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STRONGER ORGANISATIONS 04 UPSIDE DOWN EMPOWERMENT Does flipping the organisational script strengthen a team?

40 THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS What does it take to spark a stellar working relationship?

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THE STRENGTH PARADOX Issue 2 interactiveworkshops.com

Lessons from the poker table and life show how strength can be a fatal weakness.

Publisher Interactive Workshops Contributors Chris Lissaman Emily Link Jonna Sercombe Megan Roberts Niki Westlake Rachel Cise Cody Rowland Blair Wagner Lizzie Finch Sam Elwin Editors Stephanie Sercombe Ella Hill Designers Niki Westlake Sanda Vieru Photography Sam Elwin Illustration Emily Larson Printed in the UK by Blissetts Unit 1, Shield Drive, West Cross Industrial Park, Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9EX

A NOTE FROM THE CEO Well, this is exciting. By careful intention or happy serendipity this magazine has worked its way into your hands or onto your screen. No one reads these things cover to cover but I hope that as you leaf through the pages there’s something that sparks.

This issue’s theme is Stronger Organisations. All organisations need to be strong. From the strength of an organisational structure (p4), robust L&D (p14), the power of a partnership (p40), or strength as a weakness (p28), this magazine is a collection of stories, insights and case studies covering it all.

Flick through and enjoy the sumptuous visuals and intriguing writing,

Jonna Sercombe CEO & Founder Interactive Workshops

Copyright Interactive Workshops © 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to achieve total accuracy, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions within this magazine.

To work with us please contact: info@interactiveworkshops.com or call Chris Lissaman on +44 (0)20 3318 5753 interactiveworkshops.com

Features

04 UPSIDE DOWN EMPOWERMENT 40 THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Does flipping the responsibility structure lead to a stronger organisation?

We chat to the duo behind the podcast to discover the secret to a great working relationship.

28 THE STRENGTH PARADOX Organisations need to be strong. But could strength itself be a fatal weakness?

Articles

14 TRAINING FOR STRENGTH How organisations across the globe are tapping into the power of L&D to get stronger.

24 THE FONT OF KNOWLEDGE

This issue’s nugget of wisdom on what organisations can learn from the world of visual design.

34 A MONTH IN THE LIFE Take a look at the diary of a Producer at Interactive Workshops, week by week.

38 STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

The story of how project management expertise was boosted for 600 participants.

Case Studies

08 BACKWARDS TO GO FORWARDS 32 STRONGER SAFETY LEADERSHIP See how we implemented a global sales approach with an innovative twist.

16 CREATING CULTURE Bringing people together to transform the culture of an organisation.

How can a culture of safety leadership be inspired across an organisation?

36 HARNESSING HYBRID WORKING We worked with Samsung to create a pan-European effective hybrid working model.

Also in this issue Onboarding...10 | Sales Mindset...20 | Recommended Books...22 | Advice Column...44

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EMPOWE Does a flip of the responsibility structure lead to a stronger organisation? Emily Link shares her experience of working with leaders and teams across the globe.

I must have worked with hundreds of leaders over my five years at Interactive Workshops, all leading a variety of teams in a variety of contexts. Many of them have been technical experts within their industry, climbing the ladder because they have been successful at doing ‘the job’ extremely well and delivering the results. They’ve progressed in leadership and perhaps no one has yet taken the time to sit down with them and explain their new role or given them the confidence to take the reins and possibly make some changes. I have had the privilege of being the person to sit down with these leaders and gently challenge them to make this shift into a leadership mindset: helping them to acknowledge that they now have license to articulate the goal, have their say on defining roles or reshaping the team. Maybe even run the team differently to their predecessor…

Human beings are creatures of habit, and we often just keep doing things the exact same way they have always been done, without actually considering if it is the most effective way. We need to ask ourselves if it is still working; if it is time to evolve. It might not seem revolutionary but challenging our preconceived ideas of the ways of doing things and realising, as leaders, we are able to influence or create change can be a huge mindset shift.

In my opinion, the strongest leaders within this space are those that are brave enough to acknowledge that they don’t have to be the fulltime leader that they have perhaps seen before or felt they should be.

The authoritative leader who has ‘all the answers’, who sits in their ivory tower, who has ‘earned their stripes to be there’, isn’t always the best way forward and there is another way. There is strength in knowing that you don’t have to have all the answers (that’s okay, and normal), that you can trust others with responsibility (because you don’t need to carry it all) and that if people are good enough, then they are old enough. With these behaviours there is huge potential to build a stronger team, and that doesn’t mean a weak leader because the power has been decentralised; for me, it means a stronger one, a leader that is comfortable in their leadership and able to recognise the power of the people within their team.

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