Day 1
Programme for Senior Leaders
Gareth Evans, Senior Organisational Development Officer
Pamela Roberts, Senior Organisational Development Officer
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Aims & Objectives – Day 1
Aim:
 To provide you with a set of techniques, tools, models and frameworks for
influencing behaviour, team working, mental models, productivity, staff morale
and well-being, team culture and ‘whole systems’ working
Objectives:
 Define and explore what is meant by ‘Organisational Design and Development’
 Consider some of the wider contextual factors influencing how we think and
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behave as individuals and as an organisation
Reflect upon your own thinking habits and consider the value in exploring
multiple perspectives on common issues
Explore the Iceberg Model and consider how, when and where it could be used
within the work of BCU managers and leaders and try it out using case
scenarios and your own work-based examples
Explore issues at ‘surface’ and ‘depth’ (and bring into view hidden areas for
high leverage change)
Use tools and techniques to explore common team issues and illustrate how
we all play a part in shaping the very things that frustrate us, and how we all
share a responsibility for transforming them too
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Developing New Ways of Thinking 1
 This first exercise is designed to get you thinking – about yourself as a
Leader (2 fundamental aspects of your wider Senior Leader Role in BCUHB)
 We will ask you to reflect upon and answer the first two sets of questions
(choose words and values)
 The second set of questions are for completing tonight as a between-
session task
 We will then hold onto your ideas and thoughts and return to them at
different points during the rest of the workshop
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Defining OD
Beckhard (1969) defines Organisational Development as ‘An effort (1)
planned, (2) organisation-wide, and (3) managed from the top, to (4)
increase organisation effectiveness and health through (5) planned
interventions in the organisation’s ‘processes’, using behavioural science
knowledge’.
Beckhard, R. (1969). Organization development: Strategies and models. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
The North West Leadership Academy defines Organisational Development as
being about:
“Improving organisational performance through implementing a planned
process of leading and managing change that aligns key levers such as Vision,
Values, Strategy, Structure, Processes, Systems, Ways of Working and People
Capabilities”
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Organisational Development (OD) uses a number of different frameworks,
models and activities to understand, influence and improve the overall
performance and functioning of an organisation.
Around projects such as:
 Staff engagement
 Developing effective appraisal processes
 Facilitating effective team working and development
 Exploring and refining systems and processes
 And doing targeted work on identified systems issues, such as
managing conflict, delivering on values-based working, improving
leadership ability and performance, etc.
Activity
We are going to hand out some different OD models for you to explore in your
small groups and we would like you to think about the questions posed on
the reverse of the handout.
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Defining Systems & Systems
Thinking
 A system can be defined as a collection of parts that work together to
achieve a shared purpose – the system is defined as having a boundary
that both connects and separates it to its environment/context
 Systems Thinking (ST) is the practice of looking at the inter-connections
within a system and between its parts, rather than just analysing the parts
themselves in isolation
 ST is characterised by wholistic thinking, curiosity, looking for patterns, and
asking questions to uncover deeper structures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXdzKBWDraM
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Fundamental Principles of Systems
 Feedback: The performance of organisations and systems is largely
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determined by a web of interconnected circular (not linear) relationship
Delay: Actions we take have both immediate and delayed consequences
that we don't always anticipate or foresee
Unintended Consequences: Today's problems were most likely yesterday's
solutions
Power of Awareness: When we see and understand the system as it really
operates, we are no longer controlled by it
Purpose: Systems organise themselves around a purpose or goal and then
work perfectly to achieve that purpose – the results you get are exactly
what your system has been set up to achieve
Leverage: Systems improve as the result of a few key coordinated changes
sustained over time (points of high vs. low leverage)
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Developing New Ways of Thinking 2
 This second exercise is designed to get you thinking about other peoples’
perspectives on how you lead, on the influence this has on how your team
works around you and on strengths and consequences that can arise from
this
 The structure is the same as exercise 1 – we will ask you to reflect upon
and answer some questions
 We will then hold onto your ideas and thoughts and return to them at
different points during the rest of the workshop
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The Wider Context
History & Challenges
 Special Measures
 Close Relationship with Welsh Gov
 Uncertainty re Senior Leadership
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and Direction/Vision for BCUHB
Organisational Flux and
Uncertainty
Culture (i.e. Habits of Practice and
Thinking)
Ockenden Process (Tawel Fan)
Mid-staffs
Andrews Report – Trusted to Care
Austerity
Welsh Assembly Elections (May
16)
Future & Opportunities
 Special Measures
 Close Relationship with Welsh Gov
 New CEO, IMTP and Strategic
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Goals
Organisational Flux and
Uncertainty
Reshape Culture & Habits of
Practice by changing the way
things get thought about, talked
about and carried out
Values-based, engaging leadership
Utilising New Ways of Thinking
and Effective Team Working
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Developing New Ways of Thinking 3
 This third exercise is designed to get you thinking about the team culture
you work within.
 It is designed to help you ‘surface’ some of the possible unspoken rules,
beliefs, attitudes and habits of practice that are what give rise to work
cultures and ultimately organisational culture-as-a-whole
 Again there are questions for you to reflect upon and answer
 We will then hold onto your ideas and thoughts and return to them at
different points during the rest of the workshop
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Introducing the Iceberg Model
Iceberg Element
Event
Type of Action
React
What is happening?
Patterns over time
(trends)
What has been
happening?
Mental Models &
Systemic Structures
Why?
Exploring for high
points of systemic
leverage
Anticipate –
Respond
Design –
Generate
Transform
Potentially all or
any of the above
How can we improve the
functioning of the
system?
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Introducing the Iceberg Model
 In this next section we are going
to run through the Iceberg Model
as a group using an example to
help us further understand what
happens from simple events to
underlying structures and models
 After that you can have a go
yourselves using some other
common NHS examples
 Following that you will discuss
some possible examples on your
tables of work issues you would
like to explore and we will vote as
a group on one of these and then
work through it together
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The Iceberg & Common NHS Issues
 This next exercise explores a number of case scenarios using the Iceberg so
that you can gain some increasing familiarity of using the model to prime
your thinking and influence how you consider change within the system in
which you work
 In your groups review the case scenario on your table and identify:
 The Events taking place – what is happening?
 The Patterns of Events over time – what’s been happening?
 Systemic Structures & Mental Models – why has this been happening?
 Share your thoughts in the whole group and listen to what others
discovered in their case studies – do you have any additional ideas or
observations to enrich your collective understanding as a whole group?
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Feedback, Reflections, Next Steps
 Feedback on exercise...
 What was it like using the Iceberg Model?
 How similar or different is this to your usual ways of approaching issues and
identifying solutions?
 Reflection and observations about Day 1
 What will you take away from today as your top learning point?
 What have been the most useful aspects of the day?
 Next Steps
 Complete the between-session task (questions 3&4 from New Ways of Thinking 1 –
Self Awareness) incorporating what you have learnt today to enrich your answers...
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Have a great
night and see you
tomorrow
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