Following a period of significant transformation, a key player within the Australian energy market decided to boost the leadership and communication skills of their manager population through a practical, business relevant capability intervention.

Challenge

A significant organisation in the Australian energy market had recently gone through substantial transformation following a series of mergers and industry consolidation. The changing internal and external landscape for this business placed additional demands on their leaders and stressed the importance of effective communication to facilitate integration and cohesion.

Approach

Curve Group designed and facilitated five half-day “Skill Booster” training modules to provide leaders with practical tools to improve their leadership and communication skills. The Skills Boosters covered a range of practical communication topics such as challenging conversations, performance and development discussions, on the job coaching, meeting facilitation and engaging teams during times of change. The training modules were complemented by internally led Toolbox Talks to encourage self-reflection, peer discussion and skill application post workshop, as well as one-page quick reference guides containing tips and tools. Importantly, once the initial group of senior managers had successfully completed the Skill Boosters, “alumni” were approached to actively co-facilitate the training modules for the next levels of managers in order to cascade the leadership skills and messages.

Outcome

With the majority of managers having completed the set of five Skill Boosters, the organisation has been able to leverage a common understanding and expectation about communication, especially during times of change. This has been particularly useful during further organisational consolidation, and an increasing focus on performance.

For the senior managers who co-facilitated training modules, this approach reinforced their own key takeaways from the Skill Boosters, while enhancing their group facilitation skills and providing opportunities to build their profile outside of their area of technical subject matter expertise. This infused the learning experience for the remaining managers participating in the Skill Boosters with greater relevance and practical value while also providing experienced “sounding boards” with who they could discuss their leadership challenges. For the organisation, the co-facilitated approach to skills development has meant greater return on investment, given the ability to tailor training content specifically to the business context and the increased sharing of knowledge and experience across the organisation.