SCC
Global company providing managed IT services
A new layer of leadership
SCC UK sought to leverage the expertise of senior leaders by forming a new Senior Leadership Team (SLT) with a clear SLT Charter to increase empowerment and accountability across the organisation. We undertook a three-month Leadership Programme to align SCC’s vision across the executive and senior teams and unite the senior leadership to drive the business forward.
In the Leadership Programme, forty-five senior leaders were divided into four groups to develop their leadership skills and create a new SLT identity. The pre training survey and analysis identified crucial areas of leadership skill development. These areas were focused on, along with the cultivation of SLT identity pillars to guide behaviour, inform decision making and enrich leadership processes. To promote effective collaboration between the SLT and the Executive Team, a feedback loop was established. This allowed both teams to understand each other’s expectations, make endorsements and improve working practices.
The Leadership Programme evolved leaders’ skills in managing themselves and others, with a particular focus on developing psychological skill when interacting, managing performance, and leading change. Furthermore, the experience of the Leadership Programme created opportunities for SLT members across the organisation to network and cultivate relationships, enabling them to support one another and collectively address unique challenges within the business.
The SLT vision emerged as ‘Enable and inspire the strategic direction of SCC’ and the team collaborated on their identity pillars, mapping out their specific needs to sustain the vision. The People and Culture team became equipped to refine the SLT Charter, ensuring its integration and advancement throughout the organisation, thereby serving as the central reference point to uphold the SLT alignment and unity.
“The Leadership Programme has brought us closer together as an SLT and given us reason to collaborate. I have gained techniques in how to coach my team, delegate better and manage difficult situations.”
“The training has improved the way that I deliver information and the impact it has on people. I’ve built relationships with colleagues I don’t work closely with, which has already had some benefits in finding new ways to improve SCC”
Due to the success of the SCC UK Leadership Programme, the programme was extended to work with SCC Romania (RO).
SCC RO – An empowered identity
To evolve leadership at SCC RO, the Director’s wanted to align their ten-member Leadership Team and develop their skill in collective decision making, effective problem solving and working together better. SCC RO had been endorsed to take a more empowered role in working with SCC UK to bring the ‘SCC One Team’ vision to life. The Leadership Team alignment was crucial for driving the business forward and strengthening their connection with SCC UK.
The Leadership Programme created an opportunity for leaders to build relationships, agree on their team identity and cultivate their agreements on how to collaborate better. The pre-training survey pinpointed crucial areas for leadership development, which became the focus of skill development. The Leadership Team recognised a tendency towards defensiveness in their interactions, which hindered effectiveness. The Leadership Team adopted the principles of psychological safety and shifted defensiveness into curiosity. This change enabled the leadership team to cooperatively create their team identity pillars and working agreement that laid the foundations for sustained alignment and better collaboration. Furthermore, Leaders were equipped with the psychological insight to better manage themselves and the teams they lead
The Leadership Team embraced a heightened sense of ownership in fulfilling the objective of assuming a more empowered role in their partnership with SCC UK. This involved not only a shift in mindset but also practical adjustments to processes and procedures. To strengthen the Leadership Team’s development and their accountability to the agreements made, we transitioned the Leadership Programme to its ‘Advance’ stage. This stage incorporates quarterly development days, observations during Leadership Team meetings and ongoing coaching with the Directors.
“Though we are a dynamic team that could have worked through our weaknesses, we are at the same time different and strong characters. I believe the role of an amazing facilitator contributed immensely to getting us to a common ground. It has created a safe environment where we have all expressed our concerns, frustrations, misunderstanding etc…and at the end we have found out team identity”
“I’ve learned and discovered many things about group dynamics. I’ve realised how important it is to adapt your leadership stye to the needs of those of those you are trying to influence, to actively listen and show genuine curiosity to understand their perspective and achieve more together”
“We’d been searching for some time to find someone who could help us enhance our Leadership Team’s performance and discover our unique strengths to excel in today’s challenging landscape. The Amara Leadership Programme was the perfect choice. Tamson didn’t just deliver a training programme; she actively listened to us, comprehended our differences, helped us identify our common ground, and then customised both the programme and her approach to maximise its effectiveness.
The results were immediately apparent. Every leader grew more confident and more self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They also learned how to leverage these qualities to achieve collective team intelligence and make greater contributions to the business. Consequently, we decided to conduct this exercise on a quarterly basis.”