In
the earliest stages of the project, and based on experience locally and
overseas, Project General Manager Barry Budge recognised that harnessing
and unifying the human spirit of those involved was one of the key areas
of risk, opportunity and challenge.
Toyota also recognised that traditional "team building"
approaches can have a limited effect and that a project of this size
needed strong, real cultural change centred around an exciting and
worthwhile vision.
Team
Results
was involved from the initial project kickoff in November 1997.
Their first engagement was a two-day simulation for project
leaders, which was also attended by the President of Toyota, Mr Sam
Komori. The success of this
engagement led to numerous others over the life of the project,
including a follow-up program in July 1998 for an expanded project team,
a program in December 1998 for a team of managers charged with obtaining
across-the-board acceptance of the new culture, and numerous formal and
informal follow-ups with every part of the team covering a period of
just under two years.
Working
closely with all levels in Toyota, Team Results developed a tailored
scenario and matching simulations that allowed team members to make
their own discoveries about the leadership and team values they wanted;
and how these would be promoted in pursuit of their own contribution to
the project vision. These
tested agreements were then mapped into team and individual strategies,
tested again and refined further, and ultimately mapped into specific
and measurable outcomes at work. Teams
themselves took responsibility for tracking these results, using the Team
Dashboard® instrument
where relevant to demonstrate significant boosts to project Key
Performance Indicators.
“I
would assess the Team Results contribution to the BSI Team as critical
to the overall success of managing and implementing the major process,
cultural, and human changes demanded by such a large project”, says
Project General Manager Barry Budge.
He
adds, “Despite many challenges throughout the project, we have still
managed to keep our ‘Spirit and Emotion’ whilst succeeding in our
‘Task and Intellect’ goals. I have no hesitation in recommending
Team Results and their experienced, professional and friendly staff.”
