Our collaborative approach to problem-solving

Problem-solving. It’s woven into the everyday human experience, crucial for commercial and creative success, and best supported by careful thinking, deep understanding and trusting relationships.

Sometimes, solving a problem is as simple as making the right choice or taking a second look. But in our world of complex challenges and deeply ingrained communication issues, there’s often more to it.

To achieve our goal of changing beliefs and behavior at scale, it’s vital we get to the heart of the problem and understand its complexity before going anywhere near a solution. Studies have shown that 4 in 10 companies value collaboration so highly that they’ll take business elsewhere if an agency doesn’t have the right communication tools. That’s why we collaborate every step of the way, translating problems into opportunities by identifying objectives, challenges and future potential.

The world

Once we’ve sparked initial interest and started the conversation, we lay the foundations for collaboration, working with leaders and getting to know the details of the world they operate in.

• What specific challenges are they facing?
• What’s changing in their industries?
• What’s the ideal culture they’d like to achieve for their organization?

Every business exists within its own unique sphere of challenge and opportunity, and our aim is to bring the right people together to build a holistic view of the landscape. 71 percent of businesses consider collaborative ways of working a competitive differentiator, and we aim high to achieve that sense of cooperative working from the get-go—aligning people and opinions with an energetic workshop, connecting with key figures and kickstarting the journey toward comprehensive mindset change.

The outputs of these workshops fuel the rest of the journey, forming a base of information and insight from which to embed conversations and connections across the business—customers, colleagues and leaders alike.

The people

Because we’re in the business of people, we center what we do around feelings, thoughts, attitudes and beliefs. No two people are the same, so building a clear picture of the community that surrounds a business is no small task.

Making people feel part of a team is a powerful mechanism in itself, and as we work towards an understanding of people, we instill a co-creative ethic—something that can encourage teams to stay engaged with their ambition stick with the task for 64 percent longer. Through focus groups, interviews, sentiment analysis and in-depth research, we map out the central story—what the journey looks like, where people are now, and where they need to be.

We identify the current beliefs, attitudes and feelings in the organization, and define how they need to change to deliver the results and galvanize the action we need. The process is different every time—emotions and beliefs are intricate and fluid, and our approach allows for diversity, channeling the individuality of people and leaders to create bespoke, fit-for-purpose change strategies.

The change

With a detailed understanding of the world we’re operating in, the challenges we face and the attitudes and feelings that make up the culture, we can start planning how to bring our people’s ambitions to life.

We stay by the side of the business we’re working with, collaborating closely as part of their team to develop a strategy—one that clearly maps out the interventions and activations required to shift mindsets across the organization. For the leaders we work with, our approach can mean a 60 percent improvement in project management, and project completion times up to 53 percent faster.

A united route to behavior change not only boosts speed, efficiency and competitiveness—it also gives a fresh, simplified perspective on the future, allowing leaders to see how crucial their people are to fulfilling business objectives. Everything we’ve learnt and every relationship we’ve built channels into this strategic process, as we lay the foundations for the disciplines and activations that will truly bring a whole new culture to life.

Light-bulb moments come later: problem-solving takes time, care and intelligence. It takes groundwork, trust, insight and the kind of thinking that brings people together and challenges the norm. But it’s how we’re changing the world—and it works time and time again.

Written by Kate Ryrie. See original article on the ICF Next website. 

Image: Kumona Lab