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Cultural audits

These are largely carried out through carefully facilitated and directed conversations with a cross section of colleagues at all levels. Sometimes, to show the impact of internal culture on the customer experience, I will also play mystery shopper. Or at the very least, look at customer satisfaction data in order to map cause and effect: Great brands are built inside out.

For me, culture is how the environment I work in makes me feel, makes me believe, enables me to perform. It is influenced by everything from leadership behaviours to communications, clarity of organisational vision and strategy and even policies. You want a culture of innovation? This requires agility,  open dialogue, a learning and coaching culture instead of a blame culture,  true inclusion of thinking styles and experience, all underpinned by relevant leadership. 

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Cultural Change 

This is what makes me want to go to work, for two key reasons; culture in its broadest sense underpins business success and the ability to give people employment; and we all have the right to work in a culture which treats us with respect, understands who we really are and enables us to do our best work. These two points are interlinked. It works with knowing which type of culture would work best to make your organisation successful. With that as your ‘to’, a cultural audit will give you your ‘from’ position and together we can map a journey from one to the other which will invariably include focused, high quality leadership development, a comms environment based on dialogue not on broadcast; open and constructive conversations in real time. Having a compelling purpose as your north star is vital to guide your change.

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Facilitation 

From strategy sessions to away days and company conferences. I have successfully run my own business for many years, I work alongside senior business leaders and I have run not insignificant P&L’s, so whilst I am passionate about talent, I also ‘get’ business reality and the commercial context and can combine the two elements. I absolutely love helping people spend time together in order to have a breakthrough and come away with increased focus or a new way of seeing things which results in a meaningful plan and action.

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Values Development and Activation 

Defining Values for an organisation is frankly the easy bit. As long as it’s a process inclusive of colleagues and the consumer. Making them ‘real’, ensuring they shape the environment and interactions with the consumer, that’s more difficult. It’s also the really interesting and fun bit. To truly live your values as an organisation, you likely need to do everything outlined in Culture Change above and also involve the consumer. If you have no purpose, or you’ve lost sight of it, you don’t have anything from which to hang your values. But they mustn't become a straight jacket either and they certainly shouldn't create exclusion because unconscious bias often lets people say “they just didn’t fit our values”. Values are a way of life, not an HR project or board trophy.

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Defining Purpose

This is largely robust and challenging facilitation based on a thorough understanding of your business and your market. At the heart of it is an exploration of ‘what would happen today or five years from now, if we ceased to exist? What is the difference we make or want to make?”

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Leadership Development and Coaching 

If you are looking for someone with a triangle on a chart who says, “and where do you see yourself five years from now?” I am not the person for you. When I work with individuals it is to help them have a more positive and inclusive impact on the environment they lead. I get a real kick in helping leaders shape non toxic work environments where diverse people can bring themselves to work in order to do their best work. I help leaders understand the concept of their brand, how to audit it and how to evolve it in an authentic way. I work with young leaders in start ups through to board level leaders in big global brands.