Growing rapidly over recent years and feeling the effects of multiple restructures, this government department had become increasingly siloed and disparate. Relationships and cohesion deteriorated, opportunities for collaboration evaporated and inefficiency was rife as each division and branch ‘reinvented the wheel’.

Conflict and unhealthy competition were on the rise and performance deteriorated as seemingly simple projects seemed to be bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy and turf wars.

When the Board realised the increasing cost to the organisation, its people and services, it was forced to look in the mirror.  The silos were being inadvertently perpetuated by their actions and behaviours.

A 2 day Leadership Team Building Retreat was the catalyst to reflect on the impact and envisage a more collaborative culture where people would automatically seek out and work together to achieve goals more easily.  Recognising that the catalyst for change was the example they set, the 15 members of this Executive Board developed a Collective Leadership Model with defined principles, values, behaviours and actions.

Gaining unanimous and genuine commitment to the new way of leading, with the support of team coaching, the Board embarked on a 6 month program to change their organisation’s culture.

To keep Collective Leadership front of mind , I provided Critical Friend feedback and support at monthly Board Meetings, Cross Divisional Initiative Workshops and Collaboration Sessions. Regular reflection enabled the Board to fine-tune and flex its approach as they learnt more about what was and wasn’t having an impact.

RESULTS:

• A series of collaborative pilot projects were identified, scoped and completed
• Cross division and branch working groups were formed and the ability to deliver faster, better outcomes was proven
• Relationships and internal networks were strengthened
• Within 12 months collaboration became the default approach to solving problems, generating innovative solutions and delivering higher quality projects more quickly
• The Executive Board relationships were strengthened and interdependence provided the key to leading and modeling Collective Leadership

https://p2r.com.au/executive-coach-melbourne/Facing a ‘vote of no confidence’ from the Board and her staff, Kaye’s position as CEO of a small but rapidly growing non-profit organisation was rapidly becoming untenable.

Having been brought in 9 months previously to take the organisation from a small, ‘cottage-industry’ to a fully fledged, successful enterprise, Kaye had been recruited for her successful track record in a multi-national business and as an accomplished academic.

​However, neither Kaye nor the Board had anticipated the significant differences in culture and approach and the staff did not respond well to Kaye’s fast-paced, forthright, business-focused style.  With so much scope for improvement, Kaye was working excessive hours and the stress was taking a heavy toll .

Through a 6 month, tailored P2R Executive Leadership Coaching Program, Kaye was able to increase her self-awareness, clarify her goals for the organisation, modify her style (including slowing down, containing her hours and reducing intensity without sacrificing her vision) and re-establish the confidence of both the Board and staff.

RESULTS

• Kaye successfully shifted her mindset and approach resulting in improved services, lifted skills and capability and ​a revitalised structure, processes and culture
• Exceeding its growth targets, the organisation is now expanding its international services with Kaye driving the development of an exciting and achievable strategic plan.
• Kaye earned the trust and respect of her staff who now turn to her as a role model and mentor –  a far cry from those who had complained about her 12 months previously.

This project team was charged with delivering a vital software solution to 13 international sites. But ineffective leadership, internal conflict and vested interests were hindering their success.

Staff turnover was high (no one wanted to work on this ‘poisoned chalice’ project!), the customer was losing patience and the parent company was preparing to shut the project down.

With a damaged reputation earned by many missed milestones costing thousands of dollars a day, no one believed they could deliver and this large project was on a Titanic style collision course for disaster.

Through an intensive 2 day Leadership Team Building Retreat, 12 stream leaders identified the specific challenges and developed targeted solutions to address them. The team created a timeline to better understand what had created their current predicament.

Re-framing the events of the past enabled them to move forward with wisdom, clarity, confidence and unity.

Designing a new Strategic Direction, Team Charter and Exemplary Leadership Model, realigned values, resolved conflict and cultural differences, clarified roles and responsibilities and established agreed ways of working.

Finally, the leaders had a robust way to turn their project around and get back on course.

RESULTS:

• Within 2 weeks, the CEO reported visibly improved team morale and successful delivery of a key milestone; together with a significant improvement in customer satisfaction
• Ongoing Team Coaching, maintained focus and accountability and within 6 months all milestones had been met and the system was successfully rolled out.
• On the back of their success, the software solution was sold and successfully implemented for another country and 2 other countries had placed firm orders for over $200m.

Postscript: The Program Manager ​was subsequently promoted to head up the company’s Australian operations. 4 of the project leaders formed a special 'Project Rescue' team that helps other troubled projects successfully get back on track.