Systemic team development

Control is good. Trust is better.
Whe­ther manage­ment or lea­der­ship teams, depart­ments or pro­jects: Teams are the nucleus of an orga­nizati­on. This is whe­re flu­id inter­ac­tion occurs and whe­re con­flicts draw ener­gy from day-to-day ope­ra­ti­ons. This is whe­re lea­der­ship beco­mes a powerful frame or struc­tu­ral fric­tion. This is whe­re employees expe­ri­ence a fit with the cul­tu­re or go on the back bur­ner becau­se they no lon­ger find them­sel­ves in the work. With team deve­lo­p­ment, this frame­work can be shaped. The result works back becau­se an ali­gned team needs less lea­der­ship to com­pen­sa­te and still pro­du­ces more con­nec­ta­ble results. After­wards, it is clea­rer what the team is doing. And what makes it tick. 

Systemic team development in practice

I have been working sin­ce 2005 in dif­fe­rent set­tings of team deve­lo­p­ment in cor­po­ra­ti­ons and medi­um-sized busi­nesses, in lar­ge and smal­ler social insti­tu­ti­ons, in start-ups and in the public sec­tor. The par­ti­ci­pan­ts are mana­ging direc­tors, divi­si­on and depart­ment mana­gers, team lea­ders or employees in the ope­ra­tio­nal busi­ness. The team for­mats are cus­to­mi­zed — adapt­ed to the situa­ti­on of the team, the orga­nizati­on and the flight level of the issues we work on. 

For example:

  • Work with a leadership team in a mid-sized company that wants to move from a time of silos toward a shared leadership team, unifying structures and resolving areas of tension among themselves.
  • Work with the team of an owner-managed network of consultants who want to reposition themselves in the market together and develop a common mindset to do so.
  • Work with a youth services team facing new challenges and build structures to respond well to declining predictability and increasing lack of resources.

What it could be about:

Diagnoses & Feedback

Learn what is actually the matter

A pro­fes­sio­nal dia­gno­sis brings teams to the stand. By spe­ci­fi­cal­ly query­ing rele­vant impact fac­tors, it beco­mes appa­rent whe­re the focus of fur­ther work could lie. The team lear­ns whe­re its own strengths lie and whe­re the are­as of ten­si­on lie. Topics that do not seem to be dis­cussa­ble intern­al­ly are named and can be dealt with. Often, dia­gno­ses are the begin­ning of the real­ly powerful team pro­ce­s­ses — whe­ther as an insti­tu­tio­na­li­zed feed­back pro­cess or as the orga­nic start of a deve­lo­p­ment workshop. 

Develop structure that allows freedom

Roles and pro­ce­s­ses are flu­id and are often in the con­text of con­flic­ting expec­ta­ti­ons. In addi­ti­on to defi­ned pro­ce­s­ses, the­re are also the orga­nic ones, often faster and tied to fixed play­ers. We invent cle­ver solu­ti­ons bet­ween for­mal stan­dards and grown best practices. 
Roles & Processes
Vision & Strategy

Meaning, community and lasting differences

For many teams, visi­on and stra­tegy work means brin­ging tog­e­ther high expec­ta­ti­ons with a con­flic­ting orga­nizatio­nal rea­li­ty. We explain how the balan­cing act of remai­ning stra­te­gi­cal­ly ori­en­ted and kee­ping an eye on the inher­ent logic of day-to-day busi­ness can be achie­ved. Con­cre­te and implementation-oriented. 

Release bound power

Con­flict lines can mark clear boun­da­ries or burn ener­gy and bur­den ever­y­day life. Con­flict reso­lu­ti­on repla­ced by micro­po­li­tics wea­k­ens the orga­nizati­on and its actors. We bring the power back into the system — and remain mindful that ever­yo­ne invol­ved can stay on board. 
Conflicts
Cooperation

Taking the next step as a team

Coope­ra­ti­on is com­plex: It is about pre­cise com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on and focu­sed agree­ments, self-direc­tion and sen­se-making, pro­ject manage­ment and flu­id pro­ce­s­ses. We look at what it takes to take the next step and wha­t’s in the way. 
How about a no-obligation initial consultation?

Go on, if you want.

Overview of the playing fields
Voices about my work
Principles of my work
My background