Case study: forming a new team
Our client was a fast growing technology organisation. Within the last year, a new CTO had been appointed and he had made a number of changes to the leadership team. They now found themselves in a situation where they needed to develop fast as a team, since there was an urgent need to redesign the structure and operating processes of their agile development teams. We were engaged by the CTO to help the leadership group develop as a high performing team, whilst working on the redesign and implementation of a new operating model across the organisation.
We designed a three month development process to develop the capacity for collective intelligence of the leadership team, enabling them to succeed in their change programme. We integrated assessment, one-to-one coaching and team development alongside work on the strategy and plan for organizational transformation. We observed and codified group dynamics and introduced new practices for collective intelligence that transformed collective effectiveness. Within a short period, team members were amazed by their development trajectory, saying that this was one of the most enjoyable and productive teams they had worked on.
By adopting an approach which focused on team development and transformation in parallel, we enabled the team to make more rapid progress on both. The team told us later that most of the team development they had undergone previously had been undertaken separately from the real work on the business. Many of them complained of countless team offsites talking about relationships and communication, with little evidence of it being translated into results. Since our approach focuses on developing the team’s awareness and capability during discussions around transformation planning, we were able to target the specific mindsets, behaviours and practices that were impeding progress on the business agenda, as they occurred.
As a result of our progress with the leadership team, we were invited to partner them over the next 12 months on their transformation programme. Over this period, we introduced new approaches for whole system change and developed the capability for collective intelligence at all levels of the organisation – enabling effective transformation and transforming the organizational culture at the same time.