Performance Shifts - Integral Change Consulting

Performance Shifts

We offer a highly effective middle-way through the usual attempts at performance improvement – which, at one extreme, tend to involve importing an unwieldy programme that is too standard and inflexible or, at the other extreme, have leaders impatiently trying to kick-start initiatives which don’t cohere and soon fizzle out. This delivers substantial performance shifts particularly quickly and efficiently.

Typically, we begin with a rapid form of diagnosis and strong contracting conversations with key leaders to build both responsibility-taking and trust. This enables us to get alongside 'the real work' lower down the organisation and work the key 'levers of change' in very precise ways. It also allows us to respond flexibly and creatively, as different elements of the organisation start reacting to this work in different ways.

We bring particular attention to ensuring middle-managers stay connected with the work - and each other - so that the more subtly ways in which organisations mobilise and people take pride in success can thrive.

Recent work includes:

Delivering consistent performance improvement over 15 months for part of a FTSE 100 business
Partnering major transformation work within a large local authority, specifically by supporting new, cross-departmental working and addressing dynamics within the senior team that were inhibitive of progress.
Supporting the leadership team of a financial services company step up to a higher level of performance in order to deliver against challenging year-end targets.

Client feedback:

“Over 12 months, with a very focused use of time, Nick and Esther supported a step-change in business performance against our key business metrics and helped us to deliver some fundamental shifts in organisation culture..."

"I think the key to their success lies in the way they are able to get alongside the 'real work' that needs to be done, through high-quality listening and relationship-building, and then offer a range of approaches to help individuals and teams take much greater responsibility for their leadership of change. Their approaches are adjusted as the business evolves and as different people respond to their interventions in different ways."

“Rather than bring their own 'programme', Esther and Nick skilfully respond to what people are already trying to do. They offered sharp insight into important systemic issues, an ability to help people focus on these in the right order, and a tenacity which forced us to follow through on the items we had agreed, thus helping us to get real traction on difficult problems."

Ton Wielers, Production Manager within global manufacturing

“Performance has dramatically improved and we are now ahead of plan... What I had seen up to the offsite was a group of individuals all wrestling with their own objectives and priorities. What we came away with was a more collective team, with a clear set of priorities - just what I was looking for. It certainly brought the team together more and unified it around the key tasks. So, thank you, Nick!”

Chief Executive, Financial services company

"It was a pleasure to work with you. I firmly believe that your involvement was the key to the programme's subsequent success with the Directorate management team group. As a result of your work, the team dynamic shifted remarkably and their ownership of the transformation work was itself transformed. I would not hesitate to use you again or recommend you with confidence to clients and colleagues."

David Lenihan, Transformation Director for Capita