Case Studies • Supporting Organisational Change
Vail Williams – Case Study
“A few years ago values and purpose may have been thought of as niche; now if you can’t articulate and demonstrate them you will be left behind. This is no longer an option; it’s fundamental.”
Matthew Samuel-Camps, Managing Partner, Vail Williams LLP.
“In normal work you can change things quickly and get a result. But this cultural work is not like that. There’s no quick fix in this sort of thing.”
Danny George, Partner, Business Rates Consultancy, Vail Williams LLP.
Vail Williams – nominated as one of the UK’s 7 best employers
What’s on your to-do list: Growth? Culture change? Innovation? Recognition for excellence? To be a great place to work that people are proud and enthused to work for? Living and breathing your values?
Vail Williams LLP are delighted to have been nominated as one of the UK’s 7 best employers by the British Chambers of Commerce. That’s quite some achievement. It’s taken commitment to reach this point. Our journey together began in 2013 when they were an excellent organisation that wanted to be even better – with a vision to be an employer of choice that attracts and retains great clients and great staff. In a changing market and competitive professional landscape, they wanted to be and stay ahead of the rest through trusted service and innovation.
That vision has become a reality. As well as local awards including Best Professional Property Services Company 2015, Best Professional Consultancy Client Service 2016 and 17, Best Property Agent 2016, Best Professional Services Company 2016, Commitment to People 2018 and Number of Deals 2018, Vail Williams has been recognised nationally as one of the Best Places to Work in Property 2016 and Investors in People Silver (meaning top 5% of organisations) 2017. One of their team was a finalist in the 2018 Women in Business awards. And now they are recognised as one of the seven best employers in the UK.
The work the organisation has done has been profound. As Matthew Samuel-Camps, Managing Partner, says: “I genuinely feel we are one team rather than a collection of teams within offices, disciplines and regions. Clients are noticing a renewed energy – they are saying that we have an even better business culture, almost like we are coming out of our shell. It’s a happier place to work, more enthused, and one that people are proud of, which has all sorts of benefits.”
Back in 2013, working together began with close conversations with the Executive team. They recognised that the business was successful and profitable, but not exploiting its full potential. It needed to stand out from competitors. Its quality and customer experience was high but could be even better. Potential for greater growth and profit was seen. The business had to innovate and evolve. Change was needed – building on the firm foundations of their success. Values and culture were key.
This led to engaging the entire business. A catalytic team was carefully brought together, based on the principles of the minimum possible number of people that can: Sense (all that’s going on, loud and quiet, in and around the project) – Represent (All groups, disciplines, regions, levels etc in the organisation) – and Deliver (inspire, enable, get things done).
Under their guidance the business applied One Leadership approaches, such as Legacy Thinking – doing the right thing by asking ‘How will we be remembered?’
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Then evolving the culture around agreed behaviours and values through a full cengagement process of: Me (my personal thoughts) – We (discussing and agreeing as a team, function, location etc) – Us (discussing and agreeing as One organisation).
Then came the hugely important and equally challenging task of embedding these values and behaviours in everything the people and business do.
Throughout the process the catalytic team embraced the principles of: Not to decide (unilaterally), but to discern (from what was being heard). Not to do (everything themselves), but to enable (all to be engaged, playing a full and fulfilling part). So that what the work delivered was ‘Their (the people’s) rules, not ours’ (ie not imposed upon people).
To enable this, practices such as Thinking Environment enabled deeper listening and fuller participation. A holistic, systemic approach was taken so that the four emerging values – We Care, We Listen, We Lead, We Innovate – could be brought to life, and embedded. Care and respect are vital at every stage; for things to change, people themselves need to change in some ways. And that’s not always easy. Support is provided from One Leadership at team and 1:1 level for those catalysing the change. Knowledge and skills are cascaded. And new roles such as Values Supporters have been created, enabling everyone in the business to have access to powerful, confidential conversations and honest feedback about how they are doing. That doesn’t just support the cultural work. Having that capacity within an organisation changes how it does everything.
So, what do people in the business say? Geoff Fallon, Regional Managing Partner for the Surrey region, was an early champion of this work, conducting and co-ordinating the participation (this role gets passed to different people, giving more people the opportunity to experience it). “It’s kind of life-changing. It’s a huge shift in everything – in our mentality, in how we operate as a business, how we operate with each other. It is entirely different today compared to three, four years ago. Collaboration is cropping up. Everybody wants to contribute. They know ‘My voice will be heard’. People are visible. Our business plan is visible. The new business development is visible. All the stuff we do for charity is visible. We’re more aligned than we’ve ever, ever been.”
The working together is bringing deeper benefits for people too. Geoff describes it as: “It was probably been the most exciting 18 months. It’s a journey about us going somewhere. It’s a journey about me, and it’s about learning about me, and learning what I need to do, and what I can’t do. I have a better understanding now of my strengths and my development areas that I don’t think I ever had at any other time. I’ve learnt that you don’t need to manage people to lead them.”
Danny George, Partner, Business Rates Consultancy, currently conducts and co-ordinates the project, taking on the role from Geoff. For him, what’s been important is the “forum to discuss things openly and honestly.”
The realities of enabling this change can be deeply challenging. In Danny’s words, “In normal work you can change things quickly and get a result. But this cultural work is not like that. There’s no quick fix in this sort of thing. It can be frustrating.” But the working together has helped. “The support for me has been really important. Sometimes I’ve felt ‘Oh, just let me get on with my day job.’ You sometimes need a reminder of why you are doing something, and what you can do, and how you can deal with it, to keep you on track. Your guidance has changed my way of thinking about how to engage and work with others.”
Geoff felt the same. “There were times where I actually felt, “You know what? I can’t do this anymore.” And actually, without your sensible guidance, hand on the shoulder, your ‘Let’s get this turned around’ bit, helping me understand where I was, how to carry it out, I probably would’ve walked away. But I haven’t. And so, your guidance, help, kindness, friendship was invaluable.”
As the song goes, it’s not just what you do, it’s how you do it. The way we partner together is vital. Matthew Samuel-Camps, Managing Partner describes: “I’m really enjoying working with you. I find that the challenge on a 1:1 basis is really helpful. This work enables me to take time from the muck and bullets and look around to where the business is going and needs to go. We strive to be trusted advisors with our clients, and that’s what you are like to us.”
What’s next? Danny puts it succinctly: “It’s about taking what has already been successful to an extra level.”
“I don’t think that the process of the merger would have happened in such a constructive and fast-paced way unless we had been working with you guys.”
Nicola Peachey – Director of HR & Organisational Development, Arthritis Research UK
So Nicola, how would describe the work we’re doing together, the big change here?
It’s about enabling us as the leadership team. We have an amazing shared vision of what we can achieve and the changes that we need to make. But we needed to be confident that we were the people that could drive and deliver that change. It’s been about equipping us with the confidence, the skills, and testing our approach, to enable us to bring our people with us.
What makes this so important?
Arthritis and conditions affecting the joints bones and muscles impact at least 10 million people across the UK. Many of those people are living in chronic daily pain, isolated, depressed and navigating a health and social care system where arthritis is not prioritised. Arthritis is all too often invisible or ignored. That’s not acceptable. We need to create a sea change in recognition so that people with arthritis feel they have a voice, a sea change in the provision of services, information, care and products so people with arthritis are supported in managing to live well with arthritis, a sea change in investment in ground breaking research that creates hope for tomorrow.
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What would you say has been achieved so far?
Through the work that we’ve done together, and the expert steering from you, we have a senior team who are calmer, more confident, more able to articulate and express the story of the change that we are trying to achieve. And more able to channel that commitment and passion. It is important it is that it’s not just us. It’s the amazing people who work for the charity. It’s the wider stakeholders and broader society that we need to take with us. And in order to do that, we can’t be frantic, impatient, confused and confusing. We need to be authoritative. We need to coach. We need to support. We need to enable. And we need to look after ourselves as well as others. The work we have done together has had a phenomenal impact on our effectiveness as a leadership team and therefore our effectiveness as an organisation and the difference we’re making for people with arthritis.
Could you say a little more about that impact?
We are able to be really clear about what it is that we are trying to achieve, our goals, our responsibilities, and the outcomes that we are seeking. Our ability to clarify, to ask the right questions in the right way at the right time. And to take the time to consider the answers before moving on. We’re an organisation in a hurry, but we are now increasingly able to be measured in that hurry so that instead of feeling overwhelmed, our people feel inspired and engaged. We are increasingly able to make the complex simple and compelling. That will have a major impact on the 10 million people with arthritis, their friends and their family and wider society. Telling a complex story in a way that is simple and compelling is the biggest challenge of all.
And the tangibles?
So, in the last year, we have gone from talking about partnership with other charities in the sector to being at the point of merging with Arthritis Care. Their heritage and their approach is one of care. It’s a social model of disability and support coming together with our heritage of medical research. We’re going from two organisations doing different things but with very similar goals and outcomes to being a single organisation – a clearer, more compelling and consistent voice that’s taking away some of the complexity and confusion that exists for people with arthritis.
I don’t think that the process of the merger would have happened in such a constructive and fast-paced way unless we had been working with you guys. Because actually, as a senior team we’ve been more able to prioritize. We’ve been more able to trust one another. We’ve been more able to move forward in a purposeful way.
“The effect for myself as CEO and the SMT has been immediate.”
Dr Tony Whitbread – CEO, Sussex Wildlife Trust
“Our environment faces many challenges. These are mirrored by leadership challenges in organisations looking to make a difference, with highly motivated and dedicated staff, but having to deal with inevitable consequences developing and delivering the inspiring vision with limited resources and handling the complexity and pressures of work.
Working with The One Leadership Project as individuals, as a leadership team, and together with Committee Chairs and Trustees, we find ways through the problems and unlock the higher ambition and getting more done with the same or less.
The personal and team support insight and tools make a real difference. I really value the conversations.
The effect for myself as CEO and the SMT has been immediate. Our Chairman highly values the support.
This work is even more important as we re-visit and revitalise our sense of shared endeavour to make real our vision and strategy for the Sussex environment.”
“Every time, they have created some magic.”
Phil Mulligan – CEO, the Landscape Institute
“The work we do makes a real difference to people and to society… We need to modernise, be attractive, develop; and that can be difficult. We have to keep a whole range of different opinions, perspectives and interest happy within one organisation.
Where One Leadership I think are at their greatest is where we have a large group of people who disagree or don’t have a shared vision; One Leadership are able to get progress and movement.
My experience of working with them is every time, they have created some magic… Every time we have exceeded the results that we could possibly have hoped for. There has been a real sense of purpose and achievement. It’s meant I’ve been able to progress on agendas that are vital.
They’re called One Leadership and they help us create one team to address our challenges.”
“… skilled at leading people and groups – often gently, occasionally more fiercely – beyond their own expectations and comfort zones.”
Neil Brown and Alex Johns – Directors, Simply Connect Ltd
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