Author: Gude Hudson-Gool

Seeing the Unseen – revealing hidden blockers

coaching, people first, teams

As a leader, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your organisation. You might be focused on meeting deadlines, managing employees, and making sure everything is running smoothly. However, it’s important to remember that there may be unseen problems lurking beneath the surface. Just like the princess in Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, you can sense that there is something wrong, but can’t quite put your finger on what it is. And without knowing what is wrong, you have no way of resolving it. Our coaches are experts at helping organisations with seeing the unseen blockers preventing them from achieving their outcomes.

Using Systems Thinking to see the unseen

One way to discover hidden problems and reveal the elephant in your office is systems thinking. This approach involves looking at your organisation as a whole, rather than just focusing on individual parts. By examining the relationships between different parts of the system, together we can identify areas where changes in one area may have unintended consequences in other areas.

Seeing the unseen with Visual Thinking

Another useful tool for uncovering these hidden issues is visual thinking. This approach involves using metaphors, diagrams, maps, and other visual aids to represent complex ideas and information. By visualising the workings of your organisation, you can gain a deeper understanding of how different parts of the system are interconnected and clearly see where potential problems may be lurking.

Making change with the help of a Systems Coach

Once you’ve identified potential problem areas, it’s important to take action to address them. This is where systems coaching comes in. Our systems coaches can help you develop strategies for addressing complex problems and implementing changes in a way that minimises disruption to your organisation.

Of course, it’s not always easy to identify unseen problems. It can be difficult for a busy leadership team to step back and take a broader view. That’s why it’s important to cultivate a culture of open communication and encourage feedback from employees at all levels. By listening to the voices of everyone, you can gain valuable insights into areas where your organisation may be struggling.

Ultimately, the key to uncovering unseen problems at work is to be proactive. Don’t wait until a problem becomes too big to ignore before taking action. By using tools like visual thinking, systems thinking, and systems coaching, we can help you can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your organisation is operating at its full potential.

Let us help
Why experiments matter

Why experiments matter (and are essential to your organisation’s future success)

approach, experiments

As a leader, you know that change is inevitable in the ever-evolving business landscape. To stay ahead of the competition, organisations must continuously innovate, experiment and adapt to changing market dynamics. Companies must be willing to adapt and evolve, constantly testing and iterating to stay ahead of the curve. This is why experiments matter. By conducting experiments, companies can explore new ideas, identify opportunities, and uncover areas for improvement. This allows them to stay nimble and responsive to changing market conditions, and to take advantage of emerging trends and technologies.
Experiments are essential to the future success of any organisation.

 

Why experiments matter

How to approach experiments

Firstly, experimentation is not just about trying out new ideas. It’s about validating (or invalidating!) assumptions and learning from failures. Embracing experimentation requires a shift in mindset and culture, moving away from traditional hierarchical structures towards a more people first culture.

Our recommended approach for making change in your organisation is the Enterprise Change Pattern. This tried and tested method involves experiment ‘change cycles’ with the following key steps:

– Start with now
– Define the experiment
– Make the change
– Measure the impact
– Repeat

 

At each stage, leaders must involve and engage their teams and communicate effectively. Everyone is involved and able to share their hidden knowledge. In this way, an organisation can make group decisions quickly.

By employing the Enterprise Change Pattern, with our help, you can ensure that experiments are well-designed, carefully executed, and rigorously evaluated.

Organisations that prioritise experimentation have been shown to have higher rates of innovation, better decision-making, and increased revenue growth. However, as a leader, you recognise that experimentation involves risk. Using the Enterprise Change Pattern helps to control that risk.

 

Building a culture of experimentation

Of course, it’s not just about the process of experimentation. A people-first culture is also essential to the success of any experiment. Leaders must empower their teams, encourage diversity of thought, and foster a safe environment for risk-taking and learning. Your team must feel safe to fail, knowing that mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth. And you must give them the resources and support they need to carry out their experiments effectively.

Transformational leaders must lead by example and create an environment that rewards curiosity, experimentation, and learning.

 

“To successfully innovate, companies need to make experimentation an integral part of everyday life—even when budgets are tight. That means creating an environment where employees’ curiosity is nurtured, data trumps opinion, anyone (not just people in R&D) can conduct or commission a test, all experiments are done ethically, and managers embrace a new model of leadership.”

– Harvard Business Review

 

Ultimately, experiments are essential to your organisation’s future success. They are a powerful tool for driving innovation, improving performance, and staying ahead of the competition. By embracing the Enterprise Change Pattern and fostering a people-first organisation, leaders can create a culture of experimentation that drives innovation and growth. Remember, experimentation is not just about trying out new ideas. It’s also about validating assumptions and learning from failures.

We can help you to design and measure experiments using the Enterprise Change Pattern, especially if you would like to run multiple parallel experiments. Ask us how.

What is a people first culture?

people first

The world of work is changing. Once it was enough to have a job, with a decent salary and benefits. Now people are looking for more. Whether that be flexible or hybrid working, learning development and career opportunities, a better work-life balance, or the chance to do something that will make a difference in the world. A people first culture is one that prioritises the needs of employees and customers above all else. In this article, we will explore what a people first culture is, why it matters, and how companies can cultivate this type of culture.

what is a people first culture (1)

So, what exactly is meant by a people first culture?

A people first culture is a company-wide approach that puts the well-being and happiness of people at the centre of its values and operations. This means that the company’s decisions and actions are focused on the needs and desires of its employees, customers, and other stakeholders. In a people first culture, the company values the individuals who make up the organisation. Staff are recognised and appreciated, in order to help them feel more connected and motivated. rather than viewing them as a means to an end.

 

Why does it matter?

A people-first culture is important for several reasons. First, when employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. This translates to better performance, increased productivity, and higher employee retention rates. Additionally, customers are more likely to be loyal to a company that treats them well and puts their needs first.

In contrast, a company that prioritises process over people may experience high turnover rates, low employee morale, and negative customer experiences. This can lead to a damaged reputation, decreased revenue, and a lack of trust from both employees and customers.

Corporate employees are more productive than ever—when they have the freedom to unlock their true potential and work when they choose to work and from where they want. Remote working has also shown to improve the company’s profits.

– Forbes

 

How to cultivate a people first culture

Creating a people-first culture requires a concerted effort from everyone in the organisation. Here are some ways that companies can cultivate this type of culture:

1. Lead by Example

Leaders can model the behaviour they want to see in their employees by prioritising the well-being of their team members and demonstrating that they value them as individuals.

2. Listen and Respond

Companies must create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. It’s essential to actively listen to feedback and respond to it with actions. Building your coaching capability is an excellent way to achieve this.

3. Provide Support

People first managers provide the necessary resources and support for employees to succeed in their roles. This includes training, mentorship, and tools to do their jobs effectively. A coaching approach is not only a highly sought after leadership skill, but also provides this much needed support for high-performing, collaborative teams.

4. Recognise and Celebrate

Recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of your employees. Celebrate success together, being proud of team efforts as well as individual achievements. This promotes a culture of teamwork. Recognition might be in the form of public recognition, company newsletter mentions, awards or communities of practice.
Consider also ‘celebrating failure’, when you’ve tried to do something differently but didn’t quite make it. There are lessons to be learned and failure shows that you are reaching for beyond the status quo as a team!

5. Protect psychological safety

Transformational leaders hold a shared expectation with members of their team that they will not embarrass or punish anyone for sharing ideas, taking risks, or asking for feedback.
The Enterprise Change Pattern builds the psychological safety needed to create inclusive, self-sustaining change. After all, change is inevitable. Leaders who successfully embed the Enterprise Change Pattern into their organisation’s DNA, promote these people first qualities. Consequently, they gain the advantage of a self-sustaining change program by ensuring that everyone has their voice heard and feels included.

6. Prioritise Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

A people first organisation values diversity, equity, and inclusion. People first companies cultivate a workplace that is welcoming to all employees, regardless of their background or identity. In this culture, each person’s unique perspective, background and thinking style is celebrated, thus avoiding groupthink.

 

In conclusion, a people first culture is a mindset that puts the well-being and happiness of people at the centre of everything a company does. By prioritising employees and customers, organisations can create a positive work environment, increase engagement and retention, and improve customer experiences. By cultivating a people first culture, companies and leaders can create a more sustainable and successful future for themselves and their stakeholders.

Neurochemical cocktails for facilitators

Neurochemical cocktails for inclusive workshops

approach, facilitation

What are neurochemical cocktails and how can they help us run more inclusive workshops?

Our Director of Coaching, Gemma Honour, recently ran an interactive webinar with Agile Coach, Myron Parks. In it they explored what it means to be neurodivergent and how we can support each other and aid communication, especially in the workplace, by understanding neuroscience. You can watch the webinar on-demand over at AWA Global.

Towards the end of the webinar, Gemma and Myron shared their ‘neurochemical cocktails’ model. They developed this together, as part of the Innovation and Leadership Mastery program. It is a way of looking at creating workshops that activate certain neurochemicals in the brain. By doing this, we can optimise for different states.

Their model and thinking was developed from research based on Neuroscience for Coaches by Amy Brann.

Gemma & Myron developed a ‘neurochemical cocktails menu’ to help facilitators and coaches to plan workshops using different activities to target and ‘trigger’ neurochemical states that will help arrive at specific outcomes.

For example, let’s say you want to run a workshop for a completely new brand. You want to optimise for creativity, so you choose to create that kind of ‘cocktail’, adding a shot of dopamine and a splash of aminobutyric acid. The first will put your participants in a moreish mood and the second will activate their focus or flow state.

So, how can you target these neurochemicals? Well, you might consider choosing the following activities for your creative workshop…

  • Start with a mindful check-in
  • Listen to some music
  • Provide a choice of materials for people to use
  • Break down your activity into small tasks with visible output

Find out more…

Our experienced coaches are experts at targeting these different neurochemicals and helping everyone to feel safe, included and able to contribute and add value.

If you’d like a free copy of Gemma and Myron’s ‘neurochemical cocktails’ menu, please fill in the short form below and we will email you a copy.

Neurochemical cocktails menu

Name(Required)
Be added to our exclusive list for freebies, news & white papers(Required)

Finally, contact us to find out how we can help you make your organisation more inclusive and harness the power of neurodiversity!

Transformational Leadership

What kind of leader are you?

coaching

What kind of leader are you?

What kind of leader are you?

Understanding the kind of leader you are, can help you grow into the leader that your organisation needs, in order to succeed.
What kind of leader are you? Take this short quiz to find out…

PLEASE NOTE:
This test is for entertainment purposes, and does not represent a full assessment of your leadership style.  Contact us for further information on obtaining a full Leadership Agility Assessment, and coaching plan.

According to the theory of the 7 Action Logics, 80% of leaders fall into one of the following three categories.

THE EXPERT LEADER

Many managers and leaders have been promoted into their positions because they were excellent at their craft. Perhaps they were a great coder, a great architect, or a great marketeer. Many organisations give very little in the way of management training if any. And often that training is out of date with today’s workplace.

We help expert leaders grow into their role and teach, coach, and mentor them to build the right relationships, supporting environments, and inner development to manage today’s agile teams.

THE ACHIEVER LEADER

Some managers believe delivery at all costs is the right approach, without stopping to consider if the right thing is being delivered or the cost to human potential. Achiever leaders often drive their teams to get results in an unsustainable way. This results in lower quality and disengages workers.

We help achiever leaders to build an environment where the teams achieve results from their own motivation, their developing skills, and self-organisation. We help to move from purely output delivery to outcome delivery with sustainable and lasting quality results.

THE INDEPENDENT LEADER

Most managers are incredibly capable and will always get the results they were looking for. However, often there is a better path using collaboration, peer alignment, and cooperation. This brings better outcomes for the organisation.

We help highly skilled managers to find allies, build strong peer groups, and have structures to learn from each other. Aligning on wider objectives and building more ambitious strategies is a key step in moving towards the transformational leadership roles required in today’s thriving organisations. We provide cohort-based training, mentoring, and coaching for leaders looking grow beyond their own remit.

The Bryter approach to leaders

As a leader, you have the power to cultivate a Bryter working culture within your organisation. Great leaders bring about positive organisational change, making it easier for everyone to get things done, with greater visibility, bringing both a sense of clarity and security.

Our approach puts leadership and management at the centre of the change. We place leaders like you in the driving seat, equipping you with the mindset, skills, and tools you need to accelerate innovation across your company.

Bryter Work will support you in driving a successful change to new ways of working. You will craft a Bryter culture and working environment that you can be proud of, where everyone is able to grow and own the change initiative.

START NOW!
Contact us to find out how we can help you feel more confident in your leadership role, forge the right relationships, build supportive environments, and inner development to manage your agile team.
Introducing Bryter Work

We’ve launched!

approach

Hello we’re Bryter Work.

Our mission is to help you build a Bryter working world, with happier teams who make better decisions and deliver better outcomes.

Bryter Work is a people-focused consultancy, that builds your confidence and capability both in making change and how to measure that change. We do this by creating inclusive cultures where innovation and high performance thrive through value-driven, highly-targeted workshop-based solutions.

This gives you the business resilience to meet any challenge and continue to change and adapt as your market or environment demands.

Bryter Work was created out of AWA Global, co-founded with Gemma Honour and continues AWA’s mission of ‘Making working life better’. 

 

So what does the word Bryter actually mean? 

Read AWA’s Bryter Work launch article to discover the story of our name and what the Bryter values are.

Since the pandemic, companies have experienced enormous cultural shifts. Has this has affected your organisation? 

Perhaps you find that staff are harder to retain and keep engaged? Or has the change to a less office-based way of working meant that your company culture has disappeared? Are your existing ways of working just not working?

Our unique coaching approach helps address problems like these by helping you to build a business that is better to work within and has the vision, strategy and leadership to succeed and adapt to change.

Find out how we can help you.