Managing Conflict in the Workplace

Embracing the Positive Potential

Wouldn't it be great if we all got along in the workplace? Imagine if we all just clicked at work, agreeing on everything and aligned on our views and approaches. Sounds perfect, right? But let's think about it—how realistic and productive would that actually be, or would it just be plain boring?

The workplace, whether in-person or virtual, is a hub where employees can share their different perspectives and ways of doing things, which can enhance creativity and productivity.

Without questioning or challenging existing processes, assumptions, or directions, we risk missing out on innovative and often more efficient solutions. As the quote famously attributed to Einstein goes, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.' Often, great ideas and improvements stem from challenging the status quo.

Differing Perspectives

Having different views can feel uncomfortable, regardless of whether you are the person presenting or encountering these differing views. Matters between employees can even escalate into disagreements or conflicts if either party feels strongly enough about pushing their views.

So, should we avoid these situations entirely and remain silent when alternative views seem unwelcome?

It's natural to react defensively to opposing views, often seeing the employee raising them as a threat—and before we know it, this leads to an instinctual response of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Some of your employees will feel the urge to fight their corner or take flight and leave the situation. Others will freeze like a statue, hoping to not be seen or heard and avoid being drawn into conflict. For some, they will simply fawn and agree, in order to stop the perceived escalation.

Welcoming Conflict

Yet, recognizing conflict as an opportunity rather than a threat is crucial. Conflict should not be feared but welcomed under certain conditions and used to harvest the passion all parties have and focus it towards finding the best solution. When conflict is used creatively and deliberately, it can spark innovation and deliver better solutions.

Consider these three benefits which may help you to reframe your view of conflict in the workplace from solely negative to potentially positive:

1. Shifting Perspectives: Recognize the positive potential in disagreements and how conflict can spark employees to be more creative, innovative, and open to exploring new ideas. For instance, a marketing team with differing views on a new campaign could, through healthy debate and constructive conflict, develop a more compelling and effective strategy that incorporates diverse perspectives.

2. Fostering Healthy Debate: By promoting a culture that values healthy, even robust debate, managers can use the differing viewpoints for more robust decision-making processes and better outcomes. An example is a product development team working through design conflicts to create a more innovative, marketable product through open communication and constructive conflict management.

3. Promoting Teamwork and Cohesion: Positive conflict management can strengthen team dynamics and foster a sense of unity among colleagues. Conflict can be used to enhance collaboration, build trust, and reinforce the collective purpose of the team. By working through the issues, the whole team can be part of finding solutions, resulting in stronger teams. An example is when a customer service team faces conflicts and emerges as a stronger, more cohesive team for resolving their internal disputes. The company benefits from increased contribution from the employees which leads to greater customer satisfaction.

By reframing our perception of conflict in the workplace and adopting an open mindset, we have the opportunity to transform conflicts into opportunities for growth, innovation, and stronger team bonds.

Want to Embrace the Positive Potential of Conflict?

People contribute at their highest level when they have the right tools and skills to work productively in their role. In our course, we provide individuals and teams with the tools and capabilities to see conflict as an opportunity rather than a threat. As a result of attending our course, your employees will be able to recognize the positive potential in disagreements and how conflict can spark the team to be more creative, innovative, and contribute to the organization at a higher level. Our toolkit will support their new thinking and set your team on a path to success.

Understanding the importance of trust in effective collaboration

Collaboration is more than just a business buzzword; it’s the foundation which high-performing teams are built on. The act of working together is a straightforward concept to understand, its people coming together to produce something. Sounds simple enough but there is a lot to unpack in that statement. Effective collaboration is underpinned by the quality of relationships within the team. In high-performing teams, these relationships are fundamentally built on trust.

The common saying "teamwork makes the dream work" encapsulates this perfectly. Teams that achieve remarkable results do so because their members have fostered relationships rooted in trust. But why is this so important?

The business case for trust

Research makes a compelling case for organisations to prioritise building trust within their teams. Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies reported:

• 74% less stress

• 106% more energy at work

• 50% higher productivity

• 76% more engagement

• 29% more life satisfaction

• 40% less burnout than their low-trust counterparts.

These figures, from research conducted by Professor Paul J. Zak [1], speak volumes about the tangible impact of trust in the workplace. The research found that building a culture of trust makes a meaningful difference and has a lasting effect on talent retention or performance. Employees in high-trust organisations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance.

The foundation of high-performing teams

Patrick Lencioni, the author of "The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team" [1], emphasises that trust is the cornerstone of high-performing groups. He differentiates between predictive trust - believing people will do what they say because they have in the past - and vulnerability-based trust. The latter involves being comfortable enough to admit mistakes, acknowledge weaknesses and share personal information without fear of judgment or punishment. Lencioni reasons that this level of openness fosters an environment where team members can engage in honest debates and challenging conversations. As a result, individuals can truly be themselves, reducing the need to spend energy on self-protection. This ultimately allows the team to focus more effectively on achieving results safely and efficiently.

The trust equation: a framework for building trustworthiness

For those who appreciate facts, logic and structure, the trust equation offers a useful framework. It breaks down the concept of trust into distinct attributes, helping individuals understand how to enhance their trustworthiness. These attributes are:

• Credibility: Actions that inspire others' confidence in you.

• Reliability: Behaviours that demonstrate dependability to others.

• Intimacy: Ways to create a safe and welcoming environment.

• Self-orientation: Methods to show genuine care and concern for others

By considering these aspects, people can better understand how to build trust with others.

Investing in relationships

Building trust within a team doesn't happen overnight. It requires time, shared experiences and a commitment to genuinely connect with one another. A good starting point is your next team call or meeting. Before getting down to business and diving into the agenda, take a moment to ask how everyone is doing, connect with each other and find common interests. Be willing to ‘go first’ and get the ball rolling by sharing something about your life that the team may not know about. Establishing a human connection before addressing tasks can pave the way for more meaningful and productive collaboration.

Effective collaboration elevates contribution

Trust is an important foundation within teams aiming for high performance. It reduces stress, increases engagement and leads to greater contribution from employees. By fostering an environment of vulnerability-based trust and investing time in building relationships, teams can become more productive, collaborate better and have more energy for their work. Research has shown that collaboration fuelled by trust is the secret ingredient to turning group efforts into group successes.

Do you want to encourage high-performing teams in your workplace?

People contribute at their highest level when they have the right tools and capabilities to work productively in their role. In our “Collaboration – the importance of trust course”, we explain the relationship between trust and achieving great results as a team.

We provide individuals and teams with the tools and skills to foster a culture of trust and open collaboration that is free of judgement – and leverages the trust equation.

As a result of attending our course, your employees will understand why building trusting relationships is critical to high performance and what actions they can take to improve relationships, and collaboration and to contribute to the organisation at a higher level. Our toolkit will support their new thinking and set your team on a path to success.

[1] The Neuroscience of Trust, Harvard Business Review, 2017  

Managing boundaries for effective performance

Why manage boundaries?

To excel and deliver your best at work, setting and maintaining clear boundaries is as crucial as the banks that guide a river's flow. By clearly defining your limits, you enhance your own well-being and contribute to a healthier, more productive workplace culture. But what happens when these boundaries are blurred or non-existent?

An organisation thrives when its employees are at their best, yet the benefits diminish if staff are overextended, exhausted, and unable to make good decisions in the moment or relate well with colleagues.

Allowing employees to excel

Engaged and valued employees want to be the best version of themselves in the workplace. They are most likely to excel when they enjoy their work, have the right resources and work in a healthy and thriving culture. A key aspect of this is respect for personal boundaries. It’s not just about work-life balance; it’s about creating an environment where your employees can thrive and be acknowledged for their unique contributions.

Hybrid Working blurs boundaries

However, the workplace has evolved dramatically in the last few years. The traditional 9-to-5 workday is increasingly a thing of the past, replaced by flexible schedules and the expectation of 24/7 service. Thanks to technology, we are all contactable at any time. Many of us now balance various caring, work, and social roles. Our personal and professional lives often blend into each other, especially with the rise of remote and hybrid working models. Often, our home and workplace are one and the same. This new reality makes setting and maintaining clear boundaries more important and yet more challenging than ever before. It's up to employees to manage their boundaries, it’s a personal responsibility that no one else can do for them.

Setting and maintaining boundaries

How do employees navigate this complex issue? Everyone’s relationship to boundaries is different. Some of your employees may thrive on flexibility, while others need the clear structure of distinct lines between different areas of their lives. Some employees may want to assert their limits to show what is reasonable and prevent others from taking advantage and encroaching on their time. Lastly, some employees may need to manage their own tendencies to people please, or the need to be needed which leaves them without the personal resources to be at their best. Finding the right balance is key.

Too rigid	If your boundaries are too rigid and maintained in a blunt way, you may find you don’t get support or treated flexibly in turn.
Too flexible	If your boundaries are too flexible, they will quickly fall away. Others will not be able to see them or feel they need to respect them.
Just right	If your boundaries are clear to others, applied with discernment and managed skilfully, you will find yourself in control of them.

Increasing job satisfaction and contribution

Successfully establishing and upholding boundaries in the workplace takes both effort and practice. Employees can start by identifying their non-negotiables - the circumstances they cannot compromise on - and recognise the areas where they can be more flexible, depending on the situation. Skilfully maintaining a boundary is an art that requires patience, persistence, and consistency. It involves finding a respectful yet firm way for employees to communicate their limits, ensuring they are both clear and considerate.

Once your employees assert a boundary, it’s important that they stand by their decision and reinforce their stance when they need to. This might mean reminding colleagues of their work hours or politely declining last-minute requests that overstep into their personal time.

With solid boundaries in place, your team can shift their attention to managing their focus and energy more effectively. Demanding tasks should be allocated to their peak productivity times when they are at their best and can work with focus and purpose. Lastly, it’s important employees build in downtime for recovery – no matter how much we enjoy our work, we all need a break!

Exhausted and overextended employees rarely make good and productive decisions in the workplace. By providing your employees with the right resources and supporting them to be in tune with their strengths, guided by their values, and supportive of their boundaries, your employees can elevate their contribution. Your employees will not only succeed in their role but also find greater satisfaction and enjoyment in their work.

Are weak boundaries hindering productivity within your organisation?

People contribute at their highest level when they have the tools and capabilities to work productively in their role. In our Managing my boundaries for effective performance course, we provide individuals and teams with the tools and capabilities to establish and maintain healthy boundaries which in turn increases employee satisfaction, productivity and contribution. As a result of attending our course, your employees will be able to establish and maintain boundaries, allowing them to focus their time and energy on achieving their priorities.

How to overcome obstacles

Unblock your path

At some point in our working lives, we will inevitably face obstacles that delay our progress in achieving our goals. Regardless of whether we are working solo or as part of a team, there will be barriers that block our path. This could be due to several things such as team dynamics, restrictive or conflicting timescales, not having the right tools, or maybe a lack of knowledge, be it our own or others. Sometimes, it’s due to unclear communication or realising our skills and capabilities don’t quite fit the task at hand.

Shift perspectives

Often it is an employee’s own mindset which can be the biggest obstacle. We are all guilty of falling into the trap of self-limitation due to our own negative thoughts. Downplaying our expertise by thinking we can’t do something or not even trying because we default to thinking it won’t work. This unhelpful thinking is reflected in our language too, “I can’t / this won’t / it doesn’t”. Left unchecked, this mindset could undermine both the employee’s success and the success of the entire team.

How can an employee change their mindset so that they think, feel and react differently when confronted with an obstacle?

As Desmond Tutu once wisely said “there is only one way to eat an elephant, a bite at a time.” The simplest way to tackle large or daunting tasks is by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. By approaching the problem step by step with patience and persistence, even the most complex of issues can be resolved.

Here are some starter suggestions to breaking down the elephant into bite sized chunks.

Identify the obstacle

Just how big is the obstacle your employee is dealing with? Have they gathered enough data and insights to fully understand the situation? Remember, without a complete picture, their understanding of the obstacle

could be skewed. Encourage them to take some time to pause for a moment, take a step back and reassess the situation. Once your employee knows what they are facing, it will become clearer as to how they can tackle the issue.

Innovative thinking

‘Thinking outside of the box’ is often advised to inspire and encourage people to think creatively and unconventionally. But what if naturally diverging from traditional patterns of thought to come up with innovative ideas or solutions isn’t a skill your employees have developed?

Some employees will need more guidance in developing the mindset to explore new approaches and not be restricted by usual constraints or preconceived notions. As their manager, you can help them to think about the obstacles they are facing and ask themselves: why have they arisen? If they are familiar, why are they dealing with them in the same way?

Asking these questions can free up their creative mind to explore fresh perspectives and solutions.

Create a SMART action plan

Creating a SMART action plan involves setting goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Having a SMART action plan will give your employee a clear direction and focus their efforts on what's important and necessary. By having a more structured, clear, and practical plan, you will be helping your employee to raise their contribution, increase their chance of success and turn vague ambitions into actionable steps.

Need a fresh perspective on the obstacles in your organisation?

People contribute at their highest level when they have the tools and capabilities to work productively in their role. In our Removing Obstacles Course, we provide individuals and teams with the tools and capabilities to identify and unpick obstacles blocking their way. As a result of attending our course, your employees will discover new tactics and strategies to tackle challenges effectively. Our toolkit will support their new thinking and set your team on a new path to success.

Improving Working Relationships with Transactional Analysis

Understanding Communication

The last few years have seen a huge shift in the way we work. The office is no longer the hub for all work, instead many of us are working in hybrid roles and splitting our time between the office and remote working. With this additional complexity, now more than ever effective communication and key working relationships are essential for business success.

One psychological theory that sheds light on the complexities of workplace interactions is Transactional Analysis (TA), developed by Eric Berne. In this blog, we explore what TA is, its impact on interactions with colleagues, and how understanding TA can improve working relationships and contribute to organisational success.

What is Transactional Analysis?

Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality and provides a systematic approach to how we relate to and interact with others. At its core, TA is about understanding the ego states that drive human behaviour. These states are categorised into three distinct types:

• Parent: when in this state we tend to think, feel and behave based on our experiences from our upbringing and interactions with our parents/caregivers. We tend to be authoritative, critical and focused on rules, norms and how things should be done.

• Adult: The Adult ego state is about rationality and objectivity. It’s concerned with the here and now, dealing with current situations based on current experiences, and not influenced by the past.

• Child: This state reflects the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that we experienced from our childhood. It can be spontaneous and intuitive, or it can be rebellious and disobedient. External circumstances trigger different responses.    

Impact on Workplace Interactions

Every interaction at work involves these three different ego states and understanding them can explain a lot about workplace dynamics. For instance, a conversation between two colleagues might go awry if one is speaking from the critical Parent state and the other is responding from the rebellious Child state. Recognising these states can help in realigning conversations for more productive outcomes.

Whilst Adult – Adult interactions are often viewed as the most mature and effective for problem-solving and communication, that doesn’t imply that it’s the only effective approach. Each of the three ego states – Parent, Adult, and Child – serves a purpose and can be appropriate in different contexts. The key is to understand when and how to use these states effectively.

• Adult-Adult Interactions: These are typically seen as the most balanced and constructive. They involve rational thinking, problem-solving, and direct communication. In a workplace setting, Adult-Adult interactions are ideal for most professional discussions, decision-making processes, and conflict resolution.

• Parent-Child Interactions: These can be healthy and necessary in certain situations. For example, a nurturing Parent role can be beneficial in mentoring or coaching scenarios, where guidance, support, and care are needed. Similarly, the Child state can be a source of creativity, spontaneity, and innovation.

• Parent-Parent and Child-Child Interactions: Even interactions involving two Parent or two Child states can be appropriate in certain contexts. For instance, two people in the Parent state might effectively collaborate on establishing rules or guidelines. Similarly, two individuals in the Child state might engage in brainstorming sessions, tapping into their creativity and spontaneity.

Improving Working Relationships

The healthiness of an interaction in Transactional Analysis is about people understanding how to adapt and respond. It's important to be able to switch between states as the situation demands. A good leader, for example, might predominantly interact in an Adult-Adult mode but can adopt a Parent role for providing guidance or a Child role to encourage creativity and openness. Here's how Transactional Analysis can improve your team’s interaction and enhance their contribution.

Enhanced Communication

By understanding and identifying ego states, your team can aim for Adult-Adult interactions that are more likely to result in rational, constructive dialogues.

Conflict Resolution

Transactional Analysis provides a framework for understanding the underlying dynamics in conflicts. Recognising when conversations are misaligned allows your team members to shift their approach and de-escalate potential conflicts.

Leadership Development

As a leader, you can use Transactional Analysis to adjust your management style, moving between nurturing and authoritative as the situation demands. By being flexible you can support your team members in the most effective way and improve your team’s overall contribution.

Empathy and Understanding

Understanding where your colleagues are coming from, in terms of their ego states, can foster greater empathy, patience and more supportive relationships.

Personal Development

Transactional Analysis is not just about understanding others, it’s also a tool for self-awareness. Being able to understand and reflect on your own principal ego state can lead to personal growth and improved professional contribution.

Increasing Contribution Within an Organisation

Transactional Analysis is a practical tool that, when understood and applied, can significantly improve how you interact with others in the workplace.

What's crucial in TA is your awareness of which ego state you are operating from and whether it's appropriate for the situation. Problems often arise when there is a mismatch in states (like a critical Parent talking to a rebellious Child), leading to ineffective communication and conflict.

When TA is understood and applied, it can transform an organisation's culture. Communication becomes more open and effective, leadership becomes more adaptive and empathetic, and team contribution improves. This leads to a more harmonious workplace where creativity, productivity, and collaboration thrive.

How can Transactional Analysis benefit you and your team?

Our programmes help our clients transform their team dynamics and build the contribution of each of their people. This has enabled organisations to fulfil their purpose, make an impact and achieve sustained contribution, value, and success.

Take a look at our Key Relationship theme courses and find out how we can help your organisation.

Overcoming Barriers to Innovation

How can my organisation become more innovative? 

The term ‘innovation’ is so overused within organisations that it has started to lose all meaning and impact. In many organisations ‘innovation’ has become a buzzword, frequently used in mission statements, marketing materials, and organisation strategies. However, rarely is the word backed up with a clear purpose definition or actionable plan. There is a lack of understanding of what innovation is and how organisations can create a culture that truly fosters innovation.  

Innovation for the sake of innovation  

In his book, ‘Innovation for the Fatigued: How to Build a Culture of Deep Creativity’, Alf Rehn discusses how the constant push for innovation can lead to fatigue. This makes it difficult for individuals and organisations to engage meaningfully in creative processes. When organisations pursue innovation without a clear goal or purpose, it can lead to initiatives that are more about appearing cutting-edge than about creating real value.  

To foster true innovation organisations must create an environment that nurtures creativity as opposed to superficial approaches. There needs to be a cultural shift to move away from innovation for its own sake and instead create environments where creativity is genuinely valued, supported and nurtured. 

The way to foster innovation is to focus on the 4Rs – Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Reflection. These four pillars underpin a healthy, innovative organisational culture. Here's an explanation of each: 

Respect 

Respect in an organisation isn’t just about people’s rights or their level of seniority, it involves taking people’s ideas and contributions seriously, regardless of their status. This means actively listening to and engaging with these ideas, and asking powerful questions that can help refine and improve them. 

Organisations can demonstrate their commitment by making the connection between ideas and resources. This involves allocating people, budgets and integrating ideas into current research or projects to enable innovators to advance their ideas. 

Additionally, organisations should reward those who show kindness and nurture ideas, it creates a positive ‘petri dish’ in which ideas can flourish and grow. Having idea generators work in an environment in which productive criticism is welcomed and kindness and tolerance abound increases the quantity, quality and robustness of ideas.

Lastly, to really embed respect, people should be considerate of their colleagues and be mindful of how they interact. What may have felt like a long meeting for some people, may be the culmination of critical work for the presenter. A poorly timed yawn could kill an idea and discourage the speaker, and others, from sharing.   

Reciprocity 

Reciprocity in innovation is understanding the balance between what you ask for and what you offer. If your organisation expects innovation, consider what support your employees expect in return. Do they need innovation or facilitation skills development? Do they need streamlined processes or a different tone for business case presentations? Do they need time and budget to get innovation off the ground and keep it moving? It’s all about give and take.  

It's so important to promote and reward those who contribute ideas, even if these ideas don't lead to immediate success. Organisations need to recognise the courage it takes to propose something new and consider everyone’s preferred form of recognition – what motivates one person may differ from another. This approach acknowledges the courage of the innovator even when there is a time lag between idea and tangible success.  

Punish indifference – ideas don’t get killed (except maybe with a badly timed yawn!) they simply wither and die. A positive innovation culture engages all ideas, and indifference should be penalised, for example by reallocating budget, attention or headcount! By doing so organisations send a clear message that people and departments who engage with innovation are acknowledged and supported.  

Responsibility 

The withering and dying of ideas in an organisation are a red flag – it means that people don’t feel innovation is their responsibility. It’s a call to action to create a culture in which innovation can flourish and be seen as everyone’s responsibility. No one is off the hook – ask yourself is innovation part of your values? Is it part of people’s annual objectives? Is it what you measure? Is it part of the rhythm and drumbeat of your organisation’s daily life?  Is innovation and the nurturing of innovation woven into the fabric of your organisation’s way of working? 

It's important to recognise that expertise and experience, while valuable, can lead to a conservative mindset. People who have invested years in their careers to reach expert status will naturally want to defend it. Change is hard and no one wants to be disrupted. The challenge lies in how to shake up the status quo and make curiosity more valued than expertise. How can you reward the responsibility for innovation, making it a recognised and sought-after aspect of the organisation’s culture? 

Reflection 

Innovation flourishes in organisations that adopt reflection as a core value. A reflective organisation is one that recognises insights, acts on them, and generates change and innovation. It's a place where questioning, challenging, and curiosity are accepted, celebrated and rewarded. This encourages the sharing of insights and invites comments from colleagues, creating a cycle of continuous learning and improvement. 

Encouraging intelligent self-doubt is key because an expert who staunchly defends their expertise is blind to new ideas. Equally, an expert who is crippled with low self-esteem or self-doubt cannot move forward positively. The balance to strike is intelligent self-doubt – where an expert intelligently and deliberately self-analyses and is curious about what they know and don’t know. They listen to their inner voice and intuition that highlights what is new, unusual or previously unconsidered. It takes a self-assured and confident person to be open to unfamiliarity and eager to evolve and adapt their views.  

A culture of always testing and experimenting should be the norm and with the outcome being validated learning. This involves creating a hypothesis, identifying what you want to find out, and constructing a test that uses a minimum viable product to seek that learning. A minimum viable product is designed to gather maximum learning with minimal effort. Then repeat; this provides a lean, efficient approach to innovation.  

In this culture, success or failure is no longer part of the discourse – it’s about validated learning and iteration. 

Reframing Innovation with the Four Rs 

Innovation is often shrouded in myths and clichés, leading to misconceptions about its true purpose. It is sometimes confused with general improvement or change but not all changes or improvements are innovative. It is all too often assumed that innovation must involve rapid and ground-breaking changes. However, glamorising radical or disruptive innovation can lead to undervaluing incremental innovation, which is more subtle but powerful. It focuses on making small but continuous improvements which are essential for long-term success and sustainability. 

Together, the Four Rs provide a framework for creating a culture that is deeply rooted in sustainable innovation. They emphasise the human qualities of the innovation process, advocating for a more thoughtful, ethical, and collaborative approach to creativity in the workplace. By adopting these principles, organisations can foster an environment where innovation is a consistent and evolving practice. In essence, the Four Rs guide us towards a more inclusive and thoughtful approach to innovation, ensuring it's not just a buzzword but a meaningful, integrated part of your organisation’s culture. 

Find out more about our Innovation and Change theme of training for your organisation:

Fostering Innovation Course

Fostering genuine innovation demands a cultural shift. The 4Rs -Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Reflection - serve as pillars for a healthy and inclusive organisational culture.

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ENABLING AND FACILITATING INNOVATION

For an organisation to be innovative, at least two-thirds (66%) of your employees need to be either fostering or enabling innovation. Are they?

Read more

FOSTERING INNOVATIVE CULTURES

How can innovation thrive when an organisation neglects to foster a culture where at least 66% of its employees actively engage in experimentation and learning?

Read More

What is Innovation?

What is innovation and why does it even matter? 

Innovation is what we at Treehouse call a ‘fat word’, in that it means different things to different people. Without doubt, innovation is an overused term, almost to the point where the word itself has lost all significance. Therefore, providing a definition would probably be helpful and necessary!  

Defining innovation 

At Treehouse, we define innovation as the result of bringing an idea to market for business benefit. It spans invention through to implementation and applies critical thinking to solve problems. In essence, innovation is about making the most of opportunities for both internal and external customers.  

Innovation is typically associated with a product or service. However, it can equally be linked to client relations and insight, improvements in production processes, productivity, organisational design and efficiency or competitiveness.  

What types of innovation are there? 

Innovation spans a wide spectrum; it can be subtle, incremental changes through to ground-breaking, disruptive shifts that introduce entirely new offerings to fresh markets. The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that offers a framework for devising growth strategies. The matrix displays different strategies for growth depending on the maturity of the product and the market.  

Incremental Innovation  

Incremental innovation refers to the systematic and continuous improvement of existing products or services within existing markets. It typically occurs in existing markets, although it can also happen when introducing established products or services into new market areas.  

Typically managed using the Waterfall or Stage-Gate project management methodologies, this type of innovation is the lifeblood of doing business today. If you look at supermarket aisles, car dealerships or online retailers, you will see so many examples of incremental innovation. It’s not just a strategy but a crucial part of advancing forward in today’s competitive business environment.  

Disruptive Innovation 

Disruptive, also known as transformational innovation, occurs when new products or services are launched in new markets. The most transformational instances of this innovation arise when new insights lead to new products and services being launched. This causes disruption which then redefines market boundaries, shakes up existing market structures or revolutionises operating models. This type of innovation tends to use Lean or Agile development to deliver quality products that meet customer needs and allow for rapid adaptation to change.  

Organisations that have uncertainty in their product or solution require a Build-Measure-Learn ethos, as documented in the seminal book ‘Lean StartUp’ by Eric Ries. The Build-Measure-Learn ethos is about speed and efficiency and reducing waste. It’s about ensuring that organisations don't invest time and resources into perfecting a product before they've confirmed that it's something customers want and are willing to pay for. 

Airbnb is a good example of a market structure disruption. It has emerged as the world’s largest hotel network without owning any hotels. Instead, it is a massive collective of individual homeowners who each rent out their extra space, from spare rooms to holiday homes to travellers and holidaymakers seeking a place to stay. Essentially, Airbnb is a software platform that aligns the supply of available accommodation with the demand coming from guests looking for lodging.   

Why does innovation matter?  

A consistent flow of incremental innovation is essential if organisations are to avoid standing still. Life evolves, technology develops and, more importantly, client needs and expectations change. Staying consistent and current in a changing world is what incremental innovation is all about. Being focused on customers and delivering products and services that delight them is the key to business growth.  

Transformational innovation can revolutionise an organisation’s appeal to investors and its market performance. It paves the way to new markets and opportunities for significant growth, often blindsiding competitors. This kind of innovation can make established products and services seem lacklustre, unappealing and irrelevant in the wake of a market that has changed and evolved.  

The roadmap to innovation 

We are often asked how organisations can become more innovative. The simple answer is that it starts with your people. According to a benchmarking study conducted by Treehouse, senior leaders from top organisations agree that an innovative organisation is characterised by having at least 66% of its people actively engaged in innovation. These employees are either active facilitators and enablers of innovation or they contribute to shaping the setting and culture in which innovation can grow and flourish.

An organisation can increase its capacity and capability for innovation by empowering its people. This process begins with a clear articulation of the organisation’s vision and the fundamental purpose behind its innovation initiatives. The next step is to identify and define the specific roles that contribute to fostering innovation, with an understanding that the responsibility to encourage innovation lies with everyone within the organisation. To systematically develop people’s innovation capabilities, it is important to evaluate current levels of competency. Following this assessment, individual development interventions can be strategically implemented to bolster innovation skills across the organisation.

Find out more about our Innovation and Change theme of training for your organisation:

Enabling And Facilitating Innovation

For an organisation to be innovative, at least two-thirds (66%) of your employees need to be either fostering or enabling innovation. Are they?

READ MORE

Facilitation Skills - Meetings

Facilitating Better Meetings is a skill that can be easily learned through our self-paced training modules.

Learn More

FOSTERING INNOVATIVE CULTURES

How can innovation thrive when an organisation neglects to foster a culture where at least 66% of its employees actively engage in experimentation and learning?

Read More

Workshop Facilitation course

An expertly facilitated workshop dramatically improves efficiency and engagement.

Learn More

Unlocking the Future

a Crowd Idea Sourcing Opportunity

Treehouse are leading an exciting crowd idea sourcing activity which will take emerging Science & Technology signals derived from Horizon Scanning to unlock their potential by bringing great minds together in an ‘invite only’ forum.

We will be creating new ideas around the signals to see how they may influence our future, every week there will be new signals to discuss and futures to unlock.

We thank you for all the interest that this activity has generated. Application to join this programme is now closed.

Increasing Team Contribution Through Insights Discovery

Understanding Yourself and Others

At the heart of every organisation lie its people, it is their effective communication, collaboration and contribution that is the foundation of a successful business. In today’s complex work environments, it is more important than ever to help people understand themselves, and the people they work with, so that they can be effective and contribute at their highest level, whether that’s working as part of a high-functioning team or leading others with authenticity.

What is Insights Discovery

The start of this journey is Insights Discovery, a diagnostic tool rooted in the principles of Carl Jung’s psychology and modernised to meet the challenges of today's working environment. Insights Discovery uses psychometric testing to provide people with insights into their own preferences for working. It employs an easy-to-understand four-colour framework that helps us to understand ourselves and others. While we possess all four colour energies, it's our unique blend that creates our distinctive personalities. These colour energies epitomise the traits and behaviours that come most naturally to us, reflecting our innate preferences.

Colour Energies

Insights Discovery uses a four-colour model to represent our different personality preferences. The four colours are: 

• Cool Blue – cautious, precise, deliberate, questioning, formal.

• Earth Green – caring, encouraging, sharing, patient, relaxed

• Sunshine Yellow – social, dynamic, demonstrative, enthusiastic, persuasive.

• Fiery Red – competitive, demanding, determined, strong-willed, purposeful.

We are all a unique mix of these four colour energies with usually one dominant preference. The dominant colour energy typically determines how and why we communicate and interact the way we do. Through the lens of this powerful psychometric tool, managers and teams are able to better appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses and uncover new ways to connect, collaborate, and innovate.

Using Insights Discovery to Elevate Contribution

The four-colour energy model acts as a common language for individuals to better understand each other.  They find value in Insights Discovery for adapting their style, building rapport and strengthening their professional relationships.  For organisations, Insights Discover helps with improving communication, reducing conflict, enhancing teamwork, and promoting self-awareness. Here's how Insights Discovery can transform working key relationships and boost your team dynamics.

Developing Self-Awareness:

Understanding ourselves is the cornerstone of effective leadership and collaboration. Insights Discovery helps managers and leaders recognise their strengths, preferences, and potential areas of growth. When managers are self-aware, they're better equipped to lead with empathy, delegate effectively, and make informed decisions.

Celebrating Diversity:

Every team is a mosaic of different personalities and work styles. While this diversity is a strength, it can also lead to misunderstandings. The Insights Discovery colour-coded model offers a simple yet profound way to appreciate the diversity within a team. By celebrating these differences, teams can use individual strengths to create a culture where everyone feels valued and understood.

Improving Communication:

Miscommunication can be a constant source of conflict in the workplace. Insights Discovery equips teams with the language and understanding to communicate more effectively. Managers can tailor their communication style to resonate with each team member. This ensures clarity and reduces the chance of misunderstandings.

Enhancing Conflict Resolution:

Differences in opinion and approach are inevitable within a team. Insights Discovery training helps people to understand the underlying preferences that influence behaviour. This understanding can remove emotion from conflicts, making it easier to address issues objectively and find common ground.

Boosting Team Contribution:

When team members understand each other's work preferences, they can collaborate more easily. Whether it's a Fiery Red individual taking the lead on driving results or a Cool Blue peer managing the details, Insights Discovery lights up the pathways for more effective collaboration and greater contribution.

Improving Leadership Strategies:

No two teams are the same, and effective leadership requires adaptability. Insights Discovery provides managers with an understanding of their leadership style and how it might be perceived by different team members. Equipped with this knowledge, managers can adjust their approach to motivate, inspire, and lead their teams more effectively.

Strengthening Customer and Supplier Relationships:

The benefits of Insights Discovery aren’t limited to internal team dynamics. Customer-facing and supplier-facing teams can use their understanding of personality preferences to connect better with their customers, suppliers and the wider ecosystem of industry peers. By tailoring their approach, they can resonate with different personalities to achieve more meaningful outcomes. 

The Human Element

People contribute at their highest level when they understand themselves better. Insights Discovery offers managers and leaders a bridge to deeper understanding, better collaboration, and more meaningful connections in the workplace. Equipped with this understanding they can build effective and high-performing teams and develop strong relationships with their direct reports, other colleagues, peers and the wider ecosystem of partners and suppliers. By embracing the methodology of Insights Discovery, managers and their teams can connect and collaborate with others creating a working environment where innovation, contribution and growth can flourish.

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Insights Discovery: © The Insights Group Ltd, 2023. All rights reserved.

The Power of Storytelling in Business

Creating a Lasting Impact

The love of stories is a universal human trait that transcends age. They spark our imagination, challenge our thinking, present complex ideas that stimulate our intellectual curiosity and encourage reflection. Stories can be a catalyst for change in our lives. 

Storytelling

This course dhows managers how to create a narrative using the 'rollercoaster' method which can be adapted to any situation.

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Using a narrative in communication is like weaving a captivating tale. You find yourself fascinated, eagerly awaiting each twist and turn. The emotional highs and lows, the villains and heroes - yes, even in the business world - come to life, transporting you into a world conjured solely by the speaker's imagination.

Now, imagine if more of your business communications had that same lasting impact. Investing time in creating a narrative isn't just about making your words more engaging; it's about effectiveness. A well-crafted story ensures that your message is not only heard but retained. It becomes more than mere information; it turns into an experience that your audience carries with them.

Building Emotional Connections

The human psyche is hardwired to respond to stories. We connect, remember, and engage with narratives that stir our emotions. In business, storytelling helps create an emotional connection between your brand and your customers. A well-crafted story can turn an ordinary product or service description into an engaging narrative that resonates with your audience. The purpose is to put your audience at the heart of your story and show how your solution benefits them. Here are some of the ways storytelling benefits business.

Simplifying Complexity

Some products or services can be complex and difficult to explain. Storytelling enables organisations to break down intricate ideas into digestible and relatable pieces. By framing information within a story, companies can make their offerings more accessible and appealing to potential customers.

Crafting a Strong Brand Identity

Your brand's story is the essence of your business. It's what sets you apart from your competition. Whether it's your origin story, your purpose, or the impact you want to make in the world, storytelling helps you convey these core aspects. It's about creating a narrative that aligns with your target audience and resonates with their needs and the outcomes they want to achieve.

Influencing Decisions

By telling a compelling story, you can guide customers through their decision-making process. Storytelling allows you to paint a vivid picture of how your product or service fits into the customer's life, how it solves a problem, and why it's the best choice.

Building Trust and Credibility

Trust is the cornerstone of any business relationship. Sharing real stories of success, challenges, or how your business made a difference can build credibility and trust with your audience. Authentic and transparent storytelling communicates that your business is not just about making a profit, but about values, integrity, and community.

Inspiring and Motivating Teams

Internally, storytelling can be a powerful tool for inspiring employees. Sharing the company's purpose, way and impact, celebrating successes, and learning from failures through stories encourages a sense of community and alignment within the team.

Elevate Your Communication

Storytelling is more than just weaving words together; it's about creating connections, conveying values, inspiring action, and building relationships. It is a strategic tool that can elevate your communication to a new level of connection with your audience, increasing the chances that what you say will be remembered.

Managers and business leaders who understand the power of storytelling are better positioned to influence, engage, and create lasting connections with their audience. In a world where information is abundant, standing out is crucial. The next time you speak to your audience, ask yourself, "What's my story?" and use the art of storytelling to reach minds and hearts.

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More on Generating Engagement

Managers who practise positive engagement with, and beyond, their teams create a more enjoyable, productive, and successful work environment.

Find out more about the link between team engagement and business outcomes and our generating engagement theme courses which include:

• Influencing without Authority and

• Storytelling

Influencing without Authority

Influence without Authority

Rethinking the Traditional Hierarchy

Instead of thinking about organisations being hierarchical, vertical structures where people are grouped according to their technical expertise, think of them in a new way. Imagine organisations as horizontal flows of value, where raw materials, either physical or intellectual, flow through various departments. Each stage adds value, eventually culminating in a product or service-enriched with value and tailored to the customer’s needs.

Influencing without Authority Course

Learn how to forge positive working relationships for life and build a deeper sense of community and belonging.

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Delivering customer delight is how organisations make money and grow. The traditional hierarchy structure has some benefits as it groups people together enabling them to build their technical skills within their formal community. But times are changing. Increasingly organisations are operating like networks of people who come together in cross-functional teams to deliver for customers.

Functional Stovepipes

For example, consider the process of building a new plane. In a traditional organisation, there would be a hierarchical structure, dividing the workforce into specific functions like design, engineering, safety, manufacturing, procurement, and commercial roles. However, the construction of a plane requires a more cohesive approach.

These various people need to collaborate cross-functionally to guide the project from inception to completion. This process requires a seamless transition between departments, where metal is transformed through various stages of design, honing, testing, commercialising, and manufacturing. Value is created along a chain that flows through all these functional stovepipes, establishing a clear and efficient path to the finished product.

In the complex world of building a plane, a traditional command-and-control style of management falls short. Direct orders like 'do this' or 'do it this way' become ineffective when they clash with the collaborative and cross-functional nature of the work. The old 'tell' style of leadership is outdated, and thankfully so – after all, no one appreciates being dictated to.

Fluid and Adaptive Culture

Organisations need to be more agile, nurturing environments where people are encouraged to think for themselves and make decisions based on their unique skills and expertise. This approach not only leads to greater contribution from employees but also promotes a fluid and adaptive culture. The ability to influence without direct authority is not just valuable; it's essential. People collaborate and lead through persuasion and mutual respect, creating a more responsive and dynamic workplace.

So, what does it mean to influence without wielding direct authority? This approach isn't as straightforward as telling people what to do, but it’s more powerful and the potential is vast. It can forge positive working relationships and deepen a sense of community and belonging, which in turn increases employee engagement and retention.

Influencing without authority revolves around understanding four key aspects: What, Who, Why, and How.

• What: To understand this, first establish what falls within your sphere of influence. You might find that your reach extends further than you thought.

• Who: Identify who are your internal and external customers and who do you need to influence. Keep in mind that your time is precious, so it needs to be invested wisely.

• Why: What are the interests and motivations of those you aim to influence. What drives them? Why would they be responsive to your ideas?

• How: Creating influence starts with a shared vision and goal. It involves gathering a group of people together whose focus points roughly in the same direction. To influence others, you first need to understand your own motivations. What drives you? How do you prefer to work? How does that align with others' preferences? Influence also involves asking insightful questions, actively listening, finding common ground, and reaching agreement on the actions each person will take.

Mutual Respect

Influencing without authority isn't simple, but it is powerful. Success in influencing others hinges on recognising the importance of listening and understanding over simply imparting wisdom. It's not just about sharing your knowledge; it's about genuinely hearing others and building a network of trust.

By focusing on the development of trusting relationships, you lay the foundation for influence that resonates. The employees who stand out and become the most sought-after are those who continually hone their ability to influence others effectively, recognising that the path to true collaboration lies in building positive relationships, based on empathy and mutual respect, and creating engaged, cohesive teams.

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More on Generating Engagement

Managers who practise positive engagement with, and beyond, their teams create a more enjoyable, productive, and successful work environment.

Find out more about the link between team engagement and business outcomes and our generating engagement theme courses which include:

• Influencing without Authority and

• Storytelling

Are you investing your time wisely?

Do we understand the value of time?

How often have you heard the phrase “time is money”? The commonly used expression emphasises the value of our time in economic terms. It conveys the message that our time is a finite resource that should be valued and used efficiently. However, how many of us understand the value of our time?

Decoding your value

Most of us have a view of what we are paid (whether that is enough or not is a topic for another day!), and some of us may know what our hourly rate is. Most employees know what their companies do and how much profit or turnover the company makes each year. But how many of us understand the correlation between our hourly rate and the turnover the company needs to achieve to cover that cost?

For some, keeping abreast of the company’s financial statements and share price might be a regular pastime, for others it falls lower on the priority list. However, regardless of individual inclinations, all employees should have a fundamental understanding of what drives their company's profitability and the role they play in contributing to its success. Recognising the factors that lead to profitability empowers employees to make informed decisions and align their efforts with the organisation's goals, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement in their work.

for every hour an employee dedicates to their work, the company must generate a staggering £500 worth of turnover just to pay their salary and keep the lights on.

Picture this, as employees we have a clear perspective on our hourly pay, let us say £50 per hour. Treehouse client research has shown that typically, a company needs to generate ten times that amount in turnover to be successful. This means for every hour an employee dedicates to their work, the company must generate a staggering £500 worth of turnover just to pay their salary and keep the lights on.

Freelancers and consultants have a distinct advantage when it comes to understanding their value and worth. With invoicing based on hourly or daily rates, their time holds direct monetary value. However, for salaried employees, recognising the impact and significance of each hour contributed to the company's success can be more challenging.

Is this worth my time and the company’s money?

In our previous example, we discussed an hourly rate of £50 and the need to generate ten times that amount in turnover. Now, picture a meeting with 10 attendees, each earning £50 per hour. Based on our equation that meeting alone should deliver a value of £5000. Did your attendance, along with others, individually contribute £500 of value?

While this viewpoint may be simplistic, it highlights the significance of recognising the value of your time, which often exceeds your hourly rate. It's not just time you are investing; it's a more complex financial equation where your contributions hold immense value. By understanding the value of your time and contribution, you gain the ability to prioritise and manage your time more effectively.

As an employee, your working week consists of a limited number of hours. The crucial question you should ask yourself is this: "Am I investing my hours in activities that enable me to make the greatest impact?" Contribution extends beyond revenue generation; it encompasses achieving your objectives, making a meaningful contribution to your company, and nurturing your personal growth and goals.

Maximising time and impact

Envision having £2000 at your disposal this week, where each £50 represents an hour of your precious time. Now, consider this: What will you invest that £2000 in? Which activities hold the greatest potential for contributing value to your company's success? Are there opportunities to reframe your perception of time, such as shortening meetings to 45 minutes instead of the standard hour, or 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes? Can you automate routine tasks or delegate responsibilities to others whose skills are better suited? The ultimate goal is to maximise the return on investment of your time and make strategic choices that produce the most significant impact.

But remember, life is not just about work. It’s essential to our wellbeing that life encompasses various aspects beyond work and finding that balance is vital for a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. Do not forget to prioritise your family, friends, hobbies, self-care, as well ample sleep, and relaxation. To be the best version of ourselves, we cannot afford to be running on empty.

Effective planning and coordination involve aligning our efforts with what truly matters, both professionally and personally, ensuring that each hour spent counts towards a fulfilling and balanced life.

The Roadmap to Success

How SMART Objectives and Meaningful Goals Foster Clarity, Collaboration, and Alignment

Setting objectives and goals is an essential part of personal and professional growth.

Setting Direction Course

How to establish and communicate your team’s Purpose, Way (of working) and Impact on the organisation plus how to set SMART Objectives and Meaningful Goals to help get them there.

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The SMART framework is useful for setting clear and actionable objectives. Each component of the SMART acronym - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound - plays an important role and serves a purpose:

• Specific: ensures objectives are well defined and answer important questions of who, what, where, when, and why.

• Measurable: allows for quantifiable progress to be measured and evaluated objectively.

• Achievable: considers available resources, skills, constraints and if the objectives are realistic and attainable.

• Relevant: ensures objectives are aligned with broader goals and contribute to the overall mission or purpose of the team/organisation.

• Time-bound: focuses on objectives having a specific timeframe or deadline, providing a sense of urgency, and enabling effective planning and tracking.

SMART objectives focus on the tangible aspects of goal setting, emphasising clarity, measurability, and feasibility. Whilst the SMART framework provides a structured approach, it's equally important to consider three critical aspects that enhance goal effectiveness: clarity, collaboration, and alignment. In this blog, we will explore how these elements contribute to the success and meaningfulness of goals.

Clear Goals: The Foundation of Success

To ensure objectives are effective, they must be expressed in plain English and easily understood by all stakeholders. They should leave no room for ambiguity and provide a roadmap for action. A good objective not only meets the SMART criteria but also provides guidance on what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, and beyond. By fostering clarity, individuals can direct their efforts with precision and focus.

Collaborative Objective Setting: Ownership and Alignment

Developing objectives collaboratively creates a shared point of view among team members. When goals are co-created, there is better clarity, enhanced alignment, and a sense of ownership among all involved. By actively involving team members in the goal-setting process, managers can tap into diverse perspectives, expertise, and insights. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of shared responsibility and engagement, leading to higher levels of commitment and goal achievement.

Alignment: Everyone Pointed in the Same Direction

For goals to be truly effective, they need to be aligned with the broader objectives of the organisation. Aligning individual goals with departmental goals, which, in turn, align with the organisation's purpose, creates a seamless flow of purpose, way, and impact. When everyone understands how their work contributes to the overall mission, there is a heightened sense of clarity, consistency, and momentum. It's crucial to ensure that every employee knows how their goals align with the organisation's purpose, and how their contribution is making an impact. This fosters a cohesive and focused environment because when people know that their daily tasks contribute to the organisation's goals, they feel inspired and valued. This drives them to work more effectively towards a common purpose, resulting in greater job satisfaction, purpose, and employee retention.

Fulfilment, Purpose, and Alignment

Whilst SMART objectives focus on the tangible aspects of goal setting, emphasising clarity, measurability, and feasibility, meaningful goals emphasise the significance and purpose behind the goals being set. While they can still incorporate the SMART principles, meaningful goals go beyond the specific framework and consider the deeper motivation and personal or organisational values associated with the goals.

Meaningful goals encompass personal values, align with organisational missions, foster personal growth, and aim for social impact. They provide employees with a sense of fulfilment, purpose, and alignment with their core values. These goals contribute to the broader mission and vision of organisations while promoting personal development and making a positive difference in society.

Linking Purpose, Impact, and Personal Motivation

In the pursuit of meaningful goals, it's essential to consider the connecting point between purpose, impact, and personal motivation. The highest level of contribution occurs when customer needs, organisational purpose, and personal motivation align. Recruiting individuals whose personal motivation aligns with the organisation's purpose and customer needs is key. When their values and aspirations are in harmony with the organisation, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to achieving exceptional results.

Meaningful Recruitment and Retention

Recruiting individuals for their personal motivation and values, and training for skills is a powerful strategy. When hiring, organisations should seek individuals who genuinely care about their industry and are driven to make a difference for the customer. Aligning personal motivations with the organisation’s purpose sets the stage for meaningful work.

In terms of retention, it's important to match internal job opportunities with individuals whose motivation aligns with the role. Granting autonomy over goal definition allows employees to contribute to the organisation's purpose while feeling a sense of ownership and fulfilment.

The Significance of SMART Objectives and Meaningful Goals

The significance of SMART objectives and meaningful goals lies in their ability to drive clarity, focus, and success in personal and organisational endeavours.

SMART goals serve as a structured framework for effective goal setting. However, to unlock their full potential, goals must also embody clarity, collaboration, and alignment. By combining these three aspects, goals become more effective and meaningful. Clear goals provide a clear direction, collaborative goals foster teamwork and engagement, and aligned goals ensure that efforts are directed towards common objectives, enhancing overall productivity and success.

By setting SMART objectives and embracing meaningful goals, individuals and organisations can drive success, create meaningful impact, and foster a cohesive and purpose-driven environment. Ultimately, by linking personal motivations with the organisation's purpose, individuals can contribute their best work and achieve impactful results.

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ARE YOUR MANAGERS EQUIPPED TO SET SMART Objectives and Meaningful Goals?

Find out with our manager capability diagnostic and growth plan:

Our Manager Capability Diagnostic has helped many of our clients understand their managers' management and leadership capability. With this information, Treehouse has been able to set, run and measure growth plans for each individual and report back on the success.

Take a look at our diagnostic and find out how we can help your managers set direction across their teams.

WINNERS - London and the South Excellence in Supply Awards 2023

Reducing the gender pay gap and empowering women in NHS Finance and Procurement

Go team Treehouse, we did it! Last month we won the NHS Excellence in Supply Award in the Support Services category!  We were pitted against a number of prominent supply chain organisations; for a training programme to come out on top was a fantastic achievement.

The award recognised our work in the Thrive programme in 2022 for Barts Health NHS Trust. Treehouse partnered with key stakeholders at NHS Barts to design and deliver a programme with the purpose of helping women in Finance and Procurement at NHS Barts to overcome the barriers and challenges they face in their roles. The programme helped to equip women aspiring to senior positions with the tools and self-belief to pursue and win those roles. And for women at all management levels, the programme enabled them to feel more empowered in their careers and working lives.

Since completing the Thrive programme, four women have been promoted to senior roles and the Finance and Procurement gender pay gap has reduced by 6 points from 10.3% in March 2021 to 4% in January 2023.

For more on the Thrive programme and what it entailed please take a look at our case study.

Goodbye mission, vision, and values: The flexible alternative you need to know!

Throw away the Business Textbook

Open any business management book and there will be a chapter about establishing your mission, vision, and value statements. The point of creating these statements is to give the organisation focus, consistency, and direction. But what happens when they are too rigid or outdated and constrain innovation and creativity? Think about your own organisation, do you know what the mission, vision, and values are? How long ago were they created? Are they even still relevant?

In today’s business environment organisations need to be adaptable and dynamic to respond to market forces and societal shifts. Management theory that dates back to the 1960s is no longer fit for purpose in today’s competitive and rapidly changing world.

Breaking free from rigid business models

It’s time to consign to the past the rigid model of mission, vision, and values (along with shoulder pads and power suits). In today's rapidly changing and uncertain world, relying on a fixed mission, vision, and values is not enough to set the future direction for an organisation. It's difficult to have a 10-year vision when the future is unpredictable.

Inspiring Creativity and Flexibility: Purpose, Way and Impact

Instead, organisations should focus on clarifying their purpose and being more adaptable to change. This means emphasising the "why" and "how" and being flexible about the "what" which can evolve over time. By inspiring creativity and action, and enabling people to connect with the purpose, organisations can respond to changing times and thrive in a volatile environment.

Rather than vague statements, what organisations need is a new model for setting direction that is flexible and adaptable. Purpose, way, and impact deliver a framework that can flex to changes in the market, industry, or society, allowing organisations to respond quickly to new challenges or opportunities. Taking this approach allows companies to pivot their strategies, when necessary, without having to completely overhaul their guiding principles.

Why fixed plans can lead to failure

The problem with mission, vision, and value concept is that it can impede an organisation’s effectiveness due to the lack of flexibility and adaptability. When a company's mission, vision, and values are rigid and inflexible, it inhibits people from being able to adapt to changes in the market, industry, or society. This can limit a company's ability to innovate and grow, making it difficult to achieve its goals.

Another challenge is the difficulty in measuring success. Unlike concrete metrics such as revenue and profits, mission, vision, and values are abstract concepts that are difficult to quantify. This can make it challenging for organisations to establish whether they are achieving their goals or not.

The purpose of mission, vision, and values is to guide a company's overall direction, but what if they are not effective? Some organisations have mission statements that are too broad or generic, lack meaningful values, or fail to align with their business strategy. If employees can’t understand how their work contributes to the company's goals, this will inevitably lead to a lack of engagement or motivation. When mission, vision, and values are disconnected from day-to-day operations, they become empty slogans that fail to resonate with employees or customers.

From static statement to measurable impact

Instead of a fixed vision, let’s leap forward with a new model for setting direction. Purpose, Way, and Impact provides organisations with a concept that is inspiring, flexible, and aligned with achieving measurable impact.

• Purpose: stating the change that you want to make.

• Way: the behaviours and the unique way you will make things happen. 

• Impact: how the organisation will make the world and people’s lives better.

When a company's purpose, way, and impact are clearly defined, it becomes easier for employees to understand how their work contributes to the company's overall goals. This can lead to increased engagement, passion, motivation and job satisfaction among employees.

Lastly, by focusing on measurable outcomes, organisations can determine whether they are achieving their goals and make data-driven decisions. This can help companies improve their performance and achieve greater success.

Setting direction that delivers impact

As a leader, you hold the power to scale both your own and your team’s contribution and impact to the organisation. The choices you make every day are instrumental in determining the direction and success of your team.

To increase your own impact and contribution, it is essential to lead through your people. You cannot achieve everything on your own, and working collaboratively with your team will achieve greater outcomes.

One key aspect of leading effectively is to set meaningful goals for yourself and your team. These goals should be ambitious yet achievable and be aligned with the overall purpose and strategy of the organisation. To ensure that you and your team are making progress towards your goals, break them down into smaller milestones that you can work towards on a regular basis. This can be done on a quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

Why setting direction matters

During a visit to the NASA Space Centre in 1962, President Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man, and said: “Hi, I'm Jack Kennedy, what are you doing?” The janitor responded: “I'm helping put a man on the moon, Mr President.”

When people know that their daily tasks contribute to the organisation's goals, they feel inspired and valued. This drives them to work more effectively towards a common purpose, resulting in greater job satisfaction, purpose, and employee retention. And when employees are fulfilled in their work, it leads to improved overall performance and reduced turnover costs.

But why does contribution matter so much? Simply put, it's the driving force behind the success and growth of any organisation. When employees feel that their contributions are valuable, they become more motivated, engaged, and productive. This, in turn, leads to innovation and success, benefiting the organisation as a whole.

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Need some help uncovering your Purpose, Way and Impact?

Through our setting direction course, we’ll help you set the direction for your organisation

When people understand an organisation’s purpose, way, and impact, they can more easily connect and be inspired by it – and when people are inspired, they contribute more.

Our setting direction course equips managers with the tools to help them establish a focused yet flexible Purpose and Way of working for their teams.  They will learn how to make a difference and get everyone lined up in the same direction to collectively make a positive contribution to your organisation’s goals.

What is the Manager Mindset?

Different Types of Managers

What type of managers does your company employ? How has their previous experience of management and experience shaped their approach to management? Are they inspirational and supportive of their team or the complete opposite? The manager mindset is not just about a manager’s skills and abilities. It’s about the person; their attitudes, beliefs, values, and habits, all of which shape their approach to managing and leading their team.

The manager mindset defines the way a manager approaches their role, how they take on and dispense responsibilities, the strategies they employ and their overarching philosophy towards leading their team or organisation. For example, a manager with a collaborative mindset will value teamwork and cooperation. Whereas a manager with a control-orientated mindset will be focused on maintaining control and micromanaging.

The myriad of manager mindsets

There are many different manager mindsets, as people are a result of their unique experiences, attitude and values. Mindsets are also not fixed and will evolve over time based on many different factors, particularly if the manager has undergone training or not.

These mindsets are also indicators of where the manager fits on their Contribution Curve. The Contribution Curve is a ‘soft-skills-based’ competency framework which provides insights and guidance to turning managers and leaders into top contributors in their organisation.

Here we outline some of the more common manager mindsets and where they align with stages on the Contribution Curve.

The Reactive Mindset

This type of manager is task orientated and focused on the here and now within their team. Their thinking is driven by the desire to get tasks completed and solve customer or supplier problems when they arise.

Managers with a Reactive Mindset typically sit under the first step of the Contribution Curve.

Growth Mindset

This type of manager embraces both challenges and failures, seeing them as opportunities for learning and improvement. They are focused on their team’s potential and developing their personal and professional growth.

Managers with a Growth Mindset typically sit under the ‘Directing’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Results-Driven Mindset:

The number one priority for this type of manager is achieving targets and maximising efficiency. Their focus is on getting the job done at all costs and often at the expense of developing their team.

Managers with a Results-Driven Mindset typically sit under the ‘Controlling’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Collaborative Mindset

Teamwork and open communication are at the forefront of this manager’s approach. They thrive on collaboration and actively encourage their team members to work together, share ideas and provide support for one another.

Managers with a Collaborative Mindset typically sit under the ‘Facilitating’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Consultative Mindset

The consultative mindset is a way of thinking that places the needs of the client first which involves asking questions, listening carefully, and seeking to understand the client's perspective before offering advice or solutions. This mindset is characterised by empathy, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from the client. It is about developing trust and credibility by demonstrating expertise, sharing insights, and working collaboratively with the client to achieve their goals.

Transformative Mindset

Managers with this mindset want to make positive changes, not just within their team but across the organisation. They are innovative and adaptable managers that will take risks to drive change – and actively encourage their team to do the same.

Managers with a Transformative Mindset typically sit under the ‘Leading’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Empowering Mindset

This type of manager doesn’t shine unless their team shines too. Their focus is on empowering their team to succeed by giving them the tools and resources needed, then delegating responsibilities and encouraging the team to take the lead on projects.

Managers with an Empowering Mindset typically sit under the ‘Directing’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Control-Oriented Mindset

With a reputation for being a micromanager, this type of manager struggles to relinquish control and delegate tasks. With a focus on order and structure, a manager with a control-oriented mindset tends to hold back team members because of their inability to develop them.

Managers with a Control-Oriented Mindset typically sit under the ‘Controlling’ step of the Contribution Curve.

Why a manager’s mindset is important

In a nutshell, a manager’s mindset can decide a team’s success or failure. The manager sets the tone, direction and culture of the team or organisation. Their attitude and approach can either inspire or demotivate team members and ultimately impact their productivity, motivation and morale.

It might be a cliché to say that people don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers. However, this scenario happens all the time. Managers shape a team’s culture and can either encourage a collaborative and innovative environment or foster a culture of blame and fear. Managers affect employee morale and motivation, either by supporting and valuing the team or by being critical and negative, leaving the team feeling demotivated and disengaged.

A good manager is a role model for their team and their mindset can set the example of how the team can approach their work. A manager with a positive and growth-oriented mindset can inspire team members to adopt a similar mindset and strive for continuous improvement. This helps the team reach their next level of effectiveness, it’s not only good for team morale but also productivity and revenue.

Can a mindset be changed?

Yes! We have worked with many leaders and managers over the years and not one of them aspired to be a ‘bad’ or ineffective manager. Too often people are promoted into a role because they have excelled in their individual contribution and promotion is the reward.

Being a manager can be challenging and requires a wide range of skills including communication, decision-making, delegation, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. Managers need to have a clear vision and direction for their team, inspire and motivate their team members, and help them achieve their goals.

Most managers have good intentions but due to lack of training, guidance, and support the role of manager can be a poisoned chalice. A trained manager with a positive mindset not only boosts individual contribution across the team, but also attracts, hires, and inspires great people. In a competitive employment market with ever-increasing gaps in the talent pool, a manager with a positive mindset increases team resilience and reduces costly churn.

Establishing a manager mindset that enables the team to develop and succeed, requires managers to shine a light on their attitudes, beliefs, values, and habits. By understanding their existing thought patterns and becoming more self-aware of their automatic response, it’s possible for managers to replace negativity with more positive and productive patterns of thought.

Management Development Programme

A capability diagnostic and growth plan for your managers.

Our Management Development Programme has helped many of our clients to transform their management and leadership capability by building the contribution of each of their people. This has enabled organisations to fulfil their purpose, make an impact and achieve sustained contribution, value and success.

Get in touch and find out how we can help your organisation.

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Thinking Theme: The Manager’s Mindset

What a manager mindset is and how it impacts an organisation.

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The Manager’s Mindset Course

How to manage people and contribute through others.

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Shattering the Top Five Myths of Management

The Misconceptions of Management

The world of management is a topic that has been extensively written about, wander into the business section of any bookstore and you will find shelves groaning under the weight of management strategies. There are many misconceptions and myths about management that could rattle the most experienced of managers, let alone novices embarking on their first role.

Over the years we have worked with many companies to develop their managers and in that time, we have come across many myths, rumours, and misconceptions. Firstly, let’s be clear, managers are essential and play a critical role within organisations. Myths and misconceptions of management can be harmful to the newly promoted manager keen to make a difference with the team and organisation. So, let’s set about busting the management myths that could be holding newly back newly promoted managers or experienced managers stuck in a ‘reactive’ mindset.

Myth 1: Managers who delegate relinquish control of team outcomes

Delegation is an important management skill that brings with it the benefits of improving team efficiency, promoting employee development, and allowing managers to focus on higher-level tasks. Delegation does not mean abdication – it is not about giving up authority and responsibility!

Instead, it is a shift of decision-making authority on a task from the manager to a team member. Effective delegation involves providing clear guidance, setting expectations, and following up to ensure that tasks are completed to a high standard. The manager remains responsible and accountable for the outcome of the delegated task.

Managers with a reactive mindset can often struggle to delegate as their focus is on the here and now - allocating people to the tasks at hand and addressing immediate capability needs. Reactive managers often were once the team expert, and so relish an opportunity to roll up their sleeves and help. Sounds ideal but, with the manager adopting the role of expert, the team is directionless.

Managers that have been promoted from being the team expert can tend to stick closely to what they know, and not develop the skills they need to manage and lead the team. This can be disguised as wanting to ‘keep their hand in’ or being a ‘hands-on’ manager. Both are important but a manager with a reacting mindset is not only failing to develop their team, but they are also not developing as a manager - and that can lead to reduced contribution from everyone, including the manager.

Myth 2: Management is career advancement

You have a star performer in your team of experts that shines above the rest, who works diligently and delivers for customers, partners, and the team. You want to reward them, as they clearly have great potential, so the obvious next step is a promotion to manager. And that’s when the problems begin.

Management is not career advancement, it is a career change, a cross-functional move into something new. If a company said they were going to promote a salesperson into the role of an accountant without training and development, there would be a few eyebrows raised. This happens to new managers so regularly it is almost standard practice in many companies.

Managers thrust into this position are like deer caught in headlights, they allocate people to tasks, reacting to problems as they emerge, and the focus is on maintaining staffing levels to deal with immediate needs. Tasks may get ticked off the list, but you could hardly say the team is firing on all cylinders.

There are key differences between being a subject matter expert and being a manager, including the need to oversee team dynamics, set priorities, and communicate effectively. Without doubt, subject matter expertise can be a valuable asset for managers, but it is not the only factor that determines success in a managerial role.

Effective management requires qualities and skills such as leadership, communication, delegation, and strategic thinking. Without training and development new managers, or team experts that were thrust into the role without any development can remain stuck in a reactive mindset due to the lack of coaching to progress their manager mindset to the next level.

Myth 3: A manager’s role is to ensure tasks are completed

As a manager, it is your responsibility to establish your team's vision, values, and goals, clarify objectives and set expectations with customers and suppliers.

Managers with a reactive mindset can become so preoccupied with completing the tasks for the day that they overlook the importance of supporting employee development, fostering a positive team culture, and promoting innovation and creativity.  By never looking up and out on how their team adds to the organisation, reactive managers risk delivering a reduced contribution from the entire team, including themselves.

Focusing purely on the here and now, the immediate tasks and tactics is incredibly short-sighted and places the manager in a position of constantly reacting to emerging problems. Taking a broader, more holistic approach to management, delivers benefits across the team, including improved employee engagement and retention, higher levels of productivity and innovation, and stronger relationships with customers and stakeholders.

Myth 4: Good managers should help the team by addressing immediate problems and concerns

There is a common misconception that effective management is all about putting out fires and resolving immediate problems. Many managers fall into the trap of reactive management, where they only focus on solving problems as they arise. While this approach may seem practical in the short term, it can lead to missed opportunities for growth and improvement.

By taking a wider view of the business, managers can identify potential areas for growth and improvement, anticipate challenges before they arise, and build stronger relationships with stakeholders. Proactive management leads to a more sustainable and successful business model.

Effective management requires more than just putting out fires. By taking a proactive, strategic approach, managers can unlock their team’s full potential and develop an effective and efficient department that contributes highly.

Myth 5: There is a single strategy to being a good manager

Probably the biggest myth of them all. There are libraries of management books dedicated to bombarding managers with messages and promises of how a particular methodology can transform them into a good manager.  The reality is that being a manager can be challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all strategy that guarantees success.

The effectiveness of a manager depends on a variety of factors, including their leadership style, communication skills, and mindset. Effective managers need to be able to adapt their leadership style to the situation at hand and the needs of their team members.

Communication is also key, and managers must be able to communicate effectively with their team members, as well as with stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and executives. Effective communication involves active listening, clear articulation of expectations, and providing feedback that is specific, constructive, and timely.

Contribution not performance

When it comes to employment, people seek more than just a salary. They want to feel valued, trusted, and fulfilled in their roles. However, managers with a reactive mindset can inadvertently undermine these desires by obsessing over performance metrics at the expense of everything else. This narrow focus can actually hinder productivity and create a toxic work environment.

When a manager's primary goal is to meet goals and targets, it can lead to a short-sighted approach that ignores the bigger picture. Employees may feel undervalued and resentful, leading to poor morale and high turnover rates.

Shifting the focus from performance to contribution can create a more efficient, effective, and agile team. Rather than just hitting numbers, the emphasis is on how team members can make a positive difference to the team and the company as a whole. This approach can foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and creativity, where employees feel valued and engaged. By promoting a sense of purpose and autonomy, managers can inspire their teams to work together toward shared goals, resulting in increased productivity and better outcomes.

Our training programmes offer managers personalised development so they can develop their own style of management that allows them to contribute highly through others.

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A Tailored learning journey for managers

Treehouse develops and delivers tailored learning growth plans for managers based on the results from an initial management capability diagnostic.

These growth plans and activities including coaching, action learning sets and self-learning help managers with a reactive mindset to adopt a more positive approach and develop their management capability leading to more productive behaviours and ultimately, success for the team and the company.

Management Development Programme

A capability diagnostics and growth plan for your managers.

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The Power of a Coaching Mindset

Unleashing Resilience: How a Coaching Mindset can Transform Your Team

Leaders with a coaching mindset understand that people are resourceful. Often, they are far more resourceful than the organisation gives them credit for – and often more resourceful than the person believes themselves to be. In times of change, wouldn’t it be of immense benefit to have resilient and resourceful people in your organisation?  People that are skilled and able to adapt to shifting organisational priorities and goals.

A manager with a coaching mindset takes every opportunity to grow the capability and contribution of their people. They do this by facilitating the learning, development, and performance of their employees, both formally and informally, in whichever way will work best for the individual. This type of manager understands that when people are valued and trusted it inspires self-motivation, and a willingness to step outside of their comfort zones.

A Coaching Mindset: Unlock the Power of your Team

How to increase your own headspace and grow the capability of your organisation.

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Coaching managers not only build the skills and experience of the people in their team but also their confidence, engagement, and sense of agency. When your employees are engaged, confident and proactive, they are more likely to be agile in their approach and cope better under pressure. Empowered to get on with the job, your employees are more likely to innovate and will pivot, when necessary, without waiting for instruction. At the same time, your people will know when to check in and feel able to ask for help.

Shedding the weight of being too responsible

Being responsible for your team is an essential quality of leadership however it is possible to be too responsible.  It is important to strike a balance and avoid taking ownership for the entire teams’ actions, emotions, mistakes, and problems.

One reason leaders may take on too much responsibility is a lack of trust in their team. This can stem from a variety of factors, including a fear of failure or a desire to maintain control. However, not delegating responsibilities can limit the growth and development of your people, as well as hinder the overall success of the organisation. By not trusting others to complete tasks, leaders can also miss out on innovative solutions that may come from their team members.

On the other hand, leaders may also take on too much responsibility because they don't want to overburden their team. In times of crisis or uncertainty, it's natural to want to protect and support those around us. However, leaders need to recognise that their people are capable and can rise to the occasion when given the opportunity.

When times are tough and your people are overwhelmed, a coaching mindset helps to unlock your team’s full potential. Delegating tasks, empowering team members, and trusting them to take ownership of their work creates a more productive, positive, and empowering culture. Which ultimately leads to a stronger and more successful organisation.

The building blocks of a coaching mindset: key elements of success

A coaching mindset is not about giving instructions, solving problems for your people, or persuading them that your way of doing things is the best, and only, way forward. It’s about helping your team to grow and contribute in their own way. After all, each of us has a unique set of strengths and skills based on our lived experiences. While your coaching approach might vary, depending on the knowledge and understanding of the different people in your team, here are some key elements that form the foundation of a coaching mindset.

• Active Listening - are you really listening to your people? Are you listening with your eyes and your heart as well as your ears and your mind? Don’t listen to respond. Listen to understand, encourage, and facilitate learning and positive action.

• Being Curious - if you’re not getting what you think you want out of a person, instead of getting frustrated, get curious. What’s going on for them? Are they worried about failing? What’s holding them back? Scratch under the surface by asking questions beginning with ‘What’ and ‘How’. This can really help someone to explore their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

• Supportive - in a coaching conversation your focus is on encouraging your people to identify and achieve their goals. You are not there to save them, protect them or admonish them. You are there to support their thinking and learning; to increase their resourcefulness.

• Encouraging Action - learning comes from doing the work itself. As a manager with a coaching mindset, once you’ve helped to facilitate the thinking you then need to encourage action. What could they do differently? What are they going to try? When will you review together how it’s going and what they’ve learnt so far? Help them plan to succeed and then offer a space for reflection.

• Trust - managing with a coaching mindset means moving away from a position of control to a position of trust and empowerment. Give them the freedom to operate (within a framework, if necessary), be open to new approaches and always be supportive.

The benefits of a coaching approach to leadership

A leader with a coaching mindset is not a hero, a guru, or an analyst. They are not there to rescue, be the expert or analyse the problem (or the person). They understand that there is more than one way to cut a cake, and they do not insist that their solution or method is the only way forward. It takes a level of trust and confidence to give your people space to grow but the benefits are worth it and impactful for both the team and the organisation.

Coaching for Success: How a Coaching Mindset Can Transform Your Organisation:

• Develops high levels of capability and contribution.

• Creates a positive and empowering work environment which leads to improved performance and productivity.

• Encourages continuous learning and improvement, which can lead to greater job satisfaction and retention.

• Increases resourcefulness, problem-solving capability, and resilience.

• Fosters greater flexibility and adaptability to change.

• Creates a pipeline of talent and strong succession planning.

Empowering Your Team: The Benefits of a Coaching Culture in the Workplace:

• Provides clarity of purpose with everyone working proactively towards the organisation’s goals.

• Ensures high levels of performance and contribution.

• Enhances learning and career development which increases job satisfaction and retention.

• Supports empowerment and autonomy, where employees take ownership of their own development and problem-solving.

• Builds a productive, mutually respectful working relationship.

• Increases confidence, self-belief, and accountability.

Unleash your leadership potential!

Organisations are facing unprecedented challenges and now more than ever require impactful leaders that can make their organisations resilient, forward-thinking, and sustainable. Courageous and conscientious leadership that brings people together and empowers them to be more resourceful, capable, and resilient will positively benefit organisations and help them to be agile in uncertain times. 

A coaching mindset is a powerful tool for empowering individuals and driving success within organisations. By focusing on empathy, active listening, supportiveness, goal orientation, growth mindset, and solution-focused thinking, individuals can be empowered to reach their full potential and make meaningful contributions to their organisations. With a commitment to ongoing growth and development, organisations can create a culture of collaboration, innovation, and success that benefits everyone involved.

Talk to the Treehouse team today about developing a coaching mindset for your managers and helping them become impactful leaders.

Develop the Coaching Mindset with us

Professional Facilitation delivers 300% ROI

A difficult management situation to solve

A client recently approached us to facilitate a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) away day focused on resourcing strategy, in particular resolving a people capacity issue. 

In a nutshell, the team had more work than people able to do it (sound familiar?). The SLT wanted to get the whole management team together to determine how they best approach this situation to deliver the critical work, and meet customer expectations, without overloading the employees. A fine balancing act!

Extra complications were that:

• each Group within the Division needed to have a say on each other’s capacity plan due to the interrelatedness of the work

• previous events had been run over two days and had not effectively addressed the challenges. Instead, the result was too many people out of the office for too long without sufficient outcomes generated.

An inspired Treehouse solution

Using the 4D approach (Diagnose, Develop, Deliver, Do) we realised that this brief was all about the ‘dance-card’ – how to bring together the Groups to have collaborative conversations in an efficient but effective manner.

(For the mathematicians reading this you might be interested to know that due to the many Groups involved we used triangular numbers to create the dance-card).

The Treehouse team designed and facilitated a workshop for 47 people with the clear objective to identify the work that needs to be done, prioritise it, and determine the best approach for that work - whether completed internally or externally, parked or binned.

Recommendations from the workshops were shared with the SLT, who then made decisions and gave feedback to the Groups on the very same day.

Given the capacity constraints, we knew the workshop had to be efficient and deliver effective recommendations so that definitive decisions could be made at the end of the away day. The Treehouse team were able to structure the workshops and achieve delivery of results in one day that ran 0930-1630hrs.

Outcomes delivered in half the time

The recommendations and decisions made from the workshops enabled the SLT to plan workloads and operations using the available resource capacity. The client was relieved to have the visibility to resource projects and meet customer expectations without overburdening employees.

In addition, sensible, clear decisions on the next steps were made and communicated to the Groups at the workshop, resulting in work being reallocated immediately without any hesitancy.

Each Group felt involved and listened to – they had their say on work priorities and how it should be allocated.

The workshop delivered a 300% return on investment for the client as the Treehouse professional facilitators were able to design and deliver a strategy away day that took just one day, not the expected two. The entire workshop also came in at £2k under budget, which was also a nice bonus for the client.

The delighted client commented;

“I’m super happy with what you’ve achieved! We got the answers we needed in half the time we originally estimated. It has saved us more than £30,000 of taxpayers’ money!”

Treehouse has since been asked back by the client to help them with a new challenge, which is always great recognition of a job well done!

University and Treehouse receive £110k funding from Innovate UK

The partnership between Treehouse and the University of Gloucestershire, aimed at driving innovation in data science, has received £110k in Government funding. 

The University’s School of Computing and Engineering is collaborating with Treehouse in carrying out industry-led research and developing new products, processes and services through work around data science.

The project is being carried out as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership – a partly Government-funded programme bringing together businesses and universities.

The £110k in funding has been provided by the Government-backed agency Innovate UK, which supports innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions, with an additional £54k from Treehouse Partners, bringing the total project funding to £164k.

Dr Will Sayers, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Computing within the School of Computing and Engineering, said: “We’re delighted to have achieved funding from Innovate UK for a project that we hope will go a long way to promoting innovation around data science.

“The work will enable Treehouse Partners to develop an online data-science driven platform that can complement the current services they offer their clients around training, learning and coaching, as well as providing essential data insights that will further advance research in this area.”

— Dr Will Sayers, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Computing at University of Gloucestershire

See the full press release here