Dulux Manufacturing
Team building and leadership course for manufacturing site senior management
Summary
The Akzo Nobel (Dulux) manufacturing plant in Stowmarket had been facing turbulent times. The senior leadership team at the site asked tangram to help them overcome the challenges of managing a workforce resistant to change and a parent company demanding it.
Background
AkzoNobel’s Stowmarket production plant manufactures many of the leading paint brands that we see on the shelves of all DIY stores, with the two main products being Dulux and Cuprinol. The site has been in operation for many decades and the workforce almost as long.
Challenge
The plant was acquired in 2005 when AkzoNobel purchased ICI as a whole. With this takeover came huge positives in terms of future growth and stability but also some culturally embedded practices and issues that were proving challenging for the newly formed Senior Leadership Team – and being told to implement from on-high.
Solution
The Senior Leadership Team needed to get away from the plant, away from distraction and away from the stresses and strains of running a 27/7 operation. They needed time and space to think, reflect and refine. Tangram delivered a two-day offsite programme.
For a team to function effectively and be ‘on top of their game’ then the individuals within the team need to understand themselves, their emotions, their working practices, their habits, their drivers, their goals and their colleagues.
Over the course of the two days, through careful and thoughtful facilitation of the experiential team challenges, and a good dose of humour, the team began to open up and share their thoughts, feelings and emotions.
The team had just begun their journey towards high performance.
Outcomes
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A team that can now share their feelings and emotions.
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A team that isn’t afraid to ask for help.
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A team that realises that they are all human and that at the end of the day (hypothetically and in reality) they go home to their family and are just ‘people’. People that at heart want to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons with dignity, respect and integrity.
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They understand what ‘visible leadership’ looks like and how they can influence team behaviour on the plant.
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They are now stronger as a team to go back to the plant and face the people with one voice, all singing from the same hymn sheet.
“Thank you so much for the time and effort the two of you put into the leadership programme. My team have come back full of energy and a new sense of belief that they can make a difference – I hope I can keep this enthusiasm going.“
Steve Kelly
Stowemarket Site Manager