Westminster Associates partners with individuals, teams and leaders to help them become the best possible version of themselves. This allows people to build better relationships, lead others more effectively, and work more harmoniously and productively in teams. We do this by using the Insights Discovery Personal Profile, a highly personalized document unique to each individual. The profile focuses on a number of key areas:
Insights Discovery uses a simple four-colour model. We call these Insights colour energies, which are Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green and Cool Blue. Everyone uses all four colour energies, but it’s their order and intensity which is unique to each individual.
Our Personal Effectiveness sessions are tailored to each individual’s needs. You may have a natural talent in some areas and an opportunity for growth in others. This is typical for all of us. Only through conscious practice can we make something a comfortable, less conscious, habitual behaviour which is a fully-integrated part of our self.
Our approach when working with our clients:
- Our goal is to encourage greater communication and more effective collaboration between your people, both as peer-based teams and as leaders in their own areas
- We develop senior and middle managers so they can develop and lead high-performing teams. Our development teaches them not to get tough on the person but instead to get tough on the problem through an equal balance of high challenge and high support leadership
- We also work with people on the frontline of customer interactions so they can better understand one another and, more importantly, better understand your customers. What and whom are your teams facing, how can they adapt, and how can they better connect most effectively on all levels with each other and the customer?
The more satisfied you are with your work, the more you’re productive, committed and happy. Satisfaction reduces stress and conflict. But what about when you just don’t “connect” with a person at work and don’t understand why, no matter what or how you try?
Our approach to personal effectiveness encourages personal accountability and the development of the best version of you. In a complex organisation, this is often the starting point for improving team effectiveness and creating the best leaders.
Improving effectiveness
Improving effectiveness through this personal approach will help you and your teams:
- Understand your preferred working style
- Build better relationships
- Understand how your behaviour affects you and those around you
- Understand why you connect with some people more easily than with others
- Develop self-awareness through your own personal profile
- Address communication challenges
Our work uses the Insights Discovery Personal Effectiveness methodology to understand how an individual’s preferred style impacts their strengths, possible weaknesses, and value they bring to the team, as well as highlighting their preferred communication style, opposite types, possible blind spots, and even suggestions for personal development.
Every team will have some defining moments: a change of leadership, the merging of two teams, or the chance to reach for new levels of success, for example.
We help teams succeed by maximising their true potential and preparing them to make the most of opportunities. We help teams improve their interpersonal dynamic, allowing them to meet challenges as they arise.
Our approach when working with our clients:
- Provides a team with the tools to analyse and identify the most pressing and important issues
- Helps a team diagnose and confront problems, improve relationships, inspire success and ultimate increase productivity
- Encourages a team to explore where challenges or weaknesses may occur and prepares them to work, create and maintain a culture of personal and team accountability
Through small and large group facilitated discussions and exercises, the team will learn how their individual and collective preferences affect team dynamics and performance.
Clearly defined goals provide practical action plans, which in turn accelerate the team’s progress towards their goals in four key areas:
- A team with a clear FOCUS will have a shared vision, will be accountable, and will have a strong commitment to delivering results
- A team in FLOW will have open dialogue, space for new ideas, be agile, innovative and always ready to respond when needed
- A team with an effective PROCESS will have a track to run on and be able to measure performance
- A team with the right CLIMATE will operate with an atmosphere of trust and candour, without leaving anyone behind
Improving team effectiveness will clarify your team’s mission and help you focus on your goals, allowing you to:
- Create an agile approach, leaving room for ideas and innovation
- Ensure accountability, ownership and commitment to results
- Align ability, skills and priorities across individuals
- Foster a culture of interdependence with support for each other, demonstrating cohesion under pressure
Our work uses the Insights Discovery Personal Effectiveness methodology to understand how an individual’s preferred style impacts their strengths, possible weaknesses, and value they bring to the team, as well as highlighting their preferred communication style, opposite types, possible blind spots, and even suggestions for personal development.
There’s no magic or secret method in creating the best leaders. It takes conscious effort, self-awareness, an understanding of others and the ability to adapt and connect with them in the most effective way. These are just a few of the things we work on with our clients.
We don’t deal in mysteries. We deal in reality. Better leadership gets better results. When you win, we win and your clients win.
Our clients in leadership roles face many challenges. The most common are:
- Difficulty in getting everyone moving in the same and/or right direction
- Staff who don’t understand what you want and deliver something else
- Missed opportunities and deliverables
- Not having time to look at real leadership issues because you’re “stuck” doing the work yourself
Our leadership work with clients helps to:
- Develop a structure which will explicitly communicate expectations and deliverables
- Engage employees who won’t just do what you tell them, but will instead deliver above and beyond your expectations
- Adopt an approach that works for you, based on years of research and real-world experience
- Use POSITIVE REGARD, GENUINENESS and EXPECTATION THEORY to create the right environment for people to exceed your targets and requirements
- Free you to focus on leading your team, thus liberating you from the frustration and distraction of ongoing performance issues
- Build exceptionally HIGH PERFORMANCE
Improving Team Effectiveness
All companies experience leadership challenges and changes, but those who develop their leaders are far more likely to survive and thrive.
Evolving markets and ever-shifting business landscapes are unavoidable, but leadership development prepares you to create resilient teams, communicate your vision, and empower individuals.
The Insights Transformational Leadership methodology is built around a unique eight-type model and takes a multi-dimensional approach to leadership development.
Our work with clients supports you to:
- Create a VISION to lead everyone in the right direction and which corresponds to an organisation’s goals and objectives
- MOBILISE and enrol your team behind this vision and ensure everyone is moving in the same direction
- DEVELOP your team effectively to ensure they have the confidence, competence and mind-set to succeed
- Truly ENABLE your team to be the best version of themselves that they can be at work, on most days, most of the time
“Really engaging, absorbing and great fun.”
Gavin Michell FCII, RSA NI Insurance Ltd
The results for both myself and the team were literally life-changing. What they helped us discover could be acted upon immediately and spilled beyond work to friends and family.
Justine Mclaughlin, Co-Head of Revolution Four
“Paul is probably the best facilitator I’ve had the pleasure of working with. His sessions are extremely engaging and he adapts easily to all personality types. He literally becomes one with the company and understands your needs, you culture and your company DNA.”
Petra Xavier, Box
“I have seen remarkable collaboration, understanding and results since engaging with Westminster Associates.”
David Hart, ServiceMax
“Paul has an uncanny ability to insert himself into an organisation and become successfully immersed in the culture.”
Stuart Gammon, Soldo
“Having been through the initial session, we found this an incredibly powerful tool which is quick and straightforward to grasp and apply in a practical way.”
Nik Ellis, Laird Assessors