #scienceofteams #relationships #leadingchange #problemsolving #BringingOutYourBest

We are excited to share a fabulous profile on Karen N., from American Crane and Equipment Corporation, who has been featured in Manufacturing Today. As part of the profile, Karen explains her experiences with KAI and how it helps her in her role. “Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation Theory (KAI) has been a crucial framework in helping us recognize the different cognitive styles in our team, and how each of our employees approach problem-solving and creativity. Without this understanding, we risk fostering an environment in which the team are not only less efficient but are also unhappy.” Team building, management, leadership, and staff performance are all inextricably linked to KAI. The best leaders can use this knowledge to their advantage and create the most success teams around! We’d love for anyone curious about application of A-I theory in Manufacturing to give this a read. Thanks so much to Karen for taking the time to collaborate on this and to share such a glowing testimonial. Click here to read the full feature: https://lnkd.in/gubt-Fp4 #manufacturing #americancrane #publicprofile #profile #media #PRprofile #KAI