On the heels of a complex enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation, our manufacturing client identified leadership and team effectiveness opportunities vital to the IT function’s long-term success. IT leadership was determined to secure a seat at “the table” for the team and help internal clients recognize the value of bringing IT into business planning conversations early to shape strategy and offer recommendations that actually help to drive the business.
Focused on strengthening team member capabilities to better meet the ever-growing and evolving needs of the business, IT leadership sought our help. Already working alongside the team to support and sustain the ERP change initiative, we were asked to partner with IT leadership to elevate the performance and perception of the function and make the vision for more strategic collaboration the new operating reality.
We worked closely with our client to evaluate, define and build the knowledge and competencies needed to ensure the right people were in the right roles with the ability to serve as strategic advisors to the business. This required a significant shift in mindsets and behaviors, and the changes did not happen overnight – but they did happen.
We provided executive coaching and a customized team training curriculum to strengthen, among others, relationship building and collaboration skills, as well as emotional intelligence and customer service orientation. We led the team through relevant role-play exercises and designed real-time learning experiences integrated into day-to-day interactions to help quickly enhance their ability to hold strategic conversations and work more effectively.
Today, the function is achieving higher levels of engagement, as well as improved team and customer satisfaction. Even more important, the team is building more collaborative relationships with internal business partners resulting in stronger program execution and business results.