WMBC Performance Coaching

In 2004 Centell was engaged in a Performance Coaching pilot delivering one-to-one coaching for 40 managers. The managers had previously attended a Management Development Centre and identified strengths and areas for development. The coaching links these to improvements in the delivery of the vision of the Council, standards and performance indicators. This contract was extended in 2005 when Centell won the tender to carry out the Performance Coaching contract for additional 30-40 managers/teams.

WMBC Enabling Transforming Leaders

Centell won the tender to carry out Enabling Transforming Leadership programmes as part of the Management Development Strategy for Walsall. Two workshops were held in April and May 2005. 'Enabling, Transforming Leaders' was designed to maximise Walsall's Leaders' effectiveness in meeting all aspects of the overall challenge of achieving excellence by 2008. It was designed to take Managers forward beyond practical managerial skills into a different dimension where Leading is seen as:
'Changing the way change happens by thinking and acting differently within a new paradigm'

WMBC Executive Team and Cabinet

Centell was invited by the Leader of the Council to work with the Cabinet to arrange a series of 'Away Days' between the Cabinet and the Executive Management Team. The aim of the 'Away Days' is to build on the good current working relationships and practices and prepare both parties for the challenges ahead. Moving out of Special Measures and achieving a 'Good' rating in the CPA is a critical milestone for the Council as part of its goal to achieve 'Excellent' by 2008. The role of the external facilitation is to enable underlying issues and opportunities to be brought to the surface and worked on in a constructive way. In addition to building team effectiveness we are also facilitating the addressing of the key strategic issues that face the Council over the next 18 months.

This initiative is seen as the Cabinet taking a stronger lead in directing the Council and the EMT moving more squarely into a position of advice and support. The transition from special measures to 'normal working' requires this adjustment in focus by the two groups.

Walsall New Deal for Communities

This 'New Deal' achieved a positive government review and is in the process of planning the regeneration of a series of communities in North Walsall. Over 10 years they have somewhere in the region of 10 million pounds to spend on regeneration. We were asked to work with the New Deal Board and 'officers' to facilitate improved co-working and more effective delivery of ideas into action. One of the issues facing the Board was that many of its schemes had not moved forward and were behind in timescales for implementation. There were also issues about how the Board considered new ideas and the ordered format in which ideas were analysed and accepted or rejected.

Through a series of diagnostic sessions followed by several facilitated workshops in the evening we worked with the Board to review and plan for change in both the way 'officers' and Board Members worked as well as the internal processes for analysing ideas and decision making. We held several coaching sessions with key individuals, Board and 'officer' and planned several team coaching sessions as well.

WMBC Social Care and Supported Housing

We were invited to Coach the Executive Director and his team as part of taking on the Council's published values. It was decided that this represented an opportunity for a significant culture change process linked to changes taking place in the Directorate's structure and function. Partly linked to the Children's agenda and partly linked to a restructuring in Adults' Services. A series of workshops were held with managers to look at Strategic Planning, Annual Planning and Cultural elements associated with 'doing things differently'. This process was called 'Achieving Excellence,' an explicit link to the Council's objective for 2008.

Events ranged from 2 to 1 day and numbers from 12 to 80. As part of this process a more formal cascade was developed and team managers, with support, cascaded the process and the messages to all colleagues in the Directorate. A review of the outcomes was held in June/July 2005 and from this it was established what had to happen next.

To prepare the Senior Management team for this they undertook a development programme with 360 degree feedback and other questionnaires designed to show behavioural preferences in a number of situations: handling conflict, problem solving and decision making, dealing with pressure and influencing others. There is an ongoing senior management team development programme in place, which we designed with them and facilitated on Away Days, quarterly.