Based on real time neuroscience, the Agile Teams approach (developed in the US by Market Force) provides a new way to understand how your people behave under stress and in real world situations and why groups of very bright, innovative people in your organisation often fail to create value.
[pullquote]“This approach is extraordinarily effective. It converts techniques into action from day one.” University of Arizona[/pullquote]
The approach presents individuals with a new set of choices to navigate innovation under pressure – working with their brain, not against it and providing breakthrough for teams which have more usually experienced breakdown.
The impact can be extraordinary, creating teams that work faster, smarter and with a far greater level of engagement.
Colliers International, employing over 15,000 staff in 61 countries, has been using the Agile Teams approach as the basis of its global learning programmes for over a decade and has been amazed at the impact. At this point, close to 10,000 Colliers staff have been trained in the methodology and teams that have implemented the approach grow revenue at over twice the rate, and earn Net Promoter scores 43% higher, than teams that have not adopted the methodology.
Marty Pupil, Regional President of the Western US, says “of all the training I have done during my career, this approach has had the greatest impact on my success in both sales and management. It teaches you to build relationships and close transactions faster and with more predictability.”
The Agile Teams approach has received considerable academic interest. Martha Gilliland, former Senior Vice Provost of the University of Arizona, who used the approach to develop teams for over five years, believes “this is unique because it focuses on results, in contrast to many team building approaches in which the primary goal is to improve group dynamics. This approach is extraordinarily effective since it converts techniques into action from day one.”
The Agile Teams approach has now been brought to the UK by Contexis, the experts at creating entrepreneurial agility in large companies. The impact looks set to be just as great here as it has been internationally. The Director of a UK investment Bank commented, “appreciating how we have operated from a fearful perspective has allowed us to totally change the way we operate as a team”.
Head of People & Innovations at Contexis, Jane Nichols, comments “Working with some of the largest organisations in the world has led us to realise that most corporates are actually stuffed full of entrepreneurial brilliance. It’s just the way teams have been taught to work that is suppressing it. The Agile Teams approach is the most remarkable methodology we have come across anywhere in the world. We believe it has the power to transform how organisations think and act. We believe it is the key to unshackling their entrepreneurial spirit”.