Expert’s ideas

A team development intervention undertaken with the senior management team (SMT) over a three month period
A Technology SME with a team of seven people. The desired outcome from the programme was as follows:

• Improved Team Functionality and Performance
• Reduced negative conflict
• Reduced stress levels in the team
• Improved Work/Life balance and greater enjoyment
• An up-dated set of operating principles for the team

Methodology:
A series of group and one to one coaching sessions. Personality and Behavioural Profiling of individuals. Functionality and engagement audits of the team. 360 degree emotional competency analysis was also carried out.
Group Sessions:

• 2 Hour introductory session
• Off-site away day
• Half-day Closing team session

Individual Coaching Session:
One-to-one introductory session with personal contracting, needs analysis and benchmarking
Leadership Coaching with CEO - 6 x two hour sessions
Executive Coaching with each team member 3 x two hour sessions

Outcomes
It was obvious from the audits at the outset that this was a challenging piece of work. The team was effectively dysfunctional and this was a symptom of a lack of alignment at board level. This lack of alignment effectively undermined the CEO and made his position untenable. While the intervention was given a 72% rating by a material sample of the participants and the facilitator was given an 84% rating the programme did not deliver on its objectives because of the dysfunctionality inherent in the system.

Postscript
If the programme had a success it came some months after completion when the CEO negotiated terms under which he stepped down from his position. This proved a good result for both the CEO and the Company.

Learning
Success in such interventions is never guaranteed. Success is determined by the prevailing reality in the system at the time the intervention commences. Success in such an intervention may not manifest in the expected way. Awareness raising always brings about change in some form or other.