Background
Wilson Learning Bulgaria was appointed by a large, well-established, multinational FMCG company to help with a particular personnel situation. Although we had spoken with the company before, it was the first time we had directly worked together.
The brief posed a number of challenges. A new General Manager had recently been appointed. The company was very hierarchical, and the existing Board of Directors comprised many very strong individuals, each well-established and long-serving. The methods and processes of each department were therefore firmly ingrained in the corporate psyche, and early meetings between the new GM and the team had indicated that they would not be entirely forthcoming with open support, instead expecting him to drive the process entirely. There was a definite need to improve the assimilation process.
This was the first time in a GM role for our client, who had come from a marketing role within the same company. Although he therefore knew the brand well, he was used to a different culture and level of influence. He was also French, rather than Bulgarian, and significantly younger than most of the other Board members, again setting him apart.
We were engaged to help the new General Manager find a way of working more effectively with the Board.
Tools & Approach
We met with the GM initially to understand the situation and the details of the brief. We then put forward our proposal to conduct the Facet5 TeamScape programme for the Board, which was agreed. There is little competition for an approach such as TeamScape in Bulgaria and we were confident this was the right approach for this situation.
We held a two-day TeamScape event in a nearby mountain hotel, combining the Facet5 workshop elements with some additional complimentary outdoor activities to help cement the team camaraderie and enjoyment of the experience.
Facet5 is invaluable in helping to promote understanding and acceptance
Facet5 would, we knew, be invaluable in helping to promote understanding and acceptance between the Board members. In our experience it is well-received by clients, for many reasons. It is valid, comprehensive, and easy to read and understand. It creates great loyalty in users, and translates detailed personality data into business competencies quickly and with clear relevance. It is also accurate, and often offers a different perspective for the user into his or her existing self-perceptions, often inspiring a great deal of self-reflection. It quickly helps colleagues to understand each other, gaining insight into preferences and promoting the need for behavioural flexibility.
The applications of Facet5 are broad and adaptable. It can be used across many areas within any organisation through leadership models and general business competencies to team effectiveness and recruitment and succession planning. In this situation TeamScape was exactly right for the Board, and we were optimistic that the results would be positive.
The TeamScape workshop was extremely well-received by the Board, and the client was very pleased with the whole outcome. They followed through our advice for following up the workshop event by setting individual, interpersonal and team goals, enlisting our help in translating how the personality data could be best used to create meaningful and achievable targets, as well as actually setting the goals for each individual. We were invited to attend the first monthly Board meeting, where they had allotted two hours on the agenda to follow up those goals and assignments.
We continued to follow up with the GM at quarterly intervals to verify the longer-term results, and the feedback continued to be extremely positive. He informed us that the whole process had been so successful that they considered it to be one of the best company initiatives ever run. They presented it at a regional level within six months of the event, and also rolled it out to the management team of their production site.
Facet5 TeamScape helped to give a clear picture of the team and the individuals within it, showing how they interacted and focussing on their areas of strength to promote greater team synergy. By creating a common language within the organisation, it enabled better communication around attitudes, motivators and challenges, making difficult conversations easier to have and conflicts easier to resolve. It created a much better sense of team, and helped to embed the new leader in his role, despite the numerous obstacles in his way at the outset. The whole project was a great success, and a good example of how Facet5 can transform the landscape of a team at any level of an organisation.
Facet5 TeamScape helped to give a clear picture of the team and the individuals within it, showing how they interacted and focussing on their areas of strength to promote greater team synergy.
Facet5 supported creating a common language within the organisation; it enabled better communication around attitudes, motivators and challenges, making difficult conversations easier to have and conflicts easier to resolve.
Continue the conversation
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