Our take on Team Building & Development is very simple: We want your team to have a challenging, engaging experience in which the team learns new ways to collaborate creatively and productively. We want the changes to be sustainable and we want everyone on board.

Team Building often means a day away from the office to strengthen relationships, improve communication and resolve some of the tensions that are an inevitable part of a busy team. Sometimes it’s about  recognising and rewarding good work. Occasionally there are specific issues or conflicts to deal with. See our Awaydays page for more on this.

Team Development is sometimes used to indicate a longer term approach to fostering the growth of a team. Our TeamCare page describes an integrated methodology that assesses a team’s needs before designing and implementing a development plan.

We draw on our experience of Facilitation and Coaching to provide the most effective mix of activities, exercises and discussion to enable teams to gain new insights into working together and inspiration for moving forward.

Contact us to discuss your team building and development objectives and we’ll design a programme with you to uncover more of your team’s real potential.

We’re in a recession - possibly the worst since the 1930’s. The business horizon is changing, and fast. It’s essential to think strategically and plan effectively to enable your organisation to manage the downturn, and be in a good position to grow when the economy allows. It may even be possible to grow in the recession.

 

 Russ Hagger describes our approach to Strategic Planning: Play Now

Strategy Failure

We find that in most companies the necessary skills and knowledge to create an effective strategy exist - but many fail, often because of:

 • A failure of the skills and knowledge holders to collaborate effectively

 • A failure to understand and fully confront current business reality

 • A failure to effectively communicate the strategy to the people who have to execute it

Enablers

Facilitation of your strategy meetings will decrease the possibility of a failure of collaboration and creativity, and increase the possibility of an effective outcome through:

 • Neutrality

 • Support and inclusion

 • Encouragement and feedback

 • Pragmatism

 • Time keeping

Workshop

Our strategy workshops are designed to ensure that adequate time is dedicated to the understanding and confronting of current business reality. They are divided into three critical phases:

 • Reflection - where are we now?

 • Vision - where do we want to be?

 • Plan - how do we to get there and what do we need?

We design the agenda with you, facilitate the workshop, and disseminate the meeting minutes and our thoughts in a debriefing session.

If there is a need to engage a wider audience, we can collaborate on any further dissemination of the strategy plan, using other facilitation methods including Graphic Facilitation and Open Space.

Parent Page

• Do you have a problem team, a dysfunctional team that you’re finding a real challenge?

• Is the pressure for results fracturing the team rather than pulling it together?

• Are you losing people that you can’t afford to lose?

We specialise in helping teams identify what they need to change in order to pull together and work as a unit. We create the opportunity for everyone to take a good hard look at what’s going on and where the solutions lie. We also give everyone space to be heard and considered.

Teams become dysfunctional for a variety of reasons, but we often find that at the heart of the problems lies an inability to communicate freely, openly and honestly. We find ‘Elephants under the Table’ - issues that everyone is familiar with but no-one wants to talk about. We also often find an inability to challenge others positively and with respect, or to have that difficult conversation. Sometimes real operational challenges are blamed by the failing team for its performace when the root cause is the lack of creativity and energy required to adapt to change.

Whatever the underlying causes, our workshop will give your team the opportunity to gain the insight and understanding it needs to turn itself around and move forward. And, because we focus on enabling the team itself to deal with its problems, the actions and outcomes belong to the team, giving them more impact and making them sustainable.

Call us to explore how our experience of team dynamics can help pull your team together and put it back on track.

Today’s teams are under increasing pressure to raise their effectiveness and productivity in an environment of rapid change and burgeoning levels of stress. The impact is not always just mental and physical - it often manifests emotionally, and in terms of the relationships and communication, as conflict.

TeamCare is an integrated team development package that helps teams be more productive by meeting challenges more effectively and dealing with change more creatively.

Watch our 2 minute podcast to find why TeamCare provides sustainable team development:

So TeamCare embraces competency, strategic and motivational issues. In addition it develops the team as individuals and collectively; it encourages the team to take responsibility for its own development; and it invites HR to engage with the process.

TeamCare rolls out in three phases: Firstly the assessment phase which generates a development plan for the team and its individuals - and provides a valuable team building experience in its own right; secondly the development phase in which the development plan is implemented; and finally the support phase which provides ad-hoc and on-demand support.

Critically, TeamCare is not something that is ‘done’ to a team – it is an approach that empowers the team to develop itself. Because of its inclusive and integrated method, TeamCare has an impact on motivation, strategy and competence, making change and development more incisive and durable… and much more fun.

There’s nothing quite like getting away from the office for a day or two to get things into perspective, get to know your team a little better, review the past and map out the future…

But how do you use this precious time to full advantage? How can you ensure that it will make a real and lasting difference to the team’s performance, energy and focus?

We work with you to create Awaydays that tackle the key issues your team faces, whilst providing an experience that will change the way that the team thinks, feels and relates to itself and others.

Typically, the focus of the Awayday will include a mix of:

• Reviewing the present

• Planning the future

• Developing the team

• Solving problems creatively

• Rewarding and celebrating success

Variety is a key element to any successful Awayday - and activities can range from discussing the serious issues the team is facing to herding ducks with a sheepdog! In all cases however, we encourage particpants to share their experiences and increase the team’s understanding of itself.

Every Awayday is different, so call us on 08454 348212 to discuss the possibilities.

Retreats

Our retreats are for groups or individuals that want a more reflective experience with the emphasis on being rather than doing. We provide a selection of activities in surroundings that offer a contrast to the activity of working life. We also provide one-to-one and group coaching as appropriate.

Retreats may well have a guiding theme but the aim is to create an open atmosphere in which participants can speak to the issues that concern them without being too constrained by a set agenda. We have extensive experience working with groups using reflective formats that challenge participants to achieve a different quality of dialogue.

The clarity of mind that ensues can lead to some surprising outcomes. Call us to discuss your needs.

• Open Space at the IET 

Engineering Management Journal article on the first use of Clarity’s Open Space by the Insitution of Engineering & Technology.

• Elephants and Monkeys

Chris Pearse gives straightforward analysis and guidance on getting working relationships to work better.

• Simple Ideas, Lightly Held

Johnnie Moore explores the difference between the simple and the complex - and how to avoid overcomplicating your organisation.

• Authenticity in Marketing

Johnnie Moore looks at how the changing marketplace means organisations are having to talk more straightforwardly, both internally and externally.

• Facilitating Professional Engagement

Chris Pearse responds to John Scott, Technical Director of Ofgem.

Downloadable Articles

• Open Space at the IET

Engineering Management Journal article on the first use of Open Space by the Insitution of Engineering & Technology.

• Elephants and Monkeys

Chris Pearse gives straightforward analysis and guidance on getting working relationships to work better.

• Simple Ideas, Lightly Held

Johnnie Moore explores the difference between the simple and the complex - and how to avoid overcomplicating your organisation.

• Authenticity in Marketing

Johnnie Moore looks at how the changing marketplace means organisations are having to talk more straightforwardly, both internally and externally.

• Facilitating Professional Engagement

Chris Pearse responds to John Scott, Technical Director of Ofgem.

Podcasts

• Coaching & Facilitation

• Facilitation

• Graphic Facilitation

• Open Space

Blogs

• Johnnie Moore

We’ve found that idea generation (also known as Brainstorming) comes easily to teams, if it‘s allowed to. We encourage a natural atmosphere and avoid over-stimulation.

Many creative thinking sessions suffer by trying too hard to force ideas to happen. They’re not sufficiently patient or tolerant of diversity and can easily confuse high-energy with creativity.

In facilitating creativity, we see that most creative ideas come from people working in groups. Isaac Newton famously acknowledged building “on the shoulders of giants”. That doesn’t mean that everyone’s contribution to the process needs to be the same.

Also, research on Idea Generation suggests that often participants have their best ideas after the session, and not in it. We need to be mindful about valuing the sessions for their contribution to the process, without pushing too hard for instant results.

Creativity doesn’t run to a timetable, so it’s important to be flexible in allowing creative thinking sessions to find their own course.

We host sessions that encourage everyone to take part in ways that suit their particular style – aiming to see the positive in everyone’s contribution and working flexibly to ensure high levels of engagement.

 

 About Open Space: Play Now

Clarity use Open Space as a way of organising conferences, events and meetings that increases delegate involvement. The result is that everyone can be heard and everyone has a choice of who they want to engage with. This kind of space taps into the group intelligence in a way that orthodox conferences, seminars and events just can’t. So the power to address complex issues in a creative, engaging way makes Open Space a really exciting alternative.

We use Open Space in a variety of formats, ranging from short Open Space sessions during traditional events, to full Open Space events which create the agenda there and then. The benefits of Open Space include:

• More engagement of delegates

• Bringing the group intelligence to bear on issues

• Letting people have their say

• Letting the group decide what’s important

• Great networking with people that have common interests

To find out more about how Open Space works and the benefits it could bring to your organisation call 08454 348212 or email us at the contact addresses on the left.

“Johnnie’s recent facilitation of an Open Space meeting changed my thinking forever in the way conferences should be managed and organized. Open Space really gives the power to the participant to make the best of their time and talents in a setting that is truly unique.” Tim Eby, Chairman, Board of Directors, National Public Radio

Imagine describing strategy and change with a big picture that depicts all the essential issues in a way that the whole organisation can relate to and discuss. That’s Graphic Facilitation.

 

 Chris Pearse describes Graphic Facilitation: Play Now

Management benefits from having to think differently about strategy and reduce sometimes complex, abstract concepts down to simple metaphors that can be drawn. Very often during this process, new questions are asked about familiar issues that expose gaps in the collective understanding, creating more alignment. The whole organisation benefits from having the key issues depicted in an immediate and accessible way that is used to get key messages across to everyone and involve stakeholders in a big conversation.

Graphic Facilitation can be used for Strategy, Change Programmes, Vision and any complex organisational issue that needs clarifying and disseminating.We interview leaders in order to draw a pencil sketch. Once this has been approved, the picture is coloured and copied. We then train your staff to facilitate conversations about the picture in small groups of 5-10. Notes are taken of the conversations and points of view can be fed back so that the whole organisation can be heard.

This kind of facilitation can reach the entire organisation and involve every individual, making them feel a part of something they may not have been aware of before. But it doesn’t just benefit the wider audience… Leaders too benefit from having to pull their thinking together in order to make a coherent picture, clarifying their ideas and aligning their perspectives.

The process is scalable to any size of organisation.

Whether you’re holding a 1 hour meeting for 6, an awayday for 60, or a conference for 600, our facilitators can help you create the energy, engagement and commitment for successful and lasting outcomes.

• More effective Meetings and Workshops

• Greater engagement in Events and Conferences

• Powerful Awayday and Off-site experiences  

 

 Chris Pearse describes our approach to facilitation: Play Now

Meetings and Workshops

We’ve experienced for ourselves how draining and uninspiring many meetings can be; how workshops accomplish little because people don’t feel safe to say how they really feel about the issues. We help you create an environment where people can voice their needs, concerns, aspirations, uncertainties and half-formed ideas with real honesty and clarity; and so provide the foundation for the breakthroughs and insights needed for successful outcomes.

Int’l Marine Purchasing Association: “The event went extremely well and I have also had many nice comments from everyone which is fantastic! We are very happy with the way you handled the conference workshops.”

Events and Conferences

Many conferences rely on expert speakers and keynotes to disseminate knowledge whilst unwittingly ignoring the collective experience and creativity of the delegates. The end result of a speaker-packed agenda with some Q&A and a panel discussion often results in fatigue rather than inspiration. By engaging the delegates in the quest for new knowledge, not only do we tap a much greater resource, we also create far more energy and involvement. We regularly use an approach called Open Space and variations on it, to achieve greater participation and highly effective networking.

Mars UK: “The conference was a great sucess and I was delighted with Clarity’s contribution.”

Awaydays and Off-sites

We bring a wide variety of activities to awaydays and off-sites, whether the focus is on team-building, strategic thinking, a reward for success - or a combination of all three. Whether it’s building a go-kart, or exploring a vision of the future, the approach we take inspires new thinking, new understanding and better relationships. In addition to facilitating the awayday, we can advise on venues both in the UK and abroad. See our Awaydays page for more details. 

O2: “Thanks again to you & your facilitators’ great work at the O2 Prepay summit yesterday.”

We’ve worked with a variety of clients including multinationals, local government, the NHS, not-for-profits and SMEs.

 

 Chris Pearse on our approach to coaching: Play Now

Do more - Be more

We coach senior managers and directors to help you achieve more and be more than you might on your own.

Why use a coach? 

People come to us with a variety of challenges: sometimes it’s about gaining confidence for the next career step; sometimes it’s overcoming obstacles that are blocking the path; it might be a lack of clarity about the future, or a nagging unease about a particular issue. Often it’s to do with working relationships which have become stuck in some way - whether it’s with a boss, a colleague, a report, or a lack of rapport with a team. Inevitably these issues fall outside the realm of rational problem-solving and have a complex, human dimension to them. For this reason our approach is very light on technique and methodology, and more focused on conversation and reflection.

Freedom and Choice

Our over-arching aim is to give you more choice, freedom and responsibility in how you are and what you do at work. That comes about most readily when we work with you hand-in-hand to explore the present and create the future.

Tangible Benefits

We’ve worked with senior individuals from multinationals, small and medium sized enterprises, not-for-profits and public sector organisations. We don’t pretend to have answers for everyone’s challenges, less still a formula for success; but we do see time and again how valuable a coaching relationship can be and how it translates into tangible benefits that improve performance, reduce stress whilst increasing the quality of your working life. In some cases these benefits extend into home and family life too. For some the benefit lies in finally having an equal that they can confide in - seniority can be lonely.

Bespoke Programmes

Typically we work with you over a 6 month period with a total of 9 sessions. Because every client and their circumstances are different, this can and does vary considerably as we design our coaching programmes around your needs. Needless to say we encourage a preliminary meeting, free of charge, to explore the challenges in more detail and ensure that both coach and client are happy to proceed.

Credentials

All our coaches have many years experience of coaching at senior level. They have held senior management positions and have a passionate interest in understanding human nature and its impact on the well-being of both the individuals and the organisation. Individual biographies can be supplied on request.

Find out more by calling us on our main number (08454 348212), or speak directly to Chris Pearse on 07968 950522.

TBA.

The Engineer

Chris Pearse, co-founder of the Clarity Partnership, started his career in Engineering before being seduced by the glamour of sales, marketing and general management. He’s set-up and run a number of enterprises but always finds that people, individually and collectively, provide the real challenges. His engineering background has been invaluable in helping with the rational, operational side of organisations, but also in recognising that people bring an organic aspect to enterprise that needs a very different approach.

He has spent many years studying, developing and putting into practice techniques for improving communication and relationships within organisations, promoting personal development and understanding at an individual and team/organisational level.

Chris is a Fellow of the RSA, sits on the Management Network executive of the IET and is an FE college governor.

The Accountant

Russ Hagger brings a wealth of international business experience to the Clarity Partnership. After qualifying as an accountant, he held various senior general management positions before moving onto business development, building companies in the UK, Italy and Poland. His mediation and facilitation skills have been used in a variety of contexts and cultures including property development, the creation of distribution channels and conflict resolution.

His talent as a facilitator, coach and developer lies in his ability to relate to and engage with the people around him, understand needs and objectives, and challenge the status quo.

The Philosopher

Johnnie Moore wrote speeches after graduating in philosophy before moving into the world of advertising, In 1988 he formed his own consultancy and worked primarily in business-to-business and financial, working with some of the major retail and investment banks.

Johnnie has devoted considerable energy to personal development, training in Neuro Linguistic Programming and a postgraduate course in Humanistic Psychotherapy. He co-founded the Clarity Partnership with Chris to work with the human dynamic of organisations. His ability as a coach and facilitator comes from an ability to manage complexity combined with an intuitive understanding of human behaviour. He’s a champion of Open Space and writes an influential blog: www.johnniemoore.com/blog/

The Designer

Trained as a fashion designer, Claire Costello started her career in advertising before moving into financial services as a marketer. She developed her project management skills putting together sponsorship packages for sporting events, often including TV coverage. From this she developed an interest in organising corporate events and has been engaged by BT, GlaxoWellcome, Wilkinson Sword and many other blue-chips organisations.

Claire now combines her art training and event management experience to bring a range of practical activities to Clarity events providing clients with fun, engaging and energetic projects that not only inspire collaboration but also generate learning and insight into individual and collective behaviour. As well as working closely with Clarity, Claire runs her own website at www.costelloevents.co.uk

The Artist

Andrew Bylo has worked as a freelance illustrator since 1981, with a variety of clients in editorial, design, publishing and advertising in the UK, France, Germany, USA and Japan. His work was used as the image for the poster for Wimbledon 2000: The Millennium Championships, and his work has featured as posters for London Transport. Most recently he has worked for P&O creating artworks for the latest and largest Superliner for Britain, Ventura. He has served on The Management Council of The Association of Illustrators, and also on their Ethics Committee for several years.

Andrew has that rare skill of being able to translate abstract concepts into visual metaphor. As our principal Graphic Facilitator, he uses art to represent complex organisational issues such as strategies, change programmes, M&As etc, in a way that not only clarifies management thinking, but turns it into art that can be disseminated to a wide audience. Developing his Graphic Facilitation skills has proved a very particularly satisfying and hugely enjoyable challenge.

The Trainer

Jules Peck is a training consultant with twenty years experience, specialising in people development. She is also a qualified coach, mediator and facilitator for public meetings and management away days. Jules’ energy and passion for training and development is infectious and inspires her clients to develop their potential both professionally and personally.

Jules started her career training diplomats in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Trade and Industry. After a series of corporate roles in the public sector, Jules achieved her goal of starting her own company to help others to achieve fulfilment at work.  

We’ve worked with these clients in the past 2 years:

• The Treasury Solicitor’s Department

• Scottish Power

• Lambeth Council

• Samsung Europe 

• ITI Energy

• BT

• Int’l Travel Catering Assoc

• The Medical Practice

• BAE Systems

• Graham & Green

• Energy Technologies Institute

• Mars Information Systems 

• Surrey County Council

• Brent Council

• The NHS

• Expense Reduction Analysts

• The BBC

• Digital Public

• National Policing Improvement Agency

• The Work Foundation

• National Public Radio

• American Express

• Channel 4

• Johnsons & Johnson

• Rolls-Royce

• O2

• Orange

• The Institution of Engineering & Technology

Welcome to the Clarity Partnership website.

We work with individuals, teams and organisations to help them be more productive, creative and energetic. We help people communicate more spontaneously and more candidly, whether they’re a board of directors working on strategy, or a large conference discussing new challenges.

 

 Listen to more about The Clarity Partnership: Play Now

We find that conventional approaches to conversation often stifle really exciting and interesting debate that engages and inspires people. For instance, the weekly team meeting that everyone dreads because the same people say the same things, when the real issues - the elephants under the table - get ignored; or the workshop where delegates have to listen to a series of expert speakers and get little chance to share their own ideas.

Our approach is very light on process in order to promote the creativity that we all need to adapt to change. We encourage reflection and deliberation before any decisions are taken or problems solved; and we recognise the power of teams to collectively confront the future and manage the complexity and uncertainty that we all face.

On the left, you can see the range of our services and around our site are some short podcasts about what we do.

We work with a wide range of organisations in the UK and internationally. You can see some of our clients here.  We work with a minimum of jargon and a belief in people’s potential to change and adapt.

”Clarity have had a significant part to play in our journey to becoming a high performing team.” Ian Lawson, CEO Campaign for Leadership, The Work Foundation

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