Case Study

Working in Partnership to facilitate a Growth Mindset

Sitemark is a Facilities Management Consultancy, based in Malvern, Worcestershire, close to the innovative and scientific heart of Great Malvern which includes excellence in innovation with the Malvern Hills Science Park and Qinetic, the centre of excellence in research, development and innovation in engineering. Sitemark has been in existence for 18 years and currently has 14 directly paid/freelance employees, all of whom are very much part of a tightly knit team.

Work commenced with the Managing Director, Mike Boxall in late 2019 with an introduction to the potential of Insights Discovery. Speeding on to after the Covid-19 pandemic, work began in earnest on bringing the team back together in the office.

1. Following an introductory workshop to Insights Discovery, the following started to happen:

• Conversations in the office around the colour preferences and understanding wheel positions – noting how individuals preferred to work and connect with each other
• Insights bricks were located on individual desks
• The sales team started discussions on how they might need to adapt their connections with customers to suit individual needs.

2. This second session ‘Being the best version of yourself – personal leadership’, saw the following results:

• Recognising the difference between urgency and importance
• Identifying both good and bad habits which are connected with the colour energies and in association with the Jungian preferences (the psychological preferences used in the construction of the Insights Discovery wheel) – for example, making rapid decisions with less reflection or getting lost in details and being slower to make decisions!

3. The third session ‘Creative Thinking’ reflected on the strong evidence based, procedural and realistic approach the team used to tackle work. In order to challenge this and develop techniques to explore alternative and more agile ways of working, the team practised different creative thinking techniques, resulting in:

• Devising ‘free from convention’ approaches to explore new ways of working
• Recognition of individual strengths and challenges in creative thinking and the development of toolkits to approach working in different ways.

4. The fourth session ‘Developing a Learning Organisation’ explored brand energies and how Sitemark wished to project themselves out into the Facilities Management industry. The team also explored what the ‘ideal employee’ was like in relation to having a ‘Growth Mindset’.  At the end of the session, everyone had actions around the following:

• Development of their own objectives to use in the ‘Growth Plans’ (appraisals)
• Reflections and plans for action to develop their own ‘Growth Mindset’ – having a continuous approach to learning and development.

Sitemark have had new starters to the team, plus some people leaving the team.  They have continued to grow, evolve and cultivate a growth mindset in the whole team and the Managing Director, Mike Boxall explained how the sessions have helped in the evolution of the business:

“I have been working with EG People Development for a while now and I must say that their use of Insights Discovery profiling has been a game-changer for our organisation. The profiling tool has helped us to understand our team members’ unique personalities, preferences, and communication styles, not just prompted by the positioning of their colour bricks on their desks but also through regular discussions with each other – noting similarities and differences as they go about their daily work. This has enabled us to create a more cohesive and productive work environment. The training courses offered by EG People Development are practical, engaging, and tailored to our specific needs. I highly recommend their services to any organisation looking to improve their leadership, team working, and customer service.”

From my perspective, it has been exciting to work with a local SME. Often when I work with large corporate organisations, you see less impact from training and development. Working with Sitemark has enabled me to see first hand, more adaptable ways of working and changes in approach when connecting with each other. Sitemark have been on an exciting learning journey and continue to do so. From the early days of supporting their development of their purpose and values to now having much greater self awareness around the whole team is really encouraging. The organisation has experienced much change in the last couple of years, especially with their customers looking to innovate and challenge their existing ways of delivering facilities management services. It has therefore been entirely appropriate that the business grows and develops in alignment with the industry in which they operate. I look forward to continuing to support this innovative, ‘small and mighty’ business in the future.

If you’re intrigued about the use of Insights Discovery in your team – including developing self awareness, team effectiveness, enabling a growth mindset and encouraging creativity, please do contact me for further information.