A Team with a Vision

"Jerry ... designed a very good programme (at a very reasonable price). The results were immediate and amazingly effective." (Mary Kerr, Senior Bursar of St Hugh's College and former Chair of MORE Finance)

The members of a Senior Management team in a prestigious higher education provider had all arrived in post within a relatively short period of time. They had worked hard to renew and revitalise their own sections, but needed to develop a sense of shared vision, and to understand the institution's commitment to their personal and professional development.

In consultation with the team leader, it was agreed that each member should complete an MBTI assessment with individual feedback, leading to a team day in which the insights gained could be put to work in fun, engaging ways.

Members of the team were excited to discover more about themselves and gained a great sense of appreciation of one another's distinctive contributions to the organisation. As the day progressed, MBTI insights were used to enable the team to develop a vision of the organisation in ten years' time, and to begin to visualise what high achievement would look like.

Following extremely positive feedback after the first day (below), further days were planned to develop specific objectives and strategies for implementing the vision, to deepen understanding and relationships, and develop communication skills.

What the team said ...

"Helped with overall team bonding/understanding... greater understanding of colleagues as they opened up... great interaction and communication... the day was enjoyable and the time moved a lot faster than anticipated... appreciate that creating a good management team takes a lot of effort... helped me to start thinking about the team's potential... insight about how I am currently working and how I can improve it... very enlightening... knowing that as a team we are on the same wavelength."

Managing Transition

“It’s been an exciting five years and I am grateful to Jerry for working with me to make the most of the opportunity I had. The regular stocktake and overview with Jerry of what was going on was hugely helpful. I grew far more rapidly in both confidence and competence with Jerry’s coaching support than if I had attempted to tackle the change alone. The sessions with him helped me clear the intellectual and emotional clutter and focus on the key issues at each stage; to be explicit about the basis for the choices I took; and to develop some sense of coherence in a new pattern of work and new way of working that initially felt bewilderingly bitty and complicated.”

Help was requested by a senior NHS executive who was leaving the health service after a successful management career, and seeking to develop an alternative role in the voluntary and community sector; the change of work focus occurring at a time of significant change in his personal & family circumstances also. Five years on he is well established in his chosen field. Twice yearly meetings over a five year period helped him in:
- reflecting on the scale and nature of the transition he faced, including its emotional and spiritual dimension, and exploring a possible process for managing it
- thinking through what kind of contribution he really wanted to make in the voluntary & community sector, and in evaluating which of a number of options to pursue
- adjusting to a new way of working: home based, juggling a collection of projects which varied in type, timescale and field
- coping with a rapid learning curve in fields new to him
- reviewing what skills, techniques & reference points from his previous experience remained relevant in the new scenario and what needed to be left behind or adapted
- learning how to achieve greater integration in the new cluster of projects, finding common elements and ways of using similar material or approaches in widely differing contexts
- sticking with periods of uncertainty or ambiguity, allowing time for new possibilities to emerge
- in one context, facing and tackling an ethical concern with the organisation involved in an appropriate way

A New Direction

"Through coaching and mentoring I have become more confident in my ability and the value I can add to the business."

A successful and high-achieving manager in the financial sector requested mentoring support during a period of intense and stressful activity at work, which involved building a new team from two previously existing ones. Despite her great track record, she struggled to believe that she was equipped for this challenge.

Meetings were set up to monitor and support her progress every two months through this process, and exercises set to build her confidence and self-awareness. The work challenge was completed ahead of time. She was then enabled to clarify a new direction for her life (in conjunction with the company's HR department) as a period of ill-health led her to take a new direction. Mentoring enabled her to approach the transition from her stable employment with greater freedom, and a new chapter of her life has now begun.

A New World

"...an extremely effective coach... set me on a new far healthier lifestyle path... supported me to take control/responsibility..."

After some years gaining wide experience in the field, a young woman was appointed to a senior research position in a major voluntary organisation. It was also a time of huge personal transition, as she moved from a familiar environment and left behind an important but painful personal relationship. Despite her competence and success, it was clear to her that she would benefit from some help in making the most of these transitions, and in reshaping her professional and personal life.

Regular meetings scheduled over a six month period provided the structure needed to enable her to address each of the areas of her life in turn, and to take control of each in creative ways. Completing the MBTI preference indicator was one tool which helped her to begin to recognise and celebrate her strengths, and to release them in appropriate ways at work and in her personal life. As she learned to set realistic goals for herself and to manage herself better, she was excited to discover new strengths in many areas of her life.

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