Meet Nicole and understand how a Team Analysis revolutionised how she worked with her global team by leveraging their individual skills to create an efficient, productive, well-respected and successful group within Sendle.
Why invest in a Team Analysis?
Imagine having the tools to understand every member of your team beyond just the surface level personality tests - now you can. This analysis provides the specific attributes and unique characteristics of each team member, along with guidance on how to engage, motivate and increase their individual success, along with maximising the overall team's success.
It facilitates the identification of the teams individual personal motivations, unique communication styles, decision making strategies, off-track themes and how they work most effectively in groups (or not).
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It also provides you with the tools to manage your team in a way that not only increases individual effectiveness and productivity, but celebrates them as individuals.
This enhances your staff retention as you are providing a level of job satisfaction that makes coming to work the best part of everyone's day.
CASE STUDY: Nicole from Sendle, Australia Nicole, in her position as CPO (Chief People Officer) for Sendle had a team of six direct reports, spread across Seattle, Perth, Brisbane and the Philippines. She had never met any of her team members in person.
Her challenge was to learn how they individually operated, and why there were some tensions emerging on group calls and via their Slack internal messaging communications. She was also noticing a reluctance of some team members to get involved in the broader business, preferring to work solo and perceived this as a negative for team cohesion. She wanted to know how to support them as individuals and ensure the overall business goals were being achieved without the current issues continuing to manifest.
To understand what's included in a Team Analysis, please see here.
Below you will find a summary of the highlights of the achieved outcomes for Nicole and her team. Please note I have used the 'Friends' cast to preserve the identities of the Sendle employees.
What key learnings did she receive from the Team Analysis?
(1) Overview of each team member from their individual Career Sessions, including:
Career types, Decision-Making Styles (DMS), Assimilation Styles, Key Indicators and specific advice for each team member.
In summary, Nicole had two Classic Builders, an Express Builder, an Innovator and two Advisors (Nicole is an Express Builder) in her team. We went through every person in detail and I highlighted the differences with her design and within the team.
This lead to a new strategy being developed to ensure she was recognising each person and working with their unique designs. She was presented with a one page summary of each team member post consultation that she put on her office wall to ensure this intelligence was front of mind.
Please see 'Chandler' summary example below:
(2) Group Dynamics & Business Skills Overview including: What a Unified Group consists of, how the different career types work together and the specific comfort levels of each team member and advice. Also discussed is the 12 core business skills necessary for a fully functioning team (and if they are not present, how the broader business can be leveraged to compensate).
Nicole was surprised to understand that when people are brought together, the group 'takes' what it needs and ignores individual attributes. The energy homogenises people to achieve success. However, some members are more comfortable in a group than others.
Plus, if there are gaps in core business skills across the group, these become a distraction and challenge the core business goals. We went through the group dynamics and the business skills and highlighted where the challenges and deficiencies existed.
Advice was provided on how to manage individual staff to achieve the goals, and if recruitment was to take place, the specific core skills that should be prioritised. Please see summary below:
Note: The slide above is an overall summary of the twelve business skills necessary to complete a team. Further detail per team member and as a wholistic group is provided in the team analysis.
(3) Unique observations of the team: Taking a broader look at the team together (as one organism) will generate additional observations that can help manage a team. For example, if all team members have an undefined inspiration function, or if only one team member has defined willpower, how this presents and how to manage it.
For Nicole, every member of the team had an undefined Inspiration function. How this manifests is that team members may feel that all the questions that come from the world are all 'very important'. Thus, they may often lose focus, seem mentally scattered, or try and answer everyone else's question and not focus on their individual business priorities.
The wisdom of this information is for the team to understand and discern which inspiration is worthy of contemplation, and who/what is confusing. The advice is to encourage the team to consciously recognise, then let go of things that no longer serve them / are not required for their role. Nicole was provided with prompts to encourage her team to focus on their tasks.
This nuanced explanation of how the mechanics work when the group is together (even on zoom) provided Nicole with additional insight into how to manage her team, and how to identify when it was causing challenges within the business.
(4) Elevations & Challenges: Where are the current challenges and tensions arising between team members? What, if anything, can be done? When people enter/leave a group the dynamic changes, so how do you manage these changes for the benefit of the whole team? This part of the analysis explores where these challenges may be in the team and provide specific advice that assists with future recruitment.
An elevation is an impact that brings a sense of ease and flow into the environment. It will either feel creatively stimulating or it could manifest as lack of stimulation (too much ease therefore not enough productivity). Contrast a challenge - a triggered response that introduces a challenge that either empowers or disempowers. It can empower as the chemistry may stimulate individuals in the environment toward productivity and idea creation, or disempower creating friction and tension between members.
Nicole was very pleased to note that her team, even though they had never met in person, was remarkably well-balanced. Elevations given and received were higher than tensions that were created. Still, there were two team members where the energetic tension was higher, and this had been observed by Nicole over the past few months. Having this knowledge made it easier to separate the projects they were working on, and ensure their interactions were kept at a minimum for the ease and flow (and productivity) of all involved.
How did the team analysis help Nicole? Let's hear from her:
As the Chief People Officer leading a team of six direct reports, the consultation with Amanda has been of enormous value for both the team and I. It provided me with a deeper understanding of the individuals in my team; insight into how to best support and motivate them; how they interact with each other; and what the default group dynamics really are.
I now feel more equipped to nurture their strengths, and not focus on their 'perceived' weaknesses. I am more intentional how I distribute the work (pairing people for projects etc) and importantly, have identified current skill gaps so future recruitment can be more targeted and effective for the benefit of the team, and firm.
As a manager, the consultation was more nuanced - the focus was the purpose of my life work, core themes of my design, my individual strengths, business skills and contributions I make. Having it explained where I am taken off-track was particularly eye opening and I resonated with the information. The advice I have already implemented has been invaluable.
It is a framework of people analysis that was new to me, but highly beneficial. I am very pleased to endorse this consulting for managers and their teams. I now feel empowered to maximise the talent I already have, and will continue to consult with Amanda as my team evolves into the future.
Nicole Olver, CPO, Sendle.
Why is this type of analysis the way forward? Overall, this unique and holistic approach with emphasis on individuality, practical business applications, and empowering philosophy makes it a powerful tool for personal growth, self-discovery and business success. The benefits of working with this modality with a certified practitioner are immeasurable.
If you'd like to understand how a Team Analysis can help you, I invite you to book a complimentary discovery call with me. During the call, I will provide the framework for the analysis and walk you through an extended example so you can understand the benefits in a practical way....and of course, answer any additional questions you may have.
Thank you for the opportunity to work together.
Amanda Trenfield
Director - Authentic Human
Certified BG5 Business & Career Consultant
amanda@authentichuman.com.au
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