Working closely with internal organisational development consultants and functional line management, a series of "team development workshops" were designed and implemented. These "off the job" workshops, attended by directors, managers, supervisors and designated technical staff, delivered within a six-month time frame, were designed as a key "catalyst for change" and to achieve the following key objectives :-

• To develop a shared vision of working together, agreeing roles, responsibilities and contributions of directors, managers, supervisors and team members.
• To review how the department, and individual sub-teams, were organised / structured in order to best utilise people and resources
• To identify and agree changes in work practices and processes required to facilitate a new set of organisational expectations
• To identify and develop business improvement opportunities which when implemented would add value to the organisations effectiveness and success
• To identify and agree the desired behaviours that both "leaders" and "team members" would need to demonstrate and encourage in the future
• To develop a series of actions required to foster the desired team culture appropriate to enable increased levels of team and individual performance
• To develop and agree consistent performance and behaviour expectations towards which all team members should aspire

In order to increase the likelihood of team and individual team member success in bringing about the desired changes in performance and behaviour, a series of work place "support initiatives" were also implemented. These work-place sessions enabled focussed follow-up on work-place issues / opportunities and facilitated the successful introduction of new skills, behaviours and processes into the workplace.

The "team development workshops" and the "work place follow-up" combined to provide a rich and potent catalyst for team and individual team member change. The team and it's individual team members were equipped with a comprehensive portfolio of strategies, tactics and tools to assist / support them in tackling the many and varied organisational challenges which they would experience.

A number of specific outcomes were achieved, which were perceived as critical in laying down the foundation for future team and individual team member change and would manifest in significant performance improvement :-

• Commitment to a commonly agreed vision of how the team would be organised and structured
• Agreed understanding of the business priorities fundamental to success
• Common understanding of performance expectations of the team and individual team members
• Commitment to a set of principles and practices regarded as imperative to improving the quality of leadership & teamwork
• Mutually agreed shared expectations of both "leaders" and "team members"
• Team and individual action plans to implement a number of identified "business improvement opportunities"