From siloed department heads to a unified leadership team

Background

The client was a 16-year-old organisation with 70 employees and a leadership team of seven. The company was going through a brand refresh as part of launching a new mission and values. 

Each leader had generally focused only on their own department, but following one-to-one interviews , it became clear that the leadership team would greatly benefit from developing into a more cohesive group, leading the organisation collectively. 

Solution

Based on the client’s input, we designed a leadership development programme consisting of interpersonal and leadership skills training, combined with facilitated group conversations. The shared objective was for the leadership team to become more cohesive and effective, by working -with- not against each other, towards a common goal. The training included communication skills with a focus on understanding and appreciating each other’s strengths, delegation skills and learning how to empower others without micromanaging them, and coaching and developing others to ensure the positive changes trickled down to everyone.

Impact

The leadership team recognised that being unified and aligned put them in a much stronger position to drive the implementation of the values-based behaviours underpinning the new company culture and mission. Each of the leaders involved managed with our help to embody the desired changes, shifting their focus from leading a single department to being part of a successful leadership team, leading the whole organisation together. As a result of our collaborative work, the leaders also created new agreements around their communication, weekly meetings and reporting lines, to support the new culture.