A bespoke executive development journey: Elevating Leadership at Incommunities
Our client
Incommunities is a Yorkshire-based housing association with a mission to improve everyday lives by creating the best customer experiences. Guided by their core values—delivering for customers, learning and growing together, and celebrating difference—Incommunities is committed to providing high-quality homes, services, and support to their communities. Their executive team plays a critical role in shaping the organisation’s future, ensuring they achieve the best outcomes for customers and stakeholders alike.
By supporting the establishment and transformation of our Exec Team, our work with Maier has facilitated the transformation of the culture and leadership within our organisation. I’ve worked with Maier for many years now, in three organisations and each time they have adapted and made a tangible impact on individual leaders, leadership teams and our ability to lead, deliver our strategy and set the culture.
Racheal DennisCEO, Incommunities
Their challenge
In 2022, Incommunities approached Maier to support their executive leadership team. With a mix of newer and longer-term members, the team required a cohesive and aligned approach to leadership against a challenging backdrop of ongoing change. The CEO’s vision was to cultivate a high-performing team that could navigate instability, foster a strong organisational culture, and lead by example through their leadership behaviours.
Key themes for consideration included:
1
Establishing mutual trust and team dynamics amongst the executive team
2
Creating a shared leadership vision and aligning it with organisational values.
3
Building individual leadership capabilities while fostering collective strategic thinking.
4
Supporting the team through organisational flux, ensuring continuity and stability.
Our programme
Our partnership with Incommunities began with one-to-one coaching sessions with the CEO, this quickly extended to additional coaching partnerships with the wider executive team using a team of Maier coaches.
This personalised approach provided a safe and independent space for leaders to reflect, explore their leadership styles, and navigate their individual challenges. Confidentiality was key, the integrated coaching approach allowed for key themes and insights to be cultivated and integrated into the wider team’s development whilst maintaining trust within the separate coaching partnerships and providing varied perspectives and individualised approaches.
In addition to coaching our bespoke programme evolved over time to meet the team’s specific needs and included:
- Team-building workshops: These sessions focused on fostering trust, improving team dynamics, and aligning leadership behaviours with organisational values. Psychometric tools such as MBTI were introduced to create a shared language and deepen interpersonal understanding.
- Offsite residentials: Intensive sessions aimed at developing a unified leadership identity, clarifying the team’s vision, and building strategies to operate effectively as a cohesive ‘top team.’ Activities also explored frameworks like Tuckman’s stages of team development.
- Virtual follow-ups: Regular online sessions reinforced key learnings, allowed follow up on agreed actions and maintained momentum between in-person events as well as addressing emerging priorities or challenges. These sessions also encouraged the application of HOT (Honesty, Openness, Trust) principles.
- Collaborative exercises: Group activities encouraged strategic thinking, mutual mentoring, and the sharing of personal leadership journeys, creating a supportive environment for growth and reflection.
Our impact
Our work with Incommunities has delivered, and continues to deliver, transformative results:
- Enhanced team cohesion: The team developed a shared language and deeper understanding of each other’s leadership styles through MBTI, carefully constructed group feedback exercises and ongoing coaching. This fostered greater trust and collaboration, allowing them to operate as a unified ‘top team.’
- Improved strategic focus: Leaders demonstrated increased clarity and prioritisation, empowering them to think at the right level and focus on ‘what only they can do.’ To support this area of focus live business-based exercises and scenarios were explored and actioned
- Strengthened leadership through change: Coaching provided stability and continuity during periods of flux, helping leaders navigate transitions with confidence and resilience. This created a sense of ‘continuity in the ebb and flow of change.’
- A culture-first approach: The programme reinforced the team’s role in spearheading organisational culture, enabling them to lead by example and align their behaviours with the organisation’s values.
- Sustained executive development: Regular follow-up sessions and iterative programme design ensured that leadership growth continued to evolve in line with organisational needs. Leaders gained tools and frameworks to address future challenges effectively.
Looking ahead
The partnership with Incommunities is ongoing, with planned offsites and virtual sessions in 2025 to further embed leadership excellence as well as Maier involvement in supporting work around 360 feedback via ongoing coaching. By investing in their leadership team, Incommunities has set the foundation for long-term success, ensuring they remain resilient and customer-focused in a changing landscape – making ‘change to be proud of’.
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