What is it like to work with us, really?

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You may want to know what it is like to work with us, so here we give you a flavour of what that might be like, plus a couple of examples of what the people we work with bring, and a taste of what our clients say. We can’t think of a more honest way of sharing the experience of working with us, and are happy to put you in touch existing clients if that is useful.

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challenge+care

 

Organisational transformation is not easy: it's like trying to dry clean your suit whilst still wearing it. That’s because – while still doing what you do -  change requires you to organize differently: and organising differently requires thinking, being or doing differently, or a combination of all three. 

 

Change is complex, messy work and where we typically meet you. Our conversations start with inquiry into your experience of that mess and what you want to be different (or the same). We challenge with care to help you find your edge and stretch. That  comes to life through the people we bring and the words of our clients.

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truth+SPEAKING UP

 

People tasked with ‘delivering change’ often find themselves at the centre of things, and crucially the anxieties and tensions that proliferate. It's not uncommon for these people to be expected to operate at several grades above their pay level, with the skills and confidence to speak truth coupled with ninja-level consulting and influencing skills. 

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That's easier said than done. We help you get more comfortable with being in the spotlight, and speaking truth when the system needs it in order for change to occur.

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"It’s not easy on the inside. One of the myths of organisational change is that creating a ‘Change Team’ or having a load of ‘Change Managers’ is enough. It is not. What matters is whether you have enough people, in the right places, who can facilitate the conversations that are needed and understand how change actually happens in organisations."

Steve Hearsum

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agilITY+leadERSHIP

 

There is a lot of rhetoric around 'agility' in leadership and organisations more generally, but 'being more agile’ requires more than coining a few new slogans about agile working.

 

Changing organisations requires genuine agility of thought and behaviour. Development that achieves that is rare: we offer something that does.  John Cremer is one of the UK's leading improv teachers and performers, and with us has co-designed an experiential workshop that gets under the skin of what it actually means to be more agile.

 

Experience the pleasure and discomfort of improvising in the moment, with others. Be agile for real.

 

"Real change is uncomfortable. Improvisation techniques are tried and tested navigation tools for the edge of your comfort zone.”

John Cremer, E+S Network

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stretch+love

 

Our experience of change in organisations is that the people who both lead it and are tasked with delivery often go through the mincer. The conditions are ripe for you to be stretched, sometimes in uncomfortable and unhealthy ways. Helena Clayton offers a radical approach to addressing the challenges that leaders face today.

 

Using love as an approach to people development takes you to the edge in a profoundly different way.

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“When many organisations have some pretty shocking and de-humanizing management practices, how can we counter those? In leadership and in organisational development, we often ask ‘what’s the difference that could make the difference?’ Could love – whatever that might look like – be the difference?”

Helena Clayton, E+S Network

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