“Being able to clearly see everyone's strengths and weaknesses in terms of interpersonal relationships has been invaluable in helping us to understand how people like to work and what type of things that we need to do to motivate and inspire them.”
Finance Director
Ashwoods had grown quickly. In one year, their turnover was up 75% and they had launched two new products. The pace of change had caused its own problems – little sense of unity at the top, a lack of clarity around individual performance and expectations, a silo mentality between departments and little effective communication top-down, bottom-up or team to team.
The leadership team undertook a half-day workshop with the Colour Works. Lightbulbs flashed as the full implications of the learning and its possible applications to business improvement became apparent, and a series of workshops for all staff kick-started a step-change organisation-wide. The language of the colour model soon reverberated around the office; the importance of a firm understanding of self and others – strengths, weaknesses, communication style, expectations and needs – was realised.
Supplementary workshops engaged with the wider leadership team, who used the profiles of each team to build on the learning, redefine the teams’ purpose and culture, and improve the effectiveness of interactions with them. This also led to a review of each team and the relative contribution each one made to the organisation, providing an opportunity to restructure.