Leadership Offsite for a Newly Formed Management Team

Context

In the course of an integration, the newly established technical unit of Eurowings Technik was in a phase of high complexity. Several previously separate areas were to grow together into a shared leadership team, while the necessary harmonization and standardization simultaneously triggered resistance.

Objective

A two-day leadership meeting was intended to create space to acknowledge what had been achieved so far, to honestly surface how the team was doing, and to position the team to act and move forward.

Approach

Strengths- and resource-oriented: Appreciative Inquiry into successes and competencies, an experiential team exercise, and participatory problem solving with a clear focus on what could be influenced – this shifted the perspective from frustration and overwhelm toward opportunities and scope for action.

Formats

A deliberately appreciative kick-off with appreciative interviews about challenges mastered, successes, and strengths; an experiential team exercise and short leadership inputs; the joint selection and processing of key problem areas; jointly agreed next steps and an outlook.

Role

PUETTGEN Consulting was responsible for clarifying the assignment, designing, facilitating, and documenting the meeting, as well as for the concluding debriefing with the leadership.

Transfer

The jointly agreed next steps and the consistent focus on the team’s own sphere of influence gave the leadership circle tangible starting points for everyday work.

Distinctive Feature

A solid demonstration of leadership team work in integration and transformation situations – connecting three levels: appreciation and sense of the team’s mood, joint problem solving, and concrete planning of steps.