IntactTeams

Catalyst has been designed to be transformational. Keeping the systems approach to culture and all 4 quadrants in mind, here is what we believe must be developed and present to influence performance.

WALK BEFORE YOU RUN

It’s important to start by deciding what Performance means for you. What does success look like? For some this would be more effective work processes or higher sales results. For others it’s all about increasing profit margins or reducing risk. Or do you want to focus on increased employee engagement and reduce attrition? No matter what it is, we help getting really clear on what you want to achieve with your leadership program.

In systemic fashion we then start working on individual and collective mindsets and beliefs followed by clarifying purpose and values of the team or organisation. This often involves workshopping the charter and agreeing on the behaviours you want to encourage and discourage. Only then will we design workshops and coaching sessions focussing on developing these behavioural skills in a quest to support your people to create a Culture that thrives.

Learn more about the program and get the brochure at https://www.intactteams.com/program/catalyst/

I’d love to share the story of Matthews Australasia, and the transformation we created with their Catalyst leadership program.

Facing fast growth and coming out of the ‘COVID Hangover’, Matthew’s Senior Leadership Team had identified a need for changing their culture in order to achieve their vision and goals. And they knew that the change had to start at the top of the organisation. In partnership with Matthews, we have designed and delivered a transformational leadership program aimed at the most Senior Leaders and also Managers who lead teams or departments.

To enable & embed long-term behavioural change the participants are taken on a learning journey in Catalyst, a 12 month transformational program that takes a holistic approach which starts with getting really clear on what ‘great culture looks like’, connecting to business goals and
values before equipping leaders with the mindset and skills in order to lead by example and create a movement.

The result?

We facilitated the program in 2022/23 with the 21 participants of the Senior Leadership and Leadership Teams. All participants have been reporting an improvement on their own leadership and the impact on the people they lead. Everyone agrees they notice higher levels of trust and team member engagement.

Learners feedback on most impactful skills:

👍 Coaching skills 75%
👍 Accountability (self/others) 75%
👍 Growth mindset 69%
👍 Leading change 69%

Read the full case study and learn more about Catalyst at https://www.intactteams.com/program/catalyst/

Cultural growth doesn’t happen in vacuum and can’t be restricted to the boardroom. You need to take a systemic view to culture to put the right steps, activities and leadership interventions in place.

A systems approach helps you see both, yourself, and the world around you in a more comprehensive and effective way. To make sense of this, we are leaning on Ken Wilbur’s Integral Theory and look at Culture in a systemic way.

The first thing we need to understand is that all systems are connected all the time. You change one thing in one system and another system is impacted. For example: an organisational re-structure (bottom right) will impact how people feel (fear or excitement, but often fear, top left) which will impact the way they behave and communicate with the people around them (top right).

If this change is not managed well and fear drives collective behaviour of potentially making mistakes, not taking risk, or even backstabbing and playing power games this inadvertently shapes the culture of the organisation. A change in the bottom right impacts all other quadrants.

Get the full detail on this model here: https://www.intactteams.com/program/catalyst/

Workplace Culture is the experiences that shape employee beliefs which in
turn drives actions and results. In a nutshell:

‘Behaviours drive Culture,
Culture Drives Performance’

When working with you, we work with all systems. Because they are all
connected. The Systems Approach to Changing Culture is a like an operating system for your reality that allows the most effective programs to be used.

Our Leadership Program Catalyst is a systemic solution focussing on the
skills and tools helping leaders shape the Culture you want for organisational growth.

Will we see you today? Our webcast on how your culture can eat your strategy for breakfast is happening TODAY at 12.00pm AEST.

It's not too late to register! Head to https://www.intactteams.com/program/culture-webcast/

As a reminder, you will walk away with:

🛠️ A tool to assess the level of your current corporate culture
📑 Case studies and examples of turning a good culture into a great culture
♟️ Strategies you can apply right away to increase engagement and decrease attrition

The adage “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” popularized by management consultant Peter Drucker, underscores the immense power of culture. Don't miss this opportunity to unlock the secret to transformative organisational success.

Corporate culture, often considered the lifeblood of an organization, plays a pivotal role in shaping behaviour, influencing work ethics, and driving innovation. Research by Harvard Business Review emphasizes the critical importance of corporate culture in achieving organizational success. For leaders, the opportunity to mould and improve this culture is immense. It involves understanding the current cultural dynamics, identifying areas that align with the organization’s strategic goals, and actively working to cultivate a culture that fosters growth, collaboration, and adaptability.
Having worked with hundreds of organisations, we find that they typically go through these levels of cultures:

1 TOXIC: control, micromanagement, office politics, power dynamics, fear

2 CHAOTIC: silos, lack of real connection, focus on self, chaotic, ambiguity, little focus on developing as a team, staff attrition

3 STRATEGIC: transparent company goals and KPIs, strategic vision, clear business objectives, rigidness, lack of motivation, command and control

4 INSPIRED: active participation in meetings and conversations, collaboration, leadership development & training, guiding leadership style, back delegating

5 EMPOWERED: common goals, alignment of strategy & culture, constructive feedback, high level of trust, productive conflict, leader as coach and empowerment

What is the culture level in your organisation?

Culture is not just part of the game — it is the game.

It’s easy to forget about the basics that make a company successful when you’re focused on strategic innovation and ex*****on all the time.

Many leaders prioritise strategy over culture. This mistake could lead to disengaged employees and a lack of new ideas. A brilliant strategy, no matter how well-crafted, can fail if the organisational culture is not supportive.

Conversely, culture has been increasingly shown to improve organisational performance.

A positive, engaged culture improves performance, employee happiness, retention, and productivity. Studies indicate that organisations with strong cultures outperform their competitors in terms of financial returns.

A Harvard Business School study found that a good company culture increases net income by 765% over 10 years, emphasising the importance of culture for long-term success.

Join us for an exclusive free webcast on how your culture can eat your strategy for breakfast, and unlock the secret to transformative organisational success.

You will walk away with:

🛠️ A tool to assess the level of your current corporate culture
📑 Case studies and examples of turning a good culture into a great culture
♟️ Strategies you can apply right away to increase engagement and decrease attrition

Join us on Wednesday 17th April at 12pm AEST. Register at https://www.intactteams.com/program/culture-webcast/

We spent 18 months working with Matthews Australasia, a leader in product identification and software traceability systems, to demonstrate how culture can alter leadership and organisational development.

Matthews’ senior leadership recognised the need to improve their organisational culture to meet strategic goals amidst fast growth. Matthews used our CATALYST Programme, a complete transformational leadership initiative, to align their business strategy with company values, improve leadership, and create a culture of engagement, collaboration, and creativity.

The results were profound. Participants reported significant improvements in their leadership effectiveness, with noticeable increases in trust and engagement within their teams. The program’s success at Matthews underscores a universal truth: culture is not just part of the game—it is the game.

Let us share our learnings with you and join us for an exclusive webcast.
You will walk away with:

🛠️ A tool to assess the level of your current corporate culture
📑 Case studies and examples of turning a good culture into a great culture
♟️ Strategies you can apply right away to increase engagement and decrease attrition

Join us on Wednesday 17th April at 12pm AEST.

Register at https://www.intactteams.com/program/culture-webcast/

Leadership plays a crucial role in balancing and aligning strategy and culture.

WHY IS LEADERSHIP IMPORTANT?

Effective leaders recognize that strategy and culture are not mutually exclusive but are deeply interconnected. They understand that for a strategy to be successfully implemented, it must resonate with the company’s cultural values. Leaders are responsible for articulating a clear vision and strategy while simultaneously nurturing a culture that can support and reinforce these strategic objectives.

Leaders are the architects of organisational culture. Through their actions, decisions, and communication, they set the tone for the workplace environment.

They have the power to shape and evolve the culture, ensuring it remains dynamic and relevant.

This involves being attentive to the cultural undercurrents within the organisation, actively engaging with employees at all levels, and being open to adapting the culture as the company grows and the external environment changes.

Another hurdle is the alignment of individual behaviours with the overarching values and vision of the company.

Culture is how people collectively behave, implying that every action and decision by employees contributes to the broader cultural landscape.

The rapid pace of change in business models and technological advancements further complicates the cultural landscape. Organizations must adapt their culture to remain relevant and competitive, which often requires a shift in long-standing norms and practices. This evolution can be met with resistance from employees, especially if the changes are not effectively communicated or if they contradict established values and behaviours.

Re-skilling and upskilling employees is front and centre in a fast changing business world. Leadership development has never been more important for continuous cultural change.

It’s easy to forget about the basics that make a company successful when you’re focused on strategic innovation and ex*****on all the time.

Many leaders prioritise strategy over culture. This mistake could lead to disengaged employees and a lack of new ideas. A brilliant strategy, no matter how well-crafted, can fail if the organisational culture is not supportive.

Conversely, culture has been increasingly shown to improve organisational performance.

A positive, engaged culture improves performance, employee happiness, retention, and productivity. Studies indicate that organisations with strong cultures outperform their competitors in terms of financial returns.

A Harvard Business School study found that a good company culture increases net income by 765% over 10 years, emphasising the importance of culture for long-term success.

The adage “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” popularized by management consultant Peter Drucker, underscores the immense power of culture.

In our upcoming webcast, you can unlock the secret to transformative organisational success.

You will walk away with:

🛠️ A tool to assess the level of your current corporate culture
📑 Case studies and examples of turning a good culture into a great culture
♟️ Strategies you can apply right away to increase engagement and decrease attrition

Join us on Wednesday 17th April at 12pm AEST. Register at https://www.intactteams.com/program/culture-webcast/

Strategy, often viewed as the roadmap for a company’s future, outlines the goals and directions an organization intends to pursue.
It’s a logical, structured plan that delineates a clear path towards achieving business objectives.

Culture, on the other hand, is the softer, more elusive aspect of an organization. It embodies the values, beliefs, behaviours, and norms that shape the workplace. Culture is the social fabric that determines how employees interact, make decisions, and solve problems.

The adage “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” popularized by management consultant Peter Drucker, underscores the immense power of culture.

It suggests that even the most well-crafted strategies can falter if they are not supported by an appropriate corporate culture.

A strategy that aligns with the company’s culture is more likely to be embraced and executed effectively by its employees.

Conversely, a strategy that conflicts with the established culture will likely meet resistance, leading to poor implementation and suboptimal results.

Are you a medium-sized enterprise or a department in a larger organisation who:

🤔 faces high turnover of staff and constant costly recruitment?
🤔 experiences a lack of engagement in and between teams?
🤔 is not as productive and effective as it could be?
🤔 scores low in employee engagement surveys
🤔 hasn’t focussed on developing managers and leaders lately?

We worked with Matthews Australasia, a leader in product identification and software traceability systems, to demonstrate how culture can alter leadership and organisational development.

Matthews’ senior leadership recognised the need to improve their organisational culture to meet strategic goals amidst fast growth. Matthews used our CATALYST Programme, a complete transformational leadership initiative, to align their business strategy with company values, improve leadership, and create a culture of engagement, collaboration, and creativity.

The programme ran over 18 months and the results were profound. Participants reported significant improvements in their leadership effectiveness, with noticeable increases in trust and engagement within their teams.

The program’s success at Matthews underscores a universal truth: culture is not just part of the game — it is the game.

Let us share our learnings with you and join us for an exclusive webcast.

You will walk away with:

🛠️ A tool to assess the level of your current corporate culture
📑 Case studies and examples of turning a good culture into a great culture
♟️ Strategies you can apply right away to increase engagement and decrease attrition

Join us on Wednesday 17th April at 12pm AEST. Register at https://www.intactteams.com/program/culture-webcast/

In today’s fast-paced business world, the focus on goals, strategy, and performance often overshadows the critical element of company culture.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

One of the major issues with company cultures lies in the elusive nature of it, which is sometimes reduced to simple purpose and value statements displayed on company websites rather than actively fostered and lived within the organisation.

This cursory acknowledgement falls short of capturing the underlying core of culture, which is deeply ingrained in a company's habits of thought and behaviour.

In today’s dynamic business environment facing constant changes and global challenges, the interplay between strategy and culture is pivotal, and leadership is the linchpin that holds these elements together.

How might you know if you need to improve your culture? Ask yourself if, as a leader, you:

❓️experience a lack of engagement in and between teams?
❓️face high turnover of staff and constant costly recruitment?
❓️are not as productive and effective as you could be?
❓️score low in employee engagement surveys?
❓️haven’t focussed on developing managers and leaders lately?

Did you answer yes to any of these questions?

Research by MIT Sloan says a toxic culture can lead to significant issues in organisations, including decreased employee morale and productivity. A negative culture not only affects the internal workings of a company but also has far-reaching effects on society. It can lead to increased stress, burnout, and a general decline in well-being among employees, which in turn affects their families and communities.

Gallup’s research shows the tangible benefits of a strong culture. Companies with robust cultures have experienced a 50-point increase in employee engagement over a three-year period, a 25% growth in workforce size within the same timeframe and an impressive 85% net profit increase over five years, reflecting how culture influences customer loyalty and business growth.

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of the modern world, those that invest in their culture and people will find themselves better positioned for success. And it will affect the bottom line.

As we are drawing closer to the end of the year, I want to take the opportunity to show my gratitude for your support and followship.

2023 has been a year of delivering coaching and leadership programs to dozens of clients in Australia and globally, face to face and live online. You might have noticed that it’s been quieter in our distribution of newsletters, blogs and updates. That’s about to change in 2024.

We have big plans launching new leadership programs and creating valuable content throughout next year. Safe to say, the holidays will be filled with reading, creating, writing and editing for me. And I can’t wait! There is so much in my head I want to get out on paper to create provide meaningful content.

More to come in January. In the meantime, please take the opportunity to rest, relax and spend a few days with family and loved ones.

Take care,

Jess

The future of work is now!

Our new reality of a VUCA world puts enormous pressure on leaders. They are finding it hard to make decisions in this cryptic world; deal with lower engagement in their teams; balance a decrease in productivity (or an increase but at high personal cost); and manage rapidly worsening mental health and burnout across the board.

However, with that come opportunities to create more flexibility in the workplace and renewed purpose in organisations. Ultimately, human skills matter most. Leaders must be empowered and capable of advancing, rather than catching up with the future.

In my book, Lead the Future, I reveal the 12 skills necessary to lead well in this rapidly changing and inconstant world.

Get your copy via the link in my bio

Emotional intelligence is a critical leadership skill. Through coaching, leaders can gain a deeper understanding of their emotions and learn how to manage them effectively. This can lead to improved relationships and a more harmonious work environment.

As a leader, how do I help my people overcome Imposter Syndrome?

It involves a multifaceted approach.

Firstly, it's crucial to recognise the emotions that arise when feelings of being an imposter surface. Instead of succumbing to these emotions, we should sit with them and act anyway, pushing through the discomfort.

To achieve this, we need well-developed self-awareness and emotional intelligence. A tool like DISC Flow can help unpack this, as it looks at both emotional intelligence and behavioural tendencies when a person is under stress and pressure.

Secondly, encourage your team member to pay attention to the stories they tell themselves about their abilities and achievements. Reauthoring these narratives can help in building self-confidence and mitigating feelings of inadequacy.

Lastly, it's important to try and remove the label "Syndrome" from Imposter Syndrome. By doing so, we can explore how our perceptions and experiences change, allowing your people to embrace their accomplishments and build a healthier self-image.

Imposter Syndrome is a pervasive issue that impacts our people and our organisations.

However, if we develop our self-awareness and emotional intelligence, we can turn Imposter Syndrome into an opportunity for personal and professional development.

The outcome? Better well-being across your team, improved productivity, and higher performance.

When I work with leaders and teams to help them develop the Lead Others pillar, we often focus on core skills:

✔️ Leading with a coaching approach
✔️ Delegating
✔️ Creating a feedback culture

For me, these are fundamentals of leadership.

What has changed for these leaders is the mode of working, and they have to learn to lead others, and connect in remote and hybrid work models. When people are physically apart, they can easily become disconnected. Team members have become quite efficient in using online platforms to communicate, but running team meetings effectively online is often a challenge.

So how can we improve this?

In my book, Lead the Future, I focus on 3 main skills under this pillar:

✔️ Communication & influencing
✔️ Feedback & productive conflict
✔️ Leading in a hybrid world

For example, I have been helping a team of senior executives to help them facilitate group workshopping and problem solving in virtual settings. Most have found this challenging using digital platforms, but these three skills have helped them to deliver excellent outcomes and re-engage their teams.

If you’d like to learn more about this program, send me a DM or download the brochure at https://www.intactteams.com/download-the-brochure-for-lead-the-future/

A clear vision is crucial for effective leadership. Coaching can help leaders articulate their purpose and vision, and develop strategies to communicate this vision effectively to their team. This can lead to increased alignment and motivation among team members.

Our last DISC Certification for 2023 is coming up on Tuesday 21st November in Melbourne.

Get DISC Certified face to face with our DISC Flow Master Trainer Jess.

Your Certification includes:

Full day workshop in Melbourne CBD
Certificate and Certified Trainer Logo.
One-hour session with me to dive into how you will use DISC with your organisation or clients.
Trainer portal packed with resources, trainer toolbox tips, professional development videos and more
Private community (via Slack) to connect with fellow trainers.
Regular ongoing free professional development sessions
FACe account to brand and run your reports.
Discounted token pricing with volume discounts for larger purchases.

I’d love you to join me! Register at https://www.discflow.com.au/pages/certification

Can Imposter Syndrome ever be a good thing?

It might surprise you to know that yes, there can be benefits.

Research from STEM Women suggests that experiencing Imposter Syndrome can offer unique advantages. It can lead to enhanced performance and drive as individuals work harder to overcome their self-doubt, ultimately contributing to personal and professional development.

In my book, Lead the Future, I share the twelve key skills you need to lead in a fast changing and ambiguous world.

Why is this book important? If you work as part of a team, lead a team or department or run your own business, you have to know how to navigate through this new, fast changing and ambiguous world of work. It’s not just about leading change anymore, it’s about leading the future.

Whilst we think technology drives disruption, it's the human skills that drive change. We need to equip our leaders to help lead the future. And we need to make sure they have the skills to do so.

In the book you will learn the twelve skills you need:

LEAD SELF
Strength-based Leadership
Courage & Resilience
Emotional Intelligence

LEAD OTHERS
Communication & Influencing
Feedback & Productive Conflict
Leading in Hybrid World

LEAD CHANGE
Agility & Change Management
Complex Problem Solving
Adaptability

LEAD THE FUTURE
Embrace Technology
Vision & Foresight
Mobilise

Order your copy today.

Purchase at intactteams.com

Your leadership shadow is shaped by two levers of influence - Modelling and Coaching. Modelling is about role-modelling behaviour consistently and visually. Coaching is about how you guide your team, give them feedback, and hold them accountable

Our last DISC Certification for 2023 is coming up on Tuesday 21st November in Melbourne.

Join me face-to-face and get DISC Certified.

Your Certification includes:

Full day workshop in Melbourne CBD
Certificate and Certified Trainer Logo.
One-hour session with me to dive into how you will use DISC with your organisation or clients.
Trainer portal packed with resources, trainer toolbox tips, professional development videos and more
Private community (via Slack) to connect with fellow trainers.
Regular ongoing free professional development sessions
FACe account to brand and run your reports.
Discounted token pricing with volume discounts for larger purchases.

I’d love you to join me! Register at https://www.discflow.com.au/pages/certification

I recently worked with a client who is a classic example of Imposter Syndrome.

Jane is a higly competent and accomplished professional.

Despite receiving accolades and recognition for her work, Jane told me she constantly felt like she didn't belong and that she would eventually be exposed as a fraud.

This constant self-doubt kept her from pursuing higher-level opportunities and advocating for her ideas, limiting her professional growth.

Does this sound familiar to you?