Most people know a high-performing team when they see one and broadly speaking, it is one which shares a vision, end-goal and a collective ambition to achieve great things. The way in which a team navigates this journey has a number of different facets – for example, it might be the collective development of a growth mindset, empowering opinion and thought diversity through a sense of psychological safety, or embracing each other’s differences through trust and vulnerability.
The EHS team at Siemens, under the leadership of director Louise Harry, has been a great working example of this process. Siemens is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport and healthcare. Crucially, the company places an unrelenting focus on empowering its people to make key decisions to create the greatest impact possible with a multitude of stakeholders, in often high-pressure situations.
“Each personal development journey begins with an element of vulnerability” Sam Greensitt, Global Head of Partnerships, Acre Frameworks
The Siemens EHS team began their journey with the Acre Frameworks ‘Discovery’ programme. Using our unique psychometric tool, we give each participant feedback on their personal preferences mapped against our own specific competency framework. This approach aims to inform the individual of their key areas of strength and growth to inspire their development journey.
The second stage of our Discovery programme is to bring teams together to explore individual preferences as a group, we call this part of the programme the ‘Team Data Review’. We encourage the exploration of thought diversity and how having similar and/or opposite preferences can really shape a team to become a high-performing unit.
For the third phase in our development programme, we start to work on new skill acquisition. We get the team together each month for a 90-minute team coaching session. We call these sessions ‘Learning Pods’. Each month we explore a different topic with the team while encouraging mixed opinions, debate and the practical application of these new skills, with relatable challenging tasks to complete during ‘the day job’.
“For us, the power has been in investing in the learning pods month-on-month with the team because they feel like they've all got to know each other. They all understand each other’s style…and for some of them it's been utterly transformational”. Louise Harry, EHS Director, Siemens
We understand that not everyone has an automatic willingness to change or to adopt new skills, as nobody is born with a growth mindset – it’s like a muscle you need to exercise. Acre works hard to make sure each individual understands their learning style and that new skills take time to polish and perfect. Each participant learns at their own pace within a supportive and psychologically safe space.
It is very typical within a team for some to have a strong growth mindset, and others to be more fixed or static. Initially, some members of the team were slightly resistant to the concept of exploring new ways of working, but once they understood the process and embraced it, they really blossomed within 12 months. Now, we are collectively moving to the next stage of the process where we look at impact and influence.
At Acre Frameworks we are passionate about facilitating the non-technical growth of purpose-driven professionals within the realms of health, safety and sustainability - we know that each journey is unique but equally as rewarding to the teams that embrace the process.
“The approach of the future is all about transforming the perception of EHS, that starts with equipping our people with the right tools to make the most effective type of impact. Acre Frameworks plays a central role in that change.” Lyndon Wingrove, Executive Director, Acre Frameworks.
Interested in how we might assist you with a people development strategy for 2023? Get in touch at sam.greensitt@acre.com or frameworks@acre.com
