HOW BEHAVIOUR DELIVERS
HOW BEHAVIOUR DELIVERS
RESULTS IN A HIGH-RISK
ENVIRONMENT
THE
SITUATION
A business critical team in a utilities business was missing performance targets. There were pockets of low morale. The work was complicated and often high-risk. The manager was concerned about the team dynamics and how the lack of collaboration increased the level of risk and negatively impacted team performance.
THE
SITUATION
A business critical team in a utilities business was missing performance targets. There were pockets of low morale. The work was complicated and often high-risk. The manager was concerned about the team dynamics and how the lack of collaboration increased the level of risk and negatively impacted team performance.
WHAT WE FOUND
Most of the team were reserved and preferred to work in isolation. There was little interaction, with team members preferring to communicate by email. Team meetings were often tense with outbursts of conflict between team members.
WHAT WE FOUND
Most of the team were reserved and preferred to work in isolation. There was little interaction, with team members preferring to communicate by email. Team meetings were often tense with outbursts of conflict between team members.
WHAT WE DID
We observed the team in their monthly meeting. We used Behaviour Analysis to collect data about what was going on in the meeting – we chose this tool because its research-base and objectivity was likely to be more acceptable to the engineers.
In the second team meeting we observed, we then shared the data and invited the team to investigate what this was telling them. From the safety of the objective data we were able to explore the impact of their individual and collective behaviours and identify what some more constructive behavioural alternatives might be.
Each of the team members also benefitted from 1:1 coaching to identify ways in which they might enhance their behavioural style to the benefit of everyone, so that their own performance could be improved along with that of the team.
WHAT WE DID
We observed the team in their monthly meeting. We used Behaviour Analysis to collect data about what was going on in the meeting – we chose this tool because its research-base and objectivity was likely to be more acceptable to the engineers.
In the second team meeting we observed, we then shared the data and invited the team to investigate what this was telling them. From the safety of the objective data we were able to explore the impact of their individual and collective behaviours and identify what some more constructive behavioural alternatives might be.
Each of the team members also benefitted from 1:1 coaching to identify ways in which they might enhance their behavioural style to the benefit of everyone, so that their own performance could be improved along with that of the team.
THE RESULTS
Over the next few months both the objective data that was collected and the subjective opinion of the team members was evidence that this was now a team that worked in a much more collaborative way. Examples included a member of the team, previously viewed as an ‘outsider’, being invited into discussions more frequently, and another who made huge progress in managing his frustrations more constructively. Change was effected by holding up a mirror to reflect their behaviours. The rigour and objectivity of Behaviour Analysis overcame their scepticism and became a powerful lever in their development.