VISIBLE CHANGES IN EXECUTIVE TEAM BEHAVIOUR AND LEADERSHIP

When Paul Satoor joined Wirral Council as Chief Executive, he inherited an Executive Team that had experienced significant organisational change. Members had different levels of senior leadership experience, varying lengths of tenure and were coming together at a time of considerable uncertainty.

Alongside establishing a new leadership team, the Council was navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring leaders to make complex strategic decisions whilst working entirely remotely.

The priority was to build an Executive Team that could operate as a cohesive strategic leadership group—strengthening trust, creating shared purpose and developing ways of working that would enable the Council to lead through change.

Working in partnership with the Chief Executive, we designed and facilitated a tailored executive team development programme based on the team's context, not an off-the-shelf model.

The work included:

  • Executive team diagnosis and programme design

  • A series of facilitated online Executive Team development sessions

  • Individual executive coaching

  • Real-time observation of team dynamics and group process

  • Dialogic interventions that encouraged reflection, challenge and collective sense-making

  • Development of shared purpose, values and leadership behaviours

  • Embedding learning from the Covid-19 response to strengthen future leadership

Each session evolved in response to the team's emerging needs, allowing conversations to move beyond surface issues and address the relational and systemic dynamics influencing how the Executive Team worked together.

The programme accelerated the Executive Team's development, creating stronger relationships, greater openness and increased trust between members.

As a result, the team developed:

  • A stronger shared sense of purpose

  • More effective collective leadership

  • Greater strategic focus

  • Improved collaboration across the organisation

  • Increased confidence in navigating future organisational change

The work created lasting changes in how the Executive Team operated together and became an important part of the Council's wider organisational improvement journey.

"As a result of Clare's work there has been a real, tangible and noticeable change in the way in which the team operates collectively, a sense of common team purpose and significant development of individuals who have had the benefit of Clare's coaching interventions. Clare is able to combine academic research, hands-on practical experience and a personal style to proactively engage organisations, senior teams and individuals to challenge thinking, offer solutions and tailor interventions to help organisations achieve their strategic objectives. Clare's work with the Local Authority has been a significant factor in our continuing improvement journey."

Paul Satoor
Chief Executive, Wirral Council