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ISSU
Winning workwith the National Trust
Virtual learningfor strategic advantage
Developing leadership in health
Learning and Development:measuring the payback
Focus on sustainability
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Ashridge Consulting
www.ashridgeconsulting.com
An innovative consultancy with a proven
track record o successul client partnerships:
changing organisation culture and structure
developing leaders and leadership teams
developing strategy by engaging the organisation
developing and assessing people and perormance
leading and working virtually
engaging organisations with sustainability.
A centre or the development o consultingand coaching practitioners.
All rom a world class business school.
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aword from the editor
Ashridge Consulting
Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 1NS
Tel: + 44 (0)1442 841380 Fax: +44 (0)1442 841260
email: [email protected]
www.ashridgeconsulting.com
As this edition goes to press, there is wide speculation about what the new
coalition Government and the implementation o its planned legislation will
mean, or business, the City and the public sector. The uncertainty that
hung over the pre-election period and still prevails is a constant subject or
discussion amongst Ashridges public sector clients. Typical o these are
NHS Londons participants on the Next Generation Directors programme,
which earlier this year included scenario building about government policy
towards the NHS under dierent political party leadership. Whatever
scenario comes to pass, the daily challenges o healthcare continue,
requiring ull attention and energy. All leaders are amiliar with the challenge
o doing the day job to the best o their ability whilst planning or the uture.
The need to juggle the demands o present and uture is a theme o several
articles in this edition o Converse. It is seen very clearly in the work o
the National Trust, which needs to create the best possible experience
or the public today whilst preserving the nations heritage and landscape
or the uture. Everyone engaged in sustainable business, to which our
central supplement is devoted, is acing the very same challenge: to
engage in best practice business today without jeopardising the resources
and environment o uture generations. Gill, Jennings and Everyaced the
challenge o how to manage their organisation now in a way that would
ensure the rm was t to meet the uture.
Managing or the uture in a dynamic environment calls or skills that
were not always necessary to managers o the last century. There is a
need to orm wide networks that include novelty and diversity, the need to
spot trends and opportunities and distil unprecedented amounts o data
rom an ever growing list o media sources. These are skills o top talent
who we discover, in Talent Management in Recession and Resurgence
do not batten down the hatches and sit tight when the going gets tough
in a recession. Its thanks to such talented people that business does
indeed go on in the here and now and we are able to emerge rom the
doldrums o economic downturn. All proessionals involved in learning
and development share a responsibility to ensure that our top talent,
our leaders and those at the sharp end o todays business, are able to
work at their best today in a way that will best prepare organisations and
individuals or tomorrow.
Delma OBrienEditor
Consulting in challenging times
page 4
ABOUT US
LATEST THINKING
CLIENT STORIES
SUSTAINABILITY SUPPLEMENT
contents
Programme news
pages 43
Restore, enjoy and preserve: AC workswith the National Trust page 5
From light-bulbs to light-bulb moments
Creating sustainable value page 30
NHS London Next Generation Directors
programme page 18
Changing conversations in a changing
climate page 34
Governance choices for growth at GJE
page 27
How to look deeper
page 37
Learning and development:
measuring the paybackpage 21
Change in the Valleys
page 28
Talent Management in recession
and resurgence page 24
Coaching Supervision: Quality Assurance
for executive coaches? page 40
Real Time Coaching
page 15
Rising from the ashes a new way
of learning and working page 9
A day in the lifepage 12
y
Mental Heal
y
Nursing
GreatOrmondSt
Primary
Care
WestminsterPCT
y
'
y
v
v
Editorial team:
Kate Campbell, Delma OBrien, Emma Wishart, Mike McCabe
Design: www.redsky.biz
Copyright 2010, The Ashridge Trust.
You may copy and circulate this publication to as many people as you wish.
All rights reserved.
Registered as Ashridge (Bonar Law Memorial) Trust. Charity number 311096.
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Like most o our clients, hal way through 2009 Ashridge Consulting was
acing huge uncertainty in terms o how the recession would impact the
business. We trusted the recommendations coming out o In the Thick o It,
the leadership research study undertaken by Andrew Day and Kevin Power
and held ortnightly discussions (as well as the myriad o inormal meetings
and conversations) to engage the whole organisation in the challenges
we were acing and the strategies needed to ensure our uture health as
a business. We were committed to balancing business development with
the client work, research, and individual and organisational development
necessary or building our capacity or the uture.
Many clients welcomed our light-touch acilitative approach, nding it
particularly helpul in dicult circumstances, as it builds their own internal
capability to address their challenges. We were pleased to win a signicant
number o important and challenging projects within the UK National HealthService, engaging with leaders o Trusts and Boards, and with senior health
proessionals to develop their skills to work eectively in this complex sector.
One o these has been developing and delivering a truly innovative Masters in
Leadership (Quality Improvement) or The Health Foundation, in partnership
with Unipart Expert Practices (a leading independent logistics provider and
pioneer o Lean Thinking).
The year also saw some signicant other achievements, notably:
Winning the EFMD Excellence in Practice Award 2010 or
Organisational Development or our work with The National Trust
The growth o our virtual working practice
Working with prospective MPs on sustainability
Conducting successul experiments in evaluating our work with
some key clients
The successul accreditation o our rst cohort o participants o
Coaching or Organisation Consultants (CFC) at the Centre or
Leadership in Denmark (and running the rst CFC in Abu Dhabi)
Leaving our home in the Orangery and establishing ourselves
at the other end o Ashridge in The Coach House.
We are always delighted when consultants who have been part o Ashridge
Consulting in the past, are able to return to the organisation. We are
pleased to welcome back Hartmut Stuelten and Karen Ward.
Karen Ward
She is pleased to be rejoining
Ashridge to take the lead
in developing two areas o
interest: Strategic HR and Talent
Management and Complex
Programme Management.
For the last ve years Karen
has worked in partnership with
Dr. Mary Elaine Jacobsen to
develop the eld o Talent
Psychology and is looking orward
to bringing the insights rom this
action research to a wideraudience.
When last at Ashridge Karen
co-developed and led an open
programme Leading Complex
Teams, which built on the lessons
learned rom her successul book
Leading International Teams. She is
currently part o an action research
consortium with the consulting
network SULEiS; the deence think
tank RUSI and the proessional
body International Centre or
Complex Programme Management(ICCPM), which together are
enquiring into practices that would
enable complex programmes in all
sectors to deliver their outcomes
more eectively.
Outside o work, Karen enjoys
beach walks and sailing, together
with her two young sons, near her
seaside home in Norolk.
Hartmut Stuelten
Hartmut has been
worldwide in leadersh
organisation developmen
last 25 years, supporting m
in understanding the
others, their organisation
changing world .
For the rst 13 yea
practice he worked as a
OD consultant and OD ma
large, global companie
practised as an indepen
consultant or eight yearsby the last our years in c
companies.
He says: I am very e
return to AC because I ha
deep connection to and a
having achieved the
Masters in Organisation C
worked on the aculty, a
currently engaged in res
my Ashridge Docto
Organisation Consulting.
I look orward to contr
us doing great work, dnew thinking, growing a
ullled as practitioners an
and having a positive imp
world.
Hartmut has lived in G
the US, Switzerland, Spai
UK and he works in En
German.
4
Our practice groups continue to develop our intellectual capital and business ocus
here are the people to get in touch with:Organisation transformation and renewal Caryn Vanstone [email protected] 07880 788279
Leadership Lindsey Masson [email protected] 07775 946750
Strategy engagement Chris Nichols [email protected] 07738 803410
Philippa Hardman [email protected] 07714 697159
Virtual working Ghislaine Caulat [email protected] +49 1705 465897
Strategic HR and talent management Karen [email protected] 07946 533983
Creating sustainable value Alexandra Stubbings [email protected] 07879 668501
Nick Ceasar [email protected] 07595 650307
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>> continued over page
Restore, enjoy and preserve:Ashridge Consulting works
with the National TrustBy Billy Desmond and Delma OBrien
When the National Trust needed to develop its internal consulting capability, it selectedAshridge Consulting to be its partner, in a process o personal and organisational
development that would develop the skills o its Functional Advisers, enabling them to
play their part in ullling the strategic objective o supporting and strengthening the
roles o individual Property, or General, Managers. The work that ensued resulted
in the EFMDs 2010 Best Practice Award or Organisational Development.
Preserving a green and pleasant land, studded
with its palaces, castles and stately homes that
house some o our nations greatest artistic
treasures, is no mean challenge or the National
Trust. Its an even greater challenge when thatrestoration and conservation or the benet
o uture generations is dependent on income
generated not just by legacies but by 3.7m
members and 65m visitors: people who want to
support and preserve, but many who simply want
to have a great experience, today!
Fullment o everyones aspirations depends
on the myriad skills and capabilities o a workorce
o employees and volunteers across England,
Wales and Northern Ireland, as diverse as the
landscapes and properties under the Trusts
protection. Archaeologists, nancial managers,
conservators, marketeers, curators, retailers andmore (collectively known as Functional Advisors),
collaborate to ensure a memorable experience
at any o the 350 managed properties and sites
as well as in the open access ens, moorland,
beaches, nature reserves and archaeological
sites.
In 2007 the Trust determined that one o
its major strategic objectives was to strengthen
and support the operational managers. In
particular, the role o Property Manager at 40 o
the Trusts most complex properties was to be
enhanced, consistent with the strategy o putting
its properties at the heart o the Trusts activities.
They were re-named General Managers andgiven more responsibility and accountability.
Key members o the Trusts Senior
Management Team recognised that as power
shited to being held locally at properties,
Functional Advisers would have to develop skills
o consulting and infuence in order to support
and challenge the General Managers in their
policy and decision making. They needed to
deliver a collaborative, client-centred service,
recognising the General/Property Manager as the
decision maker. There needed to be a change
in the organisation away rom silo working and
towards accessing integrated advisory services,with relationships o real trust being developed
between the Managers and the Advisors.
The National Trust recognised that a
development programme was needed or its
Functional Advisors. The desired impact o
the programme can be summed up in its title:
Developing Internal Consulting Capability.
This meant rst and oremost developing the
consultants: in this case, the Functional Advisors.
We were able to road
test what it would belike to invite Ashridge
into our organisation.
It was a compelling
way to approach
the assignment and
we havent been
disappointed.
Jonathan Noall,
Senior Training and Development Manag
WINNEREFMD Excellence
Practice Award 20for Organisatio
Developm
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An initial contract
The spirit o enquiry in which the progra
co-created did much to guarantee the s
the stakeholders, who became certain
was no o-the-shel learning package,
designed to develop the Functional Adv
are so crucial to enabling the Nationa
meet its strategic goals.
In practical terms, this meant dthem to think and act dierently to deli
value and to learn and hone consultin
become even more eective in helping
secure its strategic and commercial obj
Behaviours needed to change, part
include those on the right hand-side:
It was going to be a question o personal and
organisational development. The programme
would have to support and challenge behaviours
and attitudes in order to deliver the commercial
and business objectives vital to the Trusts
perormance. It would also have to address the
dicult issues that oten accompany change and
restructuring such as loss o power, trust and
role identity where a mixture o anxiety, ear andhope is personally elt and experienced.
The enquiry begins
The National Trust invited potential providers to
submit ideas or the design and delivery o the
programme. The Ashridge Consulting approach
was congruent with our relational consulting
philosophy rom the outset instead o prescribing
and presenting a suggested programme o
development, we (consultants Billy Desmond
and Martyn Brown) entered into dialogue in a
spirit o exploration and enquiry, to co-create and
co-design a programme that would deliver the
required impact.
So even at the stage o tender, the approach
adopted was entirely congruent not only with the
way in which the programme would be designed
and delivered, but with Ashridges ethos o what
constitutes best practice consulting skills.
Ashridge consultants Billy Desmond and
Martyn Brown visited some key properties and met
managers and advisors, to gain an appreciation
o the business, its people and their challenges.This very process on inquiry helped unleash the
knowledge and creative thinking o people who
knew the organisation best, inorming the content
and structure o the co-designed programme.
The process also built condence that Ashridge
and the National Trust could have a collaborative
relationship.
6
Transacting Relatin
Specialist solutions Integrated sol
Directing Enquirin
Expert Collabora
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These individual role changes needed to take
place in the context o the changed organisational
structure, with Advisors being mindul that their
activities should be a representative o the way
the Trust as a whole is changing. For Functional
Advisors, the implications are:
A central push replaced by property pull
or advice
All activity being wholly supportive o the
Strategy and ocused on helping properties
and the Trust achieve the KPIs
Advice being delivered in an integrated way,
with specialist advice in one area taking as
much account as possible o its impact on
other areas
A more robust attitude to risk, allowing or
creativity and experimentation with sae
parameters
A more realistic yet ambitious approach to
what can be achieved: a ocus on enabling
the property to achieve the vision through
collaborative partnership and problem solving
Awareness o the Trusts long-term aim to ull
the requirement o its 1908 Act to promote
conservation o and access to special places
or ever, or everyone.
Decision-making powers and control o
budgets and teams are commonly viewed as
metrics o the importance o organisational
roles. Its not surprising the news that many o
the Functional Advisors powers were being
transerred to the ront end Property Managers
provoked a mixed reaction. Some struggled with
the concept o loss o power and the change oproessional identity. However, the programme
provided the space to both refect upon such
reactions while inquiring into their own and
others experience, and work towards developing
new expertise and capabilities that built on past
strengths and experience at the same time.
THE LEARNING ANDDEVELOPMENT INITIATIVEThe rst residential module
In November 2008 the rst cohort o 12
Functional Advisors came to Ashridge or a three-
day programme. The learning environment at
Ashridge is renowned. The tranquillity and beauty
o the building and grounds, amidst acres oNational Trust woodland, made the participants
eel that this was home rom home and assured
them that Ashridge and its people experience
rst-hand and understand the oten conficting
priorities o the demands o day-to-day operations
and the longer term mission o preserving part o
our heritage or uture generations.
Participants were also to discover how
tradition meets innovation in teaching and ideas,
with Ashridge Consultants practising at the leading
edge o their proession. The design was inormed
by the Ashridge Consulting relational approach
to consulting, emphasising the importance
o awareness, relational contact, inquiry,
conversation, experimentation and refection. We
approached our clients with a genuine curiosity
to understand their reality, as a way o acilitating
change rom within, while ostering connections
between individuals to support a dierent way
o relating and working. From the outset, the
development programme design placed particular
attention on ostering relationships and agreeing
condentiality to create a sae, supportive, un, yet
stretching learning experience. It was grounded
in Functional Advisors experience and the reality
o their current context.
Pre-work was required prior to arrival.This included refecting on and recognising
their responses to a paper rom the Director o
Conservation. They completed a consulting styles
questionnaire, requiring them to seek anonymous
eedback rom clients on how they were perceived
and experienced. The programme started with an
experiential process to help individuals get to know
each other, their experience and the consulting
capability already there to build on. The process
that ensued over the three days developed this
consulting capability urther and was consolidated
around key areas o structure, styles and skills,
underpinned by attending to the here and now
co-created consulting client relationship.
This L&D process oered pragmatic and
relevant concepts or rameworks including: a
relational consulting cycle, consulting roles, ways
o building and engendering trust, consulting
intervention styles, confict styles, listening skills,
inquiry skills, and an appreciative and development
eedback structure. Functional Advisors were
invited to participate in activities relevant to their
context, to experience, refect and make sense,
with the purpose o encouraging learning
the here and now being assimilated to the
and then o their current client relationship
organisational activities.
A challenging and stretching part o
learning process occurred during the cons
skills practice on the second day. Func
Advisors worked as a consulting team w
General Manager (played by an experienced aobserved other teams consulting and acilitat
appreciative and development eedback pr
to support each others learning.
On the third day Functional Advisors
supported to integrate learning o sel an
in relationship to their role, while consid
what they could do dierently to develop
eective client consulting relationships back
National Trust.
Action Learning
Given the depth o change required and
cultural shit away rom traditionally transac
services to new ways o working in collabopartnerships, the design needed to include l
term support or participants to practise, r
and embed the learning with appropriate su
and space. Following each programme, A
Learning sets were ormed to support the
their ongoing learning in the ace o day-t
issues. These groups o six Functional Ad
met with an Ashridge acilitator or hal a day
times over a ten-month period, to suppor
challenge each other.
Here, they addressed their consulting i
and problems and shared the learning as
developed their capability as Consultants.Blended learning
Throughout the initiative, participants had a
to the rich resources o the Ashridge V
Learning Resource Centre (VLRC), with its
range o learning materials on all aspec
management, leadership, strategy and ch
by Ashridge and world-renowned au
Ashridge customised the National Trusts
portal, mapping materials to the organisa
competency ramework. Technology is also
deployed to enable some o the Action Lea
sets to engage in Virtual Action Lea
Participants are discovering that contrapopular assumption, Action Learning can b
as eective in a virtual environment and the
also experiencing and practising a dieren
o learning and working in the virtual space
only does this option mean that geography
longer a barrier to the coming together o A
Learning sets, but it is also highly congruen
the National Trusts commitment and core v
to preserve the environment.
>> continued over
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Phase 2Online Confidential Survey Surveys will be administered o Survey 1: All programme parti
and invite feedback confidentiaOutcomes: Understand the programme co
which were most helpful Determine what advisors wer
and applying in day job To identify client grou
Phase 3Inquiry Interviews -
one telephone Interviewed ten clients R
GM/PM Interviewed six advisors who we
mentioned as successful
Outcomes: To understand what a successful cconsultant relationship is in realit
To gather stories, experiences anunderstand psychological proce
Identify themes, and success stand contributing factors
Phase 1Design and Engagement Designed the questionnaire NT to brief /inform participants/clients of the process
Agreed roles and responsibilities
Phase 4Sense-making andCommunicate Findings Share quantitative and
qualitative dataOutcomes: Feedback to all participants and sponsors Review current design and adapt ifnecessary
Identify future trojan mice experimentsthat can be encouraged Identify more targeted OD interventions andapproaches that deliver greatest individualand organisational impact
Integrate learning to inform and shapefuture OD/Training interventions for 2010
1 2
34
8
REFLECTIONSBoth Ashridge Consulting and the Natio
agree that the strong sense o partne
trust throughout the tender, design,
evaluation and planning or the uture
key to the programmes success. Jona
commented,
A trusted partnership has develop
began when we rst met at the tender
Billy, Martyn and the acilitators at Ashr
by example in their consulting style.
all worked hard to remain connected
business developments to ensure thi
change programme is integral and sup
organisational goals: a sure recipe or s
We in Ashridge Consulting have
additional satisaction rom the crea
dynamic learning environment that created by the participants back in the w
We are delighted that not just the pa
who pride themselves on enabling rea
o skills, but the whole organisation, is
rom the programme
93% o Functional Advisors have ound ways
to share their learning with colleagues and teams:
by coaching, setting up workshops, developing
their sta and networking. The communication
promises to be a dynamic process, or the
ongoing good o the Trust.
Organisational impact
It is becoming clear that the Functional Advisors
are indeed developing their internal consulting
capability and stories are emerging about the good
results o their eective working relationships with
General Managers and the wider organisation,
particularly in complex scenarios.
Business impact
Over the last ew years, National Trust membership
has grown (rom 3.5m to 3.7m members), more
volunteers are giving their support (rom 48,000
to 55,000), visitor numbers are up rom 14m to
15m and commercial income has increased by10%. Given that the programme or Functional
Advisors, though a key initiative, is but one part
o the learning and development strategy, it is
dicult to quantiy the business improvements
directly attributable to it. However, the evaluation
eedback rom participants and those who
benet rom their services and expertise makes it
clear that dynamic learning translated into action
at individual and systemic levels is having direct
impact on the Trusts ongoing success.
THE IMPACTThe evaluation process
We engaged in an Evaluation Inquiry process
(see Figure1) underpinned by a rigorous, inquiry-based research approach using both quantitative
and qualitative methods. Its purpose was to
understand through evidence the impact o
the Developing Internal Consulting Capabilityintervention on participant Advisors and their
clients e.g. General Managers, and on the
wider organisation. In particular, eort was made
to determine the eectiveness o the component
parts o the programme. Attention was also paid
to the organisational contexts which support
successul client-consultant relationships,
highlighting in particular the importance o
eective leadership. The evaluation served both
to monitor the eectiveness o the programme,
and to provide Ashridge and the National Trust
with qualitative and quantitative data to inorm
uture interventions that acilitate the changeprocess, while delivering value or money.
The evaluation process sought to collate
stories on what is working, how it is working
and what is the impact so that the ways o
working and organisational aspects that support
this change can be amplied.
Condential online surveys were sent to 87
programme participants. The incredibly high
response rate o 86% is indicative o the learning
and value Functional Advisors are attaining.
Following the surveys, one-to-one telephone
enquiries were held with six Advisors and ten
clients.
The evaluation ndings
Individual impact
It is clear rom Functional Advisors comments
that they are learning about themselves personally
and proessionally, and integrating learning into
their roles and working environment.
I believe this has enabled me to be a better
person, more rounded, more patient with my
thoughts, more eective in the new role I now
occupy.
Action Learning Groups were invaluable in
ensuring that I did not go back and orget what I
had learned rom the coursesaid one participant,and the learning environment was extremely
useul in giving me permission to experiment,
said another.
Impact on others
The Functional Advisors themselves identied
ways to ampliy the change process: or
example, some suggested that the Property
Managers undergo similar training, with regular
reinorcement and involving both clients and
consultants as a matter o course.
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Rising from the ashes a new way of learning and working
to hours spent travelling. Th
also an increasing need or j
time learning, specic to dyn
business scenarios, that
become a distinct strategic
and give competitive advantag
Ashridge Consulting
is developing a track reco
sustainable skills develop
Not only does AC pride its
learning that is really susta
in the sense that it is lasting
to the transer o skills and c
o ongoing learning that it cr
within client companies; but
in its ability to promote lea
that is not reliant on experiein a classroom or even on
to ace contact. Already a c
o excellence in the rese
practice and development o A
Learning, AC has been pro
Virtual Action Learning (VAL)
the last ve years to more tha
global organisations, involving
than 1,500 participants.
More and more clients across the world are
experiencing the benets of Virtual Action
Learning (VAL). Skilful facilitation is crucial, so
Ashridge Consulting is now not only providing an
open programme in VAL facilitation, but is
helping some organisations develop their own
in-house capability. This story describes the
experience of German nancial services
organisation MLP, as it discovers that VAL can
lead to strategic advantage.
By Ghislaine Caulat and Delma OBrien
The closure o vast expanses o
European air space as a result o
the dangers o volcanic ash made
hundreds o thousands o people
stop and think about much that
they take or granted. Whether its
a question o travel or business
or leisure, attendance at state
unerals, or the supply o exotic ruit
and vegetables, nothing can be
taken or granted once planes are
grounded. Much is being written
about the adverse economic
eects, but the crisis might have
demonstrated more sharply than
years o eort by the sustainability
lobby, that there are other wayso operating when ace to ace
relationships and transactions are
not possible.
These are challenges that
learning and development
proessionals are increasingly
grappling with: the need to develop
geographically dispersed global
teams without incurring vast
travel costs and downtime due>> continued over
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As our VAL with clients gains
pace, we notice that ar rom being
a second best compared to ace
to ace communication, this way o
working is spawning its own benets
which would not have been derived
in a ace to ace environment. For
example, participants very otennotice already at the rst session
that the quality o listening in the
virtual environment is o a much
higher standard. Due to the act that
participants are not distracted by
each others physical appearance
and by the surroundings, once
they have managed to overcome
this lack o visual cues and clues,
people soon come to see it as a
real enabler. But to derive all the
benets that can be gained, both
participants and most importantly,
acilitators, must develop new skillsand techniques.
In order to develo
competence in VAL, AC a
a programme that draw
years o research and pra
story o MLP, a German
services company, illustr
the development o its
virtual acilitation capabiljust delivering new ways o
but is also becoming a
asset.
VAL for strategic adva
Headquartered in
Germany, MLP AG
independent nancial ad
range o private and in
investors. Its expertis
mortgages, non-lie i
pensions and investm
operates through a netwo
branches, each with beand 20 sta. Its unique
model involves nding its
clients o the uture by oer
services to university gradu
nurturing them through th
as their nancial needs ch
MLP aces the epito
complex business env
Myriad new nancial prod
an ever-growing range o
Developing Virtual ActionLearning Facilitators
In any Action Learning set, the
role o the acilitator is crucial: his
or her skills and competence in
the role bear a major impact on
the learning outcomes rom the
sessions. Whereas many learningand development proessionals
and indeed, many managers
have developed their expertise
in ace to ace acilitation, VAL
acilitation demands a dierent set
o skills. Whilst pioneering VAL, AC
has commonly provided a acilitator
or Virtual Action Learning sets.
However, moving to the next level
o sustainable working and in
keeping with its long tradition and
expertise in the transer o consulting
skills, AC is now developing clients
internal expertise in Virtual Action
Learning acilitation skills. This is
about making sustainable learning
sustainable in that organisations
whose acilitators Ashridge have
developed, retain their ability to
acilitate and promote VAL on an
ongoing basis, on demand and
representing the best combination
o Virtual acilitation skills with
knowledge o the business.
THE TERMINOLOGY
Action Learning
Originated by Proessor Reginald Revans in the United Kingdom in the 1940s
learning ormat enables groups o up to six managers to present their resp
`issues (an issue can be, or example, a strategic decision that one needs to
a challenging operational problem, or an interpersonal diculty with a colleand through a process o questioning and eedback by peers, the `issue holde
person presenting the issue) obtains useul challenge and support to develop a d
understanding o the issue at hand, which oten results in nding a dierent app
to address it. The process is usually acilitated by an experienced process cons
In some cases Action Learning groups carry on or several years and sel-acilita
Audio Action Learning
The most appropriate platorm or Action Learning work where participants
a personal issue to work on, is a teleconerencing setting when people hav
the audio channel to connect and work with each other: we call this Audio A
Learning.
Virtual Action Learning
We have learnt that when people choose Action Learning to work on a project co
to the team, it is best to use a web-based platorm in addition to the audio conn
so that people can at the same time view and work together on documents: w
this Virtual Action Learning.
Oten acilitators havethe basic skills but
need to learn how to
deploy them in a virtual
environment, paying
attention to the right
things at the right time.
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The programmes delivery
totally virtual, highly experi
providing lots o opportun
acilitate sessions o Audio A
Learning and receive eedback
the other participants, very pra
oriented and stretching.
Bookings are now being take
programmes that commencSeptember and November 2
Each programme consists
an initial 2-hour brieng se
and 3-day (3 x 5 hours) v
workshops ollowed by
hal-day (3 x 3 hours) virtual a
learning sessions over 7-9 mo
Additional one-to-one coach
available where necessary
To nd out more, or to
book a place on the programm
please contact: sue.jabbar@
ashridge.org.uk
The skills that are now being
put into practice within MLP do not
just simply enable eective VAL,
but they have also enhanced the
acilitators virtual coaching skills,
both or one-to-one coaching and
or team coaching. For all involved,
the increasing amiliarity o working
and communicating in the virtualenvironment means greater comort
with concepts like Virtual Learning
and on-demand learning that can
be accessed as needed or specic
business scenarios.
VAL facilitation training nowavailable
AC is working with a number o
clients to develop their internal
VAL acilitators. However, in
addition to these company-specic
programmes, an Open Programme
is now available. It will enableparticipants to:
Gain an in-depth understanding
o Virtual Action Learning
(what is unique about this orm
o learning, how it is dierent
rom and similar to ace-to-ace
Action Learning)
Learn how to encourage
intimacy and trust in the virtual
space
Understand the concept o
presence in the virtual space
and how to establish your own
presence
Assess and increase your own
impact in the virtual space
Understand and work eectively
with the dynamics o virtual
groups
Develop robust acilitation skills
or Virtual Action Learning
Learn through practising Virtual
Action Learning.
The introduction o VAL within
MLP has not been entirely without
its critics, as about a third o the
500 learning and development sta,
more used to ace to ace delivery
o training, retain some scepticism.
Wolgang added: We have to
be careul not to describe a VAL
session as an arena or problemsolving: our sales proessionals
simply dont do problems: but
they have to do achieving through
people, being catalysts or change
and managing their individual issues
within the organisation. The success
o Virtual Action Learning within the
company in uture will be very reliant
on our acilitators, which is why we
have turned to Ashridge to develop
our own Virtual Action Learning
Facilitators. Not to mention the act
that having our own acilitators is o course cheaper!
The MLP Virtual Facilitation
Programme ran at the end o
January 2010, consisting o virtual
workshops run on Webex, or our
hours on three consecutive days.
The workshops were in German
and a German speaking technical
acilitator was on hand. By the third
day there were opportunities to
practise virtual acilitation within the
group and get eedback rom co-
participants. Following the virtual
workshops, Ashridges GhislaineCaulat (the consultant) provided
three ollow-up sessions with the
group, where each participant has
the opportunity to acilitate audio
action learning and receive eedback
rom colleagues and the consultant.
Is VAL acilitation so dierent rom
conventional acilitation? According
to Wolgang: Oten acilitators
have the basic skills but need to
learn how to deploy them in a virtual
environment, paying attention to the
right things at the right time. Goodlistening, the ability to build trust and
intimacy in a virtual environment,
becoming comortable with silence
and refecting on its meaning
and acquiring good process
skills appropriate to the virtual
environment, are all aspects that
good virtual acilitators need to
develop.
food the market, the regulatory
ramework in which it operates is
constantly shiting, the economic
background is ever more turbulent
and its clients needs continually
evolve.
Consistent with this scenario,
MLPs employees learning is never
nished. It has to be ongoing,as knowledge ranging rom
micro detail o individual products
to macro economic trends is
the key to its business success.
In recognition o the importance
o Learning and Development,
MLP has positioned a Corporate
University outside Heidelberg and
employs no less than 400 in-house
trainers, each o whom undergo
between 5-15 days training per
year. As the importance o learning
rose ever higher on the corporateagenda, a decision was taken to
select 50 o the best trainers or a
higher level o development over
a two to three year period. MLP
selected Ashridge Consulting to
provide Audio Action Learning or
members o this group and as a
result o its success, six members,
together with Head o Learning and
Development Wolgang Wagner-
Sesemann, are undertaking training
as VAL acilitators so that MLP
will have its own, in-house virtual
acilitation capability. Wolgang believes that the
development o VAL acilitation
skills will help the culture o VAL
and indeed, working and learning
in the virtual space, all o which
are becoming a strategic asset to
the company. In dynamic business
environments, so much can change
between the attendance at one ace
to ace training programme and
the next. Wolgang believes that
Virtual Learning enables the rapid
translation o learning into practice,whereas only a small percentage
o what is learnt on a longer ormal
training course will be retained and
deployed back in the workplace.
He said: VAL is consistent with
our change denition o learning,
which needs constant short, sharp
impulses, almost on demand and
specic to scenarios and issues.
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A day in the life of
Peter ShepherdVirtual Facilitator
12
09.45 A note o thamy coaching client has
appeared along with a q
someone rom Europe w
o a group Im due to sp
tomorrow. They have remeeting invite via my Lot
and they want to know w
(Central European Dayligh
Is it the same as UTC (Co-
Universal Time) or is UTC
as GMT (Greenwich Mea
He just wants to make sur
will all get to speak.
Is this what people
a Kaka-esque moment
I reply, I check and re-c
meeting invite the cone
number, the passcode and
which has let me expresGMT+ value but has arr
the client expressed as
only they dont know wha
The apologist or coloniali
me shudders slightly.
10.30 Headphones oI open an automated mail w
to the web-based conere
due to acilitate in hal an
phone number is pre-pro
into my handset so I quic
passcode and a user ID On the screen, next to m
on the participant list,
icon appears: knowing he
hear me, I say hello to our
acilitator, Andy, who is
on the line. It is good to
calm tone and I notic
taking on the role o an a
checking with the tower o
clearance.
06.00 Woken by my alarmclock. Its programmed to play one
o my avourite pieces o music but I
eel obliged to thump it out o action
beore the end o the rst bar so as
not to wake my wie or the toddlernext to her who is snoring like a
comedy drunk.
06.15 Out or a run. Cold, darkmorning and have some diculty
working out in which order to put
on gloves and press play on my
iPod. Set o or the park, a bit taken
aback at the strength o the head
torch Ive just bought. Wildlie fee
in my path.
07.00 Return to nd rest othe house rising and with themthe volume o ambient noise. Try
to sound a bit menacing when I
tell kids I am working rom home
and how much I would appreciate
quiet when I am on my rst call
at 8.00am. Shower and breakast
trying to calculate what time it will
be or my client in Pakistan when
we are due to speak.
07.30 Open phone and double-check my schedule. Ater the early
call, I have a couple o hours inwhich Ill do some email and diary
management. Am due to acilitate a
web seminar rom 11.00 to 13.30.
Ill take a break and then nish the
design or another virtual session
later in the week. The deadline is
tomorrow and I want to coner with
my colleague beore I send anything
to the client.
07.45 Take a cup o tea upstairsand look in on bedroom o child
sent to get dressed or school.
Child appears to have orgotten this
instruction and is playing with small
pieces o plastic. Hurry child intoclothes deciding that pampered
child orever is mildly preerable to
raised voices right now.
07.55 Settle into my work dayby opening the laptop and checking
how much charge is in my phone.
Reception signal is strong and
internet connection seems stable.
Go round muting or disconnecting
anything likely to vibrate or ring out
in my immediate vicinity.
08.00 Am relieved when clientpicks up quickly, though there is an
echo. We agree to hang up and I
call him back. This time the sound
quality is great and I relax into the
conversation, remembering how
much I liked this person when we
met ace to ace. He talks reely
and Im reluctant to interrupt.
I let him know I am listening and
interested with plenty o uh-huhs
and mms. The call is a study in
minimalist coaching it reaches a
natural end at about when we werescheduled to nish anyway.
09.15 Realise that the houseis now eerily quiet. Time to grab
a peaceul cuppa beore returning
to the laptop and opening and
actioning my mail.
Peter Shepherd is a principal
consultant with Ashridge
Consulting who specialises
in strength based approaches
to learning and change.
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I ask him about my sound quality
and we practice a sequence where
we have to take people in and out
o virtual breakout rooms at speed.
I have changed the slides that I want
to use so I replace the set weve
uploaded with some I amended last
night. Finally, I alter the wording o a
poll that I will conduct at the end othe session. I think were good to
go, so I dash downstairs to mash
up a banana and get some yoghurt.
A colleague who also does a lot
o virtual acilitation tipped me o
about ood you can suck up more
or less silently!
10.50 A name appears onthe participant list the rst o
our twelve participants is on-line,
though not yet simultaneously on
the phone. His voice ollows and herisks a timid Hello? like someone
lost in an empty warehouse. I am
quick to welcome him, rm and
reassuring. We chat about where
he is calling in rom and his voice
sotens. He is joined by colleagues
but only certain o them appear to
know each other. The boss arrives
panting and breathless, so we
help him adjust his microphone to
sound less like a nuisance caller.
An earlier arrival is silent but I can
hear the tap-tapping o ngers on akeyboard.
All are present and Im struck
by how punctual everyone is.
I didnt have any reason to think
they might be late but maybe I can
take some credit. Ive learned to set
aside a period or virtual mingling so
that people can join a session rom
twenty minutes early and Ive also
learned that starting on time is a
must in all but the most exceptional
circumstances. The welcome email
I sent was explicit and I also gavesome rather stern advice about the
equipment people would need and
the environment they should work
rom.
10.55 We get going. The gare new to this way o wo
using telephone and int
simultaneously. The op
sequence is pretty struct
Introductions are ollowed b
agenda and a bit o contra
about roles. I ask who is more o
amiliar with the sotware pla
and ask Andy to give people a
tour o the space. They play
the eatures or a ew moment
I lead a ocus exercise in the
that it will help them shit atte
rom the virtual surroundings t
content o the meeting.
11.15 It is an awkward My client is an HR spe
embedded in an operational t
Her boss, the team leader, se
agenda or the session. Whewere planning the detail, I m
liaised with the HR person
boss seemed pretty busy
had a sense that he wasnt ke
invest much time in preparatio
this medium. The HR person
anxious that the boss would
unstuck i he was under-rehea
It was dicult to get sign-o o
nal design.
The boss presents some
and some analysis o bus
perormance. With our help, h
prepared questions that he w
team members to respond
I split the team into small grou
come back with their reaction
ideas. I had asked him to tes
phrasing o his questions on
or two team members, since
were in English which is not th
language o most o the team,
though it is the ocial langua
the business as a whole.
When people return rom
virtual breakout rooms, it is wit
most perunctory answers ansession quickly alls fat. The
then becomes uneasy and
to dominate, rephrasing his e
questions then answering
himsel. The team grow ever
silent. I am reluctant to rescu
but am growing concerned th
impasse is orming. My HR
has a lower pain threshold an
A colleague who also does a lot
o virtual acilitation tipped me o
about ood you can suck upmore or less silently.
>> continued over
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bear it no longer. In a calm, even,
tone, she describes her experience
o the meeting so ar, in detail,
but with no hint o judgement or
criticism. Then a pause.
We hear an intake o breath
then I dont know i I should say
this, but... A team member is
suddenly opening up. He talks ohow he resents the story the gures
appear to tell, he is conused by the
questions posed and more than
anything, he isnt sure whether
the boss is asking or the real
story behind their perormance or
whether this is just some empty
ritual. I get a private chat message
rom the HR client. Really sorry.
I reply What or? This is what needs
to happen. You did the right thing.
For a moment I wonder whether
other members o the team willbe emboldened but instead only
silence and a virtual tumbleweed
blowing away out o sight. I think I
am not the only one relieved to hear
the boss speak.
Let me be really honest with
you, he begins. I had no idea
at all that this was in any way
contentious. Or that anyone elt as
strongly as you clearly do. Thank
you or having the courage to speak
up What do other people think?
Suddenly courage is abundant and
I acilitate a really lively discussion.It is very constructive in tone though
the energy soon starts to ade and I
suggest we take a break.
My HR client stays on the
line and we start to debrie what
just happened. This never would
have happened ace to ace she
says. Really? I reply. She has
a Scandinavian accent and Im
tickled to hear her use the rather
antiquated English phrase: Not on
your lie.
12.30 The session is coming toan end and the second hal ater
the break has been very positive.
We more or less jettisoned our
design and took a lead rom the
boss who seems much more
comortable improvising with the
team than working to a script.
I enjoy making process suggestions
without worrying about a design.
The whole thing is eeling much
more natural as we start to close.
Andy and I use a polling device
to get some immediate eedback
both on the session and on the
groups willingness to work in this
way in uture. The response is
overwhelmingly positive on both
counts and we have time or peopleto elaborate out loud on their
responses to the poll. Variously
they describe the session as a
watershed and a breakthrough.
The boss is the last to speak
and just as I am expecting a
rather worthy homily, he tells the
group that he was dreading the
session and didnt think he would
get anything rom it. He is happy
to have been proved wrong and
thanks everyone or the wake up
call that he thinks the session hasbeen. We all give each other hearty
arewells. I stay on the line to thank
Andy and he sounds as mellow as
ever. I eel quite wrung out.
13.10 End the phone call and logo the internet. Think about putting
the radio on while I eat lunch and
think better o it, enjoying the quiet.
13.45 Im back at my desk atera break o sorts. I have done some
on-line banking and loaded a song
rom iTunes onto my iPod.
14.15 I have responded to acouple o emails that accrued in
the time I was leading the midday
session then, or the rst time in the
day, I push the laptop to one side
and get out a sketch pad to mind-
map some ideas or the design
I have to submit tomorrow. The
session is or a group o technical
specialists who are trying to hone
their consulting skills and I want
each o them to be able to showthe rest o us a visual map o their
key clients and what their workload
looks like viewed as a dynamic
system. I know we can use a acility
whereby everyone else can view
one persons desktop. The ddly
bit is or two people to be able to
click and drag elements o the map
in turn so that the rest o us can
witness a live negotiation between
them. Fingers crossed that my
colleague, who I have arranged to
speak to at 4pm, likes the idea and
that it is technically possible.
I it is, why not mock
something up to show the client
tomorrow rather than send them a
slideshow?
15.45 Grab a cup o tea, as eyesand brain are a bit tired. Should have
taken a longer break at lunchtime!
Unlock the back gate and put the
childrens bikes in the shed. Try to
reresh and ready mysel to speak
to my colleague.
16.30 Midway into the allottedhour to speak, my colleague and I
are ready to discuss the matter in
hand. We havent been in contact
or a while and it eels right to natteror a bit beore getting down to
business. Shes had a dicult day
up to that point and we compare
notes interspersed with bits o
company news. I wear my headset
or the call but pace about, glad
not to have to look at the screen as
well.
She is enthusiastic a
suggestion and I agree
some sort o demo. She w
the client and see i we ca
the design live in the virtu
rather than submit a d
Hope the client agrees.
17.05 Bid colleague and pick up the laptop otime. Messages will keep
all evening but I can alw
any that wont wait on th
Check my work email
personal email account.
I must appear a passiv
social networker i F
were a room I would be st
one end in moody silence
18.00 Look through ca
days and weeks ahead. Gmix with more virtual ac
prospect and plenty o ac
work too. Today was quit
and Im pretty tired. Jolte
rumination by sounds
gathering or tea.
18.05 Log o
To learn more about virtual facilitation with
Ashridge Consulting and how it could help you
organisation please contact: +44 (0)1442 8413or visit: www.ashridgeconsulting.com
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>> continued over
Real Time Coachingby George Binney and Isabelle Read
A simple but powerul new orm o leadership development is beingpractised by Ashridge. Real Time Coaching involves an Ashridge
coach observing a leader as they go about their work and then sitting
down with them to refect on their practice as a leader. How does
the leader actually lead? Are they having the impact they want to
have? What works well or them? What would help get better results?
The attention is on the real work o leadership, in real time.
The approach is being used in the leadeprogramme that Ashridge is providing o
National Institute or Health Research (N
Over three years, this programme will in
120 leaders o health research across Eng
Each is being oered Real Time Coaching. S
results are encouraging.
How does Real Time Coaching work?
The process starts with a phone conversat
which the coach outlines the approach and i
the leader to participate. Intrigued by the id
a coach turning up in their world to observe
and discuss how they lead, most leaders said Yes. For many, its the rst time an
has oered to ocus on them and their leade
style. They may be a bit apprehensive but
are interested to have a go, says George B
leader o the NIHR programme.
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Participants think careully about which day
or hal day, initially, to oer or observation. The
best days have been when a leader is involved
in a variety o events. For example, one leader
chose to be observed during three hour-long
meetings in quick succession: the last hour o
an Awayday with the organisations executiveteam, a project group meeting and, nally, a
perormance review with a medical colleague.
This presented a valuable opportunity to observe
the leader in dierent roles in three very dierent
meetings: more useul than when leaders oer
big, set-piece, occasions like board meetings
which are too long and oer too little variety.
The coach who is observing should be as
invisible as possible. We want to interere as
little as possible with the normal dynamics o the
leaders interactions, says George. Obviously
our presence does have an impact, but usually
people seem to orget about us ater a while.
When we ask people, they say that the essential
dynamics o their exchanges dont change.
Beore and ater the observation, the coach
spends time with the leader to help review the
leaders intentions, behaviours and actions. What
did you want to achieve? Did you get what you
wanted? What could you have done dierently?
What might be points to think about or the
uture?
We go rom specic incidents to possible
conclusions about the strengths o the leaders
approach and areas they may want to develop.
Asking a ew open questions requently leads into
a powerul discussion about how a person leads.By ocusing on specic actions and responses,
we prompt the leader to think careully how they
lead and what impact theyre having.
The leader is then sent refective notes that
play-back the key themes o the observation
and discussion, to give both leader and coach
a reminder o important points that they can
both return to in later discussions. The process
o observation and refection takes place over
several hal or ull day visits, spread over 6 to 12months. The repeated visits enable trust to build
up and an increasingly intimate and ocused
conversation to develop.
How does Real Time Coaching comparewith traditional executive coaching?
Ashridge coaches are excited by the dierence
Real Time Coaching brings, in three ways:
1. The observation quickly provides the coach
with a wealth o data about the environment,
organisational culture and the key people
and relationships that the leader works with.
Issues that might take months to surace
or might not be visible at all in conventional
coaching are immediately apparent.
2. Following observation, the review
conversation is direct and personal.
Sometimes it takes only a ew simple, open
questions to bring key issues into discussion;
at other times it takes attention to incidents
and moments and some eedback on the
impact o a leaders behaviours and actions.
3. Because the review conversation draws
on recent experience, there is a ready link
back to developing practice. Refectionleads naturally into questions about a
leaders practice in the uture and possible
experimentation and development.
Whereas traditional coaching oten
away rom the place o work and away
people and relationships that surround
real-time coaching happens in the thi
people and situations that leaders w
We are struck by how oten a ew open
and some time together to refect ater obcan provoke a leader into re-thinking
strengths they have and how to make
them and o possible shits in practi
George. The approach has led to eedb
My coach made me re-think how I
deerential middle manager. I used just
what to do. We looked at this pattern. N
him What do you suggest we do?
At the monthly meeting I used to n
just presiding with no sense o intenti
because its the monthly meeting. I star
mysel: what am I trying to do?
I elt I was doing all the work. My coawho is going to share leadership w
I hadnt ocused on how to get peop
up.we discussed ways o doing this
What does Real Time Coaching rof participants?
The rst requirement is courage the
to disclose publicly that they are gettin
with their leading and the courage to b
a process when they dont know at t
exactly where it will take them.
We have been helped in the NIHR
says co-leader Isabelle, by the act tha
are used to being shadowed by colleagues and others. Those w
developed in the university system usu
mentors.
Also important is a leader decid
they want to use the process. I ound
to change rom being a passive re
structuring the coaching and using the c
in the way that was most useul to m
Proessor Sallie Lamb.
What does it require of the coach
There is a peculiar balance needed: b
physically present in the room without
into or detracting rom what happensmeans not intervening during meeting
Noticing, noticing, noticing your an
has to be nely tuned, says Isabelle.
Time Coaching requires sustained cu
and alertness. It is very intense and a
and requires some stamina or the lon
periods o attention, and being tuned
to what is signicant, while letting go
enormous amounts o acts, gures a
eelings that fow around.
Obviously our presence does have
an impact, but usually people seem
to orget about us ater a while.
When we ask people, they say thatthe essential dynamics o their
exchanges dont change.
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Improvisation: You never know what is going
to happen as you accompany a leader; what
issues will emerge and what relationship you
can develop with the leader, says George.
Courage is required to be a critical riend
telling your truth and eeding back the
tough stu. Oering hunches and intuition toindividuals who want evidence and acts is not
or the aint-hearted! says Isabelle. You need
to be willing to say the things no-one else is
saying.
Establishing an assertive, adult and trusting
relationship, as a proessional in your own right
is important early on.
Introducing new concepts or ways o
seeing things good teaching is useul and
introducing some theories in the longer
refective sessions.
Preparing others is important: leaders are
given notes to adapt and send to thosewhose meetings will be observed, to outline
the programme that the Senior Leader is
participating in.
Balancing challenge with unconditional positive
regard and arming people in a way they
oten dont get elsewhere. The leaders must
know that the coach is on their side and not
assessing them or reporting back.
Taking time to realise when you have made a
dierence and contributed something o value.
Ensuring that the coaches have a strong
process o supervision to consider the issues
that arise rom the work. The NIHR team hasormed itsel into trios who give each other
regular supervision as well as receiving support
occasionally rom individuals outside the team.
Does it work with other groups?
Health research leaders are a demanding group.
They are very bright, driven and competitive. They
have very little time, they are impatient o anything
that is not well thought-out and they ace tough
challenges. They oten are responsible or large
organisations and budgets and work across
many organisational and political boundaries but
have had little or no management or leadership
development. But the programme leaders believethe approach has something to oer other leaders
acing tough challenges, whatever their previous
leadership development experiences.
Case example Shifting patterns of leading
I spent the day real time coaching Tim. It
a day ull o scheduled meetings all o wh
took place in his big oce. When I arrived
brieed me that was coming up was a se
o catch up meeting with colleagues in
department. His PA came in and out betw
meetings adjusting the timetable. Wh
noticed at the beginning o each meeting w
the genuine interest in the individual/s
showed he remembered to ask ater a
members and holidays. His style was relax
gentle and considered he asked o
questions: How is it going?What was y
interpretation o that? and did lots o liste
and nodding. There were moments o hum
which others seemed to appreciate.As the day progressed, I began to no
a pattern emerging. Several o the peo
who came to see Tim had almost nis
their allotted time and were being ushe
out o the door, beore they asked or w
they really wanted. In one case this was ab
Will you be my sponsor? In another it
Im having a lie re-evaluation (I need to
about it). At the end o the day, I gave
eedback on this pattern I had noticed.
discussed how he might help people (w
see him as a senior, authority gure) ask
what they want and need. We did some w
on the process o eective meetings
how it could be helpul to nd out up-
what all the agenda items are and what wo
constitute a good outcome rom the mee
or each person involved.
What is the future of Real Time Coaching?
Real Time Coaching in the NIHR project is linked to organisational cha
The leadership programme is part o a wider process o change the Govern
has set about since 2006 to secure the UKs place as a world class cent
clinical research that benets patients and improves health.
So ar, Real Time Coaching is proving itsel as an integral part o the pro
o change. It has been a way in or the leadership programme a way to en
with a very busy and sceptical population o leaders.
The process is so obvious and simple that once you are doing it you wo
why you havent always done it that way
Proessor Phil Luthert is
director o the Institute
o Ophthalmology
at University College
London which is a
world leader in eyeresearch.
George has now
worked with Proessor Luthert over a year to
support his leadership o his high prole work
in which a number o the countrys leading
scientists and clinicians are involved. Proessor
Luthert explains, The coaching has given me the
chance to step back rom day-to-day pressures
and think about what is really most important.
Having met some o my colleagues and observed
me in action, George has a good understanding
o my world. He helps me ocus on the key points
I need to concentrate on. The whole process has
been hugely encouraging and supportive o myleadership.
Proessor Richard
Eastell is Director o
the Sheeld NIHR
Bone Biomedical
Research Unit (BRU), a
collaboration between
the University o
Sheeld and Sheeld
Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Research studies in the BRU centre around bonemedicine, preventative treatments and increasing
participation by the public in clinical trials. Isabelle
has now worked with Proessor Eastell or a year.
Proessor Eastell explains that I had never had
comments on my leadership approach beore. It
is always useul to sit together between meetings
and discuss reactions while they are still resh in
my mind. I do now prepare much more thoroughly
or meetings I will attend.
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Moorfields
Eye Hospital
Paediatrics
Mental Health
Project Management
Oncology
Nursing
Great
Ormond St
Primary
Care
Westminster
PCT
Imperial College
Royal FreeHampstead
Finance
St George's
Strategy Operations
Service Redesign
Ambulan
Commissioning
NHS LONDONNEXT GENERATION DIRECTORS PROGRAMMELeading healthcare across London is a complex business. NHS London determined
that the talent who will hold directoral positions in future years should be given
the best possible preparation to enable them to step up to their future leadership
roles with condence. A partnership between Ashridge, Manchester Business
School and Unipart was chosen to deliver a ve module programme for a carefully
selected cohort of Next Generation Directors.
Delma OBrien describes how the programme got underway.
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and to the wider NHS system.
A less talented group o
participants might have reacted like
rabbits caught in the headlights as
they stood back to contemplate the
scale o complexity and challenge.
But not this group: they were
encouraged to be reassured that
helping those around you makesense o complex scenarios is a
vital part o leadership. However,
complexity does not mean paralysis
and as their role is to improve
patients experience, they moved
rapidly on to devouring articles
about various dierent approaches
to change penned by organisation
development and operations gurus.
Over dinner they contemplated
within their newly assigned groups
how these approaches might
be deployed in a ctitious NHSscenario (Rivergate) that spanned
organisational boundaries.
The next day, ve groups gave
convincing presentations that
deployed persuasiveness, logic and
innovative thinking to demonstrate
how Appreciative Inquiry, Lean
thinking, change approaches by
Kotter and Goodwin, as well as
Complexity Theory, could be used
as the underpinning methodology
to address the problems o
Rivergate. The solutions were
delivered with a real sense opassion and demonstrated how
rapidly the participants had
been able to establish a strong
sense o teamwork. The other
participants were invited to sit,
distil and evaluate the approaches
and not surprisingly ound that
each approach had strengths and
weaknesses. Just as there is no one
size ts all answer to the myriad
challenges across NHS London,
so no single approach will oer
up a text book answer to complexissues where theory and practice
are inextricably intertwined.
Inevitably, the spotlight
turned away rom methods and
approaches useul though they
may be to inorm best practice
and thinking to the discretion,
experience and change skills o the
individuals in positions o infuence.
This was the ideal moment to
work and development as lea
Care was taken that the particidid not know each other prev
in any personal or proessiona
to ensure what one partic
described as a sae environ
you cant achieve among pee
work! Paradoxically though,
ensuring complete conden
the creation o the sets is p
in place a secure basis or a
network across the entire ran
organisations represented o
programme.
With new riendships, t
and Action Learning sets othe group enjoyed an oppor
to walk and talk albeit i
November damp beo
stimulating private dinner, w
the guest speaker was Paul M
ormer Global Head o Corp
Risk at HBOS who was dism
or ringing alarm bells abou
extent o risk being taken d
the credit boom: this was a
reminder that its not only
NHS that presents challenges
dilemmas or its leaders!The nal morning was
preparation or relaun
participants back into their
jobs: there were hands-on ses
devoted to managing co
handling dicult conversa
infuencing without authority
managing transitions all the
o an NHS managers intray
The rigorous assessment process
was complete: a launch event
had radiated the enthusiasm
and aspirations o the 36 Next
Generation Directors selected
rom hospitals, trusts and health
care services across NHS London;
then at Ashridge, in November
2009 the learning began, with therst three-day residential module o
a programme or these rising stars
o NHS London.
From the outset, it was clear
that this was no attempt at a how
to x the NHS learning programme,
despite the blend o expertise in
sot and hard skills represented
in programme directors rom
Ashridge and Manchester business
schools and Unipart. The three
organisations combine Ashridges
skills in international leadership
development with Uniparts Lean
expertise deployed in a range o
private sector organisations, with
health policy knowledge rom
Manchester Business School.
The ocus is on recognising and
giving voice to the complexity and
challenges in the NHS and helping
individuals understand what
leadership means in such scenarios.
More specically, its about
participants taking up leadership
roles in their immediate and wider
organisational environment.This rst module kicked o with
context setting plenary and small
group discussion o issues such as
how to und ever more expensive
treatments amidst shrinking
resources: when to collaborate
and when to compete; the balance
between treatment and prevention;
and political uncertainty. All these
issues impacted the individuals
present as they refected on and
shared their personal challenges as
leaders. They voiced the need todevelop their ability to strengthen
their infuencing skills, support
and guide sta and stakeholders
through change, be resilient and
courageous in decision-making,
balance conficting priorities o
doing the day job whilst pursuing
service re-design and change as
well as making eective leadership
contributions to their local team>> continued over
introduce Action Learning, which
is a central eature o the NextGeneration Directors Programme,
continuing between modules.
Ashridge is a pioneer in the use
o Action Learning a method o
development based on the ideas
and belie o Reg Revans that
executives learn best with and
rom each other by tackling real lie
problems. Action Learning occurs
when people bring their own work
issues or discussion in a group
o peers who are both supportive
and challenging. The purpose o
the group is not simply refective,but conversely, is a spur to action.
Successul outcomes depend
on the groups commitment to
each other, participants honesty,
diversity and condentiality.
Six Action Learning sets were
created rom the Next Generation
Directors participants, each o six
people. The groups got out their
diaries and committed to meetings
throughout the programme, hosted
at each o the members sites in
turn, together with a acilitator.The eectiveness o the Action
Learning sets will be enhanced
by the development o members
individual listening and coaching
skills, and there will be ollow-
up actions ater every meeting.
The groups will help to reinorce
and integrate the learning rom
the programme sessions into the
members practice in their daily
How can I manage
expectations and
a clear contract
around my role, insuch a demanding
and dynamic
environment?
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rst module was deemed a great
success and participants let with
lots to think about and action beore
their next meeting.
That meeting took the shape
o the second module o the our-
module programme and occurred
amidst erocious winter weather
conditions in the rst week inJanuary. The Next Generation
Directors willingness to battle
their way to Ashridge through the
blizzards and ice was a result o their
eagerness to come back or more,
given the rating o the rst module
as outstanding and exceeding
expectations by the vast majority
o the participants. Once inside the
winter castle at Ashridge, there
was actually less ice-breaking to be
done than previously, as aces were
now amiliar and relationships withother participants were developing
well, particularly amongst members
o the Action Learning sets, which
by now had met up at least once.
The ocus o the second
module was the wider health
and healthcare landscape and
the meaning o leadership in this
context. Inevitably this involved
the consideration o personal and
group involvement in shaping and
delivering policy, so the programme
or the two days included ocus not
just on individuals but also on howteams work, and particularly, how
Boards unction.
Prior to the module, participants
had completed either Belbin or
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
questionnaires: two o the most
useul psychometric instruments
in helping people understand their
likelihood to behave and contribute
in a particular way within their team,
and the way they perceive the world
and take decisions. The results
o these prepared participantsor a session on day two about
how teams work together and
in particular how they might act
and contribute within their teams.
The session was ollowed by
individual eedback, contributing
not only to their sel-knowledge and
awareness o their working style and
preerences within a team, but also
inorming the compilation o their
personal development plan. The
nal day provided an opportunity
or participants to consider how
they personally should prepare to
step up to the mark, when they
assume their role as Directors.
Whereas Ashridge tutors had
played a major role in the rst
module, Manchester BusinessSchool tutors led the NHS policy
sessions o this module. They
engaged participants in discussion
in plenary sessions and small
groups o current health policy
and its likely uture; not least
what it would be like under a Tory
government. This naturally led
the Next Generation Directors
to consider the implications or
leadership and management, as
well as personal development,
under these scenarios.
Close attention was paid to
the role and workings o Boards
in healthcare. Participants had all
recently attended a meeting o the
Board o their organisations, to
observe how it worked, what worked
well and where the challenges
lay: this preparation heightened
awareness o the interplay o
roles in terms o both behaviours
and unctions, the process o
discussion and the way decisions
are made. Neil Goodwin and Naomi
Chambers led a session examiningwhat constitutes eective Board
working, and conversely, what
corporate ailure looks like in the
NHS. Discussions covered Boards
o dierent types that impact on
healthcare: public, private and third
sector. As prospective uture Board
members, participants learned
not only about techniques they
might use to ensure better meeting
management and outcomes, but
also about their own potential
impact on meetings, linking inwith the strands o more personal
development in the programme.
As well as the module
providing more learning about
the organisational context within
healthcare and individuals personal
development, time was also given
to consideration o participants
careers. In particular, there was
the opportunity to refect on what
How can I manage exp
and a clear contract ar
role, in such a deman
dynamic environment?
It is overwhelming
to the programme tutor
ellow participants that the
commitment, proessional
and enthusiasm are exchigh. The programme
valued and the particip
privileged and motivated
their learning with othe
in the workplace. Only
through the programme
participants have alrea
promoted or moved in
more challenging roles
them lots o opportunity to
learning into practice and
their eagerness to cont
development as leaders in
two modules.
One such participan
Higginson, who at the st
programme was NHS
Assistant Director o Strate
the opportunity arose to
the role o Director o
Development at Universit
London Hospital, he elt
his readiness to make the m
his application were stre
by the condence he ha
on the programme so ar
The programme isnt juthe content delivered i
wider than that. Sam p
appreciated the benet
one-to-one coaching
that are ongoing throug
programme: They really
an opportunity to refec
risks and challenges o
up into a Directors role. A
immediately beore the
denitely helped my per
on the day. As he starts
role, he is looking orwasupport o his Action
set, which he eels bring
important range o perspe
the issues its members a
actors might result in career
derailment, and how these might
be managed.
With two modules down and
two to go, it was now time to
refect on what the programme was
achieving and how the participants
elt they were benetting. 90%
o the participants now ratedthe programme as exceeding
expectations and in terms o
design, welcomed the greater
opportunities or refection and
networking aorded in the second
module. Areas o learning and
development that participants
reported they will pay attention to
back in the workplace included:
Understanding Board meetings
Managing power and politics
Engaging Non Executive
Directors Being a policy entrepreneur
Communication planning
Applying a stakeholder
engagement process
Managing upwards as well as
downwards
Change management theory.
When asked which leadership skills
they elt the Forum had helped
them develop most, there was a
varied range o responses rom
participants:
Personal impact and presence Team building/working
Leading agendas (boards)
Persuasive communication
Eective partnership
Refection
Knowing yoursel/knowing others
Delivering the vision
Building an inspired team.
Many o these themes are being
reiterated in the individual coaching
sessions, which are a vital strand o
personal development throughout
the programme. Everyone had atleast one ace-to-ace coaching
session beore the second module
and ound them highly valuable
opportunities to consider their own
journey on the way to becoming
Directors. They have been able
to discuss issues personal to
themselves, such as: Am I really
ready or the next step?, How will
it aect my work/lie balance? and
20
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How do you know if a programme has had
any real impact in terms of participant
learning and concrete business results?
Lets say that you have done the hard work o
identiying specic learning and development
needs and designing and delivering a programme
to address those needs. You have participant end-
o-programme evaluation orms indicating that the
participants were happy with the programmeand ully intended to apply what they had learned
back in the workplace. But now senior and line
managers are demanding some tangible evidence
