| THE CHALLENGE | THE RESPONSE | THE OUTCOME |
|
A young market-driven president brought new ideas and a new style to an old-line, bureaucratic, product-driven organization. He established aggressive strategic goals, an open communication philosophy, and a team approach to management. He spent much of his time in early morning breakfast meetings with the company's top 60 managers. People seemed excited about his energy and ideas. However, little actual progress was being made. The president asked his new director of human resources for suggestions in how to deal with the apparent lack of response. The director called in Orion. |
Orion's first step was to set aside a day to listen. We spent time with the president, discussing what he hoped to achieve and his efforts thus far. We then held one-on-one sessions with each senior executive in order to gain an understanding of his or her perspective. At day's end, we met with the president and the director of human resources to summarize our findings and recommend a plan of action. The first element in the plan was a four-day team-building session with the president and his top people, centered on an in-depth diagnostic assessment of their leadership styles and management skills. Simulations were used to illustrate effective team behavior in decision making, problem solving and motivation of the work force. Gradually, team members became more open and more aware of their individual and collective influence on the organization. As their vision deepened, they coalesced - becoming a team rather than merely a collection of functional heads. | The results of the Orion intervention have been both felt and measured. The company has enjoyed above-average growth. Work relationships have improved at all levels, as has the ability to deal with conflict openly and supportively while risking new and untried methods designed to transform the company's culture. Orion has since introduced similar programs with the company's second-and third-tier managers in order to carry the program forward. Worth noting, the leader who initiated the entire process is now president of the U.S. division of a competing pharmaceutical firm and has engaged Orion to help him once again implement wide-scale organizational change. |
|
Copyright © 2007, Orion International, LLC |