BP Chemicals

"We've had team building before, but never like this. Inspire guided us through a minefield and helped us blow up a number of mines along the way! We’ve gained much greater confidence in each other."
Luc Heymans, Operations Manager, BP Chemicals

Business Challenge

Inspire was asked to help develop the team-working skills of five engineering experts who had been newly appointed as the Operations Management Team of a Canadian chemical plant.
The specific challenges this multinational team faced were:

• Transitioning from independent technical roles to a solid and effective Management Team structure.
• Working virtually across the UK, Belgium and Canada to plan Operational strategies before taking up their new positions in Canada.
• Achieving effective communication across a diverse mix of cultures, personalities and working styles.

How Inspire Helped

Because of the distances involved, Inspire interviewed a number of team members by telephone about the challenges that each individual anticipated moving from an independent role to a team-based one. A two-day workshop was then designed to explore the common values and beliefs that would be important to the success of the Operations Management Team and prevent communications hurdles appearing. Approaches used included a combination of Dialogue, Appreciative Inquiry, Creative Thinking and Exploring Personal Values.

Outcomes

By using a mix of group discussions, creative techniques and pair-work, Inspire guided the team through a range of sensitive communications issues, resulting in positive commitment to, and energy for, the management task ahead. The team embraced the challenges of working virtually and created a powerful communications platform for launching their activities in Canada.