CASE STUDIES
It means looking at a perceived issue within an organisation and digging deeper to find out the real problem. It normally comes down to people and in most cases, it’s down to three things:
- Leaders are so operationally focused, they can fail to realise that people are what make the difference.
- The company’s culture doesn’t allow people to feel seen, heard or appreciated.
- Organisational culture fosters internal competition rather than collaboration.
By understanding and tackling these areas, I help organisations achieve their objectives by better utilising their human resources.
- A focus on he corporate culture by the senior leadership team, with a commitment to listen, learn and act upon what’s shared – Actions speak louder than words.
- An environment where people can learn and grow – or your best people will move elsewhere.
- Clarity on the organisation’s ways of working , role modelled by management and senior leaders, together with a process where people feel safe to challenge when they see misalignment.
- Investment in learning and development for everyone that aligns with the organisation’s mission, with regular reviews against pre agreed KPIs.
Business success is down to getting the best out of your people. To do that you need effective, empathetic leaders who recognise it’s not about what they say, but how they say it and how they follow it up with action. This is where my 17 years of working in leadership development can add tangible value to your company.
Case Study: Global Pharmaceutical Group
Perceived issue: Lacking the necessary culture of creativity to drive innovation. The company want to be at the cutting edge of innovation in healthcare, and yet in internal surveys their people admitted to being too busy to have any time to focus on innovation or doing things differently.
How this presented at a people level: It was partly true that people didn’t have enough headspace or thinking time, but through the leadership programme it became apparent that there was another reason besides time – the company culture. People didn’t feel safe to share their ideas for fear they would be rejected or ridiculed.
Solution approach: A suite of six leadership programmes was designed and delivered by a pool of facilitators, all aligned to the goal of creating a culture where people felt safe to share ideas. Each programme was modified for the various management levels within the organisation, and I was tasked with helping first-time people leaders to unlock their understanding of how to bring out the best from their teams.
Impact: Impact was measured by post-programme surveys and indicated that behavioural changes were being seen across the board: meetings run more effectively, more regular ‘in the moment’ feedback, more time allocated for strategic, bigger picture thinking, a coaching culture embedded into a few teams, to name but a few, all of which increased motivation, engagement and impact within teams.
One of the greatest outcomes was that leaders understood they were not alone and were encouraged to better collaborate, enabling them to call out their challenges and collectively address solutions.
Because those challenges were recognised at senior management level, and the modules were designed to address specific behaviours recognised by employees across the organisation that were damaging the company culture, there was strong engagement from everyone.
As a result, employees feel more empowered to share their thoughts and ideas and the company has seen an increase in documented creative thinking.
Case Study: Large Construction Company
Perceived issue: There was a lack of accountability for declining profit margins across the business.
How this presented at a people level: Whilst the business has been losing money in recent years, is often not on budget and suffering significant materials wastage, it was clear that the real issue was an unhealthy industry-wide culture. Individuals were not giving enough time to close planning and budgetary management of their own area of work without considering the company-wide implications. In consequence, apparently small everyday errors and mistakes were widespread which was having a cumulative material impact on company profitability in such a low-margin industry.
Solution approach: A three-day in-person residential leadership training programme was created for all management levels, delivered by two facilitators; one to address the technical aspects of the business (hard skills), and the other to address the communication challenges. Each course intentionally brought people together from different departments – civil engineers, accountants, designers, foremen – to help expand individuals’ perspectives on the wider business.
Impact: The leadership programmes have now run for four years and there are clear changes in behaviour that are manifesting in reduced wastage and improved profits.
The strongest take home message has been how everyone can be better at planning before going into delivery, regardless of department. Better processes and more regular check ins are now happening. Mentoring is being embedded into the organisation to help participants feel better supported when they are at work.
Case Study: Global Takeaway Food Delivery Company
Perceived issue: Previously one of the market leaders in home delivery food, now losing market share.
How this presented at a people level: Although the business is understood to be a food business, it’s fundamentally an IT-focused, and data driven organisation with a predominantly young and introverted workforce. ‘Spreadsheet thinking’ meant little time and attention was given to the customer experience and there was a clear lack of training in how to communicate with others.
Solution approach: A year-long programme was designed, bringing together the 46 top-performing individuals from different divisions at four in-person events in Amsterdam, Bristol, London and Berlin. The purpose of the sessions was to help leaders understand the people skills required to improve the customer experience and to raise awareness that all employees need to be accountable for turning around the company’s declining market share.
Impact: The programme received a 100% score against a “would you recommend this programme to others” survey.
This has led to my designing follow up modules for the original cohort to help them apply their new skills to business-critical projects, as well as setting up an improved programme for the next group of managers.