Transitional Space - Individual, Team and Organisational Development

Top Team Development and Leadership Programmes

Transitional Space uses a unique approach to Top Team Development through a combination of individual and group interventions that address individual, team and organisational issues in the appropriate forum at the appropriate time.

Typically the personalities of the top team are an important factor in defining the culture of the organisation and represent a microcosm of all that's best and worst in the organisation. Conflicts within the top team for instance, can have far reaching effects on the organisation's ability to operate effectively across boundaries.

In addition most top team members benefit from having confidential individual sessions where they can explore and work through issues raised within the team sessions.

Typically, individual sessions might focus on:

Individual personal development
Coaching on live management issues
The role of the individual in the group's development
Leadership development plan
The individual's contribution to the team
Career Planning
Work/life balance

Team sessions need to have two agendas:

Identification of the major team and organisational issues that the team needs to address and the strategies to tackle them.
Focus on how the team is going to maximise its effectiveness in addressing the tasks.
Additionally top teams need to explore the ways in which their leadership style impacts the organisation and how they can leverage that.

Leadership

Using a combination of one-to-one sessions and Leadership programmes Transitional Space has established a track record in developing both current and future leaders.

We have developed a leadership model for managing change at three levels:

Rational business level.
Stakeholder and 'political' level.
Emotional/behavioural level.

To effect real change in an organisation a leader has to be operating at all three levels.

Our approach is informed by the following values:

Leadership development is a process rather than an event or series of events. It needs to be connected into the life of the organisation
Any intervention should reflect real issues, real goals and processes that contribute to business effectiveness.

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MODUS
(Model of Organisational Development & Understanding)

Organisations managing change often encounter obstacles.
Have you experienced some of the following?

Silo structures and lack of corporacy
Disparate parts are internally preoccupied
There's a focus on efficiency and inputs rather than effectiveness and outcomes
There seem to be critical gaps in key business indicators
The organisation never seems to learn from the past
There's initiative overload
Access to resources controlled by a few people
Structures dominate the decision-making process
Hierarchies (formal and informal) prevail
There are hidden agendas
It's difficult to get things done
People always need to ask for permission
Managers micro manage rather than lead
People are risk adverse
Conflict tends to be avoided
Little tolerance for ambiguity
It seems that change has to be somehow contained & controlled
People react against change and feel vulnerable when it occurs
Managers must have all the answers

The Modus model seeks to explain how the management and leadership of change is at its most successful when an integrated approach is taken, addressing concurrently the three factors that go to make up an organisational system.

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Description of the Modus model

The Modus model suggests that there are three primary components that contribute to the ongoing effectiveness of the organisation:

The rational business mode
The nexus of power & influence, and
The emotional resilience of its managers and staff.

Typically for an organisation to be functioning well it must have its structures, systems, planning processes and policies aligned to its corporate vision and mission.

In addition the leadership of the organisation (giving point and purpose to the organisation as a whole and individual and team roles and responsibilities) needs to be visibly demonstrated and enacted. This involves the exercise of power and authority by the right people, in the right direction at the right time.

On the whole, organisations achieve their objectives through people as a primary or secondary input. The motivation, productivity and potential of these people (managers, employees, partners, etc) is largely a result of their emotional well-being in as much as it relates to the working environment.

Any organisation wishing to successfully manage change and develop itself needs to address all three factors, even when just one seems to be the natural focus of attention.

Any manager worth their salt will also seek to address all three factors when leading change.

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THE RATIONAL BUSINESS MODE

Qualities associated with organisations operating effectively in the rational Business Mode include:

They are Future Orientated - decisions are based around future scenarios rather than past practice
They have Shared Vision throughout their organisation and networks
They have Clear Direction
Individuals and groups are enabled to work in empowered ways with a good working understanding and knowledge of the business and how they are contributing to it
Flexible, networked, connected - has excellent information structures
Clearly identified performance indicators for business success
They have clear customer and market orientation
Partnerships working and strategic alliances present no problems
Effective management and leadership practice are central
They manage the attraction, retention and development of their staff to the maximum
Identification and development of organisational core competences
Strong performance and development cultures (high challenge/high support)
Creativity and innovation are enabled and maximised
There are strong project management and team working practices

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POWER & INFLUENCE

Qualities associated with organisations operating effectively in the Power & Influence Mode include:

There is Distributed Leadership
The organisation is seen and experienced as Valuing Diversity in its approach to its employees and other stakeholders
Stakeholders/partners have genuine voice and input to decision making (particularly in public service organisations)
There tends to be flatter structures and efficient horizontal processes
There is a culture of experimentation
Power and authority isn't merely 'top- down' but distributed across projects and work groups according to task
It is easy to 'do business with and in'
Individuals are empowered

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EMOTIONAL APTITUDE

Qualities associated with organisations operating effectively with Emotional Aptitude include:

Staff and managers see change as natural
There is much talk about the vision, which is in turn related to different audiences
There is a demonstration of Emotional Intelligence -

Self control
Self awareness
Social awareness
Social skills …….. and this is developed in others
Account is taken of the emotional process in change and management actions are aligned to support it
There is a willingness to learn and develop tolerance for ambiguity
There is a demonstration of forthright communication and listening behaviours
There is a culture of facilitation and a 'facilitating environment'
Organisational values are used to provide the framework for change
There is communication at all levels, formally and informally
Curiosity and experimentation are part of the way of life
Contention, conflict and challenge are managed well.

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LEADERSHIP

WHAT is this leadership thing?

It's about taking risks
It's about taking responsibility
You can separate management activity from leadership activity
Leaders need to move up the food chain from management
Everyone needs to demonstrate leadership to some degree
Leaders transform and move things on

What's the difference that you can see? Leaders are:

Surprising
Reflective
Push boundaries
Act to get things done
Are wise
Inspiring
Thoughtfully present
Creative
Stimulating
Catalysts

The whole thing should start from the top

But goes all the way down - it's about culture change

Leaders make a difference - today and every day

What have you done today to demonstrate leadership?

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