Leadership Development

This series of In-Touch cameos aims to produce articles about methods, processes and characteristics of Star Performing teams. Those readers who have been following the series will recall that the underpinning model used is a ten factor model of team effectiveness reproduced below.

The first three articles have explored best practice approaches to achieving team ‘Alignment’. The dedicated reader will have noticed that since the first article the order of the Star points have changed. For those interested in research into the Star Model (leading to the order change) please go to www.tls360.com/research our international website. This switch in order means that our intended next topic ‘Leadership’ has us moving around the Star in an anti-clockwise direction from now on.

Accordingly, three articles will appear on this topic over the next three months because ‘Star’ performing leadership in any organisation leads to intelligent investment, enhanced creativity, improved productivity and better all round performance. With this imperative in mind I have asked Peter Robinson, Director and Senior Consultant of Team Management Services Ltd, to tell the story of Leadership Development that we espouse.

“Head Full of Magic”

Peter Robinson, Chief Executive Officer
Team Management Services Ltd

Some years ago, I was lucky enough to attend University as a ‘mature’ student. When coming home from a three-day session with fellow students, I would be happy and stimulated by the subject under discussion and the people I had the honour to study with. My daughter on one such occasion said to my son, “What’s the matter with Dad?” My son replied, “He’s got a Head Full of Magic … don’t worry, it will wear off in a couple of days!”

As a facilitator / trainer of Leadership Programmes for many years, I have constantly strived to ensure that participants capture that ‘Head Full of Magic’, the transfer of learning. Just as importantly, I have also used methods, models and tools to ensure that the ‘magic’ doesn’t wear off. I call this the longevity of learning.

Team Management Services Ltd (TMS) conducts a number of three-day residential programmes targeted at differing management levels. These programmes, both in-house and public, concentrate on providing managers with the concepts, action learning opportunities, techniques, and real workplace feedback tools which will enable them to develop their leadership skills and potential. This design is delivered within a low-risk structured experience environment in which participants can trial new behaviours. Hundreds of New Zealand managers have undergone these programmes that have
frequently been referred to as a most in-depth, practical and useful training experience.

The Leadership Development Programme Level Two is a three-day, two-night residential Leadership programme for established middle and executive managers. Participants leave the programme with a clearly defined action plan for themselves and their teams. They also have access to numerous tools that will enhance their ability to achieve those goals. The programme is based in the Waitakere Ranges outside Auckland.

• Pictured are programme participants in the Waitakere Ranges.
  

The flow chart below shows the process used to enhance transfer of, and longevity of learning.

As can be seen from the above diagram, attendees are firstly interviewed prior to the programme. This one-hour session allows for professional relationship building, discussion around needs, expectations of the individual and programme pre-work. The programme investigates many aspects of Leadership and Team Development and by knowing individual desires and concerns we are able to ensure appropriate action learning that will most benefit that individual. Most organisations also involve their HR professionals and/or the participants’ manager.

The pre-work requirements can then be discussed around questionnaire choices. Which instruments to use, which raters to choose. The participant is appropriately inducted into the assessment process.

Finally, more domestic matters such as physical restraints, dietary needs, etc, are shared. The pre-programme interview ensures that full value can be obtained by each participant from the programme.

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Programme Attendance

Participants on the three-day programme have the opportunity to complete not only their own Team Management Profile, but to also review profiles of their team members. This enables the participant to do a tabletop analysis of each team member’s work style, whilst on the programme. Participants typically develop their own team map, gaining insight into the work preferences of the team.

Team Management Services Ltd are frequently asked to facilitate programmes with participants’ teams. This is done soon after the programme, re-using many of the instruments from the programme as is appropriate. The post-programme use of the Team Management Profile in such team workshops is a frequent event.

Participants also undergo a 360° review of their Leadership Behaviours. Team Management Services Ltd has developed a model of Leadership that has proven easily understandable and practical in its approach. This, or the Team Member 360° profile (for non-managers), can be integrated with existing organisational development systems to ensure full utilisation and transfer of learning.

The features of the profile are that:

• it measures eight factors of leadership from a 360° pers-pective to provide feedback to a leader on their behavioural effectiveness.
• the factors are based on contemporary leadership thinking and research. The LBP full-range leadership model has also been expanded with two derived factors: ‘Effective Communication’ and ‘Emotional Intelligence’.
• all leadership behaviours measured (64 items) are highly reliable and are always received well by users because of its perceived validity and usefulness.
• a non-managerial version is also available. The Team Member 360° (TM360°) uses the same leadership model but does not assume that the person being assessed has direct supervision of other people.

The participant’s team also comes under the spotlight with a 360° assessment by team members and by individuals who as a whole interact with the team.

The features of the profile are that:

• it provides feedback to a team on
  its effectiveness and development
  priorities.
• it measures ten factors of team
  performance from both an internal
  team and external interface perspective.
• the factors are based on contemporary performance thinking and research.
• the 60 items used to measure the team’s performance are highly reliable and are always received well by users because of perceived validity and usefulness.
• teams can use the output report of the SPT to gain insights about their team development needs.
• from these insights team action plans can be agreed and followed-up.
  

Programme Methodology

Our methods ensure the acceptance of 360° work-based feedback. Team Management Services’ models and language is easily understood and user friendly. Participants quickly take on this methodology and leave the workshops with clear action plans that are integrated and aligned with the direction of the company. They themselves then promote the
methodology internally creating a cultural shift, perpetuating the learning.

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Within the programme, participants will develop clear personal and job related objectives that will be measurable. Such measures added to the benchmarking that occurs with the use of our instruments will enable organisations that sponsor the participant to quickly and continually assess the success of the programme. An example would be where participants write their action plans and then commit to them by presenting the actions back to the group. These are shared with key colleagues. Participants are encouraged to have their plans on display in order that they can hold themselves accountable to their commitment.

Increased performance usually requires behavioural change. Team Management Services Ltd uses a facilitated discussion process in most areas. Interwoven within the facilitation is theory and live company examples on relevant subjects. The programmes are workshops with full participation, ensuring the learnings are captured and useful.

There are four key elements to our processes:

• Work-based feedback using valid and reliable questionnaires.
• Group workshops involving the presentation and facilitation of relevant and practical theory with the development of specific action plans.
• Experiential training that reinforces the concepts learnt providing a challenging but low-risk environment for practice and experimentation.
• Follow-up remedial sessions to reinforce learnings.

Particular methodologies within such frameworks include:

• Kolbs adult learning cycle (learning logs).
• Survey feedback.
• Follow-up transfer of learning.
• Full debrief of action learning activities.

Participants conduct a deep analysis of feedback from numerous sources.

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Programme follow-up

Having attended the programme and set clearly defined action plans for themselves and the teams, the cycle picks up the process.

Within one week of the programme, a meeting is set with the participant’s manger. At this point actions are integrated into existing Personal Development Processes that exist. Linking the learnings to the critical success factors that are required of their role is consciously done. Again, this process often involves participant supervisors and/or HR professionals.

The team feedback is facilitated back to the team seeking their views on desired actions. The participant is able to correlate their team actions developed on the programme with the team’s chosen actions and make adjustments were necessary.

Where organisations have sent a high proportion of their managers on this leadership programme, Team Management Services Ltd have been able to witness major improvements across the organisation in the management of people, management of performance, openness to the 360° process and improved growth and performance.

Specifically, major measurable success and increased satisfaction with leadership is recorded.

Success can be recognised at the coaching session that occurs between the Team Management Services Ltd facilitator and the participant three months after the programme.

It is found in the majority of cases that action plans from the programme have been and continue to be worked upon. In addition, participants frequently confirm that behavioral change occurs because of intrinsic drivers - drivers that were not present before the programme. For example; a participant whose action is to take peoples’ differences into account would automatically find themselves considering the Team Management Profile of a colleague prior to a meeting with that person, using ‘pacing skills’ to ensure an improved outcome to that interaction.

The key insight for me therefore is that a ‘Head Full of Magic’ (intellectual understanding) alone is not enough. To truly obtain behavioral change, participants require mechanisms that facilitate and support transfer of and longevity of learning.

Three participants dubbed ‘Charlie’s Angels’ during an action learning exercise.

Case study examples

I have chosen two examples in order to demonstrate the success of this programme. One is to reveal the organisational impact of nominating many participants from one organisation.

The second example is looking at the influence that the Leadership Programme has on one individual. Both these examples are far from isolated incidents.

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Organisational Example

ABC Engineering Ltd is the name we will give here for the New Zealand office of a leading global supplier of products, solutions and services in the engineering sector. ABC Engineering Ltd has relied upon Team Management Services Ltd to facilitate Strategic Planning and Team Development Programmes over the last three years.

ABC Engineering Ltd believes that personal growth is only possible in an open, creative and result-orientated environment where there is a strong sense of belonging, where a job well done receives full recognition and where each employee is made to feel that he or she, personally, can make a difference.

The organisation strives to make every employee fully aware of the part he or she plays and of the scope available for personal development. All managers are therefore required to have agreed and approved Individual Development Plans. This ensures the availability of suitable training programmes and knowledge up-dates for present and future work assignments.

With these Individual Development Plans in mind, the Leadership Development Programme Level Two has become the ‘Gold Standard’ for managers. Over a period of two years, all senior and middle managers have attended a Team Management Services Ltd Leadership Programme. All have then used the output from the programme to drive their Individual Development Plans. New managers to the organisation attend the Team Management Services Ltd Leadership Programme within the first year of service.

The resultant organisational impact has been described as a cultural shift. The old culture being one of cynicism and poor performance, the new culture being open enthusiasm and performance focused. This can be measured by the increase in performance well beyond expectations. Other measures, such as staff and customer satisfaction, also support the view that a Cultural Shift has occurred. The writer would not wish to suggest that this transformation was due solely to the intervention of this Leadership Programme. However there is recognition that the Leadership Programme, its tools and methodologies have been a major factor. A good number of those participants have done follow up Team Development Days using the materials and outputs from their Leadership Programme attendance.

Individual Example

Mike Nicholson is now a Trans Tasman Food Service Manager for an Australasian food manufacturing company. When first introduced to Team Management Services Ltd some 5 years ago he was a participant on a Team Development Day. At that time, he was marketing manager for one of the channels within the Food Service Sector of his organisation. He went through the Team Management Wheel with his team of the time.

Mike was able to recognise the value of Team Management Services beyond the workshop he had attended. Mike became a candidate on the Leadership Development Programme Level Two and was able to identify, accept and agree to work on a number of development issues. Mike was an ‘Outer Wheel Thruster-Organiser’ on the Team Management Wheel, with ‘what you see is what you get’ high scores. His style could at times be abrupt; he would also work very long hours, doing most of the work himself, prioritising and delegating being key development areas.

Mike embraced the tools and methodology of the programme, and significant behavioural changes in the areas for development were acknowledged by those around him. By embracing the concepts learnt on the Leadership Programme, Mike was quick to share the benefits with his team. Since attending the programme, Mike has with the wider involvement of his team and the facilitation by Team Management Services developed a robust strategic plan. The Plan drives individual objectives, which than drive personal development priorities. Team Management instruments, including 360° feedback, are utilized to full effect.

Mike, now a more senior manager with a balanced lifestyle, is also nominating candidates for future Leadership Programmes. Success is measured by Mike’s continued improvement in individual and team performance.

Success for Team Management Services is measured in the support shown by Mike’s organisation in the many candidates that have now attended the Leadership programme and the numerous Team planning and Team development workshops that they have had delivered.

Mike is a good example of a candidate who not only found the ‘Head Full of Magic’ but having found it he managed to sustain it and share it with those close to him.

This article was first published within Team Management Systems Case Studies Collection 2003 Edition. Institute of Team Management Studies.

Conclusion

It is no accident that these programmes are supported over and over again by the same organisations. They continue to add considerable value to those organsiations because they realise that future success depends on bringing a continuous flow of skilled, competent leaders and managers through their organisations. If you or any of your team need a Leadership ‘Head full of Magic’ that sticks, and provides the benefits that flow from that, then contact John Richmond on 09-836-5317 or by e-mail john@tms.co.nz.

The next article on Leadership will consider how to maximize Leadership learning and development through 360° feedback.

Would you like to become accredited to use the TMS profiles?
Would you like to investigate having TMS profiles facilitated for you and your team?
Would you like to learn more abour leadership?

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Peter Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Team Management Services Ltd.

P.O. Box 21-194, Henderson, Waitakere 0650, New Zealand
Tel: 64-9-836-5317 Fax 64-9-836-5318
email: peter@tms.co.nz
Website: www.tms.co.nz

© 2011 Team Management Services