Leading the development of the business and team
‘Telos Partners’ support has helped move the team to a more collective, growth oriented mindset.’
So what was the impact?
A major shift in how the client’s executive team collaborates, with the Group MD describing their most recent executive meeting as ‘the best one we’ve had by a distance’. Initially sceptical overseas MDs now see ‘the value of the process’, he adds.
He points to better alignment and decision-making, with the executive team more effective at identifying and implementing initiatives in a challenging market.
‘I’m sure we’ve been more effective as a result of some of the work we’ve done with Telos Partners,’ he confirms.
There has also been cultural change.
‘Telos Partners’ support has helped move the team from individual, functional thinking to a more collective, growth oriented mindset,’ the Group MD says.
He praises the calibre of Telos Partners’ consultants and their ability to constructively challenge while establishing strong relationships with key leaders – as well as their skill at adapting tools and methods to meet the client’s evolving needs.
‘I see the support [Telos offers] as being a long-time part of the group,’ concludes the Group MD.
Telos Partners’ impact at a glance:
With the human and cultural foundations in place, the client’s business is ready for more significant structural organisational work as it continues to face into increasing global volatility and develop a strong pipeline for leadership succession.
Its priorities include:
• Clarifying global versus regional leadership roles
• Defining leadership decision making matrices
• Adding necessary practical processes to support its employee ownership model
This next phase is expected to be underpinned by continued collaboration with Telos Partners, building on the trusted relationship established between us since 2023.
Client story
When a market-leading manufacturer realised their ambitious strategy for growth required a different leadership approach, they turned to Telos Partners for advice and support.
The company’s global manufacturing and distribution footprint included several sites in the UK. It had been employee-owned for more than 25 years and its Group MD first heard of Telos Partners through connections at the eoa, followed by a personal recommendation.
Although not actively seeking consultants at the time, he recalls that the need for support emerged during conversations with our consultant Adam Campbell.
There were three drivers of the change required.
First, the growing scale and complexity of the business. Its global expansion was impacting coordination and leadership, alongside pressure created by the ongoing geopolitical context.
Second, the need for a stronger global executive team focused on collective strategic leadership.
‘We needed to work on the business more and not work in the business as individuals,’ the Group MD explains.
And third, the need to build a unified, collaborative mindset. Many of the client’s leaders had been in post for years: the goal was to create and embed new ways of thinking, being and doing.
Telos Partners worked closely with the client to tackle all three.
Our team started by interviewing the entire senior leadership team to understand their individual views and perspectives and conducted a Mindset Advantage assessment and brief for each.
This detailed insight informed the senior leadership team off-site we designed and ran to engage members in the key themes, progress the strategy and develop a team charter for a new way of leading the business. The need for a shift in roles and responsibilities was confirmed.
Following this, Telos Partners supported a second senior leadership team off-site to review and embed the desired ways of working, while enhancing their approach to solving key problems.
This included supporting the Group MD with the selection of a new regional Managing Director, the restructuring of their approach to their innovation function and exploring how the client’s operating model needed to shift to support their strategy.
During this time, we provided coaching and mentoring support to key individuals as they embraced the change.