OD book

["As in other health sectors operating through the Covid-19 related lockdowns the role of front-line case workers was even more difficult creating a sense of being overwhelmed and resulting in many cases of burnout which the Department duly recognised. They responded by deciding to bring employees together in a physical conference to invest in, motivate and reward them. However, since there were covid restrictions on numbers and social distancing this was transformed in a series of several smaller conferences in different locations. Phuel was the consistent link between all of the workshops and were engaged to run teamwork and positive culture sessions across all locations. They used the mental toughness framework and MTQ 4C\u2019s measures for each participant to create a starting point for reflection and conversation about their experiences and how they could potentially work in a more meaningful and productive way. Phuel reinforced to the participants that their frustration with being overwhelmed was perfectly normal. Through a process of developing self-awareness and being shown a range of tools and techniques that could help, they learned to exert control over their mindset, routine and level of satisfaction with their situation. Essentially, they were using self-awareness to reflect on their day-to-day activities and their response to them, in order to positively respond to the challenges, they face. Ultimately to achieve a higher level of performance and wellbeing. Due to the second wave of lockdowns and facing time and financial constraints the Department was not able to build on the experience through using the valuable group data or reinforcing the strategies through a second program. 91","However, they did recognise that their conference attendees left the sessions feeling positively empowered and enriched with interesting practical strategies to improve their mental clarity and strength. In terms of the outcome Ekhart Tolle\u2019s sensational quote \u201cAwareness is the greatest agent of change\u201d was at play here. CLIENT \u2018C\u2019 \u2013 A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION In late 2017 the Australian government established a Royal Commission after a series of banking and financial scandals that had seen Australian banks pay more than A$1 billion in fines and remediation since the 2008\/2009 financial crisis. Receiving over 10,000 submissions from the public during 2018, the Royal Commission then grilled executives from over a dozen prominent banks and insurance companies over a gripping fourteen days of drama laded whistle-blowers, sad human tales and shocking customer experiences and exposes. The Commission\u2019s report revealed greed as the main culprit for the collective bad behaviour of the major banks and insurers which in terms of trust and rapport with their customer base was a desperately low point. In addition to a raft of new legal safeguards, the Report\u2019s findings generated a tidal wave of angry and adverse feedback for the banks and insurers, directed understandably but regrettably, to many of their tellers, customer service operatives and account executives on the front line. Seemingly copping abuse at every turn all their employees seemed to be on high alert -in fight or flight mode. In the wake of the Commission, Phuel was engaged by one of their key clients, a major banking group, to help with the 92","messaging and implementation of a series of internal learning and development initiatives which broadly encompassed: \u25aa How do we assist our employees to better understand themselves and how they can mentally prepare themselves for a better future either within or beyond the bank? \u25aa In the \u2018here and now\u2019 how can we help our employees to become happier, more engaged employees and get through the tough times by responding positively to the challenges they are facing on a daily basis? \u25aa How can our leaders create greater engagement and trust with our people and reduce tension between business divisions and locations? Since the brief was to help employees reframe how they worked post the Royal Commission report and restructures Phuel decided to use the mental toughness framework and measures as the foundation to the program both as a standalone concept and within other leadership and cultural initiatives. They wanted the program to assist participants to be more connected with their role, be proud to work for their employer and help build self-awareness, self-confidence and greater mental strength in order to create a better and deeper customer and colleague connection and collaboration. One interesting side effect of the royal commission was that since bankers, in particular, were cast as arrogant, uncaring and unfriendly the use of the \u201cmental toughness\u201d phrase itself in the program caused some initial consternation and resistance from within the bank. 93","It was felt that a learning and development program to help staff become mentally tougher would be misconstrued and that the emphasis should instead be cast on becoming more sensitive and empathetic. This temporary misconception was overcome once the mental toughness framework and measure was validated as an effective method of improving self-awareness and establishing a starting point for personal development in key areas of mental strength. In designing the program Phuel defined three major learning pillars: \u25aa Purpose - who am I and how does that connect to the bank\u2019s purpose? \u25aa Connection - Being connected -who are my peers and how do I collaborate with positive intent? \u25aa Mental Strength - thinking beyond ourselves, responding positively to change and managing stress and pressure. With the initial program comprising over 1500 staff from all locations, levels of seniority and functions, Phuel developed a focused highly experiential learning solution for cohorts of 100 people per workshop. The benefit of using the MTQ mental toughness framework and 4C\u2019s measure across the cohorts was appreciated by the Phuel facilitators and comments included: \u201cIt deals with adversity and gives perspective for decision-making role modelling and coaching others. \u201c \u201cThey cover emotional regulation and provide authenticity.\u201d \u201cThe framework provides deep insight into drivers and self- awareness into regulation and behaviour.\u201d \u201cProvides an indicator of emotional maturity.\u201d \u201cThe framework is accessible, clear and simple to understand -it\u2019s easy to identify areas that people are having issues with.\u201d 94","\u201cMTQ results are easy to understand and interpret.\u201d The program began with education about the MTQ framework and participants completing the MTQ 4C\u2019s questionnaires with a few days break before they reconvened to read, digest and, where comfortable, discuss their own personal profiles and reflections. This opportunity for self-awareness then led to the first module enabling self-exploration through Phuel\u2019s legendary immersive experience team exercises. People worked together, learned together, and reflected together relating their experience to how they might think and behave in day-to-day work situations. In the second module the sense of self-awareness was heighted through an exercise in search of personal purpose and a sense of joy whilst in the third module participants buddied up and put goals in place for a behaviour change with a peer-to- peer responsibility for their completion. These three modules were then replicated through twelve such sessions within the first group phase. The feedback received from participants on the post program surveys were overwhelmingly strong and positive as indicated below. \u201cThe outcome was a feeling there had been an investment in people -that the Bank have invested in me and not the job I do.\u201d \u201cBetter able to control my emotional responses using ideas raised in the group sessions. \u201c \u201cI will revisit the 2 C's that need attention.\u201d \u201cI have learnt to improve and maintain control. \u201c \u201cI take more time to reassess goals -and try not to get too reactive and caught up in urgent work.\u201d 95","\u201cBetter at taking more time to think before acting to ensure delivery of the correct responses to the situation at hand.\u201d \u201cMuch greater self-awareness, particularly in times of high stress\/pressure. Periodic self-reflection.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m working on Control and Confidence to achieve the balance.\u201d \u201cI better understand the things I can and cannot control. \u201c \u201cNow view challenges in a positive mindset as opportunities to develop.\u201d \u201cI am more aware of the behaviours in the areas needed to dial up. I can consider if a change to the approach is needed in a situation.\u201d \u201cTake time to walk away when feeling stressed.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m working on building all four of the mental toughness sections by practising the lessons learned in my workplace.\u201d \u201cI have control over distractions, recognising the different potential distractions when working in the office, compared to working remotely.\u201d \u201cI have a greater awareness of the impact of change and can re- shape downside aspects of the 4Cs.\u201d \u201cPractice behaviours that support positive outcomes.\u201d \u201cI will get out of my comfort zone and collaborate more with other business units to gain confidence.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m determined to use self-awareness to realise the moments needed to utilise mental toughness and agility as opposed to letting the situation become overwhelming.\u201d \u201cI feel more confident to work on myself... to have a growth mindset, expect the unexpected and back myself. I want to empathise with other people and discuss through issues.\u201d \u201cI try not to burn so that one can be more productive and engaged during work times and a better person at home.\u201d \u201cI seek to understand first before seeking understanding.\u201d Unfortunately, both the arrival of the Covid 19 pandemic and the installation of a new executive leadership team with a different mandate brought this programme to a premature halt. This prevented any quantitative \u2018distance travelled - before and after\u2019 individual and team comparisons on the overall mental toughness as well as its constituent 4C\u2019s scores. However important outcomes were identified with this programme. 96","Overall Phuel facilitators and bank executives were pleased to see evidence of: \u25aa Greater Collaboration \u25aa More people getting out of their comfort zone and gaining more confidence \u25aa Trends towards a greater understanding and collaboration between tellers and business bankers \u25aa More people gaining more exposure to other people within the bank \u25aa Greater flexibility across siloed business units. This is often one of the most significant advantages of this type of programme. And when asked what they would do differently the facilitators and executives offered one important practical suggestion relating to communication: \u201cconduct clearer, more direct conversations on the purpose of the program and how to reinforce the learnings with the levels managers who are more directly connected to the front line.\u201d Summary In discussion with the Phuel facilitators and some of the client contacts in these case studies and combining those with other experiences from the work of Mental Toughness Partners we come to a consensus view that the MTQ mental toughness framework and psychometric measures are extremely powerful and effective in OD programmes of all types for the following reasons and situations: \u25aa The MTQPlus is a well evidenced reliable measure which is easily completed in a short time to create an accurate picture of one\u2019s unique mental profile. 97","\u25aa Because there is no right or wrong answer and does not create a label for those who complete it, The MTQPlus is a \u201csafe\u201d measure and framework to use across a whole range of applications beginning with honest reflection and conversation. \u25aa Once you know your development starting point \u2013 see above - you can more easily make changes in mindset that enable effective changes to routines and habits. \u25aa Although, it must be noted, there is no pressure to change. Self-awareness can equally lead to developing strategies that help people manage areas of their mental sensitivity. \u25aa It is one of the most valid and reliable psychometric measures there is. It is gender neutral, contemporary and highly evidenced based with over 250 independent peer review studies confirming its construction and evidencing many examples of the benefits of understanding mentally toughness. By describing and assessing mindset, the concept and the measure are bringing an additional dimension to the work of the OD practitioner. This means it can be used across situations ranging from coaching and mentoring, learning and development, leadership development, projects embracing the need for change, cultural identity, resilience, agility, confidence, focus, control, teamwork, hiring and so on. Whilst in the Phuel case studies there was not an opportunity to measure development changes due to the pandemic, cost issues and leadership changes, normally this is an available and desirable option 6-12 months after the first test demonstrating ROI for development changes. 98","7 IMPACT OF FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL LEADERS IN AN ORGANISATION BASED ON THEIR MENTAL TOUGHNESS PROFILE Wojtek Grad The previous chapter explored a range of interventions in the Southern hemisphere. In this chapter we are back in western Europe but with another area that clearly has the potential to benefit from the use of mental toughness: sport. Mental toughness started its journey in the sports world before migrating out into the wider world. It is still deeply relevant to the sporting context, but its use is now rather subtler as demonstrated here. Usefully this case study illustrates what can happen where there is resistance to change and resistance to the idea of the mental toughness concept. OD Practitioners are not always welcomed with open arms. In 2016, we established contact with a professional volleyball club playing in the, so called, \u2018Liga Plus\u2019, the highest level at which volleyball is played in Poland. Volleyball is a major sport in Poland. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the team, multiple times Polish champions, and a lead player in the European volleyball championships, was in a clear crisis. Despite large financial outlays in Polish terms, the employment of world-class players, excellent training facilities and stable financing, the team did not perform as expected and thus disappointing the club's owners and loyal fans. 99","Two months after our first contact with the Team Leadership, the crisis had deepened. The vice president of the Club contacted us with a request for proposal to diagnose the issues and suggest remedial actions. Following a review, our conclusion was that this team, made up of the stars of world volleyball, did not play as a team. They presented themselves as a group of people who apparently were on the same side of the field and wore the same T-shirts. However, they were players who did not play to their individual potential, let alone demonstrate any possible synergy between them. Week by week, from match to match, the pressure from the club owner increased, and the disappointment of the fan club began to demand action, changes, improvement, and, most of all, players' involvement in their work. To start with, we had planned to assess the mental toughness levels for individual players and the coaches. Next, we proposed creating a group profile leading to a development plan at an individual and a group level. The challenge was to understand what it was that prevented individuals and the Team from being the best they can be and enabled them to play to their full potential. Both, the senior leadership team (SLT) and the coaching staff largely agreed with our proposals. We supported them with the analysis of players' statements on various portals, as well as clips of matches, which illustrated the passive and destructive behaviour of players and coaches. Finally, we met with the actual squad for the first time. Interestingly, two days before the meeting, the vice president 100","contacted us to advise us that the players did not agree to the project. It emerged that two players had managed to convince the rest that individual and group development was not needed nor would it be beneficial to the Team. These two players had significant influence on the rest of the Team because of their high level of achievements when playing for their national teams. They were \u201csuperstars\u201d and were considered \u2018informal leaders\u2019 with the rest of the squad being \u2018followers\u201d. The SLT and coaches wanted to avoid any issues, and confrontation with these \u201cleaders\u201d. They decided not to take any further actions. The situation had reached a stalemate. The two informal leaders had effectively decided for the remaining fourteen team members. Nobody wanted or was able to oppose them. That season, the team did not win a medal. The original problem had not been resolved at the club and remained an issue. The management has since changed several times, the players are changed every season, the coach and the entire training staff have been changed eight times, and the results are still poor. They continually fall short of the expectations of the owner and fans. Nevertheless, the club still has a stable financial situation, the players playing for the club are stars, and the coaches are considered world class. Everyone with a high level of experience and wins\u2026just not delivering as a Team. 101","It is worth mentioning that these two \u2018informal leaders\u2019 found a different employer and their careers were progressing well, unlike most of their former teammates. In this chapter, using case studies, we want to show how formal (and informal leaders) influence the development and implementation of organisational culture at the team and organisational level. We will analyse it through the prism of mental toughness. What are the benefits of clear rules of organisational culture or even basic standard operating processes or procedures? In studies, examining management and leadership practice, organisational culture can be defined as: a set of social norms and value systems, an appropriate organisational climate or behavioural requirements. It should concern the views, beliefs, expectations and norms that will bind all employees of the company. Paying attention to organisational culture is most often targeted at, among others: \u25aa integrating employees, \u25aa understanding the mission and strategy of the organisation, \u25aa creating uniform methods of measuring performance and evaluating the effect of interventions, \u25aa creating a common language and conceptual apparatus, \u25aa avoiding conflicts and negative emotions. In the volleyball club case study, referenced earlier, we can see that there was not an effective or functional organisational culture. 102","Culture is like an organisational DNA that will replicate under any conditions so that the organisation can achieve its goals. The previous case study is perhaps unusual. It illustrates the inability to understand the significance of organisational culture. Organisational culture must, to a significant extent, be rooted in cohesion. This is both a challenge for leadership as well as it is for the members of the organisation. In this case, the ethos of the organisation was determined by the interests of a small number of individuals who placed their needs and interests above that of the team or the whole. Despite the fact that Volleyball is a team sport, and to the world at large (and its loyal fans) success was measured through the team's success, it is clear that individuals can have quite different goals and have the capability to ignore the organisations\u2019 goals. They can still achieve success even when others around them cannot. And that is true in other worlds too, in business, public service, education, health as well as sport. So, we start with an example of failure which is as informative as an example of where success lies. Perhaps even more so. For obvious reasons described above, in this case we were not able to use the analysis of MTQ profiles. In the following case, this is a possibility. A FINANCIAL CASE STUDY Background information: The project was with one of the major financial institutions in Poland. The Organisation was implementing a new sales 103","management model and wanted to introduce a competency- based framework for the areas related to change management. Training and development would be based on this. Regional Directors were to be first to receive the training in a workshop, which they would then be expected to pass down to their staff members. In this way, the organisation wanted to maximise the effectiveness of implementing the new sales management model. What they were not clear about was which competences would effectively support their employees in going through this change management process. The challenge and first step in the process was to identify these competencies, and, from that, do something about it. Diagnosis: The first stage was to assess all 17 of the regional directors using the MTQ questionnaire. This would help to assess their level of mental toughness at an individual, and at a group level and across the factors underpinning the MTQ measure. Based on the available research (e.g. Marchant et al 2009) indicating that, in general, the higher the manager's position in the hierarchy, the more mentally tough they are, we hypothesised that our group would achieve an above average* (Sten 5.5 on a scale of 1 \u2013 10) level of mental toughness score of around Stens 7 - 8. The study partially confirmed our assumption. Overall Mental Toughness in twelve out of 17 DRs ranged between Stens 8 and 10. 104","Fig. 10: MTQ48 SLT Group Report At first sight, one might suppose that such levels of MT, and assuming the regional directors already had developed leadership competences necessary to work at this level, would enable and support the achievement of the change management goals as set up by the organisation. However, a more detailed analysis of the individual components, the constructs and factors, of the 4Cs Mental Toughness concept, as always, provided far more useful information on the mindset of the group. The Challenge construct can be particularly important when examining the mental responses to change, to new settings and the moving into new and unfamiliar ways of working. 105","Fig. 11: MTQ48 SLT Group Report \u2013 Factor: Challenge Data analysis showed that the pattern of mental toughness score for Challenge was no longer skewing to the right \u2013 in other words they did not have higher Challenge scores that the population norm. More specifically 13 out of 17 regional directors were now no more than averagely likely to perceive challenge and change as an opportunity and can be influenced by some sort of doubt and apprehension when faced with having to implement the change. Given that they have a special role in managing and leading change with their followers this indicated that there could be an issue for the change programme. It is particularly significant that most regional directors obtained their lowest mental toughness scores on the scale most relevant to the management of change. Therefore, it may be inappropriate to expect them to implement the expected change fully effectively. 106","In fact, although they had been expected to be leaders of the change programme, they had, instead, had responded in a neutral fashion. The programme had foundered until this was identified and remedied. Another factor, within our project, which alerted us to possible issues when getting the group ready for implementing change management, was identified by looking at the pattern of scores for the Confidence construct. The overall Sten Score for Confidence or the group was 7.94. At the same time, in the subscale \\\"Confidence in Abilities\\\" we saw an average of 8.24, and in the subscale \\\"Interpersonal Confidence\\\", overall score was 6.41. Fig. 12: MTQ48 SLT Group Report \u2013 Factor: Confidence in Abilities 107","Fig. 13: MTQ48 SLT Group Report \u2013 Factor: Interpersonal Confidence Although both sets of results are higher than the norm there is significant difference in the levels for the two factors. This could mean that as a whole, individuals at this level have greater self-belief in their abilities (skills and knowledge) than they have in their ability to engage with others. In fact, a significant number of regional directors, 7 out of 17, had levels of Interpersonal Confidence which were lower than the general norm. These results indicate a possible challenge for some of the individuals when cascading the implementation of changes and fully developing a meaningful rapport with staff and followers. The results could mean individuals: \u25aa May not have the skills they claim to have \u25aa May take on too much responsibility 108","\u25aa Could demonstrate extremely high confidence in abilities and can intimidate colleagues and make them doubt in their own abilities \u25aa May not tolerate or can disregard the opinion of people who they consider to be less capable than themselves \u25aa May appear arrogant \u25aa May believe they are right, even when they are wrong Armed with the conclusions of the analyses, we met with the group at the workshop. Based on the initial diagnosis with the MTQ questionnaire, it was possible to develop a set of interventions to develop a set of competencies required for successful change management implementation. The following information was also identified as part of the diagnostic process: 1. The group did not work as a team. It was a group of people working in the same place, in similar positions, with similar responsibility but without much cohesion. 2. It was not clear whether this was a \u201cnatural\u201d consequence of the nature of the team members or whether it reflected their supervisor's approach to the group (the supervisor of this group was the vice president of the management board of the institution) 3. The goals pursued did not always sound coherent. 4. They understood the tasks assigned to them very subjectively. 5. Their reluctance to have any discussions with their superiors led to a situation where individual directors, in their regions, 109","created their own ideas about the tasks assigned to them by the organisation. They did not seek to communicate what they planned to do and share their strategy with others. 6. Two members of the group could be identified as informal leaders. It became apparent that they had a great influence on the way the group worked. Their dominance in discussion, reflecting their high level of confidence, repeatedly inhibited discussions within the group and tended to set the direction for the group. They often spoke first using the plural (for us ..., we all know ..., everyone rational ..., in our experience ... etc.). Suggesting that they spoke for all although there was no evidence that anyone had put them into this position. Often, they denied that the organisation was making any significant change. In their view, these were minor, cosmetic changes. Both individuals were undeniably considered as \u201cauthorities\u201d by the rest of the Team due to the level of their competence and their previous professional achievements\/track record. 110","Fig. 14: MTQ48 Profile \u2013 Informal Leader 1 Fig. 15: MTQ48 Profile \u2013 Informal Leader 2 111","It is important to note that most of the regional directors felt that they were not told clearly, and therefore did not understand, that it was their task, and not the headquarters, to promote and implement the new sales model. A not uncommon observation in change programmes which have been developed by one group of people without the involvement of those who were required to implement it. Additionally, most were convinced that the communication of the necessity and inevitability of introducing the change was sufficient information for their staff to accept the need for change and to enter the process of change. The change programme could be expected to be implemented automatically and effectively. So, most were not aware of what their role in supporting their staff in the process of change was. This background information helped us to design a programme of interventions which would address the above issues. The development programme - key interventions: With all this in mind, we prepared an attitude development workshop, during which: Day 1 \u25aa Participants, using a set of simple exercises, were taken through the stages of a change process \u25aa They could experience a whole range of feelings and emotions illustrating the impact of depriving them of control over what had to be done 112","\u25aa Gain insights into what happens to their level of self- confidence in a situation where goals were vague and unclear \u25aa Discuss and argue about what needed to be done in contexts in which the two informal leaders were not in any position of authority \u25aa Were given the opportunity to experience their own effectiveness in settings other than those which they deal with in their work Day 2 Further exercises were used through which the group was encouraged to reflect on their own mental toughness and what this meant for their response to stressors \u2013 particularly feeling overwhelmed. From this, it became possible to consider how people management, in the process of change, might be more effective. The mental toughness framework enabled directors to consider how their staff might be responding. The ultimate goal being to support the implementation of the process of change in their regions. Outcomes: Following on from the programme and based on information provided by the organisation\u2019s HR function, a majority of the regional directors participating in the workshops radically changed their approach to their responsibility in cascading the implementation of a new sales model in their subordinate regions. The organisation was able to implement its new sales processes which, in due course, enabled key targets for the process to be delivered 113","Summary The role of individuals in a group depends on many factors. In the case of informal groups (and this group acted very much in this way) existing within an organisation, the role played by the participants is influenced not only by their level and their role in an organisation, but also by their position in the informal structure. It is also influenced by the level of mental toughness of group members and other personality traits and qualities. Informal groups in organisations may have a hierarchical \u201cstatus\u201d, but not necessarily within a formal hierarchy. For this reason, people at similar levels may assign themselves roles which have significant differences. This can lead to issues reflecting conflicting perspectives of interpreting facts, information and tasks, as well as pressure from different group members regarding the expected behaviour of each individual. This can lead to conformism, where individuals who give themselves a lower status out of concern for their own psychological safety do not make efforts to protect their values and beliefs. It is worth adding that these pressures do not have to originate from harmful intentions. On the contrary, as in this case, the point was that from the point of view of informal leaders, they saw the change as cosmetic. Therefore, there was no need to engage with others to discuss the problem or challenge, because, in their minds, it does not exist. So, they solved the problem from their own perspective and, as far as they were concerned, the job was done. In order to be able to fully use the potential of employees, the organisation should create appropriate conditions for them. These conditions should result from the organisational culture. 114","In this case, the management skills of a group of regional directors were lacking. There was no team here where each of them would find a place for discussions and brainstorming, which would increase their involvement as well as offering their own solutions and the opportunity to communicate fears and discuss risks. There was no room for developing constructive collaboration. It is also worth noting that the high level of mental toughness of managers does not in itself guarantee success. We tend to use our strengths from an individual perspective. Work with managers can usefully focus on how their level of mental toughness can be directed or channelled to build the psychological safety of staff for whose development they are responsible. One thing that is useful in bringing perspective to the most mentally tough is that they are, in an important sense, in a minority. Statistically 84 people out of 100 will see and process reality with completely different emotions, feelings and attitudes than the very mentally tough would. Their view of the world is different from most peoples \u2013 and it might not always be right or appropriate. Often staff in an organisation may not be able to be effective for the simple fact that their leader looks at the difficulty of tasks from their own perspective. Failing perhaps to understand why staff are not always mentally ready to engage in the task. 115","8 A RESILIENCE-BASED MODEL FOR HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS Dave Otter Previous chapters have utilised a range of cultural definitions and have focussed on many different aspects, especially leadership. In this chapter the authors turn the lens of mental toughness onto one of the bed rocks of culture: Team Working In 2015-16 Leicester City Football Club won the English Premier League, a feat many proclaimed as unprecedented and possibly one of the greatest team sporting achievements in history. Whilst these claims may be slightly exaggerated, there are some fascinating facts about Leicester that season that may just strengthen the argument. Having almost been relegated from the league the previous season, Leicester were 5000-1 outsiders to win the League. After they won the league and the champagne had stopped flowing, the facts around Leicester\u2019s Premier League win were remarkable: \u25aa Their squad had been assembled for \u00a354.4m, their nearest rivals had spent \u00a3251.9m, \u00a3161.1m and \u00a3418.8m respectively. \u25aa The most expensive player in the Leicester squad was Leonardo Ulloa at \u00a310m. Their three rivals had spent much more on individual players -\u00a342.5m, \u00a330m and \u00a354m. \u25aa Of the three teams relegated that season, Norwich\u2019s budget for their squad was the same as Leicester\u2019s, Aston Villa\u2019s was approximately double it and Newcastle United nearly treble. 116","\u25aa Leicester won more and lost fewer matches than any other team that season and they used fewer players (23) than any other team that season. The average being thirty-six players. In a game where large, expensive squads are considered essential for success, Leicester had bucked the trend. There are many other examples of high performing teams \u2013 the New Zealand All Blacks, the SAS, NASA putting men on the moon, the board of Tesla and top selling bands such as U2, Coldplay or the Rolling Stones. They allow us to learn what it takes to \u2018deliver\u2019 even under the highest of pressures. A team may be made up of a few individuals or many, internally or externally focused and\/or cross functional, but whether it achieves its outcomes or not, it is down to the team themselves to work collectively, and this doesn\u2019t happen by chance or in the business world very easily, as the free-market economy tends to promote competition rather than collaboration. Team working is a muscle that must be exercised, strengthened, and developed. A note on cross-functional and matrixed teams. Some teams are brought together for one specific project or purpose, they are often comprised of a range of specialists brought in for their expertise and for a limited time period i.e., the life of the project itself. Although the time-limited nature of these teams can cause challenges, everything we will discuss in the rest of this chapter still applies, maybe more so. The cross-functional team needs to get up and running more quickly, the speed of collaboration may need to be, and often does feel, forced, but the essential building blocks remain the same, in fact the exaggerated nature of these teams provides a \u2018test bed\u2019 and a reference point for what works well and what does not, for all types of team formation. 117","There are many, many notable pieces of work and models that outline how and why teams come together to deliver high performance and, frankly, the world doesn\u2019t need another one, what it needs is a clearly defined methodology for developing a high-performance team, based on sound research and practical application and some practical guidance on how to go about it. This outline for successful team working is centred on three constructs - structure, skillset and mindset. These three are not mutually exclusive, in fact the more they overlap the better for speed of implementation, but the key is how we are able to utilise these existing, and proven, concepts to implement the framework for a high performing team, of any nature, in any industry. Structures Professor Kaz Stuart, Director of the Centre of Research in Health and Society and Professor of Social and Health Inequalities, developed the theory of Collaborative Agency (or Action) while researching inter-agency teams that aspired to achieve integrated care for children, young people, and families within the NHS. Stuart identified a structure for team working that had application way beyond the childcare system. The simplicity of Professor Stuart\u2019s four-step model belies the depth of research behind it, but it does make it easier to apply! The first stage of the model is Context. What are the factors that have brought the team together and what are the factors that will affect the likely success of the team? In other words, we must acknowledge what has gone before and recognise the governing factors under which we are playing; knowing the rules and history of the game means we stand a better chance of winning it. 118","Context is bigger than strategy (although strategy is important as we will find out), it is the macro, meso and micro factors that influence the team\u2019s ability to do the work in hand, such as time pressures vs workload, it is the processes and procedures that facilitate or obstruct collaborative working and potential change, and it is the need to understand the wider economic, business, and political environment of the now and of the future. So where do you start in understanding your team's Context? That is actually fairly straightforward, here is just some of things you can do: \u25aa A PESTLE analysis of your industry or the economy \u25aa A SWOT analysis \u25aa Define your Customer Value Proposition \u25aa Perform a Stakeholder Analysis \u25aa Understand the governing or limiting factors that impact or regulate your business or industry \u25aa Write (or read) your teams\u2019 terms of reference and the wider organisational strategy \u25aa Understand your organisational current and desired culture through an employee satisfaction survey \u25aa Process map your operational delivery With a clear understanding of your Context, you can begin to build Stuart\u2019s second stage of collaborative action - Identity. This is a nice easy concept to understand, teams need a collective identity, this is who we are, this is what we stand for. Teams that bond together are stronger, work harder for each other and overcome adversity; sports teams have uniforms, songs and committed supporters, so why aren\u2019t all sports teams as successful and how does identity work in a business context? Working together requires the negotiation of multiple identities; there are personal, team and professional identities or 119","as one participant in Stuart's research put it ``When you ask for my views, do you mean as a single professional, as a member of my organisation?\u201d Identity incorporates the sense of yourself as an individual, your views on your professional capabilities, your personal and professional views on all the other people in your team, as well as the team's collective view of the you as an individual; this interaction is continuously at play in any team setting, as we consciously and subconsciously assess the input of our colleagues and, to a lesser extent, ourselves. The complexity of team identity is mind boggling and to a degree alarming. Let me give you an example. In the diagram, three individuals form a team. The interplay between these individuals and their collective views of each other means there are twelve possible combinations of how the team will interact on any given day; for example, Pam thinks she is carrying the other two, as her technical skills are better, but the others think she is arrogant. If we apply some basic mathematics, then we can see that larger teams are even more complex, a team of five will have 30 combinations and a team of eleven a possible 132 combinations. Fig. 16: A Sample Team In 1981 Meredith Belbin postulated that the optimum size for any team is four people, any more meant that individuals did 120","not work closely enough together to constitute a team and therefore should only be defined as a group! Team identity itself is not a new construct, over the years it\u2019s been called team spirit, and, in organisations, climate and culture. Considerable work has been done in this area to define and develop identity, because the payoffs can be so great. In the corporate world, focus has been on the development of values or principles that define \u2018what it means to work round here\u2019. It is widely believed that \u2018values-driven\u2019 organisations are the most successful organisations on the planet\u2019 (Richard Barrett, 2017). A bold statement by Barrett but one backed by demonstrable evidence, it is clear that the values\/principles of an organisation have the potential to positively affect its culture and drive the willingness of its employees to do their job to their very best. It can take time to build a teams\u2019 identity, especially a new team or one that has been brought together for a specific project. However, some basic principles will apply whatever the situation. Find your \u2018Why.\u2019 In recent years the work of Simon Sinek has clearly demonstrated the power of the collective. The team's \u2018why\u2019 is its higher purpose that inspires and acts as the source of all that they do. Your purpose is your rallying call, your reason for working together, your \u2018this is what we want to achieve together\u2019 statement. Get all of the team together and ask a series of open questions, designed to get everyone thinking about what such as: 121","\u25aa When are we at our best? \u25aa When are we at our worst? \u25aa What are we passionate about? \u25aa When do we feel most energised? \u25aa What is the core purpose of our role, our team? \u25aa Why does what we do matter and to who? Use these to identify common themes, define what can be achieved with some creativity and hard work, consider what your customers might want to hear you say, then write a short statement of intent, these are often called mission statements in the corporate world, and they\u2019re not worth the paper they are written on unless they are enacted upon and define everything you do. Here is two of my favourites: Tesla: \u201cTo accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.\u201d LinkedIn: \u201cTo connect the world\u2019s professionals to make them more productive and successful.\u201d Establishing a set of shared Values or Principles will define how the team wants to work and what they expect of each other as they work towards their mission statement. Spend time together discussing key words or phrases, draw up a team charter that clearly states what behaviours and actions will underpin how you will all work together and hold each other to account. Do not forget we are all social animals at heart, we work harder for our friends and family than for anyone else. Having a good emotional connection to your teammates will glue your identity together. Share photos of your family, learn the names of their children, remember their birthdays, tell your colleagues about your hobbies, holidays or passions, tell them about the real you not 122","just the one they see at work every day, all go out for dinner or host a BBQ, find ways to build the camaraderie that will get you through the hard times, when pulling together often makes the difference, remember the phrase is team mates, not team acquaintances! With a clear mission statement, shared values and team spirit you will be building a collective Identity and from there Stuart\u2019s third stage, Empowerment, is much more likely to happen. This third stage is critical as we know that together Identity (culture) and Empowerment (engagement) drive performance. According to PwC, 84% of executives now agree that corporate culture can influence organisational success. A survey by Ernst and Young showed that 55% of FTSE 350 companies had seen a 10% increase in operating profits driven by their investment in culture. Engage for Success has demonstrable evidence that links levels of employee engagement to increased customer service, staff recruitment and retention, increased revenue and net profits and wellbeing. For Stuart, empowerment in cross-functional teams was not necessarily a \u2018given\u2019, teams often feel overwhelmed, confused or even disempowered. Her research indicated that empowerment could not be given, it had to be proactively taken by the team itself. We are in control of our own destiny, we feel like we can affect the goals we are working towards, we can shape our own futures; the empowered or engaged team will take control, provide solutions (not bring problems), develop and implement the strategy. If you would like to support the empowerment of 123","your team then you will need to adopt a coaching approach to your leadership style, a non-directive approach that supports your team to make decisions and find solutions. This empowering approach has been most successfully demonstrated by the work of Naval Submarine Commander L. David Marquet and outlined in his excellent book Turn the Ship Around. Here is a brief summary of how Marquet created the environment for his crew to feel empowered: Change Your Leadership Language \u2013 do not tell, ask what your team intend to do. Stop the permission seeking command and control environment and encourage ownership. Turn followers into leaders. Maintain control by: \u25aa Establish technical competence - train, develop and assess. \u25aa Seek clarity \u2013 encourage the team to think \u201cis this the right thing to do?\u201d before they come to you to express their intent. In this way they are thinking correctly, planning ahead and anticipating any questions you may ask. \u25aa Check for Organisational Clarity \u2013 in other words is what we about to do in line with the strategy, is it the correct thing for us to be doing right now? And the impact of these seemingly simple leadership actions? Marquet\u2019s submarine, the Santa Fe, (to which he had only just been posted) turned from the worst performing submarine in the US Navy to the best within 12 months. Yes, there is more to it than just these simple three steps and yes this was not the easiest option Marquet could have taken but the impact was immediate and long reaching. 124","In his own words, Marquet identified that, whereas 1 captain made all the decisions for 135 crew members on each of the other submarines, in the Santa Fe, there were 135 people making decisions. Collaboration as an action, but it only truly occurs if the first three stages have been done correctly and if there is a flow of \u2018data\u2019 to inform how things are progressing and to support critical decision making and problem solving but with the first three steps in place high performance teamwork is more likely to happen. It is Professor Stuart\u2019s model that gives us the key structure around which we can build any high performing cross-functional team. Now let us look at the second stage of the high- performance model by defining the necessary team skillset. To do this we will look at the \u2018Team Working Orientation\u2019 model. Skillset If we examine the behaviour of high-performing teams \u2013 whether they are from the sports, social or business worlds \u2013 there are certain aspects or skills which are consistently present if that team is truly \u2018world class.\u2019 Doug Strycharczyk and Peter Clough defined these broad areas as the \u2018five characteristics of a high performing team\u2019 in a model summarised as the Teamwork Orientation Inventory or TWOI; these five characteristics were present regardless of the industry, sport or technical requirements of the environment in which the team operated. Before we look at the five characteristics in more detail it is important to note that during their work Strycharczyk and Clough acknowledged two other \u2018aspects\u2019 were needed to be in place before high performance could occur: 125","\u25aa Accountability: The idea that team members should accept responsibility for the team\u2019s performance and understand their role in providing leadership to one another. \u25aa Culture: It was difficult, very often impossible, to develop \u2018team working\u2019 if the prevailing culture and environment did not support it. Strycharczyk and Clough analysed data from over 1000 teams consisting of 15 - 20,000 people from major organisations to SMEs, five aspects of team working which consistently appeared in their analysis. These five factors were all activity and behaviourally based, in other words, they were a developable skillset. A truly 'first-class' team must perform well in all five of the characteristics defined by Strycharczyk and Clough, so it is the role of the leaders to either \u2018embed\u2019 these characteristics or introduce the attitudes, behaviours, policies and procedures that allow the team to proactively facilitate their evolution within the team\u2019s day-to-day activities. Here is the five in detail: 1. Common Goals and Objectives A shared, collective vision, one which defines team goals and objectives and outlines individual roles and responsibilities, is the backbone of team success. It is important to acknowledge that it is okay for team members to have their individual goals but they must add up to the overall team target, otherwise people will be wasting time and energy focusing on things that do not contribute to success. In the past couple of years, I have worked with several companies where this simple, yet important rule had been missed. In one company, a senior member of the management 126","team told me she did not have any specific targets to deliver, and, in another, I was told by a recent graduate recruit that he had no idea whether what he did day-to-day made any difference or was even appreciated! Unfortunately, these two examples are not isolated \u2013 it does seem to be a common problem. Setting clear targets and holding people to account are fundamental to team development and success. It is not difficult and there are plenty of ways to do it. Fundamental to the whole process is the involvement of the team in identifying and agreeing the key deliverables, Stuart\u2019s third and fourth stages empowerment and collaborative action. Yes, leaders may have the vision and know the goal required but engaging the team in as much of the strategy and measurement development as possible will ensure they buy in to the whole process. So where to start? \u25aa Develop the strategy with input from all the team. \u25aa Break your overall targets down into individuals, monthly or quarterly (or all three targets) \u2013 this is often referred to as chunking. \u25aa Develop an action plan using project management software or if you do not have that try writing an OGSM - Objective, Goals, Strategies, and Measures. This is an incredibly effective tool for strategy implementation and can easily be written using Word or Excel. \u25aa Talk with each member of your team, explain your expectations, outline their targets and how they will contribute to the overall success of the team. Regularly review progress, you should always know how all the team is doing against its objectives at any given time; this is the \u201cno surprises\u201d rule, as my old boss used to say. 127","2. A Sense of Success and Participation Surprisingly, many business teams and particularly cross- functional teams make little time to recognise and celebrate success. People seem hurtle from one project to the next taking little time to pause and appreciate and, importantly, review, learn lessons from what has just been achieved, very much overlapping with a lack of continuous improvement. Again, one organisation I worked with was notorious for its projects always running over time and over budget; when I learned that the project teams never made the time for end of project reviews, I began to understand where some of the issues might lie! This characteristic is more than just about project reviews, it is also about commitment, sticking with the strategy and staying determined. It is about planning for failure as much as for success, so that if anything does go wrong a recovery plan is already in place. It is about ensuring that everyone is able to participate and contribute to the project and that they feel equipped and prepared to succeed. Again, it is not too difficult to implement this second characteristic: \u25aa Run a What If\u2019s brainstorm \u2013 write down as many What If scenarios as possible for the project e.g. What If we run out of money, what if we run out of time etc. Then plan for each scenario to achieve the best possible outcome. \u25aa Carry out a risk assessment and mitigate for areas of concern, reducing the impact of any impact. \u25aa Celebrate the successes. Regularly (weekly, monthly not just annually) recognise people who have hit objectives or gone the extra mile. 128","3. Effective Communication Whilst this may seem the easiest of the five characteristics to understand, good communications are the hallmark, not just of high-performing teams, but also of great leaders. As a team, working collaboratively relies heavily on the dissemination and sharing of information and it is a two-way process. Individuals within high-performing teams must be able to transmit complex levels of information effectively and efficiently but are also able to actively listen to understand. All the TWOI characteristics rely heavily on effective communications, indeed Strycharczyk and Clough referred to it as the \u2018lubricant\u2019 for effective team working. They identified the following two components or sub-scales with communication: Sharing of Information All team members must be able share information in a timely, effective and clear manner, providing clarity on progress towards goals and objectives, contributing towards innovation, problem solving and decision making and recognising and celebrating success. For structure you might consider: \u25aa Implementing weekly team reviews (either face-to-face, via Skype or through web-based sharing software such as Microsoft Teams), \u25aa Defining a communications strategy that outlines which communications media should be used by who, when and how, e.g., email, mobile phone, or Skype, 129","\u25aa Holding regular \u2018open\u2019 review sessions where all aspects of the team performance are reviewed and ideas for improvement discussed, \u25aa Introducing a performance management process \u2013 the oldest and still one of the best ways of communicating expectations and reviewing progress. Listening Communication should be a three-way process, if used effectively, it will eradicate all forms of poor or miscommunication. The process, whilst initially a little stilted, is easy to implement and with minimal practice can be established quickly. It is well-known within organisations where the danger of poor communication can have potentially disastrous consequences, such as the nuclear and aviation industries. \u25aa Practice the three-way communication at a team meeting, embed it in your communications. If done well, all parties will have certainty over the message communicated and actions required. \u25aa Agree the purpose or goals of the communication plan. \u25aa Identify key information about stakeholders and their roles. \u25aa Agree the types of information that needs to be shared with stakeholders. \u25aa Specify the methods used to communicate. \u25aa Agree the frequency that each stakeholder wants to receive information. \u25aa Stick to the agreed plan. 4. Continuous Improvement and Problem Solving \u2018A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new!\u2019 Albert Einstein. 130","The truism that we all learn from our mistakes is to a large extent accurate, the field of experiential learning has been built around it. We all need a safe place to experiment with new ideas and concepts before putting our learning into action in the real world. However, in this increasingly fast-paced world, these safe places are becoming fewer and fewer, and we are all having to learn on-the-job. We seem to be spending less and less time reflecting on how well (or not) our work has gone before throwing ourselves into the next challenge. As we will see in the third section of this chapter \u2018Mindset\u2019, some of us are more open to, and better at, learning from our mistakes than others, there\u2019s a few reasons why this may be the case as we will see, but the key here is to find a way to establish a no-blame culture where everyone is comfortable admitting to and reviewing mistakes, implementing corrective action to be better the next time and seeking to improve in all aspects of their \u2018work\u2019. In several industries, continuous improvement has become a science in itself, and has whole departments devoted to it. The whole theory of improvement can be summarised in the PDCA process. \u25aa Plan \u2013 set strategy, actions and targets to achieve desired outcomes \u25aa Do \u2013 implement the strategy, gathering relevant data throughout \u25aa Check \u2013 review data and achievements against targets set \u25aa Act \u2013 identify and implement necessary changes\/actions to improve the strategy and the process to targets Indeed, it should be noted that PDCA can be equally applied to our own personal development. 131","Technical continuous improvement processes are wide and varied but include Gap Analysis, 5 Why, Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard and the OODA Loop; all offer approaches to PDCA, so it is important to identify the one most relevant to you and your business, learn about it and implement accordingly. 5. Working Together - Interpersonal Skills It should come as no surprise that good companies focus on the development of good interpersonal skills, this way, enabling team members to manage any differences and to provide support to each other. They are the foundation of any effective team, department or organisation and, whilst it is possible for people to work together effectively without displaying the best set of interpersonal skills, there is a much higher likelihood of success if these building blocks are in place. Man is by nature a social animal\u2019, we are hard-wired to work together to collaborate to a mutually advantageous end. And there is a very good chance you know what good interpersonal skills are, close your eyes and quickly name the five interpersonal skills that you believe are the most important and see if they are contained within the list below: \u25aa Clear communicator, both verbal and non-verbal \u25aa Understands body language. \u25aa Is a good, active listener. \u25aa Can give and receive constructive feedback. \u25aa Uses assertive language. \u25aa Good problem solver \u25aa Excellent negotiator \u25aa Managers conflict to mutual gain \u25aa Is respectful \u25aa Has a positive attitude 132","Again, some of us are by nature better at these skills than others, this is not initially an issue but we do have to make sure we work at developing these skills, this proactive process is now encapsulated within the burgeoning area of Emotional Intelligence, a topic which deserves a book on its own, but here we can acknowledge as a prime driver of success across many of the team characteristics and which we will discuss in the third construct mindset. Developing good interpersonal skills is an area many of us are familiar with, but surprisingly do not always develop. Some areas to consider would be: \u25aa Ask for feedback on your communication style \u2013 what works, what does not? \u25aa Video yourself presenting using PowerPoint or similar software, then critique your communications skills, looking for areas of strength and areas to develop. \u25aa Go on a creative writing course. You may not want to be the next Wilbur Smith but developing new ways to write and present information will be extremely beneficial. \u25aa Take a self-awareness psychometric which gives you feedback in your default styles. Mindset Much has been written about mindset, indeed much of this book is dedicated to the subject, so it should come as no surprise therefore that a team with a positive and resilient mindset is one more likely to achieve high performance. In fact, it is probably the mindset which sets apart the good teams from the great ones. So, what does a resilient or mentally tough team look like? Collectively this will be the team that adopts a consistent and reasonably common mental response to events \u2013 crises, setbacks, problems, challenges and opportunities. Paul Lyons 133","has already outlined how mental toughness works so well within a sales team environment. The mental toughness framework with its 8 sub-factors are woven into the DNA of team working and connect to the two other constructs to provide an insight as to how the collective mental toughness of the team contributes to, and supports, the core team working factors we have already discussed. Assessing team resilience at both an individual and team level allows us to aggregate results to form a profile of the team\u2019s mental toughness and to support the development of Structures and Skillsets. If we look at Kaz Stuart\u2019s Collaborative Action model initially, then the MTQ model plays out across all stages, but is possibly strongest in the Identity and Empowerment stages and within the TWOI model it consistently plays out across all five characteristics as we will see. Confidence to share, good levels of control, openness to learn and take controlled risks plus a commitment to achieving goals, forms the basis for a strong team identity. With this profile, a team is more likely to feel empowered and take collaborative action but what is important here is that if we run the assessments and see a team lacking this profile, the 8 sub-scales provide us with a tailored approach to develop those areas which are too low (or too high) for the ideal team profile. The need to reduce very high sub-scale scores being as important here as the need to increase low scores. Teams with too high commitment may stay with a bad strategy for too long, over confidence in abilities may lead to a lack of focus on the opposition or the business environment, allowing the competition to become stronger or better. In the sporting world the incredible success of Team Sky and British cycling has been credited to the work on marginal gains driven 134","by Sir Dave Brailsford, the teams\u2019 General Manager; imagine if those teams, which were already reasonably successful, had not been open to learning (Challenge) or driven to achieve more (Commitment). Mental toughness factors too play a vital role in the essential elements of the Team Working Orientation that we discussed under Skillset. The image shows the connections between the two constructs. Unsurprisingly, Goal Orientation relates positively with working to Common Goals and Objectives. Interpersonal Confidence is a factor in Effective Communications as well as Working Together where Emotional Control will also play out. The Challenge construct underpins the avoidance of complacency which is what Continuous Improvement embraces and Life Control, Confidence in Abilities and Achievement orientation come together in a form of Self Efficacy which is largely captured by Engagement with Success. And so on. 135","Fig. 17: Mental Toughness Model aligned with TWO Model How do team members contribute to this? The same image provides an insight into this too. If the mental toughness factors underpin the teamwork behaviours and the team\u2019s mental toughness is essentially an 136","aggregation of the mental toughness of individual team members, then the extent to which each team member brings mental toughness factors to the team may impact the team\u2019s overall capabilities, Identity, Empowerment and Collaborative Action in Prof. Stuart\u2019s model. It might appear that I am advocating high mental toughness as to the desired state for high performing teams but I am not, balance is critical, emotional intelligence and mental sensitivity are vital. empathising with others, overcoming challenges and defusing conflict is critical to personal and team success. Daniel Goleman identified four key developmental areas within his model of EI and outlined in the image here, the overlap with our three constructs of Structure, Skillset and Mindset should be very clear. Fig. 18: Emotional Intelligence Competencies Where individuals are self-aware and sensitive to their own mental toughness and of others, then they can build the team networks and strength needed to deliver high performance. 137","Similarly, a mentally tough individual who lacks self- awareness and\/or EI can be disruptive in a team \u2013 sometimes showing intolerance of others rather than using their mindset to support others to help them make an optimal contribution. Summary So, there we have it, a proven process based on three theoretically sound and reasoned models that has at its heart practical application to deliver high performance, each linked and embedded within the other and each the stronger and better for the three-way relationship. The table below provides an outline structure for you to begin to develop high performance within your team, be it sporting, business, project or cross-functional and the practical ideas mentioned throughout this Chapter will help implement those key areas you need to develop high performance. Table 2: Overview: Structure, Skillset, Mindset 138","Where do you start? You need a team that wants to engage, that feels like it can make a difference, which has a clear understanding of its own capabilities and so, for me, the best place to start is with Mindset, both of the team collectively but also of its individuals. People can and do affect team collaboration, therefore it is so important for every individual, within a team, to be self-aware - both in terms of their own capabilities and behaviours but also how they, as an individual, will impact team identity, empowerment and ultimately performance. It is the mental toughness concept that sets the benchmark, providing the resilience-based foundations for team success. 139","9 MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND FURTHER ISSUES IN ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Doug Strycharczyk Introduction \u2013 seeing the whole picture and seeing it in detail. When people talk about Organisational Development, they often tend to dwell on the big picture and focus their attention on the grand themes of culture and leadership. These are critically important and are central to understanding and optimising the way organisations of all types work. However, like anything that involves people, there is often complexity and detail which needs to be considered if we are to achieve a good outcome in OD. We often say \u201cthe devil lies in the details\u201d. The same is true here. The mental toughness concept is valuable here because it can help us to understand these elements which all play a part in a successful organisation. The eight-factor framework, built around the 4Cs, provides a lens through which we can examine each element. The advantage here is that we are using the same consistent framework to look at each element topic. In turn this enables users to coordinate solutions for different issues through the 8- factor model. Ensuring that the application of a range of solutions for the complexity that is OD, can become \u201cjoined up.\u201d The mental toughness questionnaire provides a capability to diagnose the state of these elements and to guide the identification and application of solutions for most identified issues. Very importantly, it provides a means by which we can 140"]