An integrated approach
Harthill’s integrated approach to team development is grounded in Action Inquiry and a dynamic systemic perspective, closely linking individual, team and organisational development. What this means in practice is that we focus on:
- Developing the capabilities of team members to lead sustainable change and collaborate for greater impact
- Working live on the team’s key strategic issues and most complex problems – delivering results that matter and capability development simultaneously
- Using Action Inquiry to close the gap between aspirations and results
- Engaging the team in positively influencing the wider systems of the organisation and possibly the industry
Post-conventional team performance involves thinking outside the box and reframing assumptions that constrain team performance. The transformational aim of Harthill’s approach is to support teams that are ready to work in this way.
Harthill’s Four Wave Action Inquiry process provides a highly useable framework for enabling deep and sustainable team development.
Four Wave Action Inquiry
Wave One: Inquiring
When we start working with a team, we want to find out how well it is performing, what capabilities are present, and what the team wants to create.
Typically, we engage a cross section of team members and stakeholders in one-to-one conversations. We look for key data such as themes and patterns that suggest where developmental attention should be focused. With our clients we begin to discover potential leverage points and opportunities for change in the system.
Outcomes from this wave are:
- useable understanding of what constrains and enables the team
- agreed developmental and performance priorities
- identified leverage points and opportunities for change in their system
- strong and shared commitment to a revitalised future
Wave 2: Developing
Here, team members engage in exploring their purposes, strategies and performance. The team practices new ways of acting and thinking together that expand their interpersonal capabilities, systemic awareness and creativity.
Outcomes from this wave are:
- higher creativity and better decisions arising from new skills and techniques
- utising the team’s skills through recognising individual differences
- increased skills at operating systemically
Wave 3: Experimenting
The team members apply their learning to creating different results. They try out new behaviours and processes, both individually and collectively, discovering through Action Inquiry what works.
Outcomes from this wave are:
- changes in performance through multiple new behaviours and ‘experiments’ at strategic, tactical and behavioural levels
- increased agility as a ‘learning organisation’
Wave 4: Integrating
Team members are encouraged to act systemically in the wider system. They inquire deeply, impacting across team and organisational boundaries to creatively resolve complex organisational dilemmas.
Outcomes from this wave are:
- impact on the performance and development of the organisation beyond the boundaries of the team
- increased individual capacity to lead and influence beyond their formal authority
- performance beyond expectations
To find out more
Please email David Rooke or phone +44 (0)1594 530223 to book a telephone conversation or meeting.
