Jen St Clair Email & Phone Number

Broadly, the term collaborative cognition describes how groups of people think together.But there is a lot more to cognition than what’s generally referred to as ‘thinking’.Cognitive work requires skills such as focussing attention, analysing, imagining, remembering, judging, deciding and learning. Applying this full range of skills with others is collaborative cognition.In this collaborative context, the ability to identify and respond to emotions (in oneself and in others)… Show more Broadly, the term collaborative cognition describes how groups of people think together.But there is a lot more to cognition than what’s generally referred to as ‘thinking’.Cognitive work requires skills such as focussing attention, analysing, imagining, remembering, judging, deciding and learning. Applying this full range of skills with others is collaborative cognition.In this collaborative context, the ability to identify and respond to emotions (in oneself and in others) is a key dimension of cognition, because emotion is a very useful pointer to significance in complex situations.This ability to read emotion is what makes human cognition more efficient than even the most powerful algorithm: our natural intelligence gives us the ability to focus on what really matters – unlike artificial intelligence which relies on using immense processing power to crunch through all possible variants on a situation.In summary, collaborative cognition is about how groups of people apply the full spectrum of cognitive skills to specific complex problems.The Collaborative Cognition Company offers a suite of programs, customised according to: the degree of problem complexity; and the temporary or ongoing nature of the complex problem.First and foremost, all the programs generate breakthrough thinking about a high priority business problem.The ongoing benefit is that each participant learns practical ways of collaborating more effectively and thereby harvesting the diversity dividend and generating innovation for their organisation.In the case of the Leading Thinking Program, participants also develop their skills and confidence in using the capabilities needed to lead collaborative cognition in their teams. Show less

Australia

After leaving the APS, my work as a leadership and strategy consultant helped her see how rare it is for groups to get beyond the demands of ‘business as usual’ to achieve genuinely fresh thinking.An opportunity to work more deeply with senior executives came in 2010, when former Centrelink CEO Jeff Whalan invited me to join his consulting team. There, I facilitated quarterly two-day meetings for ‘peer learning groups’, each comprising 10 executives.

Australia

Success as an analyst was a springboard to be appointed to lead a cross-functional team which developed and implemented an Investors in People strategy in the Department of Transport and Regional Development. Here I learned the importance of emotional intelligence in achieving lasting results.Then in 1999 the Secretary (CEO) of the Department of Defence, Dr Allan Hawke, recruited me as Director General of Organisational Renewal, where she led projects such as the introduction of an… Show more Success as an analyst was a springboard to be appointed to lead a cross-functional team which developed and implemented an Investors in People strategy in the Department of Transport and Regional Development. Here I learned the importance of emotional intelligence in achieving lasting results.Then in 1999 the Secretary (CEO) of the Department of Defence, Dr Allan Hawke, recruited me as Director General of Organisational Renewal, where she led projects such as the introduction of an innovative performance management system for Defence civilians, and of governance charters for senior leaders. It was in Defence, Australia’s largest and most complex organisation, that I learned about working respectfully with deeply-embedded institutional cultures, as well as about stewardship of investments in capability.In 2003 I moved to the Australian Public Service Commission to lead the Leadership Learning and Development Group with responsibilities for leadership development policy for more than 100,000 Federal public servants. I designed the Integrated Leadership System, a framework comprising detailed behavioural indicators for each level of senior management in the public service.Sixteen years later the Integrated Leadership System still shapes leadership development – inthe APS and also, in modified form, in other jurisdictions – testimony to the enduring contribution of breakthrough thinking. Show less

Australia

In the 1980s, after gaining an Honours science degree at London University, I worked as an investigative journalist communicating complex issues to readers of monthly magazines.Later, after migrating to Australia and working as a researcher for 60 Minutes television journalist George Negus, I moved to Canberra in 1993 and joined the Australian Public Service (APS) as an economic analyst. There I gained first-hand experience of leading teams in developing innovative responses to complex… Show more In the 1980s, after gaining an Honours science degree at London University, I worked as an investigative journalist communicating complex issues to readers of monthly magazines.Later, after migrating to Australia and working as a researcher for 60 Minutes television journalist George Negus, I moved to Canberra in 1993 and joined the Australian Public Service (APS) as an economic analyst. There I gained first-hand experience of leading teams in developing innovative responses to complex problems: at the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics I led a team in the pioneering Communications Futures Project. The econometric modelling attractednational media coverage, informed government policy – and an account of the project won a prize at an international economics conference. Show less