Group Process Consultation: Helping Teams See Themselves

Is your team stuck in circular conversations? Are decisions unclear? Is collaboration harder than it should be even though your people are very capable? If so, the problem may not be what you’re working on, but how you’re working together.

Group Process Consultation (GPC) is a way of helping teams and leadership groups improve the way they work together. It works not by offering solutions, but by making your group aware of its own dynamics and process: how people interact, communicate, make decisions, solve problems, and involve each other.

Research consistently shows that effectiveness in these group processes give better outcomes, decisions and productivity. Professor J. Richard Hackman’s work on team effectiveness highlights that beyond individual skills, the quality of a team’s processes determines long-term performance. Similarly, Amy Edmondson’s research into psychological safety shows that teams perform better when people feel safe to speak up, challenge thinking, and contribute openly, something that depends entirely on group dynamics. At MIT, researchers studying collective intelligence found that the most successful teams weren’t the ones with the highest individual IQs, but those where people participated evenly in discussions and showed awareness of others’ perspectives.

Based on Edgar Schein’s influential work, GPC is a method that focuses not on giving solutions, but on helping your group see and understand its own working patterns. By improving how your team communicates, decides, and collaborates, GPC supports better outcomes, better decisions, and a more productive team overall.

Leaders usually bring me in when progress is slower than it should be, conversations stay surface-level, and the “people side” is holding back delivery. You’ve likely tried other interventions that haven’t shifted things.

Using GPC skills when facilitating groups is a way of working that focuses not just on what the group are doing, but how they are working together. It helps teams see themselves more clearly, work through stuck dynamics, build real participation and shared ownership, make better, clearer decisions and strengthen collaboration for the long term. The work helps teams see and improve how they think as a system.

What happens during a GPC Workshop?

Instead of giving solutions or directing outcomes, the consultant supports the group to understand its own dynamics and solve its work-based problems more effectively.

• The consultant observes the group as it works, noticing patterns such as who participates and who does not, how decisions are made, and how conflict or uncertainty are handled.

• These observations are shared back with the group in a constructive and non-judgmental way to raise awareness of behaviours and patterns.

• By highlighting these dynamics, the consultant helps the group reflect, discuss, and decide how to work together differently. This might mean creating space for more inclusive participation, clearer decision-making, or better ways to handle disagreements.

• The goal is not simply to fix a single meeting or workshop, but to help the group build the skills to manage its own process. Over time, the group becomes more effective without external support.

Why it is useful

• Supports inclusive decision-making so all voices are heard, not just the dominant few.

• Because the group works on its own dynamics, any changes are more likely to stick.

• The group learns how to self-correct and improve together, leading to sustainable change.

• Unlike traditional consulting that often tells people what to do, process consultation helps people find their own way forward. This builds capacity instead of dependency.

• It’s a method that can be useful in pretty much all organisation development work including cultural change, exec coaching and team building

 When Should I be Using Group Process Consultation?

Organisations typically reach out when they are facing a challenge like this:

“We know we need to work better together but something about how we are working isn’t helping. We cannot quite put our finger on it.”

You might recognise your situation in one of these scenarios:

• Conversations feel stuck or surface-level. Key issues stay unspoken.

• Decisions are hard to make or difficult to implement. You leave meetings unclear about what has actually been agreed, and follow-through is patchy.

• Tensions exist but are not spoken about. Conflict is avoided or mishandled, leading to silos, low trust, or slow progress.

• You have tried telling people what needs to change, but it hasn’t worked. Resistance shows up, sometimes subtly, sometimes directly.

• You are facing a complex challenge without clear answers and need collective thinking, but the group is not working as one.

• Leaders are capable individually but not operating effectively together. The team is not functioning as a team.

When you work with me using Group Process Consultation you will notice I help your team to see how they are working, not just what they are working on. We notice less helpful patterns and shift them in real time through observation, sense making, discussion and idea generation in co creation. We build inclusive dialogue where all voices can be heard. Decisions are made with clarity and shared ownership. The group handle tensions and differences constructively. And the group builds reflective skills and capacity for lasting collaboration.

• I do not “take the problem away” or deliver a pre-packaged solution.

• I create a space where your group can see itself more clearly.

• Together we improve how you think, decide, and act as a group.

• Solutions become more robust because they are co-created in a healthier group dynamic.

You do not need to wait for a crisis to get in touch. Leaders often engage me when progress is slower than it should be, or you know the “people side” is holding back the work but are not sure why. Perhaps you want to strengthen your team’s collaborative capacity and not just deliver a short-term outcome.

If you feel the strain of working in complexity and think the way your people work together could be the key to unlocking progress, that is the right time to reach out. If you’re feeling the strain of complexity and want to unlock progress, get in touch. Very happy to talk.

Who’s In, Who’s Out and Why It Might Be Undermining Your Culture

In-group and out-group dynamics have been on my mind a lot recently, and not just because they keep surfacing with clients. They show up across organisations - within teams, at Executive level, and in HR cases. They come up everywhere, from social media echo chambers to how world leaders operate.

It’s also led me to revisit Paul Gilbert’s work on how our evolutionary brain processes social relationships. There’s a lot in it that can help us understand how organisations function - and malfunction.

Where We See It

In-group and out-group dynamics appear in all sorts of organisational settings:

• Teams with clear favourites

• Executives being subtly (or not-so-subtly) pushed out

• People fired for being a “poor fit”

• Cases of bullying or discrimination

It’s not always so obvious. Sometimes it’s about who gets attention, who gets included in decisions or not, who’s trusted with the tricky stuff, and who isn’t.

Why It Happens

This goes back to our older brain. Long before organisations and job titles existed, humans had to manage threats and compete for limited resources like food and territory. That meant we needed ways to judge social rank quickly: who was stronger, who was safer to challenge, and who we should avoid confronting.

According to Gilbert, this deep wiring affects how we process relationships. We compare ourselves to others constantly, which creates feelings of pride or shame, assertiveness or submission, confidence or anxiety. It’s a social sorting system - and it can take a toll on our wellbeing because this inferior or superior social ranking can set off our threat response.

About two million years ago, though, we evolved newer capacities. Alongside threat and competition, we developed a caring system. Attachment became part of our survival: recognising distress in others, responding to it, helping, being helped. Cooperation, fairness, and group belonging became crucial, not just for individuals, but for whole communities.

This caring drive is powerful. It’s what makes us want to contribute, to help solve problems, to participate and collaborate, to have a sense of purpose. People want to do that for their group, their organisation, as long as they don’t feel taken advantage of. It’s still important for us to monitor give and take, and have a fair exchange. This helps ensure we’re not risking rejection or disadvantage.

Crucially, it’s important to note the role of social systems, which can cultivate intensely destructive behaviours towards outgroup members - or create environments that encourage the opposite. By social system, we may mean an educational system, an economic, political, legal or healthcare system, or communication systems such as media networks or social media. Or a work based organisation. Where in-groups and out-groups compete, the social system has a huge influence on what happens to the out-group.

Why This Matters for Leaders

When the “old brain” dynamics of threat and exclusion are active, people experience real emotional consequences: shame, paranoia, anxiety, a sense of not belonging. The risk of being outgrouped can be so great that people will align themselves with those in power, even if it means compromising their values.

Sometimes this shows up in subtle ways like exec dysfunction, growing mistrust, disengagement. Other times, it’s more overt in open power plays. We’re seeing political figures use these dynamics to great effect on our world stage now. In organisations, they can quietly destabilise culture, performance, and trust. 

Gilbert’s work offers a useful lens for this: are we creating systems that support ranking, threat, and fear - or ones that nurture fairness, belonging and contribution?

A Leadership Challenge

Leader-Member Exchange theory tells us that leaders naturally form different relationships with different people. But when those relationships start to split into “in” and “out” groups, because of preferential relationships it affects morale, performance, and trust.

It’s worth asking:

• Do I give some people more access to me? More of my attention?

• Who gets more information, support or stretch opportunities?

• Do I allocate more resources or time to certain individuals?

If so, you may be reinforcing a culture where people compete for proximity to power, and that can undermine your leadership authority and create the conditions for less engagement and increased conflict.

Compassion as an Antidote

One way through this is compassion. It’s not soft; it’s strategic. Compassionate leadership recognises and responds to people’s emotional needs, creates psychological safety, and reinforces a sense of belonging. It values contributions and nurtures fairness.

It’s also a practical response to the “old brain” threats. When people feel safe, they perform better. When they feel part of something, they engage more. When they’re valued, they contribute more ideas.

If you’re in the outgroup, or coaching someone who is, there are also boundary skills to support resilience: naming what’s happening, stating needs clearly, staying focused, staying calm, and being open to negotiation. That self-confidence and clarity are essential when power dynamics get tricky.

Why This Is Hard

At the organisational level, this gets more complex. Cultures carry their own versions of in and out - from unspoken power structures to more systemic issues like racism or sexism. In many cases, these dynamics go unacknowledged because they’ve become part of the norm.

That’s why developing leaders who understand this, and can foster a culture of inclusion, is a long-term investment. Inclusion and wellbeing are essential for performance.

The Impact on Culture and Performance

Organisations that focus on compassion and inclusivity tend to see:

• Higher engagement - people feel seen and valued

• Better collaboration - there’s space for open dialogue

• More innovation - because diverse voices get heard

• Lower turnover - people stay where they feel they belong

In contrast, if your culture rewards superiority, allows marginalisation, or subtle bullying, you can expect the opposite: disengagement, politics, hidden agendas, low trust, high turnover and less creativity.

What to Do Next

1. Self-reflect – Who are you favouring?

2. Listen actively – Hear what’s not being said.

3. Widen inclusion – Broaden who’s in the room.

4. Invest in learning – Develop inclusive, compassionate leadership.

5. Model the tone – Make it clear: everyone’s in.

6. Build quality relationships – Protect, reciprocate, reassure, appreciate.

This is challenging work. In uncertain times, it’s tempting to default to old-brain leadership: tighten control, protect insiders, sideline dissent. But it’s inclusive, compassionate leadership that holds organisations together, especially in uncertain or high-pressure environments that are the norm now. If we don’t take this seriously, the “old brain” can run the show. And that’s rarely good for performance or for people.

If you would like help in navigating any of the dynamics mentioned in this blog, just drop me a line.

What Can Theatre Teach Us About Organisations?

One of my favourite drama theorists during my degree (many moons ago now) was Peter Brook, and his book The Empty Space. It’s a seminal work on theatre theory and practice, in which Brook argues that theatre can be created anywhere: "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage." What matters is the quality of the interaction between performer and audience.

This isn’t unlike organisations, where what really matters is the interaction between people in their various roles - leader, staff member, stakeholder. When I share this with clients: that how you do things matters more than what you do, it’s often met with either knowing looks and vigorous nods, or with reservation, bafflement, even dismissal.

It’s not that I’m saying delivery isn’t fundamental to success. It’s that the culture you develop and the climate you set will have far-reaching consequences. Just this week, I was running a leadership development programme on complexity with leaders working in a tremendously challenging environment. During an Action Learning Set, the group concluded: we can handle delivery, create new processes, and assign tasks. It’s the politics, the culture, the people - that’s the complex unpredictable bit; and fundamental to getting things done.

The world leaders operate in now is adaptive, contested, and uncertain, and increasingly shaped by the volatility of our political climate. The performance of leadership in how leaders show up, interact, and shape the narrative of change matters more than ever. Brook’s four theatre types can help us see which leadership “stages” we’re playing on and which ones we might need to build.

1. Deadly Theatre

Safe, conventional, and lifeless. Deadly Theatre follows tradition without innovation, pleasing audiences with what they expect, but failing to provoke or inspire. Theatre becomes habit rather than discovery.

Deadly Leadership is performative leadership - leaders using the language of transformation while preserving the status quo. The rituals are there: away days, comms cascades, strategy decks. But the work doesn’t shift. It lulls organisations into false certainty, discourages dissent, and maintains hierarchy under the guise of collaboration. People feel it instinctively: “We’re not really allowed to change anything.” So they stop trying.

2. Holy Theatre

Seeks the spiritual and transcendent. It aims to reveal deeper truths or the invisible forces that shape human experience. It draws on mysticism and ritual, but can sometimes become obscure or self-important.

Holy Leadership carries similar risks and rewards. At its best, it calls people to something higher—shared purpose, deep values, collective renewal. It reminds us that work can be meaningful, even spiritual. These leaders are often system stewards or movement-makers, able to hold space for ambiguity and emergence. But Holy Leadership can also drift into abstraction. It becomes inaccessible, detached from the real constraints people live with. Grand visions, with no bridge to practical action. The risk here isn’t lifelessness, but untethered idealism.

3. Rough Theatre

Earthy, populist, and energetic, Rough Theatre engages directly with everyday life. It often uses humour, satire, or improvisation. It’s resourceful and irreverent, connecting with audiences through shared cultural experience. Brook’s Rough Theatre is messy, visceral, and street-level. It values contact over polish, disruption over decorum. It’s alive to the world around it and unafraid to get its hands dirty.

Rough Leadership thrives in complexity because it embraces what’s raw and real. These leaders are grounded, not in hierarchy but in relationship. They listen hard. They adapt on the fly. They value participation over perfection. This kind of leadership works well in environments of flux where answers aren’t known in advance, and where progress depends on learning, iteration, and co-creation. It can feel uncomfortable, even chaotic. But it builds trust through authenticity, and resilience through involvement.

4. Immediate Theatre

The rarest and most powerful form, Immediate Theatre happens when something vital is created in the moment; when the boundary between actor and audience dissolves, and everyone is fully present. Something catches fire between audience and actor. It’s alive, unpredictable, transformative.

Immediate Leadership is much the same. It’s wholly present, attuned to what’s happening now, not clinging to scripts or roles. These leaders sense the system. They read the room. They improvise with purpose. They lead through presence, not position. In times of disruption, Immediate Leadership is gold. It creates spaces where people feel seen, where energy shifts in real time, and where action emerges not from control, but from connection.

Why This Matters Now

Organisations today don’t need more Deadly Leadership, however well-intentioned. They need leaders who can blend the rough with the holy, who can show up immediately and act with meaning.

Brook reminds us that theatre isn’t just what happens on stage, but what happens between people. Leadership is the same. It’s a shared encounter. A live moment. An invitation to respond.

The most impactful leaders now aren’t the best script-readers. They’re the ones who can make the space come alive.

The World Offstage

This doesn’t just matter within organisations, it matters beyond them. We’re living through a time when truth itself feels contested. From the rise of authoritarian leaders like Trump, to the erosion of civil rights, to the spectre of war and climate breakdown, we’re watching a world where gaslighting has become a political tool and public trust is systematically dismantled. It feels increasingly Orwellian: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

In such a climate, how leaders show up inside organisations matters more than ever. Leading with presence, truthfulness, humility and care becomes an act of resistance. A counter-performance. One that doesn’t echo the distortions of the outside world, but offers something more human and alive.

Curiosity Over Confrontation: A CEO’s Guide to Executive Resistance

Organisational transformation starts with ambition. The CEO sees the destination clearly, the strategy is set, and the message is out. But quite often, there's a hitch: the Executive Team isn't fully aligned. On paper, they might be “bought in.” In the room, there may be nods of agreement. But when the rubber meets the road, cracks can appear. 

Suddenly, you start to see hesitations. Doubts. Subtle withdrawals. Factions emerge—not always overtly, but in tone, energy, and choices. Some team members are visibly “for it.” Some are “against it” (even if politely so). And others? They simply drift, unaware they're no longer fully engaged. 

This isn’t a failure of leadership. It’s human nature. A normal part of the transformation process. 

Resistance Isn’t the Enemy - But It Does Need Attention 

Often, resistance in transformation isn't about a lack of understanding or commitment. It's about what people feel they're losing, fear of the change they’ll have to lead, or what’s still unclear. Sometimes it’s about something personal - protecting a legacy, an important part of their identity, or their place within the organisation. Sometimes it's deeply professional, a concern for the teams they lead or uncertainty about what “good” will look like on the other side. And these things can be hard to speak to, especially if you are a senior leader, or often out of awareness. 

Transformation, after all, asks leaders to dismantle what they and their teams know and understand, and rebuild something new - something less defined and without guarantees. That ambiguity is hard to hold and can stir up significant anxiety, even for the most seasoned leaders. 

How Can a CEO Helpfully Respond? 

It’s easy - and understandable - to get frustrated when senior leaders revert to their functional silos or fall back into familiar patterns. But frustration rarely moves things forward and instead often serves to amplify fears and anxieties.  

Experience tells us that dynamics like these require space, curiosity and a process that enables fears and concerns to be named and explored in a non-judgemental way. One approach we often take (with permission) is simple but powerful: we invite the team to listen to us having a conversation about them. Not behind closed doors, but in the room, openly. As consultants, we share what we’re noticing—patterns, tensions, shifts in energy. And we invite the team to reflect on what they have heard, what resonates and what doesn’t, as a pathway to sense-making together.  

When leaders listen without needing to immediately respond, something important happens. They see the dynamic they’re part of. They start to think about their own experience with fresh eyes. They start to understand each other’s perspectives differently. And that creates the opening for real alignment to begin. 

It’s in these moments of shared reflection that the real work begins. Not in the solving or the fixing, but in the listening to what’s emerging beneath the surface. As understanding deepens, alignment begins to grow, not as a demand, but as a choice leaders make together. That’s where momentum starts to build—not through pressure, but through connection.  

This is where external support can make all the difference. When you’re in the system, it’s hard to see the system. As consultants, we’re not entangled in the same dynamics; we bring perspective, language, and structure to what’s often felt but rarely spoken. We can surface the unacknowledged tensions, hold the space when things get uncomfortable, and guide the team through the messiness with expertise, care and clarity. Even the most capable teams need a mirror, a method, and sometimes, a moment of truth to move forward together. 

 The Bottom Line 

If you’re a CEO leading transformation and wondering why the Executive Team isn’t quite moving with you, pause before you push harder. Step into curiosity. Create space for reflection. And invest in the process - not just the plan – because this is where change really happens. 

Transformation isn’t just about where you’re going. It’s about how you bring people with you. 

If you’d value a conversation with us about the change your leading, we’d love to hear from you. Do get in touch for an exploratory conversation.

Moving Forward When Resistance is Strong

Change can feel like a paradox, both exhilarating and unsettling at the same time. For some, change is a breath of fresh air, an exciting opportunity to break free from old patterns and explore something new. There’s a sense of momentum, possibility, and even relief if the status quo was stifling.

For others, change feels like a loss - of certainty, of identity, of control. Even if the change is ultimately positive, the transition can be disorienting. Resistance, anxiety, and nostalgia are very normal.

Change often triggers a mix of hope and fear. People wonder what it means for them—will they gain or lose power, status, or security? Even when leaders recognise the need for it, getting others on board with change can be a different matter entirely. Executive teams might push for transformation, but if they don’t acknowledge the emotional side of change, they risk passive resistance or outright sabotage. As a leader, you may see both the excitement and the friction.

Resistance is often seen as an obstacle to overcome, but what if it’s actually valuable? When others push back on changes to organisational structure, it’s often because they’re protecting something they believe is important—stability, efficiency, or a way of working they feel has served the organisation well. Resistance can highlight risks that might otherwise be overlooked and bring useful challenges to the table. But if resistance becomes entrenched, it can stall progress, create division, and leave leaders struggling to move forward with much-needed transformation.

Unlike most consultants, we bring together both organisation design and organisation development expertise. This is a rare combination, and it matters. Structure alone doesn’t deliver change—people do. And people don’t just respond to a new design; they react to how it’s developed, introduced, what it means for their roles, and how it fits into the deeper organisational culture.

Most organisation design consultants focus on structural blueprints: reporting lines, roles, governance. Development specialists, on the other hand, work on leadership, team dynamics, and culture. We do both. This means we can help you not only create a robust new structure but also guide the executive teams through the psychological and relational shifts needed to make it work.

So, how do we shift from resistance to engagement?

• Listening for the signal in the noise – Resistance often carries valuable information. Instead of pushing against it, we help leaders listen to what’s really being said and use it to refine and strengthen the change approach.

• Aligning the executive team – Change only sticks when leaders embody it. We work with executive teams to surface unspoken concerns, build alignment, and create shared ownership of the new structure.

• Making the invisible visible – Many organisational patterns operate beneath the surface, shaping behaviours and decisions. Through psychodynamic approaches, we help leaders recognise these dynamics and shift them to support change.

• Balancing design with human dynamics – A great structure is nothing without engagement. We ensure that the organisation’s new design is not just technically sound but also culturally and emotionally aligned with its people.

Creating Lasting Change

Change isn’t just about a new structure; it’s about the organisation’s ability to evolve and adapt over time. By working at both the design and development levels, we can help you embed the capability for ongoing change, so you’re not just fixing today’s challenges but future-proofing your organisation.

If you’re a senior leader facing resistance to change, let’s talk. There’s a way forward, and it starts with understanding—not fighting—the dynamics at play.

How can we better support our Educators?

Executive Coaching is not that well known in the world of Education in my experience, and the label often conjures images of remediation or inexperience for this profession, rather than a reflective space for leadership development, strategy development, resilience building, self confidence or enhanced performance and results. I have coached ten headteachers over the last five years. In this blog I seek to demystify coaching for this incredibly important profession, offer a window in to the benefits of coaching for Heads and share reflections on what I have noticed over the last few years, on why coaching works so well for Headteachers.

Head teachers are in quite an isolated position in their role. When I coach CEOs or Executive Teams, they have each other to lean on or the CEO will have trusted confidants they can talk to within an organisation. Because of the small size of a school staff team, they don't have that luxury. Heads do have their Deputies but even then, there are some things they can't discuss with them. The Heads have told me they really value having a safe space to talk about any issue in confidence and develop their thinking on complex matters. Additionally, it helps them gain a broader perspective of issues in what can be a very insular environment.

I notice that the role is a particularly stressful one. In part because of the isolated nature but also because it is "operational" - anything can come up at any time that requires immediate attention. Heads are dealing with risk often, there is sometimes urgency e.g. safe-guarding issues. The coaching gives Heads space to think strategically in the midst of an operational role. It also allows them to restore energy and increases their resilience. There is a lot of growing data about the importance of coaching in creating and maintaining resilience and I see this playing out with those I work with.

Typically leaders want to work on self-confidence, impact and influencing, being personally effective, leadership style and Heads are no different. Coaching is particularly good at developing these skills because its self-reflective. The Heads use the coaching to reflect on their leadership in real life scenarios and decide what they can improve or do differently. Assertiveness, change management and HR issues come up often. The hours coaching provides excellent development for leaders because it is tailored specifically to them and also allows them to apply new learning immediately, and then reflect upon what they have applied. This completes Kolb's Learning cycle in a very effective way, perhaps more effectively than a development programme.

Heads have multiple stakeholders, some of whom can have strong personalities or vested interests and they are regularly on the receiving end of demanding behaviours. Coaching is an excellent tool for developing the interpersonal skills and knowledge of how to handle difficult relationships and strengthen them. The Heads bring these scenarios to coaching frequently and leave knowing what to do to shift the relationship in to a healthy and productive place.

Very often the Head's will bring their most knotty, difficult issues to coaching - the things that are keeping them awake at night, and within that hour go away knowing what to do, what to try next or feeling more confident about how to tackle the issue. The Heads report to me that they find the coaching invaluable. It is something they look forward to each month where they can give time to themselves, perhaps for the first time that month; stop, reflect and plan, re-energise and restore, develop and learn. 

With the importance Headteachers have in helping shape our society and educate our children, I would love to see more Academies, Local Education Authorities and even the Department for Education providing this kind of leadership development and support to our Heads and other school leaders too. I’d love to know your thoughts…please get in touch if you would like to know more about the work I do and how I can help you and your organisation to centre relationship and reflection for the best long-term results and outcomes. 

Does Culture eat Strategy for Breakfast?

What are we really on about when we talk about culture in organisations? It seems nebulous to many of us and really what we are talking about is a set of values and beliefs shared in an organisation that are enacted upon and shape the way things are done. They underpin the rules and assumptions that the group of people, brought together in an organisation hold. Shared values and beliefs run through the organisation and inform actions and decisions. That’s it really, and it has a big impact on how business gets done.

Some places of work have these beliefs and values written down and some do not. Very few find that the lived values are the same as the ones that have been written on the poster.  The real culture lives in the myriad of actions and decisions taken each day by leaders and staff. Many executive leaders don’t know what their organisations culture is, and know less how to influence it, and so it gets forgotten about. But if Drucker was right, if culture eats strategy for breakfast, what does that mean for organisations that don’t pay attention to it? Have you ever wondered why your strategy isn’t understood by employees, or isn’t being delivered?

The good news is there is plenty you can do to influence it. Culture is driven by the vision and mission of the organisation and by the daily behaviours of management and employees. Traditionally seen as a soft concept, executives now know that it impacts the bottom line through productivity, engagement, diversity, equality and inclusion, absenteeism and high staff turnover.

Just like a countries culture, it will be incredibly complex because it is shaped by and includes a vast number of hugely complex and unpredictable human beings. There isn’t a good and bad – the question is, does the culture aid you in achieving your strategy, or work against you?

Some things you can do to influence the culture you want to see in your organisation are:

·       Think about your own values and beliefs. These will play out and underpin how you lead. Is there anything you may like to enact differently to create different responses in those around you?

·       What are the values and beliefs of the whole executive team? Are you role modelling what you want others to do? Development of self-awareness is key because employees will unconsciously copy you – both what you do and how you do it. Alignment of the executive team is key, if you want to see consistent behaviour in your organisation.

·       Create a clear sense of purpose and mission and ensure this is regularly communicated and talked about, particularly in how it is applied. Ensure everything is aligned to core values and roles are clear.

·       Increase engagement and trust with staff. Foster good communication with and between employees.

·       Use a tool like Johnson & Scholes Culture Web to provide a framework for understanding and analysing your culture.

·       Storytelling can have an incredibly powerful effect on influencing culture – what stories to others tell about what goes on and how, what stories can you tell? We see this in society too – what influence have stories had on culture, what reflection of it are they?

·       Keep monitoring how you’re working and talking about it – and keep nurturing what you want to see more of.

In Organisation Development, we are interested in noticing patterns, not problems. We notice patterns and experiment with shifting the patterns, so they are more productive, healthy and fit for your strategy delivery. At Clare Joghee, Organisation Development Ltd. we specialise in relational work, and are experts in psychodynamics in teams and organisations. We develop Executive Teams to work at their most productive, shift culture in organisations and develop leaders to work at their best.  We can help you to understand what patterns exist in your organisation’s culture and some of the complex ways culture has been created and is maintained. We work on how you can influence change, and work with you to develop that. We work with your people to develop the internal capability for that journey to continue.

What story do you want to be able to tell?

What’s in the Shadows?

It follows you; it mimics you. In story telling it’s the murky frightening tell tale sign of foreboding, or badness, of threat. A shadow is made from blocking light; the darkness is a mirror image of ourselves appearing behind us. And in Jungian terms, it’s the bit of ourselves we repress, we’re told is not socially acceptable. An unconscious aspect of ourselves that our conscious does not see.

How ready are you to admit that perhaps you do not like having to stop and wait for others? That you much prefer to work alone. Or perhaps you put your own needs before others and manage to veil that successfully, usually. Are you an over achiever who likes to win, who in fact, would win at all costs, any cost? What about the bit of you that is just fed up with other people, actually?

We find it hard to admit these shadow parts of ourselves to our own minds, let alone others. And we are very skilled at repression; it serves its purpose in helping us survive, to get along with others within the cultural norms taught to us from birth. If we are told a part of us is unacceptable, shameful, what do we do with it than hide it? We can’t cut it off. And it is in that very attempt to hide a part of ourselves that something unhealthy happens to us. When something is unknown, how can it be managed? Perhaps it could be used in the times its helpful, or managed the times it isn’t?

And this psychology happens in organisations, too. Organisations are at one level; brands, mission statements, structures, organograms, sales figures, margins, capital shares, policies. And the way they really work is that they are collections and networks of people who communicate with each other and work to some common purpose. Because organisations are really networks of people, the organisation can have a collective conscious, a personality type, a shadow side, just like our own minds. This is how culture is created and influenced – its not the poster about values on the wall. That’s why culture doesn’t change when you change those words on the poster. Our culture is the accumulation of a group of people’s psychologies and behaviours, with those in the organisation with most power, having the most influence on the culture.

What is your organisations shadow, and why does it matter? If we don’t know the ways that we work, don’t notice, don’t talk about how can they be managed, what risk do they pose, what opportunities are missed? Only when we integrate ourselves as a whole, with all our nuances and idiosyncrasies can we be healthy.

Where are the cliques, the power struggles, the grapevine, the intimidation, the mavericks, the favours, the restrictive ways of working, the cutting of corners, the turning a blind eye, the gossiping? What can’t be spoken about here? What can’t be expressed or felt? These sorts of questions are where we begin to understand our own shadows. What happens in your organisation that you don’t like, but you ignore it so fast you barely remember it?

The personal development work I am doing at the moment is focused on removing all cultural norms in a “human lab” to expose all parts of our selves, in a group and accept and integrate these. Its scary stuff! And I have noticed I feel happier sometime afterwards. In organisation culture change work, we are asking staff, managers, leaders with the most power; to notice, acknowledge and accept the organisations shadows, to openly talk about them. To turn the lights on. Shadows can’t be measured or quantified or controlled. They can’t be changed or cut off. Unless you’re Peter Pan, and even he wanted his back. When we know about our shadow, not only can we work with its impact, but it can also tell us something very useful; data about our organisation, and about ourselves.

Do get in touch if you want to explore your organisation’s culture and how to influence change through acceptance.

Stories and Strategies

“A myth is only reality seen with imagination and some poetry”. 

I recently went on a cruise around the Mediterranean, leaving my brave husband behind with both young children, and a puppy. This was the first time I had been apart from the girls for more than a couple of nights, and was a big step in both separating myself for so long, and getting some parts of myself back.  

The wonderful quote above was a phrase that my tour guide in Sicily used when he was guiding us to Mount Etna. In the back drop of the Roman Theatre at Taormina and Pompeii, I was reminded of Dramatherapy’s use of myths and stories to explore the roles we play. 

Development of using drama as therapy has been dated back to the 18th century around Europe but we know that dance, rhythm, storytelling, and rituals were used long before that in the Greek and Roman traditions. 

One of the techniques used in Dramatherapy is dramatic distancing, where emotional and psychological problems are accessed more easily through metaphor. By creating distance to problems it can make them easier to tolerate and to work with. 

The offering of this style of therapy is its ability to move out of the spoken word into a creative language, a language we all possess even if forgotten or hidden. This is achieved through physical movement and embodiment, sensory exploration, use of archetypes, understanding the meaning of resonant images and cultural significance as much as storytelling. It is working with what is unspoken, what is held in the body, what we learn from sharing experiences.

The use of metaphor and working with distance in Gareth Morgan’s “Images of Organisation” holds some parallels. Johnson and Scholes Cultural Web, Business Constellations, Embodied Coaching, and of course Storytelling, which has been expedited as an effective business tool owing in large part to TED Talks.

A myth, a story, builds trust, cultivates norms, transfers tacit knowledge, facilitates unlearning, and generates emotional connections. It’s a smart way of exchanging knowledge in organisations and is regularly used by leaders in managing change and influencing others.

I am wondering how Dramatherapy techniques can be used more regularly in OD and business? How far can this be taken? What would we better understand about our organisations if we were to improvise and enact a play about what’s happening there? The roles we play? What can we glean from it’s contextual significance? What Myths it reminds us of? To ask questions of images? To explore what is held in our bodies, in how we embody a character, in accessing new data sources that are part of us and yet ignored?

Do you know anywhere this is already happening to solve a problem, delve into truths about the self or leadership, understanding culture or transcend personal patterns of behavior and interpersonal interaction?

I wonder to what extent the ancient knowledge from the Mediterranean coast holds fundamental truths that build organisations now. After all, then and now, organisations are made of people, with all of our complexities, idiosyncrasies and history. 

Containing Complexity

If you’ve been privy to the human dynamics of being in a family, you’ll be au fait with complexity. Often it’s easy to avoid human dynamics because it’s hard to understand. But it can be very useful not to avoid it because we can use complexity in creative process, and as part of a strategy for change.

If we see the organisation, as a machine – easy and clear, we are given the illusion of control. Planned change, a project plan, a clear outline for change or creation gives us secure and certain answers. Then real life happens. Without understanding of complexity, plans are valueless.

A complexity approach requires stepping outside of silos, flat hierarchical structure, and flexibility. Organic systems, unlike machines, can’t be controlled. Their properties aren’t planned, but appear unpredictably as a result of complex interdependencies. This isn’t cause and effect, its non-linear. Have you ever provided all the right circumstances for a plant to grow, and seen it wither slowly in the pot? Or forgotten all about a poor plant, only to find that surprisingly, it’s survived. If you’ve a lack of green fingers, as I have you might relate to this!

We can’t control what emerges but we can grasp opportunities through creating structure, establishing regular practice around emerging positive changes. Just as experimenting with a few ingredients can result in a signature dish that requires a recipe, or a marriage institutionalises a once emerging relationship, we can create containers for emergent change. Changes, whether in families or organisations happen not through long-term planning, but by people reacting to the circumstances that come to them. Most organisations don’t know what is coming – who the new leader will be, what next year’s strategy will be, what the next restructure will bring.

To achieve this emergent approach to strategy, this adoption of complexity theory we must encourage the emergence of creativity and innovation. We must allow experimentation and accidents, notice them, nurture them and provide containers for them. Ultimately we must let the system, the collection of people, neurons and the unpredictable nature of collective conscience get on with doing what it does best –unpredictably creating new things. 

So what’s emerging around you, that you are going to contain?

Pain and Voice

I used to go running as a child. I remember the heat and pain in my sternum, the hot blood pumping around my head, in the winter my hands itching under my gloves.  My Dad and I used to run together a lot, the rhythm of our trainers pounding the ground together. It was through running that I learnt to push through pain, push it down and keep going through gritted teeth, ignore it and not notice it to get through the burn.

I wonder how many leaders deploy the same technique when managing complex change in their organisations. Do you grit your teeth and push through? Or pay attention to the pain, the unheard voices? How important is it to notice our own discomfort, as well as the discomfort with in our system?

I've met many a leader who sees strength in sticking to their guns, delivery focused, rarely swaying from plans. Useful for seeing through delivery of an objective in large and complex systems. Not so useful for agility and adapting when things change. Which in a complex system, is all the time. The world, as we know is full of uncertainty and unpredictability. We’re not dealing with linear processes, just like any large system.  

Pain tells us something, as a felt physical sensation it draws our attention to be more present and embodied. We notice and experience what the system is experiencing. We might create a moment to reflect on how to restore. How useful this is as a diagnostic tool, something to bring our conscious to our cognitive dissonance. If we ignore the voices expressing pain, those same voices are very likely to stall any change process we’re trying to realise. We move towards what we pay attention to. Just noticing pain is a useful compass to check where we’re going. Hearing our own unheard voice, as well as our systems’ is one of the most effective tools we have.

Does something hurt in your organisation? Get in touch for a free consultation: 07852 140342.

Followship and Gender

Last week I met with the inspirational Angela Peacock, Chair of the People Development Team (www.pdtglobal.com ) who specialise in building inclusive cultures that drive higher productivity and organisational performance. On International Women’s Day, I was interested in the rate of progress for women in the talent pipeline and how inclusion makes a difference to an organisations performance.

The Equal Opportunities Commission shows women are still well behind men in key success measures including numbers of women at senior levels in organisations. According to recent reports, those most likely to be discriminated in the job market are women with children under 11. Women still make up a very small proportion of top leadership roles.

When we discuss gender issues in leadership, is it about hitting targets and quotas, or are we interested in questions of leadership style, culture, and how we recognise power, and whether the qualities of alpha male leaders are the same as what makes businesses successful? In order to achieve boardroom success, have women had to become just like men? Do we ever hear of the behaviours of the alpha woman? We have typically been conditioned to believe that emotions are not welcome in the workplace and that leadership performance is all about cold and logical understanding and tough decision making. Research tells us that a lack of interpersonal skills is one of the main factors in leadership failure. With leaders in organisations spending up to 80% of their time talking and understanding others, changing the nature of how people communicate with each other has a huge impact. So is the question not whether women are ʻman enoughʼ to work at the top of organisations, but whether a leader can flex in to the traditionally female domain of communication, relational and emotional understanding.

So what will bring about a faster rate of change than the tortoise-led progress made to date? Don’t we all carry in us some idea that leadership is a quality you have or you don’t, as a fixed entity? In reality leadership has something to do with the connection and relationship between leader and follower. And so perhaps the responsibility lies with the volumes of followers, us all as followers, to change the situation for female leaders to reassess what we expect of leaders, and that doesn’t need to mean alpha male. Is this where the conversation, and the dialogue within organisations needs to go next?

To further explore gender and leadership within your organisation, and how it can influence your productivity and organisational health, get in touch for an initial conversation with me.

The confidence of doing

In beginning my new venture, setting up as an independent OD consultant this winter, I’ve faced a number of threatening fears and perceived dangers. I’m leaving a well paid job to face an unknown income. What if I crash and burn in a self employed quantum of despair?  If it weren’t for my excellent coach, I would have in all likelihood got stuck in a vortex of procrastination. I was reminded of Lynn Isabella’s “evolving Interpretations as a change unfolds” – the patterns of understanding that people experience whilst part of a change process. My mind was stuck in the aniticipation stage, spreading rumours and filling in the vacuum of activity with fantasy, without clear understanding of what my new world was going to look like.

We make our paradigms as a result of our experience of ourselves, others and the world. They help us to interact with the world without having to constantly determine what we see and how we should react. But when we notice when they’re hindering us, and not helping us it’s a powerful thing that can bring personal change, avoiding stagnation by expanding our self awareness.

So like an exposure programme, I confronted the fear I was least anxious about. I created this website.  I was reminded that once you begin doing, rather than worrying, you raise your tolerance for frustrations and concerns and with real life exposure realise it’s not that bad, it is possible and achievable.  This is a great technique in coaching for raising confidence and self belief over a period of time. By avoiding avoiding, you focus the mind on what you want to achieve rather than what might go wrong – and you manifest that which you focus on.