Playfulness for Executives and Cultural Change Leaders
Budget: €8 – €30 EUR
We have the material, experience and case study from deploying playful techniques to intervene in a strategic and cultural change programme with senior executives and organisational leaders. Our techniques were deployed to help participants adopt cultural change techniques and conceptual frameworks. We need a skilled academic writer to submit a paper based on our empirical and conceptual models to this Special Issue on Playful Leadership: https://www.journalofplayinadulthood.org.uk/submissions/
Here is a brief background to our work:
In 2019, our, in conjunction with our team, instigated a series of programs to support the goal of creating a high performing culture. The senior exec team were consulted to ensure all messaging was consistent across the array of business lines. With an eye on budget, the focus for the program was the top 120 influencers in the company. This was ascertained by using simple organisational analysis.
The results meant that the people on the program were not just the top grades within the company. On any program, we would see a variety of ‘management grades’. By doing this, we saw significant diversity of thought and experience within the cohorts, contributing to the one team ethos. In 2019, we trialled a new program for Apprentices and Grads, Whilst not the key influencers yet, it was important to support the younger generation in line with the longer term goals.
Whilst the message was now consistent across the Exec, the challenge was how to get everyone else on board and avoid the ‘heads down lads’ issue of previous initiatives.
To address the silos, every cohort was mixed across all the business lines.
Every cohort had a member of the exec on the program (including the CEO).
The senior program was delayed by Covid, so this was started in 2021.
Every session had to have an emotional impact. By having an emotional response, you can shift people from ‘Understanding’ to ‘Believing’. For example, Trust is a key component and Psychological safety is core to developing trust. We can explain the theories, but the approach was to generate an environment where, in some cases, they experienced psychological safety for the first time. This generated a camaraderie within a cohort that consistently surprised the attendees.
Every person initiated a series of safe experiments. Examples? Each one had to make things better for either the individual, the team or the organisation. All of these experiments were documented and shared across the business. This reinforced the message that the change was to come from the people rather than change being ‘done’ to them. By sharing the experiments, everyone could then learn from each other.
Here is a brief background to our work:
In 2019, our, in conjunction with our team, instigated a series of programs to support the goal of creating a high performing culture. The senior exec team were consulted to ensure all messaging was consistent across the array of business lines. With an eye on budget, the focus for the program was the top 120 influencers in the company. This was ascertained by using simple organisational analysis.
The results meant that the people on the program were not just the top grades within the company. On any program, we would see a variety of ‘management grades’. By doing this, we saw significant diversity of thought and experience within the cohorts, contributing to the one team ethos. In 2019, we trialled a new program for Apprentices and Grads, Whilst not the key influencers yet, it was important to support the younger generation in line with the longer term goals.
Whilst the message was now consistent across the Exec, the challenge was how to get everyone else on board and avoid the ‘heads down lads’ issue of previous initiatives.
To address the silos, every cohort was mixed across all the business lines.
Every cohort had a member of the exec on the program (including the CEO).
The senior program was delayed by Covid, so this was started in 2021.
Every session had to have an emotional impact. By having an emotional response, you can shift people from ‘Understanding’ to ‘Believing’. For example, Trust is a key component and Psychological safety is core to developing trust. We can explain the theories, but the approach was to generate an environment where, in some cases, they experienced psychological safety for the first time. This generated a camaraderie within a cohort that consistently surprised the attendees.
Every person initiated a series of safe experiments. Examples? Each one had to make things better for either the individual, the team or the organisation. All of these experiments were documented and shared across the business. This reinforced the message that the change was to come from the people rather than change being ‘done’ to them. By sharing the experiments, everyone could then learn from each other.