(CLP) Programs

Appleton Greene corporate training programs are all process-driven. They are used as vehicles to implement tangible business processes within clients’ organizations, together with training, support and facilitation during the use of these processes. Corporate training programs are therefore implemented over a sustainable period of time, that is to say, between 1 year (incorporating 12 monthly workshops), and 4 years (incorporating 48 monthly workshops). Your program information guide will specify how long each program takes to complete. Each monthly workshop takes 6 hours to implement and can be undertaken either on the client’s premises, an Appleton Greene serviced office, or online via the internet. This enables clients to implement each part of their business process, before moving onto the next stage of the program and enables employees to plan their study time around their current work commitments. The result is far greater program benefit, over a more sustainable period of time and a significantly improved return on investment.

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. All (CLP) programs are implemented over a sustainable period of time, usually between 1-4 years, incorporating 12-48 monthly workshops and professional support is consistently provided during this time by qualified learning providers and where appropriate, by Accredited Consultants.

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Executive summary

Leadership & Culture

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Peter Drucker

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

A healthy organizational culture = a healthy bottom line

Organizational culture is not merely a ‘nice to have’. A recent study by McKinsey of 1000+ organizations showed that those in the top culture quartile achieved 60 percent higher shareholder return than median companies and as much as 200 percent higher return than those in the lowest quartile. This data is supported by a multitude of other studies. Culture matters and culture starts with leaders.

Organizational culture as a concept was first coined in a 1951 book by Elliott Jaques called ‘The Changing Culture of a Factory’, and the concept started appearing in management studies in the late 1970’s. Since then, it’s been a topic of ongoing interest for leaders and organizations, but it’s been more theoretical and conceptual than practical and applicable. Culture has therefore often had the unfair label of being something vague, soft, and ‘fluffy’. That’s not true. Culture is the strongest driving force of an organization. It’s ‘how things get done around here’; it’s made up by explicit procedures as well as implicit behavioural habits. It affects all functions with an organization, the employee and customer experience and ultimately the bottom line. Do culture right and you’ll attract the best employees, loyal customers, and satisfied stakeholders.

There is always a culture, whether you are aware of it or not

Culture can be hard to pinpoint and analyse, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. There is always a culture, and the better organizations and leaders understand their own culture and the role cultures plays and how it is created, the more they can influence and shape it.

Take control of the culture and use it as a driver of success

Real, behavioural change, intentionally spearheaded by leaders, to drive culture is still relatively rare. There is greater understanding than ever before that culture is important, which is a big positive, but initiatives to change/influence culture are rarely carried out in enough depth or over enough time to truly change behavioural habits. It takes time and persistence, but it’s worth it. Numerous studies point to the importance of culture, like a recent Price Waterhouse Cooper study where a majority (67%) of survey respondents said that culture is more important than strategy or operations. Their data also shows that there is a discrepancy between what leaders say about culture and what employees actually experience, giving a clear indication that alignment between words and actions are crucial to shape a trustful, healthy, effective culture at work.

Culture is about behaviours and habits

Many organizations realize how important culture is, but few work actively with their culture in a meaningful way, hence missing out on its true potential. Sometimes culture is described as the perks you get as an employee; the space you work in, the fussball table or the coffee station and the Friday after work drinks – or your ability to work from home. But as much as all those things can be expressions of cultural intention, they are not creating the emotional impact on people that behaviours and lived values have. The perks and activities can play a role in employees (and other stakeholders) experience but unless supported by behaviours they become inefficient drives or culture, or merely a fun and relatively superficial activity.

The link to leadership is strong but managers and leaders are so busy with their day-to-day job that the leadership-culture link is often overlooked. Ultimately leadership is the act and art of influencing others. And many people leaders are not fully aware of what impact they are having on people around them and as a result are not aware of what culture they are creating within their teams or their organizations.

Leaders are culture shapers

How leaders behave and what behaviours they accept or overlook in others become the culture. Leaders need to make sure they are consistent by role modelling and rewarding the ‘right’ behaviours – not just because it’s the right thing to do but because of how it impacts employee engagement/experience, collaboration, innovation, customer experience, brand, financial results and more.

The key to real cultural change starts with deep self-awareness, particularly for leaders as their role means they are expected (even if only subconsciously) to set the standard for how things get done. Culture is often implicit, it’s what we see others do, we read between the lines to understand what is expected. If leaders are not aware of what behaviours they are creating in others, it gets difficult to lead. A company’s culture is shaped as much by the behaviours we tolerate or overlook as the behaviours we role model, and this is why leaders need to become great self-leaders and start to reflect on their own habits and practices. Consistency in behaviour is also important as inconsistency tends to confuse and slow things down and even make people cautious and fearful.

Great leaders are excellent self-leaders

When leaders learn how to influence culture authentically and productively, they see that it requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-leadership. Leaders need to understand how their own internal processes of thoughts and feelings ‘leak’ to the world around them and what effect that has. This gives them the ability to shape a culture intentionally and meaningfully where everyone can thrive.

Culture can be actively cultivated in line with organizational vision and values

Organisational culture needs to be on the agenda of every board, executive team, and leader in a very practical way. An understanding of the role of culture in achieving an organization’s purpose and goals can create an alignment in intention and behaviour that fuel results. Leaders at all levels set the tone for ‘how things get done here’. Culture starts at the top but can’t just be dictated from the top. It needs to resonate with people at all levels, as something they would ‘stand for’ themselves. Leaders need to ‘live’ the culture, not just ‘talk the talk’. Leaders who want to maximise the power that is culture, must look to themselves first: How am I behaving? What messages am I sending through my behaviours? What behaviours am I creating in others? And then start changing and adapting their behaviours, creating new habits if needed to create the desired culture, and acting with consistency.

Benefits of a healthy, clear and strong culture

There are many benefits with culture. With a clear, strong, healthy culture, people know exactly how to operate, and this helps them to act with integrity for the good of all constituents, supporting the brand and the brand experience. In a fast-changing world, it allows people to act with integrity and confidence without necessarily having all the answers, supported by the culture. This drives consistent, long-term success, where actions and behaviours are supported by practices and processes. Numerous studies point to the importance of culture, like a recent Price Waterhouse Cooper study where a majority (67%) of survey respondents said that culture is more important than strategy or operations. Their data also shows that there is a discrepancy between what leaders say about culture and what employees actually experience, giving a clear indication that alignment between words and actions are crucial to shape a trustful, healthy, effective culture at work.

Culture needs to be consistent and authentic or it creates costly distrust and disengagement

There are numerous ways for companies to assess cultures today, by studying behaviours and practices and/or rolling out some kind of Employee Engagement Survey, with a focus on employee experience. And there may be customer experience feedback gathered to gain information on how they perceive the organization. These types of surveys can be useful in recognising strengths and development areas, but the outcome often doesn’t go beyond actions and tick lists. They rarely get to the behavioural, habitual change that achieves real change. And in stopping short of real change, which comes down to that behavioural change, very little is achieved. As a result, employees (in particular) tend to feel let down, thinking that the big words about vision and caring about employees (as an example) are just empty talk. This is turn can impact talent retention and ultimately customer experience and at times therefore also loyalty and profitability.

Using leadership and culture to win the ‘war for talent’

Organizations have long faced the “war for talent,” but the recent pandemic made it worse. According to a McKinsey report published in late 2021, 40% of workers were “quite likely” to change occupations within the next 3-6 months. And according to a DDI report, one of the most significant difficulties CEOs confront is finding and keeping top talent.

During the pandemic, many employees started working from home. Several claimed a higher quality of life thanks to reduced commutes and increased family time. People had to pause, reflect, and ask themselves: What is important to me? What kind of life do I want to lead? What activities do I want to engage in? How would I like to work? It’s in our human nature to desire to make a difference and feel like we belong to something bigger than ourselves. A healthy, meaningful culture can make that difference to your organization and help win the ‘war for talent’.

In an increasingly hybrid world of work, the role and importance of culture is at the forefront of organizational success. When people don’t see each other every day, the culture is harder to see and experience, and therefore requires more focused attention. Before remote/hybrid working became a trend in many industries a lot of the culture could be picked up in daily interactions, but if we can’t see it, we don’t really know it and we can’t do it.

Organizations and leaders want to get practical by having culture theories and concepts translated into practical steps that will make a difference.

This program takes leaders through a step-by-step process of becoming effective leaders as culture shapers; to build self-awareness (including strengths, stressors, energisers etc) and social awareness. It will guide leaders on how to effectively choose behaviours, understand, and authentically shape culture, build collaborative environments and stakeholder experience and engagement, hence more effectively and consistently driving business outcomes and results.

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Curriculum

Leadership & Culture – Part 1- Year 1

1. Part 1 Month 1 Culture Theory
2. Part 1 Month 2 Leader’s Role
3. Part 1 Month 3 Social Awareness
4. Part 1 Month 4 Infrastructure & Behaviours
5. Part 1 Month 5 Communication & Storytelling
6. Part 1 Month 6 Team Dynamics
7. Part 1 Month 7 Hybrid Culture
8. Part 1 Month 8 Organizational Development
9. Part 1 Month 9 Stakeholder Management
10. Part 1 Month 10 Coaching & Learning
11. Part 1 Month 11 Collective Intelligence
12. Part 1 Month 12 Merging Cultures

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Program Objectives

The following list represents the Key Program Objectives (KPO) for the Appleton Greene Leadership & Culture corporate training program.

Leadership & Culture – Part 1 – Year 1

1. Part 1 Month 1 Culture Theory – “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” is a quote often attributed to renowned management consultant Peter Drucker, who pointed out that the best strategies and plans in the world will fail unless the culture of the company encourages/supports people to implement it. The first workshop sets the scene for the program by exploring what culture is, what the driving forces of culture are and how culture impacts on business results. We look at the facts of culture and debunk the myth that culture is something vague, soft and ‘fluffy’. As culture is ‘how things are done around here’ this needs to be intentionally shaped to be in line with vision, purpose and values, and to drive desired business results. Culture can be created, it can be changed, and it can be shaped and enhanced, and this requires understanding of the dynamic and how to do it. An important part of this is about populating the values, truly bringing them to life. Many organizations struggle with living the values, which often comes down to things like work processes and practices that are counterproductive to the values. We discuss how living the values can become reality, in an authentic way. We also look at examples of companies that have successfully built strong, clear, healthy cultures, what results they have achieved and what we can learn from them and implement for ourselves. Participants get to observe and explore the concept of culture in general terms and then apply insights to their own setting specifically.
2. Part 1 Month 2 Leader’s Role – In the second workshop we start to look at leaders’ roles in shaping the organizational and/or team culture more specifically. We explore how leadership behaviours are ‘contagious’ (others do as leaders do, rather than what they say) and how leaders can be observant and choose to authentically behave in a way that creates the desired culture in line with company values. A large part of leaders’ impact starts from within, what leaders think and feel, their beliefs and mindset will impact their behaviours and habits. We therefore discuss self-leadership and how beliefs, thoughts, feelings, strengths etc drive people’s behaviours and what leaders can do to take control over the impact they have and the culture they cultivate in their daily business dealings. Effective, impactful leaders are great self-leaders, they use their emotional intelligence to understand themselves, including their stressors and energisers, so that they can lead and manage themselves with intention to achieve desired results, rather than just letting the ‘autopilot’ run the show. Participants therefore also get to start thinking about their own impact and are asked to reflect on their own habitual behaviours and the results thereof. Moreover, they are strongly recommended to review any existing feedback and/or are encouraged to collect additional feedback from key stakeholders to understand what others’ experience when they interact and work with the leader. A structure for this feedback gathering is provided. The feedback is used to start building a ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan. This plan becomes the practical roadmap for the rest of the program.
3. Part 1 Month 3 Social Awareness – In the 3rd workshop, the concept of emotional intelligence is further explored by focusing on and practicing social awareness. Social awareness is the desire and ability to observe and be aware of what’s going on around us, to want to understand the world we operate in, the people we work with, our overall surroundings. Like everything else, this can be practiced and perfected and made into a meaningful habit. Being socially aware engages habits like scanning what’s going on around us; listening to the news, learning more about market trends and competitors and potential partners, staying up to date with the industry and the world. It’s also about building habits of listening with interest, asking relevant and explorative questions to understand what others know, experience, want and can contribute. And it’s about putting feedback loops in place to continuously understand what is going on (inside and outside of the organization), the experience of stakeholders, what the team/organizational culture is really like, how effective it is, and how people respond to that culture and what that leads to. Heightened social awareness allows leaders to act and behave with more insight, hence being able to resolve challenges, spot opportunities and engage with others based on their unique situation (rather than assuming that everyone is in the ‘same place’). Leaders who are socially aware can shape a culture where people feel seen, heard and important, which drives stakeholder engagement. We also work on the importance of “walking the talk” when it comes to culture and acting and behaving with consistency.
4. Part 1 Month 4 Infrastructure & Behaviours – In the 4th workshop we build on the self and social awareness created in previous workshops and get more practical about how to apply those insights. It is a common misconception that culture is difficult to change and that is also the reason many cultural change efforts never even get started. One reason for people thinking it can’t be done is because they don’t know how to do it, or they have tried doing something, but it didn’t render the expected results. Changing a culture isn’t easy, that’s correct, but that doesn’t equate to impossibility. Changing a culture does require dedicated work though, but with the right focused attention and patience, it can most certainly be done. In this workshop we look at successful examples of how culture have been created, shaped, or enhanced with a combination of activities and infrastructure that supports the culture, in parallel with and supported by daily behavioural habits. What these examples show is how leaders can use culture as a driver of success, not a ‘nice to have’ but a crucial component that can be woven into business processes and practices and therefore into people day-to-day work. The more leaders understand about the power of culture as a driver of success, the more appealing and business critical it becomes to pursue culture as a business success strategy, and then plan how to achieve it. The participants work together to explore how this can look and how to create habits that support business processes and infrastructure, and vice versa.
5. Part 1 Month 5 Communication & Storytelling – In the 5th workshop we turn our attention to communication as a culture shaper for leaders. We discuss and dive into practical examples of what role communication really plays in culture. How can you communicate in a way that drives the habits of a healthy culture? Exploring this from different angles, we start by looking at verbal communication and the world of linguistics by identifying words and sentence constructions that engage people in conversation, achieve buy-in and commitment. We also look at non-verbal communication and the power of body language and tone of voice to connect effectively with others. The effect of non-verbal language is often overlooked and unless used with awareness and intention it can often be counterproductive to the verbal communication. Another area of focus is Storytelling, the ability to not just relay facts but context and an overall story that can engage people’s imagination and understanding. People also tend to remember stories better than mere, sometimes dry, facts. We study some of the most powerful speakers in the world to recognise patterns of cultural influence and impact, and what we can learn from that. The participants reflect on their own communication with different stakeholders and what culture they are currently creating around them through their communication. Then we turn our attention to how to communicate in a way that enhances and support the culture, where the participants get to identify the stories that make a difference in their specific situation with their stakeholders to whom they are culture shapers.
6. Part 1 Month 6 Team Dynamics – In the 6th workshop we focus on teams and how to create a culture of collaboration and teamwork. This is not just about teams that work together all the time, it’s also about project teams that may only spend a short period of time together but still need to have a collaborative culture to deliver on goals and to schedule. The interaction between team members dictates the team culture, and this should of course be the focus of every person who leads the team. Everyone on a team has a responsibility for the team culture and team spirit, but as covered in previous workshops, leaders have the biggest responsibility here. As a leader you need to make sure that the interaction between people who have a shared purpose and mission (the reason they are a team) is healthy; respectful, honest, collaborative and goal focused, so that they can fulfil their purpose and complete their mission. To do this in a practical way we analyse 10 common team challenges, which unless addressed often derail teams, create conflict and misalignment. The challenges include things like creating trust, managing change, delivering as expected and going in the same direction. We dissect proven solutions to overcoming the challenges and the effect that has on culture and business results. The participants are asked to identify the challenges that are most relevant to their team or teams and then get to populate their ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan with the team specific actions, behaviours and communication.
7. Part 1 Month 7 Hybrid Culture – In the 7th workshop we build on the concept of teamwork and look at teams that have a remote/hybrid work setup. This is something that many companies have subscribed to in the wake of the global Covid pandemic and are continuously working to optimise and make effective. The jury is still out on what the perfect work setup is, and this will of course vary from company to company due to various circumstances such as job roles, location, and local expectations. What most organization have noticed though is that culture needs a different level of attention when people work remotely or don’t see their colleagues every day. In an increasingly hybrid world of work, the role and importance of culture is at the forefront of organizational success. When people don’t see each other every day, the culture is harder to see and experience, and therefore requires more focused attention. Before remote/hybrid working became a trend in many industries a lot of the culture could be picked up in daily interactions, but if we can’t see it, we don’t really know it and we can’t do it. In this workshop the focus in on how to provide the consistency of culture alive when working remotely or in a hybrid setup. Depending on the participants’ own work setup, they get to hypothesise or practice how to, with continuous communication and by intentionally bringing people together for meaningful interaction (be it online or in person), shape and recreate a strong, collaborative, healthy culture.
8. Part 1 Month 8 Organizational Development – In the 8th workshop we take a very strategic approach to culture, by thinking about culture as a factor for attracting investors, employees, and partners. We think as strategic consultants by recognising organizational culture’s role in the external perception of an organization. The culture isn’t just experienced internally, it can also be seen and experienced outside of the company too. In fact, it is often said that you can sense a company’s culture as soon as you enter a building, based on how you are greeted at the reception or how you see and hear people talking to each other as you sit and wait to be admitted to a meeting room. What this means is that ultimately every employee is a ‘culture carrier’ and therefore also a brand ambassador. And brand matters greatly, various studies show that as much as 30-40% of a company’s value comes down to brand and reputation, and that strong brands deliver greater returns to shareholders. In this workshop we explore how you as leader can factor this into your leadership and what culture you create around you by being a brand ambassador and a leader of other brand ambassadors. We look at examples of how this can be done, and the participants get add to their ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan as they decide on actions to take to be a strategic contributor and brand ambassador to their company’s external perception. This session is all about being a strategic, aware, and responsible carrier of the company culture in the external world with external stakeholders made up by customers, investors, partners, influencers and the overall society.
9. Part 1 Month 9 Stakeholder Management – In the 9th workshop we focus on the culture that is created in our interactions with important stakeholders. Effective stakeholder engagement and management is at the heart of all successful business as no-one can be successful without the trust and support of their stakeholders. Stakeholders are of courses all those people that have a ‘stake’ in the work that you do, either because your work is dependent/impacted by them or because your work impacts them. The ability to engage with different stakeholders in a relevant way, to gain support and buy-in, is a must for leaders to excel at, and the more senior a leader gets, the more relevant this becomes. Yes, stakeholder engagement and management is yet another important culture factor – being able to specifically create a trustful, collaborative culture which makes stakeholders WANT to work with you. As we weave in concepts from previous workshops, we work on how to use self-leadership, social awareness, and communication to create constructive and effective stakeholder relationships and business outcomes. We explore the behaviours that build trust and open doors, the sense-making skills that tells the story of why people should work with you, and what you can do as a leader to support your stakeholders so that they can be successful too. The participants will map out their key stakeholders and create or update existing stakeholder management plans to ensure consistent engagement with these key individuals on whom you depend on and/or who depend on you. In addition, impactful actions and behaviours get added to the participants’ ongoing ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan.
10. Part 1 Month 10 Coaching & Learning – “Don’t be a know-it-all. Be a learn-it-all”. This timeless quote by Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella highlights the fact that no one can know everything (what a relief!), but that we can learn a lot, and that acting with that mindset creates a great learning environment. In the 10th workshop we build on previous leadership concepts as we focus on how to build a culture of non-stop learning. We live in a fast-paced world of change and VUCA (Volatility, Complexity, Uncertainty, Ambiguity) and sustainable, long-term success is dependent on people learning and developing at that fast pace of ongoing transformation. As the world changes to fast there is no way that anyone can have all the answers, so being open to learning is the only way to secure continued success. This means that for organizations to flourish into the future, they need have a fearless Learning Culture, where people courageously dare to try, fail, evaluate, learn, and go again. This requires an open and supportive culture of generous feedback and experimentation, where people ask for help and give help, where the need to ‘be right’ is nowhere to be seen, where non-perfect results are welcomed for the learning and insight they provide. In this workshop we go deep on how leaders can create a learning culture through ongoing effective coaching, feedforward (feedback that catapults you forward), experimentation, and support. The participants get to practice coaching and feedforward and plan for coaching conversations back in the workplace that drive a Learning Culture.
11. Part 1 Month 11 Collective Intelligence – Building on the contents of the previous workshop on a Learning Culture, the 11th workshop takes us through how leaders can trigger and drive creativity and innovation by shaping a culture of collective intelligence. Collective Intelligence is the practice of being smarter together by bringing people together and tapping into the individual and collective brainpower of everyone. We look at proven ways to release creativity and igniting a desire for people to generously share ideas and experience, multiplying the organisational/team collective intelligence and then ability to stay relevant and competitive in a fast-changing world. As discussed previously, a VUCA world demands that organizations pursue learning and ongoing innovation to stay ahead of the game. It’s a question of continuously reinvent the business in some way, to stay relevant, to offer what the market and the customers need. And as everyone is in the same boat, it’s a question of thinking about how to disrupt (challenge the status quo) or end up being disrupted by other business, and leaders need to ensure the culture they shape is one where positive disruption is possible. In this workshop the focus is on the practicalities of being smarter together and how leaders can identify areas of innovation and create a Culture of Collective Intelligence. The participants will reflect on the people they work with, the stakeholders they could bring together to tap into the Collective Intelligence that can keep reinventing how things get done. The output forms another part of the ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan.
12. Part 1 Month 12 Merging Cultures – In the 12th and last workshop, we scrutinise what happens when two companies merge, or on a smaller scale, when two teams merge where there may be slightly different cultures. Even within one and the same organization there can be differing, and therefore potentially conflicting, cultures. Unless carefully and skilfully addressed there can be a real culture clash that is detrimental to collaboration and goal achievement. The cost of culture clashes through non-productive interactions can also be felt. However, a successful merge, reshape or reset of culture can be achieved with focused intention and effort, and the involvement of culture carriers (employees) from the different cultures. We use practical examples and explore how the best of two (or more) worlds can be brought together and what that means for leaders and how they communicate and engage with both or all cultures. Building on the previous workshop on Collective Intelligence there is also an opportunity for further innovation and growth that comes from merging different companies/teams as different practices and outlooks can bring new, fresh thinking that can challenge the status quote. And this is something that leaders can facilitate and bring to fruition. And a healthy culture can speed up the timeline of a merger when conflicting focus and culture are removed. The participants add any final times to their ‘Leadership & Culture’ development and impact plan. We also bring the program to a close with a clear plan on how to keep learning alive, follow through on commitments and measure ongoing results of culture.

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