The Game of Teams

Introduction: Marsha Acker is a professional facilitator and executive coach with 25 years of experience. She is the founder and CEO of TeamCatapult, where she uses systems thinking, structural dynamics, dialogue, and agility to help teams collaborate and align with  greater clarity, purpose, and vision. Marsha is also the author for an upcoming book called; the Art & Science of Facilitation. Marsha lives in the USA and works globally.   Podcast episode summary:  In this episode Marsha shared how she bridges the use of Systems Thinking, Structural Dynamics, Dialogue and Agility in her work with teams. We explored her thinking on Facilitation and the 5 core beliefs she holds about Facilitation that comprise her stance. We talked about collaboration theatre and the work it takes to get a true collaboration. Marsha is a huge advocate for Facilitation and Team Coaching and she shared her definition between both disciplines. She left our conversation reminding us of the art of conversation & how like Margaret Wheatly the art is often undervalued for real & lasting change.   Points made through the episode: Marsha has two degrees in software engineering and she has made her own journey from the very technical world to the world of Leadership She is still conscious about building the gap between developers and users of content and that informs her work with teams in a systemic context Systems Thinking. Dialogue, Structural Dynamics and Agile is the thinking she uses to inform her approach to client engagements Dialogue and Structural Dynamics enable to movement towards wanting agile and systems sight. Many teams that she works with notice the ground hog or mini groundhog conversations with which they are engaged. Dialogue principles and structural dynamics often provide the gateway to true collaboration Many ways that Leaders unwittingly sabotage collaboration. She calls this collaboration theatre. Wanting difference but acting in similar ways. Oppose for example is one of the moves you can make in structural dynamics and is part of healthy dialogue. Many teams avoid the discomfort of oppose or are primed not to use it. This makes for lopsided conversations and often poorly thought through conversations or ideas for decision making. Marsha’s book is really about the stance Facilitators take in the room. There are five beliefs that Marsha explains & expands in her book. So much of facilitation is an inside game. A good facilitator gets very familiar and comfortable with the 5 beliefs inherent in facilitation Marsha claims that 21st century leaders need to become artful facilitators and coaches of teams Our distributed nature of work, the networked societies in which we live mean there is a lot more complexity of which to make sense. Facilitation by leaders allows for differing voices, inquiry, innovation and collaboration We have to disrupt the narrative about what it means to be a leader. Leadership of course still has a value it is just operated in a different way. Marsha is invited into team systems when teams want to “up their game”, are high performing and want to continue on the same trajectory, have a stuck challenge, are having ground hog day conversation and require support to shift their patterns and where organisations are moving to an approach where more facilitation and coaching is required of Leaders Marsha shared her distinction between Team Coaching and Facilitation. Team Coaches can often get tripped up between the use of both or either. Marsha stressed the importance of upfront conversations with teams, speaking to all of the voices or members of the team and contracting well. Supervision is important to be able to unravel the complexity often met on teams Team Coaches can have their own blind spots/agendas/preferences and biases that can get in the way of pure team coaching Marsha now values the notion of emergence & innovation in the moment where previously she might have preferred neat team designed approaches. Important to be able to rely on support mechanisms for the many issues that can present on teams Important to remember that teams are generative, creative and resourceful and even in the greatest of perturbance can find their own answers. Teams have what they need already. Marsha reminded us of Margaret Wheatleys work and her book “Turning towards each other. Like Margaret, Marsha believes that human conversation as an ancient art has the power to cultivate change. We can as leaders come back to the beauty of connection, to value collaboration and authenticity as well as vulnerability and still be leaderful. Being vulnerable and Leaderful are not mutually exclusive concepts.     Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation   teamcatapult.com M,2020, The Art of Facilitation: How to lead effective collaborations with Agile Teams. First Edition, Free 1st chapter can be downloaded on Marsh’s website M. 2002, Turning to One Another B; Transforming System Blindness into system sight U-tube clip F. 2014, Reinventing Organisations  

Introduction: Jennifer Britton is a coach, author, award winning program designer and most recently a podcaster. Her podcast remote pathways is co-hosted with Michelle Mullins a coach in the US. Jennifer works with groups, teams and organisations in the areas of Leadership, teamwork and business success. Her own success has been borne out of the many books she has authored on Group and Team Coaching. The focus for this podcast centred on her book Effective Virtual Conversations   Podcast episode summary:  In this episode Jennifer shared her background and her connection with remote working long before the idea of remote working was even popular. She talked about how teams need to connect and how very important this is in the digital space. Jennifer illuminated for us how much of what we experience in the physical space is replicated online and often magnified. There are distinctions working remotely. Context shapes what is needed and how a team might need to adapt. Jennifer is a question mongrel she filled this episode with some tantalising questions about what teams might need to consider if they are to be called a team. The nature of remote is not going away if anything with climate change and invisible immigration it is harder to move around the world and yet our teams are global. Enter Team Coaching Online.   Points made through the episode: Working remotely has been an anchor for Jennifer Britton almost throughout her entire career. Worked in humanitarian realm for the UN where the mode of communication with teams in the field was a long -range radio. A few experiences shaped Jennifer’s view on teams and helped her wonder about the interplay between experience, the needed pause to reflect and retool The Pause today is as important especially in our VUCA world. Most people are pressurised in so many ways. How can we crate micro moments for teams to reflect and redeploy effectively? Her book Effective Virtual Conversations fuses the different modalities available to coaches to effectively support a team; Facilitation, Training, Coaching and Teaching. Reality of our context shapes what we do & what is accessible What does it take for a team to thrive and leverage that knowing with technology? How do you work across boundaries, often disciplines and cultures to bring people together to serve a common cause? Trust and Connection paramount Foundations for all teams still the same. Go back to work of Katzenback or Richard Hackman to surface what all teams require. The remote pathway for teams means a Team Leader needs to more readily move into a role of influence and coaching. In the remote space a team needs to be proactive. They do not enjoy the same luxury moments teams that occupy the same space do-such as water cooler conversations Instil shared practices and shared agreements so people get comfortable with the medium of online coaching Team Culture becomes even more real in an online setting. Who are we? Relationships are key. Remote does not and should not mean disconnected. Create a team identity. Infuse team practices with short bursts of intense dialogue. Jennifer often starts a team intervention with a team diagnostic. The data helps the team identify the pathway they may need to go down. The team looks at its fundamentals and from the data chose what gets focus. Questions surface about the identity of the team, the team culture, shared agreements and shared norms-much as you would in a physical environment. Tricky moments occur and the team coach uses one of its tenets to know that what is needed shows up and the team is resourceful and whole and will resource a resolution As team coaches we are with our own assumptions and beliefs. We need to have a toolbox to deal with the myriad of situations and contexts in which we find our client teams. Keep it simple is one mantra Jennifer opines Another is be visual. Jennifer shared a team story where she was unable to see the team, but they could see her and with the use of one single visual and two questions she was able to help the team have conversations with each other. Trust what shows up. What is happening is what is needed to happen. Lean back into the basics of team effectiveness. Are you a team or a group? Do you have a shared purpose? how are you interdependent? How is your work measured? How are you operating? Should you be a team or a group? The role of a team coach will be oriented in the direction that best serves the entity a team or a group. Her book one to many illuminates and clarifies these questions . Trust is one of the most important areas we want to put focus on to have meaningful dialogue. Without trust we are engaging in surface type conversations. Trust and trust based relations is a very dynamic area. Trust is behavioural so what are the behaviours we want on this team? What are our expectations of each other to honour the individual and their difference but also to honour the needs of the team. What does trust mean to us across the entire team? What part of the culture is getting activated on this team if trust is an issue? Jennifer closed by speaking to her own podcast. Remote Pathways. In our connected always on world where climate change is asking different questions of us in terms of mobility the idea of remote working is gaining increasing currency.   Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation   Jennifer Britton: From One to Many Jennifer Britton: Effective Group Coaching Jennifer Britton: Effective Virtual Conversations Katzenbach and Smith: The discipline of teams Richard Hackman: Leading Teams & Collective Intelligence remotepathways.com Jennifer Britton & Michelle Mullins

Janet M. Harvey, MCC, is a visionary, writer, speaker and coach. She is an  early adopter of a coach centred approach in the workplace. Janet works with global organisations and teams of Leaders to establish a generative, resilient and high performing culture. Janet Harvey brings her executive and entrepreneurial experience as CEO of InviteChange, Leaders in sustainable excellence through a signature generative coaching and learning process, The Generative Wholeness Way. As an ICF Master Certified Coach, Certified Mentor Coach, Accredited Coach Supervisor and ICF Global past president customers and audiences around the globe speak of Janet as a bold curious, provocative and compassionate Leader. *Exclusively for listeners, you can download a sample chapter of Janet's new book, Invite Change, from the Game of Teams website, right here Podcast episode summary:  In this episode Janet illuminates the potency of Team Coaching for teams. She shares her wisdom in creating the groundwork for teams to deepen the learning with each other before they dive into action. Often teams and organisations get seduced by the task of things  & the reactive nature of daily requests but forget to focus on the day to day experience of teaming, understanding the work they have been authored to do and take responsibility for and of being together. Team agreements are an essential component of a team’s success.  By missing this vital consideration teams often fall into politics and drama and get stuck. In addition ,Janet discusses the role of a team coach, the role of a sponsor with their team and the work it takes to help teams become self-sustaining.  Every sentence Janet speaks is loaded with juicy questions and thought-provoking ideas. As a Leader or Coach, I dare you not to listen.   Points made through the episode: Coaching and Team Coaching is not a “job” for Janet but an opportunity to live her bliss everyday In her early career working with a large financial institution Charles Schwab Janet first experienced what it meant to team across a whole organisation She impresses that we often lose sight of the brilliance of our team colleagues -we must see our team members as more than the moment we are in and ask instead how is the climate that has been created contributing to the inability for a team member to show up? Creating the climate for people to shine is the Leaders job. Important to figure out what is in the “collective field” of a team, perhaps keeping its team members from full authorship Team members are rarely asked or get to declare how they wish to contribute and what their value is to the team’s endeavour. There are several important steps in a team engagement. In fact a number of steps that in Janet’s words comprise the anatomy of a team engagement. Consider the Sponsor relationship – as a coach ask what the meaningful work is that the team is here to accomplish? Dialogue with the Sponsor about their role, what they have granted authority to the team. Understand what they are examining is the evidence that the team is performing. Consider too how the team is being resourced and supported. Then there is the important same engagement with each member of the team to understand their understanding of their remit. How do the team members negotiate for their work with the sponsor and the system for what they need? Important for coach to not over work but to allow the team to reveal itself to itself Janet employs a process at InviteChange when working with teams that she calls Team Sovereignty -It ask 4 seemingly simple questions What brought you here? What is the team expected to deliver? What agreements are necessary for you to accept responsibility? How would you like to approach delivering the expectation while honouring the agreements made between us? Janet explored an experience I had with a team around the first question and suggested as a coach I had missed the opportunity to coach a team member. I could have asked in the vignette shared: What makes being on this team important to you? What is it you want your team members to know about you that is satisfying to you about your contribution? What are you really frustrated about in terms of what you know you can bring to this team, why you are here that if the team knew would bring you satisfaction ? Janet encourages us as Leaders and Coaches to find compassion for the behaviour we are witnessing. How we have been together and the conversations we have missed is revealed in how a person shows up. Team members often enter a team in full protection mode. It is palpable when you enter a team or group of people. Anxiety is high. Important for us as team coaches not to solidify this protection and amp anxiety by the creation of “ground rules” but rather we need to work to create team agreements. We can unwittingly fall into Parent-Child dynamics when what is required are courageous conversations about how we will work together to accomplish what is often complex, challenging and consequential work. Janet employs metaphors a lot on teams to help distance the often emotional tension that can exist with this work. Team agreements when worked through in a reasonable fashion, conscious of the body of work a team has to do can build confidence between team members for the times when things get tricky. Every member of the team is account-able for the team agreements. The work of a coach is to monitor the collective field of interactions on a team when you are present. Leaders need to be clear. Have they been clear about the level of authority they have granted the team? Of their role? Of the boundary between? Leaders can often fall foul of the Request/Promise distinction and collapse the beauty of a request with the idea of delegation. Often information is missing. We have to vigilant of the assumptions we are making on teams Important to ask if the sponsor has skin in the game and similarly does the team have skin in the game for this work? Clarity is important -what are the organisational outcomes expected of this team, what are the conditions of satisfaction by which this team will be measured, how has the team been authored to complete its mission, how has the team been set up? What is the productivity and positivity you are evidencing on the team? Where are the team agreements? Janet reminds us that too often organisational life is about revering, competence, analytics and objectives by being great stewards of resources all of which requires astute acumen but what we forget is our consciousness and humanness in our endeavour. We forget to ask how we are experiencing the system of which we are a part and we fall prey to politics and drama. To conclude Janet shares her own experience of team with her team at Invite Change and how she radically altered the nature of questions she asks team members to get at their commitment.       Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation invitechange.com Professional Coaching Principles and Practice edited by Susan English, Janet Sabatine & Philippe Brownell. The fearless organisation by Amy Edmondson Generative Team Coaching, InviteChange  

Richard Boston, an accomplished author and coach specializing in leadership and team performance, shares insights from his books and his innovative Systems Wheel tool. He discusses the complexity of team dynamics, emphasizing the importance of adult-to-adult relationships over unhelpful parent-child dynamics. Richard explores critical themes of authenticity, responsibility, and courage, along with the concept of upgrading one's operating system for better teamwork. His humor shines through as he illustrates practical exercises and the necessity for trust in effective team interactions.

Introduction: I interviewed Micheal O Driscoll, Managing Director at FDC, Financial Services LTD. FDC is the Farm Development Co-op headquartered in Cork Ireland. It employs 300 people over 30 locations in Ireland.   Podcast episode summary: This episode was recorded as Ireland was moving out of lockdown as a result of Covid-19. Micheal shared how he and his team responded by being early adopters of technology and deciding early on that it was business as usual. We discussed what distinguishes FDC as a Financial Services service provider from some of the bigger players and how culture is so important to inculcate in the business. In addition, Micheal shared his passion for Epic Cycling, Triathlons and the fact that he has completed 5 full Iron man distance races.   Points made through the episode: Micheal joined FDC 25 years ago after a thorough grounding in Financial Services in London working for Grand met and Pall Mall Wealth Management. He joined FDC when it already had a well -established Agricultural consultancy business, started in 1973 by Jack Murphy. His role was to build out the financial Services business. He impressed on me that unlike other Financial Services businesses FDC supports the sustainability of inter-generational wealth management. Relationship Management is paramount to enduring relations. Give a service and Repeat-Repeat-Repeat Impact of Covid-19 on portfolio of clients was significant. FDC was quick to make sure it stayed in contact with everyone. Learnt how to navigate online quickly and FDC was lucky it had already moved to purchase technology to support all staff Communication was a challenge -FDC needed to learn how to communicate with each other internally first. A huge learning and it served to bust some myths about remote teamwork. Working from home in a structured way is possible even with the demands of home life. FDC learnt that capability of staff is such that staff can be trusted to work without supervision and deliver. FDC made material adjustments to its business and will continue to operate a blend of remote working and in office working post Covid-19 Other benefits included getting a deeper insight into his own staff that ordinarily might not have proved possible. People will hide in plain sight and that is true whether you are working in or out of an office. FDC realised that they can meet future challenges with the talent of staff they possess. The digital journey for FDC and their clients has simply been accelerated and many myths and biases have been blown away. Magic Intimacy is what FDC aims for with its clients -The fintech of the world will always be a threat which underscores importance of a trustworthy brand and the service it provides. Management by control, order and exactness only goes so far and is insufficient if a company wants to grow. Micheal accepts that his earlier management style was too controlling, and he needed to learn how to trust and empower others Sport helped. He learnt quickly on some of his Epic cycling journeys to know when he had done enough and when he could allow someone else to take over the reigns He also learnt that a race across America is simply a large project broken down into portion sized segments. That meant everything was possible Self -doubt is a momentary faze. The race totalled 7 days, 2 hours and 70 mins or 24/7hr shifts Important to always remember to be in a learning environment -human behaviour is universal so key is to look out and observe trends and biases. FDC supports learning and is building an Academy in Cork – A centre for Graduate Training Micheal looks to industry for inspiration -he looks at the behavioural sciences and heuristics. He recommended “Nudge” as a simple text worth reading. FDC will continue to explore the digital world and AI for future trends. Important to stay relevant not only for your clients but for your employees as well.   Resources: the following include the resources I alluded to in this episode   fdc.ie Richard, H.Thaler Nudge Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness  

Introduction: Bruno Doutrelepont is a Private Investor and CEO at Even Keel Partners Investment Office. He is also a director of Genius Evolve and Non-Executive Director for Winterhaven holdings.  Bruno is a regular keynote speaker at International Conferences for Family Offices and Institutional Investors in places like Monaco, Geneva, London and Dubai. Podcast episode Summary: There exists a lot of confusion about the nature and purpose of a Family Office Business. Bruno shared his definition.  To safeguard the capital of the family business and enhance the quality of life for all members of the family. Essentially Bruno is integrating a very fine balance between the team that is the family and his team at Even Keel along with the many other suppliers who are involved to support the mission of the Family Business. Points made throughout the Episode:   Important to distinguish the purpose and mission of the family office. It is not well known or established here in Ireland. At Even Keel the mission is to safeguard and enhance the capital of the family while at the same time advancing the quality of life for all members. Varied and complex skill set required to serve a family office. It is a finely balanced integration of multiple teams, the Family, the Financiers and many suppliers. Important to have a thorough understanding of Family and group dynamics. Each family is unique. Various and important issues have to be dealt with in the course of managing a Family As an example the wealth creator often finds is hard to “let-go” even when he/she is keen to share wealth with his/her family Habitual story or worry that the first generation will make the money, the second generation will spend it and the third will have none left. Important to remember that the Family takes precedence over almost any consideration. A Family Office has to be able to navigate family values and dynamics There is a definite process and often a long one to establish a rhythm of working with a Family. This often means many and several 1;1 conversations to help all members of family express their desires. The international nature of the World widens the considerations involved especially when Children travel, study abroad etc. This degree of globalisation impacts the selection of services providers and the appropriate investment strategy to be deployed. Extremely challenging to select people to be part of the Family Business. One quality is paramount; Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence supports financiers to be with the varied and sometimes exasperating twists and turns in decision making. Excellent work does not always amount to a decision made The Family has the prerogative to change its mind. It can feel like rejection and it is important that the team within the family office do not take things personally. The business is varied, compelling, complex often with a steep learning curve. It is not for the faint hearted. Covid-19 has meant some investment decisions have been stalled and significant pivoting has been required. The SME sector has been particularly affected. Bruno admires the loyalty and dedication to staff seen by many business owners here in Ireland. Even Keel is used to working remotely. Covid-19 has however contributed to fatigue, exhaustion and emotional overwhelm for some. Important to be able to flexible and allow people determine their own rhythms in these times. Circuit breakers are often required. Humour is too. The conversation pivoted into Leadership. Bruno shared his thinking and practices to ground his approach. Important to disconnect, find nature, taking time out to appreciate small things and enjoy conversations. Every day relations often provide stimulus for ideas. Bruno concluded conversation by sharing story of his two daughters aged 6 and 12. They are burgeoning entrepreneurs in their own right- he shared how they created Christmas Baubles to sell for two charities and raised over €10,000 Family is everything.  

Introduction: Peter Cosgrove is an expert in the World of Work & Future Trends of work. He is a renowned keynote speaker on topics such as the future of work, the future of skills and talent, recruitment, diversity & inclusion, Artificial Intelligence & the negative effects of the rapid technology acceleration. Peter is also a best -selling author of two books; Fun Unplugged and family Fun Unplugged. These books were designed and written to help families get off screen time and communicate & interact better together. Peter is a board Director on the 30% Club which promotes gender diversity and he is also on the board of Aware.    Podcast episode summary: This episode started with a reflection on our  relationship to work and moved into thinking about our habits and assumptions  about work that often go unexamined for individuals, teams and organisations.  It also spoke to the future of work and how more entrenched companies might have to  learn to pivot to survive. Peter believes that Covid-19 provided an opportunity to really look at our priorities and to re-shape our thinking about remote working, flexibility, talent and how to motivate talent as well as some behavioural concerns such as listening, empathy, and our use of time. This episode was searingly honest and provocative. The importance of critical thinking, dialogue and empathy between all citizens and intergenerationally was emphasised.   Points made through the episode: Peter grew up in a family of 11 children, four brothers and four sisters When people ask Peter what skills or career their child should pursue, he answers with the refrain “just do something” There is a misnomer that people will know or will have a Eureka moment when in fact often work is about finding and figuring things out. Peter moved through a few career choices before he himself adopted a freelancer lifestyle. We are still not quite comfortable as a nation to understand when people want to do something a bit differently from the 9-5 routine or when they do not subscribe to conventional titles for roles Huge positive impact of Covid-19; Speed of Digital acceptance /Innovation and adaptation Some people did however learn how to retire early. Work is often so much of our identity and we can look to our Culture/Attitudes/Ideas about Achievement and Peer Competition for why it is often a race to the top. Peter believes many of us do not question the why of work or our why for work. We have not mastered the world of remote working -be smarter about using zoom, shorter time frames/using the phone/making connections and building connections and not just task. Trust is a big challenge and continues to be a big challenge for more traditional concerns. We have to question some of our assumptions about how work is working in the first place. Be wary of employing software and technology that essentially means you are spying on your employees. The Leaders Peter’s see in team situations are often not able to let go, see the culture they are creating and to allow for change. The team dynamic on many of the teams he observes consists of teams who rarely engage in healthy debate, defer to seniority, do not listen and participate in group think and run with  many errant assumptions. Young entrepreneurs and younger generations entering the field of work have many answers regarding culture/technology/ways of working but they do need to be listened to. Peter shared some simple practices to encourage innovation at work. Some big trends that Peter sees happening include ; Change in how real-estate is consumed, Cities are not going to die but they will be consumed differently Air Conditioning at work – many bigger concerns may be allowing people to remain remote working because Air Conditioning is proving a big issue in bigger edifices Access to Global Talent will mean a further appreciation for remote working but also an increase in competitiveness between talent. Decrease in bureaucracy; amazing how the HSE and Lawyers responded with Doc-sign for example Employers need to pay attention to burn out and encourage employees to manage boundaries appropriately. Be smart about shorter zoom meetings, zoom mania and the use of time generally. Encourage single task focus. Too much multi-tasking masquerading as productivity Explore opportunities to give remote workers the same experience as workers working in the office. Be creative. Basecamp and Automatic are examples of companies getting it right. Important to acknowledge how innovative people can be when they have to be. Companies need to look out 5 years from now and begin the work now of helping employees gain skills and experience to keep them relevant in the dawn of AI Refocus by tapping into what gives employees energy and see productivity soar. Consider more mentors and budget for ideas and projects. Peter’s books were born out of a big bug bear with technology. Technology is fabulous but it can also be addictive. Peter wanted to write a book that would encourage Parents and Children to start communicating together. These books are used to support Children learn about the importance of reading, understanding philosophy, what it means to have rapport with another and general life skills. Our over dependence on technology is seeing many of the current generation of children lose important life skills.   Resources: the following include the resources I alluded to in this episode Herminia Ibarra: Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing your Career linkedin.com Peter Cosgrove aware.ie 30%club.org Fun Unplugged and Family Fun Unplugged by Peter Cosgrove      

Introduction: John McCusker is the VP Global Head of Talent management for Bacardi. He sees himself as the fitness coach for 7300 colleagues or as Bacardi says cousins, to help people grow professionally and personally. John has spent most of his career in talent management working for Kraft Foods and Dixons in the UK. John has travelled extensively and has picked up a fluency in Spanish, Portuguese and French. He believes himself to be a reforming Imposter and this part of his being has informed much of John’s purpose.   Podcast episode summary:  In this episode John explored the Bacardi approach to Leadership, Culture and Team & Individual development. We discussed formal and informal approaches to development at Bacardi. John spoke to the many who have influenced him and some of the more dynamic practices he has employed to get at Creativity and Innovation and organisational wide buy-in. We discussed topics like Mindfulness, Presence, Conversational excellence,  creating moments that matter, Psychological Safety, Authentic Leadership, Emotional Intelligence & relational support. Bacardi is intent on creating a culture based on three curated pillars; Fearless, Founders and Family. Bacardi wants to be a catalyst for magical moments in peoples lives.    Points made through the episode: Travel has been a big part of John’s life-learning French, Portuguese and Spanish along the way. His parents exercised a huge influence on the choice of career that has become his passion John confessed to suffering from Imposter Syndrome. A huge part of his way was in pleasing people and not being conscious about what he wanted. This being has influenced how he is towards others and the purpose he has set himself to help more people plan and unlock their own potential both professionally and personally. At Bacardi John is the self- professed “fitness coach” Bacardi knows that if it wants to have the next best 10 years it needs to engage its people and culture to be the very best. John has done his own personal work to acknowledge the imposter within him and to understand & appreciate his own emotions in a way that helps him manage conflict constructively John is endeavouring to build a culture at Bacardi where people feel appreciated for who they are, and not what they “should” be in order to unlock potential and performance Bacardi encourages Coaching, Team Coaching and Development to help people work collaboratively and across boundaries rather than towards a title. Bacardi has employed concepts like Hackathons to unleash energy and commitment to company-wide ideas – doing so has improved company engagement scores by 10% Bacardi wants culture to be owned by everyone and not just a few As a Talent Manager John has learnt to appreciate being less attached or attracted to Avant- Garde ideas & more focused on execution & simplicity He is also keen to slow down and to allow the organisation to really implement well When John thinks team he thinks the following; Laughter, Cohesion, Irreverence, tightness to support each other professionally and personally We spoke about Patrick Lencioni and the work he has created around the 5 dysfunctions of teams. John uses the corollary of the dysfunctions to engage hearts and minds. John is not keen on labelling or classifying people. He uses models and frameworks lightly and is more interested in the conversation for possibility Amy Edmondson introduced the Bacardi Leaders, 50 who were on a bespoke leadership program to Authentic Leadership. She spoke about creating a fearless organisation. He liked how she spoke about framing work for people ,so they understand what is expected and how to create a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn We are so busy being busy that even though we are extremely connected we are disconnected. How can we build the pause to be present to each other? Bacardi is working hard to be relevant in a society where people are interested in drinking less but drinking quality drinks. The company is doing a lot to self-regulate. It is promoting slow drinking in France, Drink Driving campaigns in Russia and Portugal. The Cocktail business is growing by virtue of people wanting less but better. Bacardi is also moving into the business of no and low alcohol What matters now to John is the idea of promoting mental wellbeing at Bacardi. He was taken by a presentation given by a former Unilever executive, Jeff McDonald who spoke passionately about encouraging discourse on mental wellbeing at work.   Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation   Amy Edmondson: The Fearless Organisation The GOT Podcast episode 25 with Sarah Hill Patrick Lencioni: The 5 dysfunctions of a Team bacardi.com  

Discount link to Marcia's coaching course: https://coach.wbecs.com/Marcia-Reynolds/a182271 Introduction: Dr. Marcia Reynolds is a Master Certified Coach; she helps coaches and leaders make every conversation a difference-making experience. She has provided coaching and training in 41 countries and is on faculty for coaching schools in China, Russia, and The Philippines. Marcia was the 5th International Coaching Federation (ICF) President and only recently she was inducted into ICF’s Circle of Distinction for her contributions to the global coaching community. Marcia is also the author of several bestselling books including Outsmart Your Brain, Wonder Woman and the Discomfort Zone. Her latest book Coach the person not the problem, a guide to reflective enquiry, is the subject for this podcast. Podcast episode summary:  This episode focuses on the art of coaching and in particular the critical importance of reflective enquiry as part of the Coaching process. Dr. Marcia Reynolds shared her reasoning for writing another book on coaching.  Marcia felt it was important to impart her 25 years of coaching experience to share what is often missing in the coaching conversation and  to remind coaches and leaders how to help people think & think differently for change. Marcia is passionate about the value of Coaching and notwithstanding her enormous contribution to the field already she has decided to launch a 6 month program called Breakthrough Coaching in partnership with WBECS .It will commence in October 2020.   Points made through the episode: Marcia was a self-confessed obsessive. She was obsessed about understanding what it took to get at real behavioural change. Her quest saw her work to source those answers and combined to inform her choice to pursue a Doctorate. She explains the difference between telling and asking and what it does to our brain Curiously Feedback, although well intended has the affect similar to that of a person holding a gun to your head. The stress is that great. Most people do in fact know what they want, they simply do not do the reflection required to understand their thinking. We live in stories; we are meaning making machines. It is important to be able to see our stories and the frames that hold our identity, including beliefs and assumptions that are often flawed. As coaches we have grown to misunderstand the coaching competencies. Coaching Competency 2, getting at the coaching agreement is confused with solving problems. We are missing the art of reflection and we focus too much on the beautiful or powerful question. By way of her own research Marcia discovered the work of John Dewey in 1910. It explained the power of reflection “When you deprive a client from feeling you stunt their growth” Curiosity, Care and Courage form the important trilogy to get at whole person coaching Marcia wrote her new book; Coach the Person not the problem to dispel some myths about good coaching and to help coaches erase some bad habits, she has seen in the profession Being a coach is more about the being than the doing. Coaches need to appreciate the value of being wholly present to a client to notice the energic dynamic between two people or more. She implores coaches to get out of their own heads-“overthinking is the enemy of the coach” “just be with your client” In addition to her book she is about to Launch a new program in Partnership with WBECS called Breakthrough Coaching. A program designed for experienced coaches to genuinely upgrade their coaching to have a real impact with clients. Marcia shared an example of using Breakthrough coaching with one of her clients who was concerned about having a difficult conversation. She helped her client see what was really going on and what was presenting as the topic was really about personal responsibility. Covid-19 has amplified how we are experiencing emotions. We need to be able to self -regulate. She shares a lovely vignette with her own coach that demonstrates the power of reflection. Marcia shared some practical tips for Leaders of tips as we parted the conversation. She reminded leaders that “People want your presence more than they want your perfection” She shared that her book is also for Leaders; it is a real manual for helping leaders help others think about their thinking. As a parting thought Marcia reminded us that change is not just a conceptual construct. It is real phenomenon. It means we have to be comfortable with “not knowing” we don’t know anything for certain right now and that is OK.   Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation   https://www.Covisioning.com wbecs.com Reynolds.M;Coach the Person, Not the Problem: A Guide to Using Reflective Inquiry, Outsmart Your Brain; The Discomfort Zone; and Wander Woman all by Dr. Reynolds.M.

Introduction: Stuart Lancaster oozes passion for his sport-Rugby. For those who do not know Stuart he is a Rugby Union coach and he is currently coaching the Leinster Rugby Team in Dublin Ireland. He was former head coach of the England Rugby Team between the 2011-2015. Podcast episode summary:  In this episode Stuart illuminates the work of Team Coaching and how so much of what we know in Corporate teams is played out on the rugby pitch. . Stuart is passionate about the sport of Rugby, bringing out the best in others and pushing himself to always be improving.  His humility, courage and passion comes across so ably in his conversation.  We spoke about handling pressure, he shared the loss the England team suffered in the World Cup in 2015 that cost him his job, resilience and what got him back and of course team leadership and his current love of the work at Leinster where he is excited to return. Of course,  we are in Lockdown so that is not to come for a while. Covid-19 featured as a discussion point through this conversation and  Stuart shared how he and the team are managing  through this period.   Points made through the episode: Stuart was brought up on a farm in Cumbria. His father and ethics around hard work played a significant role in Stuarts approach to work and life. His schooling at St. Bees in Cumbria taught him a lot about resilience He took every opportunity and often stuck his head above the parapet to go for opportunities that perhaps we wasn’t ready for He attributes getting his Level in 5 in coaching and his time at Ashridge College as being critical to support his leadership and coaching His time as a PE teacher was also informative helping him understand how to conduct planning/do/review sessions Always driven Only have one shot-at life-“be the best I can be” Fear is lessened by competence and confidence Shared what happened at the World Cup and the job he lost as Head Coach in 2015 His first reaction was to go home- to the farm. Stuart reflected by walking the mountains, running, reading and thinking and by travelling across to New Zealand and to South Africa where he spoke to several coaches who had experienced similar losses He found his new purpose. He met Jim Collins the author of Good to Great and was inspired to “pick himself up off the canvas” He joined Leinster and they have enjoyed 3 trophy wins and 19/19 games Self-Awareness is very important to Stuart. He uses psychometrics with himself and the team, feedback and deliberate thinking sessions for reflection His huge drive means he is constantly looking at ways he can improve and improve the lot of others too Important that team learn and give feedback but do not drag mistakes around for a week or more. He shared his classic 100 days approach with a new team which is then followed by a call to arms speech where he paints a picture of what the future can look like for the team-this engenders self-belief. Culture- is about alignment, with a Values based approach. Leinster work with 3 values Brothers-Humility and Ruthlessness Stuart shared his definition of what culture means which he summarised in a metaphor. Culture is an invisible thread between coach/team members and between each other that thickens as the relations build. Identify is important. Leinster enjoy and incredible identity where 96% of the players come from some part of Leinster and they play for Dublin Leadership is about being even keeled although sometimes it is important to how you feel about something. He employs a breath of style to support what is needed. Inclusiveness is paramount for team dynamic. Failure is part of the dance. Covid-19 has put the team in a holding pattern and he and the team are keen to re-group and pick up the game. Important to stay in the present. Stuart has communicated with the team by using his voice. He has made small videos where he overlays his voice on the recording. Important for players to have his voice in their heads Players are appreciating regular but small communication bursts. “What is means for your Son to be playing for England” was an exercise in culture building that supported the team build connection The secret sauce to coaching a team like Leinster is for Stuart “pretty simple really” Make sure the team is connected/train intensively together/have cohesion/a combination of variety and repetition in training methodologies is important for habit building and engagement   Resources: the following include the resources we alluded to over the course of our conversation Stuart shared his own LinkedIN profile which offers an amount of articles and posts sharing insights on Leadership - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-lancaster-20a549143/?originalSubdomain=uk Jim Collins: Good to Great