Our recent projects demonstrate our ability to achieve outcomes in complex, multi-faceted environments.  The below are just a sample of our work:

Executive team development to enhance collaboration and whole-of-organisation leadership

• Work with a HHS Executive team (2018) to improve its collaborative capability and assist executive team members shift towards a way of working where members take a whole-of service view, and step outside of their portfolio perspectives.  Key aspects of this include developing a forum and a capability for strategic-level discussion about HHS-level direction and key issues as well as identifying key collaborative linkages across the Executive team and setting a shared objective (or a shared focus area) for those linked executives.

• Designed and delivered a process with the Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS)senior management team (2016) to develop a shared sense of direction and purpose and to address existing barriers to collaboration and effectiveness. The background was that the CYMHS was part way along the path of progressing from multiple smaller organisations to one larger, more complex organisation (as part of the Lady Cilento hospital restructure).  The project was undertaken in two main stages: initially focussing on the executive group and then following with work involving the broader management team. The aim of the first stage with the executive team – which included senior managers from the medical, allied health and nursing professions – was to create an environment within which Executive Group members could undertake a productive conversation about how things were currently working and how things might work more effectively in the future.  The aim was to enable them to make agreements about decision-making in the “grey” areas, enhance communication processes and enable greater effective collaboration in what was quite a complex environment. Following the work at the senior management level, the next stage extended this to the broader management group. The outcomes of the project included a clearer and shared picture about the CYMHS purpose; a focus on the important core business, and better ability to maintain a strategic approach within the constraints and demands of the external environment; increased ability to have strategic conversations about key organisational initiatives and key decisions; clarified roles and responsibilities; and Increased devolution of responsibility.

• Designed and delivered a process for a University of Queensland School (2016) working with all academics – from professorial to early stage career -  to identify key issues and develop strategies to proactively position the School and ensure readiness for significant future challenges. The School faced significant issues with dissent amongst some of the very senior academics.  The process – which involved stakeholders interviews, distilling of issues and workshops - enabled the participants to identify the underlying concerns, find a common place of agreement and move forward.

•  Work with Community and Primary Health Services executive team, Metro South Health Service District, (2009 - 2012) via a series of facilitated workshops to assist the team to build its leadership capability, clarify its role and priorities, and improve team functioning.  Data from the 2012 Better Workplaces survey indicated that the management team culture and effectiveness was very high and significantly improved when compared to the previous survey data.

 Organisational reviews / organisational development

• A  major review of the Legal and Administrative Services Office (LARO) in Queensland Treasury (2016). LARO is a critical strategic entity for both Queensland Treasury and at a whole-of-government level, and the purpose of the review was to identify the current strategic and operational demands, develop an agreed position about what the LARO should be doing (a mandate and agreed services), and identify and address capability issues including planning for key retirements.  Sue undertook extensive stakeholder consultation within and outside the Department and worked closely with a working group of senior staff and a Steering Group of key stakeholders to ensure appropriate involvement in the decision-making process. The result of this process was very strong acceptance of the recommendations by both the working group and steering group and high readiness for implementation by the LARO management team.

• Review of the organisational structure of the Finance and Business Services Branch in Crown Law  (2017). This review was focused on assessing and documenting current organisational structures and roles  (in terms of key functions and competencies), identifying options and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of organisation structures; Identifying any roles which might change materially in the revised structure; benchmarking roles in the revised organisational structure against other relevant roles; and revising role descriptions where needed.

• A review and major change management program for Nortec, a not-for-profit organisation in the employment solutions industry.  Faced with a rapidly changing environment, Nortec needed to shift its focus from a job seeker-orientated business to be more strategic and diverse with multiple income-earning programs and the ability to cross-market and collaborate between those programs.  Sue undertook an initial data analysis process and then designed and delivered a series of workshops (2012 to 1015) with various groups including the Board, senior management and supervisor level staff. The workshops were used to help shift the direction and the culture of Nortec to be more responsive, more integrated and more effective in the increasingly difficult not-for-profit environment.

•  In-depth review and change management project for the external communications function of Main Roads (2007).  Spread geographically across the State and structurally across the organisation, the external communication function was experiencing cultural, relational and system/process issues that were reducing its capacity to support the Main Roads infrastructure program. This review involved working with a steering group of key influencers to identify issues, implement strategies and bring about culture change. Liaison with key clients of the function including all 14 District Directors was also an important part of the review. 

Improving effectiveness, culture and relationships within operational teams

• Designed and delivered a process to improve overall functionality of a marketing team within the University of Queensland (2018).  Sue worked with both the Manager and the marketing team staff to help them identify issues and barriers and prepare them to have functional conversations (through a facilitated workshop process.  As a result, they were able to make some key agreements for the future that would support improved team functionality and lead to greater  staff satisfaction. As part of the project, executive coaching was also provided to the Marketing manager, helping her develop greater insight about key changes she might make to her leadership approach and helping her develop new, more effective team management strategies. Another key stakeholder for the project was the sponsoring senior manager and the consultant regularly checked-in with him to provide progress updates and to assess his perspective re changes in workplace behaviour. A key outcome from the project was a set of core contracts about how the team would work together, included high level agreements about assuming positive intent and checking understanding, as well as very specific commitments about approval timeframes and project ownership.

• Organisational improvement project with the Tweed Coast Waste Management Unit (2015) to assist the team deal with issues in relation to communication, teamwork, sick leave and a safety first culture. The project included initial data gathering including interviews with staff members, workshops with management, staff and union representatives to confirm and prioritise key issues and begin to consider possible solutions. A key strategy was staff development in some key identified competency areas, particularly around communication and managing accountability and this staff development was undertaken via staff training workshops, as part of the project.

Supporting conflict resolution and increased functionality for professional relationships 

• Multiple projects working with two, three and four individuals in various organisations (details withheld to protect confidentiality). The aim of this work is to assist the individuals involved clarify and understand the issues and barriers within their working relationships and provide support to help them get ready to have a facilitated conversation with the other parties. Once this important first step is undertaken, Sue moves to the next phase where she assists the parties to have a productive conversation about their concerns, discuss important issues for the future and begin to make agreements about how the working relationship might be improved.  Sue has a gentle style that ensures that both parties feel supported and safe during this process.  However, through a robust process and clear focus on developing future solutions, Sue also ensures that the process moves forward and that the people involved are able to develop a clear agreement bout what will be different in the future and how this will be achieved. During these projects, Sue is very conscious of the high emotions often involved in these kinds of situations and offers practical and effective assistance to clients to help them understand and regulate the emotions at play (for both themselves and others).  Once new agreements are made, the next important step is to ensure that the parties are supported to maintain these agreements. 

Support for strategic initiatives

•  Facilitated strategic planning workshops for key state-wide groups in Queensland Health including Breastscreen Queensland, allied health leaders in mental health, and allied health directors across Queensland (2017, 2018 and also prior). External facilitation was sought by the client for these workshops because of inherent communication difficulties, widely diverging perspectives and difficulty in reaching agreements. In all cases, Sue was able to surface key perspectives and help the group move towards a place of agreement and action.

• Organisational development support - including advice, workshop facilitation and strategy development – for the creation of a Queensland Allied Health 10 year strategy (2018). This work involved using a ten-year review of the past 10 years (undertaken by the client) to prompt discussion with key stakeholders to develop key performance targets for 2028 as well as short and medium term strategies for the next 10 years.

• Coaching and expert advice for a major review of the Park Prison Mental Health Service (2018 - on-going).  Currently underway, this work involves strategic advice and support to the in-house project manager and has involved implementation of an appropriate governance structure, strategising re key issues such as very diverse stakeholder perspectives, engagement of key parties and design of key review processes. 

•  Facilitated a Clinical Senate workshop (2015) involving about 80 very senior health and community leaders from across the State.  Centring on the topic of seven day health care, the workshop required skilled facilitation to enable good discussion, issue delineation, perspective-sharing, clarification, and the development of strategies for next steps.  Workshop participants held a very wide range of perspectives and the topic itself was complex and multi-faceted.  The 1.5 day workshop converged to several key points of agreement which provided a good basis for further action.

Leadership development and coaching

•  Delivery of Manage4Improvement leadership program (2016 – 2018).  This program commenced in late 2016 for a target group of 4500 to 5000 clinical and non-clinical participants.  Work has included initial Program Design in collaboration with the client, Workshop Facilitation for 9 Cohorts of up to 35 participants and 360 Feedback debriefs for 6 Cohorts.  Early evaluation has been very positive with participants reporting significantly improved leadership confidence and access to a wide range of strategies. 

• Designed and delivered a leadership program for supervisors at University of Queensland (nine cohorts to date) (2014-2018).  This program seeks to give supervisors practical skills to assist them manage their roles and their stakeholders more effectively. Feedback from participants has been very positive with most reporting more effective interactions at work with stakeholders, team members and peers.

• Inspiring Health Leaders design and facilitation. Run by the Melbourne Business School in 2015, this 5-day residential program attracted participants from various healthcare sectors throughout Australia and received very positive evaluation.

• Medical Leadership In Action Program design and facilitation for Queensland Health. The six-month-long program was run for seven cohorts from 2010 to 2012.  Comprehensive evaluation was undertaken for cohorts 4 and 5, finding that post-program, participants had significantly increased levels of job satisfaction, job enthusiasm and volunteering to work on corporate-level improvement initiatives. Positive leadership behaviours – such as giving feedback and involving team members in appropriate decision-making – also increased significantly. This behaviour-level evaluation complemented post workshop data that showed very high levels of participant satisfaction (over 85%) with workshops.

• Designed and facilitated annual leadership programs (2009 - 2012) for emerging allied health leaders in the Metro South District.  The program involved learning partnerships, helping participants develop clear leadership goals, executive coaching and a series of special topic workshops designed to help participants increase their behavioural choices in key leadership situations.  In 2011, this program was extended across most Qld Health districts.  Evaluation of the State-wide program indicated high levels of effectiveness in the development of applied and demonstrated leadership skills.   The evaluation found that more than 80 % of respondents felt that they were able to demonstrate stronger leadership skills in their clinical work. 

•  Executive coaching for Cambridge University in the UK (2012 – 2013).  Coaching participants were Department of Engineering academic staff who were undertaking the Emerging Leaders Development Program. This UK-based work was undertaken via video and teleconference. 

•  Executive coaching for a range of senior health professionals - including Directors of medical departments, directors of allied health departments and senior nurses – as part of the Queensland Health Emerging Clinical Leaders’ Program.   Coaching provided to participants in 11 different cohorts, over the past six years.  

Other projects

•  Community engagement project for MSF Sugar (2012) in regard to the proposed changes to the marketing and pricing model for farmers in the Babinda, South Johnstone and Tablelands regions.  A series of 10 workshops were held with growers to discuss, seek input and develop possible solutions and options in relation to the proposed new marketing and pricing model.  The topic generated high levels of debate and conflict, and required skillful facilitation from Sue to encourage cooperate and fruitful discussion.  This discussion was summarised into a concise report  which was used by the company and by growers as a foundation for further discussion and decision-making. 

 

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