Management Group Development
Sometimes it's a bit foggy at the top of our organizations.
The management group then becomes a place where everyone is polite, but not very creative or effective. Management meetings are almost treated like a small break from "the real work" by intelligent department or unit heads who are highly engaged
other tasks like in leading their own teams.
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This was exactly the case with a management group I worked with. I had met the executive in another context, where he had heard me give a lecture on the importance of psychological safety for results. He brought me in as a consultant for his senior management team and asked if, as a psychologist, I could "take the temperature" of their psychological safety."I think it’s good," he said:
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"Everyone is very nice and says that things are great in our management group. At the same time, I’m used to getting more pushback and discussion. I sometimes wonder, does everyone really think my suggestions are that fantastic?"
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As a consultant, I don’t have a thermometer for psychological safety, but I do have many hands on exercises that can develop collaboration and openness within the group.
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We came up with a plan together, and the executive made some preparations by anchoring decisions with the board. The plan consisted of two sessions of one and a half days each, followed by a day follow-up session. When we met with the group, we worked on clarifying the team’s mission and on methods to increase psychological safety. We used the model Balance your natural strengths which is included in the book Swedish Leadership – Lead with Curiosity and Joy, as a tool to help the team get to know each other and the organization better. The group was led to identify their most pressing issues as a management team, and then, split into subgroups, work on those issues, both during our sessions and in between them. I created a structure that encouraged courageous, open conversations, and we openly reflected on the process the team had gone through during the work. After the second session,
the executive reflected:
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"Something has happened now. I can tell I’m getting more independent thoughts from the managers, and new issues we should work on going forward have been raised. I think psychological safety has definitely increased."
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I often recommend management team development in three sessions spread over about a year. The first two sessions are closer together in time, and the last session functions as a follow-up and further development of what’s been achieved so far. (Sometimes more sessions are added further on, but you come a long way on three sessions). The structure is developed with you as the leader anchoring it with the team and is based on where you are as a group and what you have already worked on together. It’s important that the managers are ready to work practically when we meet. Even though there might be some theory sessions here and there, what really matters is you working together and gaining insights into how you function as a team and what you could benefit from fine-tuning. Sometimes the process starts with interviews with all members of the group; sometimes not.
Schools
​In schools, our future leaders are growing.By helping young people take ownership of their emotions, we are contributing
to shaping the future of the world.
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Many schools struggle with various challenges, and the staff do an priceless job. At this particular school, the principal was burned out after both threats to the school and staff, as well as aggressive behaviors between students. The intervention was planned in close consultation with the school’s counselors. The focus was on the new fourth graders, as the transition to middle school often brought a lot of anxiety, with larger classes and new classmates. We gathered the students over two half-day sessions, 50 at a time. We started with a lecture for the whole group on the basic emotions, as well as excesses and shortages of these emotions. This is a message that engages both young and old and is easily understood: if you have an excess of anger, fear, shame, or sadness, it is difficult to have curiosity during lessons. The students were then divided into discussion groups. Each group was led by a teacher along with either EST (Educational Support Team) staff or my colleague and me.
But let’s take a step back. Before these half-day sessions could take place, we held workshops with all involved staff so that teachers and EST personnel had the opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the structure. After three sessions (of two half-days each) with the children, the framework was handed over to the school staff, who continued the work.
The aim of this practical approach to helping children develop strategies for emotional regulation is increased curiosity and concentration during lessons, and better achievement of goals. At the same time, all involved staff gain a shared, simple language to discuss emotions with the children. This concept can be used with both older and younger age groups, with the message adjusted accordingly. The intervention was highly appreciated, and, among other things, EST staff shared how the workshops helped them support students who were struggling emotionally.
In schools, I work both by giving lectures and by collaborating directly with staff to support students in improving their well-being, as in this case. Educational goals are all too often hindered by students struggling with mental health issues or simply having difficulty focusing during lessons.Through lectures—combined with group work with students and joint follow-up sessions—you’ll be better equipped to reach your goals. Learn how to spark curiosity in the classroom by providing knowledge and tools to manage overwhelming emotions.
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If you are looking for an alternative to a consultant supporting you the
e-learning-platform gives you the tools you need to create similar workshops at
your school. Contact me if you are
interested to know more.
Crises management
Even in the Dead Sea, there is something to extract.
The Dead Sea mud is believed to help with severe skin conditions such as psoriasis.​ My next example comes from one of the many schools I have supported, where, tragically, the school has become an arena for fatal violence.
In this case, I brought along a consultant colleague who worked with the administrative leadership of the munincipality, while I worked with the principals and school staff who where closer to the crises. I was called in after the acute phase, when the principals were facing perhaps the biggest challenge: getting the work back to normal. The staff were dissatisfied that the early support had mostly been directed towards the leadership. Therefore, we quickly scheduled workshops for all staff – from janitors to principals. The workshop included methods to getting to know each other better as well as information on typical trauma reactions and collective work on development issues for the school.
I facilitated the first workshop myself and, over time, worked together with the principals who with time learned the various methods we used. The staff reflected in different constellations in pairs or small groups of three or four. There was plenty of energy to work forward, and in this way, we were able to "create meaning out of the meaningless," as Viktor Frankl puts it. It is important to organise collective rituals of mourning when something traumatic has happened. But if the work stops, and the focus at the workplace remains on grief for an extended period, this can actually lead to more psychological distress than if one dares to talk about what happened and then draw new insights from the process. The school moved forward with good results, and as always in the examples I’ve described, it was humbling for me to have been a part of supporting skilled leaders – in this case, in an especially challenging situation.
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I have worked with different types of crises as with leadership crises or organisational hang-ups. I am also working to help schools work with school security before the incident happened. I then work together
with a security expert.
Coaching
Stormy emotions can feel like an ocean with the potential to drown us.
Coaching can go off track if it only relies on the manager’s own feelings/perceptions or a self-assessment-based test. Therefore, I often start with a personal portrait. In this process, I interview the manager as well as about five people around the manager to gain insights into the manager’s strengths and weaknesses, and the team’s challenges, before starting the coaching.
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One example of this was a manager within healthcare who had sleep problems and anxiety related to her work. She was unsure whether she was doing a good enough job. After the personal portrait, which revealed that she was highly appreciated and, according to several others – including her own manager – was actually doing the work of three people (two more where on the way in), the coaching focused on giving her tools to manage her emotions. After the coaching, she said:
“Before, it felt like I was controlled by my emotions. Now, I am aware of them, but with the help of my inner compass, I can choose how I act and no longer doubt my own judgment. I have a completely different sense of calm.”
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Frida has extensive experience with personal portrait, having conducted close to 20 such reflections with various Director-Generals of Swedish authorities. Sometimes the feedback is mostly positive, as in this case; other times, stinging criticism may arise, mixed with encouragement. But in both cases, it provides a solid foundation for coaching that leads to motivation and real change in the right direction for the manager.
Leadership development
On one occasion, I received a request from a client to provide individual coaching to three new managers, who had received similar positions after an organizational restructuring. I suggested instead that we have joint workshops, where they could share experiences and discuss things together, with me providing coaching support in a group setting. The client agreed, and together we developed a plan with 4 sessions for the small group, each lasting 3 hours. One of the managers initially expressed some skepticism, as they would have preferred individual coaching but joined in.
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The program evolved based on the group's needs. It included coaching sessions where they coached each other (I did join in), theoretical overviews, and exercises. This created added value for the organisation. After our last session, the managers were able to continue supporting each other in a similar way.
We discussed, among other things, how to create internal motivation within the staff and for oneself, and worked on issues specific to the organisation in question. The managers also had the opportunity to discuss how they addressed matters with each other if conflicts between departments were to escalate. And the tensions that were already present were given a safe space to be talked through. The manager who was initially skeptical expressed, over time,
deep gratitude for the program.
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The department manager received positive feedback from the group, while also becoming aware of areas they, as a higher level leadership team, needed to work on. As a result, the assignment was expanded to include leadership team development and coaching for the department manager. The intervention was in this manner flexibly to meet the client's needs.