1. 70 culture, vision & Section heading values When we talk of deep behavioural shifts, why can this be tricky? Sometimes, all it takes is for the right people-person to connect a group of leaders, askenquiring questions and create a concrete shared vision that creates real, noticeable change within an organisation. Natalie Cooper reports on how professional services company Grant Thorntonachieved exactly this. Philosophy for behavioural change In its recent service reviews, clients of Grant Thornton one of the largest professional services firms in the UK are consistently commenting on feeling change withinwe need to explore together?, What is the vision?,Whats the culture we need to have in place toachieve that vision?, Who are you and what do the company. With a population of about 4,500, including you stand for?, Whats really driving the need for a national leadership board of six headed up by CEO Scottchange?and How much do you want this and why? Barnes, it has ambitious plans to grow the business from its current turnover of 410 million to 500 million by 2015.Making the difference Following the launch of its Ambition 2015 initiative The what of Grant Thornton is to provide tax, in October 2011, Grant Thorntons leadership team assurance and advisory services, but the why is to along with Mel Wombwell, who joined as head of talentshare knowledge, expertise and insights with our development and resourcing in September of the sameclients, she says. The way financial structures are year, and her new talent team (now seven in total) haveset up within organisations makes all the difference been taking their people on a journey of change. between success and failure. Our future growth will It was at this time when the board, made up of six come from building collaborative partnerships partners, had a reshuffle. Three remained, and three fresh with clients. faces were brought in. In February 2012, global CEO Ed Wombwell and her team began to create tools to Nusbaum revealed the new global brand promise for thehelp employees transition their belief systems from company, with the taglines: An instinct for growth and solely getting things done expertly to connecting Unlocking the potential for growth.with clients on a more emotional level. She explains: The first step for Wombwell and her team was to bringAlthough people who come to work for Grant the new board together and ask: What are the questionsThornton are exceptionally brilliant, theyre used to changeboard.com

2. business matters of the heart71 Section headingtask and process. Our people are extremely professionaland work hard with their clients to get the job done.Now, were coaching all our colleagues to listen to theirclients, and treat them more like they would a good friend C hange can come from alllevels in an organisation, it just takes bottleby asking open and insightful questions. For example,you wouldnt not ask a friend: hows everything going? to a gym its never a done deal, or like waves on aYouve got to build strong relationships with people and shore theres always the next exciting one on itsunderstand whats going on inside them so you can create way. Cultural change is ongoing, she adds.a meaningful relationship on a much deeper level rather It all comes down to a coaching ethos. Changethan operate at the surface. Were asking our people tocan come from all levels in an organisation, it justgenuinely engage with clients as individuals, and laytakes bottle and when youre trying to game change,themselves open to being more vulnerable, to show the youve got to engage people emotionally in theirreal them instead of being reserved and contained. This hearts. That only works when you change behaviouralcan be quite a scary and frightening concept. and belief systems to get personal buy-in so everyone is aboard the same boat.First wave of change identifying the brand promiseWere already having phenomenal success. TheresTo give people the space to think how they would carry been a big management shift. Traditionally, if you lookthis out in practice, Wombwell and her team devised aat elders in tribal cultures they are expected to knowseries of two-day workshops, plus a days follow-up sixall the answers. Were saying to our people that its okweeks later, called: Being a Game Changer leadershipnot to have all the answers. Instead of grappling with& advocacy. All participants were asked to pair upthat, its ok to feel vulnerable, were only human afterwith someone else as their coaching buddy and in the all, says Wombwell. Weve taken a leap of faith and thefollow-up day they were encouraged to share stories, shift has changed to listening to clients. Just by askingexperiences and ideas from their learning. more open questions, our partners are now winning To ensure a smooth cultural change programme, new business.the board were first asked to identify the partners theyShe offers an example. One of our partners simplyfelt were passionate about leaving a legacy, positiveasked their client: Whats important to your businessspokespeople and could energise others. You need to going forward? By the time the partner walked out, hefind early adopters, she comments. Picture a businesshad won a huge chunk of business. And the partnersin the shape of an hourglass. We wanted to cut right feedback?: Its brilliant.through it from the top down to identify the 10% of our As part of the cultural change and to meet ambitionpeople who stand out from the crowd and are the change 2015, the Exceptional Connections programme willmakers then give them the tools to become even morecontinue to be rolled out over the next two years.influential in championing the change programme.Wombwell and her talent team have created a suite of The first workshop was piloted with the early adopters20 additional programmes aimed at new joiners,in January 2012 with 40 partners and directors. Betweencolleagues and leaders. Grant Thornton is a great placeFebruary and August, the programme was rolled out, and to work. Were really investing in our talent and they400 colleagues have now taken part.really appreciate it. Not only that but we know were adding so much more value to our clients too. CulturalSecond wave of change exceptional connectionschange is not a sprint, its a marathon, but its worth it,In June 2012, the talent team introduced a more in-depth smiles Wombwell.programme called Exceptional Connections. Wombwelllikens it to a kind of rewiring process that takes placeover five days during a six-month programme. It involvesextensive coaching, emotional intelligence analysisMelanie Wombwelland deep enquiry questioning, for example: How do youhead of talent and resourcing,think youre perceived?, What do your clients think ofGrant Thorntonyou? and How do you have the conversation with clients Mel joined Grant Thornton UK in 2011 and wasaround the brand promise of instinct for growth? previously owner and managing director of a niche She says you cant just tick a box to say right, thatsconsulting and executive coaching business forit and that the cultural change has ended. Its like going 15 years. www.grant-thornton.co.ukchangeboard.com