Earn your team’s trust
Dennis was in a key leadership positive with over 100 people reporting to him directly and indirectly. Already facing many challenges before Dennis joined the team, these team members were located in three countries which spanned five timezones.
From the start, Dennis found much of his time was consumed with resolving operational issues. He had little time to think strategically or address issues with each individual team, and no time to methodically plan how to tackle them.
The solution? Over six weeks, Dennis worked with a Wires Uncrossed coach to identify how he could best apply his skills in the most time-efficient manner. His goal through these sessions was to earn the trust of his team, improve communication and increase staff engagement. Here's how it went.
The Problem
When you lead a team with multiple direct and indirect reports, it can be difficult to oversee and address individual and team challenges. My challenge was staying in tune with the team's needs, being across all things at once and finding the time to tackle and plan everything - all while addressing any blindspots.
The Approach
The first phone call with Vanessa was an opportunity to download my ideas about my new role, the team and the challenges I could see. She asked probing questions that really drove to the heart of why those challenges existed. From there, we created a map of the team and challenges, which provided an anchor point for our future sessions.
From there, we had a series of one-hour weekly calls to:
Profile stakeholders and team members to understand their personality style
Adapt communication style for each individual
Learn how to identify and look for challenges
Spot blindspots within the team that were holding them back
After six sessions, we continued to catch up on an ad hoc basis. I feel I leapfrogged a lot of leadership learning by having one-on-one conversations and using Vanessa's vast skills and experience at other organisations. She helped me to realise that the challenges I was facing were not unique to me. And by helping me to understand why the challenges existed, she gave me confidence and techniques to tackle them. It was great to be able to connect with someone who could see things clearly, and then create an action plan that truly worked. Being time poor was one of my greatest challenges. Having access to Vanessa was such an asset. Her questions helped me tease out the things I could see in front of me but couldn't make sense of. And best of all, she helped me identify a way forward.
The Outcome
For me, the outcome was really obvious. I addressed the issues and felt reassured that what I was experiencing was not unusual and that there are solutions to help. Vanessa equipped me with the skills to address the issues, as well as the confidence to apply the learnings. My team has benefited greatly from me being more attuned to their needs and tailoring my communication style. The best part is, I now have a trusted confidante in Vanessa to lean on again in future.
Does this ring a bell for your business?
Get in touch to talk about how Wires Uncrossed can help your technical experts with effective communication.