New Team Integration Client Story

Challenge

Two existing teams had been combined to form a new, larger team to handle different therapeutic areas and geographic territories. When the new team was created, one of the team’s former peers was promoted up two levels to become their direct manager.

In addition to learning how to handle new therapeutic areas and geographic territories, the team also had to adjust to reporting to a new manager—who used to be their peer.

The manager herself faced the challenge of effectively managing her former peers and former manager, all while adjusting to her new responsibilities as team leader.

Action

BRODY provided coaching for the manager and her team over 3 months, culminating in the team’s first all-team meeting. We began by interviewing all of the team members, using a customized questionnaire to gather qualitative data about their experiences with the new manager and effects of the reorganization.

Questions included:

• • • In what ways is the new team structure working well for you?
    • What could your manager do more of / less of / in a different manner?
    • What would help you succeed in your role?
    • As a result of these one-on-one interviews we found several themes (which are common with new teams):
    • Unclear expectations related to team communication
    • No strong sense of community
    • Inconsistent two-way communication with the new manager

BRODY worked with the manager to develop a relevant agenda for the upcoming meeting based on the themes that came up. We also helped the manager craft a compelling journey-line story to kick off the event.

After the manager kicked it off, BRODY facilitators took the team through a Shield Exercise, so they could get to know each other better. As trust was built, it was easier to discuss the themes from the interviews. People were transparent about their own answers and shared many ideas to help the team improve.

Result

Through the process of this initiative, the team began creating a sense of community. They began to feel comfortable taking ownership of the issues that needed to be tackled. Rather than relying on their manager to fix everything, they split up into task groups with one addressing each challenge. They continued to work with the BRODY consultant post-meeting to discuss and implement new ideas to overcome each of these challenges. In the process, they got to know each other more and created bonds with other team members. (Click here for more information about team development consulting.)