Our Approach

GRiTTi's engagement with organisations is a hands-on approach, working with leadership and management to:

• Identify—critical issues.
• Refine—our understanding of these issues, so that we can identify approaches which will sustainably resolve them. 
• Find—and agree—practical, and permanent, operational solutions, together with facilitated leadership/management/supervisory initiatives. Use the issues as part of the learning process.
• Ongoing—review and analysis of the operational initiatives and leadership contribution/involvement.

The link between organisational culture, its leadership—and operational dysfunction

The quality of an organisation’s leadership is inextricably linked to its culture, and its capacity to operate sustainably and successfully. Effective leaders make good strategic decisions and set the bar exactly right—direction, strategy and culture, in particular.

When there are leadership issues, such as a lack of clarity, inconsistency (especially under pressure), poor communication, and ineffective decision-making, dysfunction and ineffectiveness are inevitable.

1. Communication breakdown: When leaders fail to communicate a clear vision, together with goals and expectations, team members may not understand their roles and responsibilities. This can result in confusion, frustration, duplicated efforts, and critical tasks being overlooked.

2. Pressure responses: Strong leaders are consistently self-accountable, especially under pressure. This is when it’s most critical that they rise to the challenge and inspire confidence and self-accountability within their teams. When leaders crumble under pressure, people quickly feel frustrated, demotivated, and disconnected from their work. Performance, outputs, and quality, plummet, absenteeism thrives—and optimism dies.

3. Decision-making delays: Leaders who struggle to make timely and effective decisions, can cause operational delays. Decisions are often interconnected; delays in one area can affect multiple aspects of the business.

4. Poor resource allocation: Leadership involves making strategic decisions about resource allocation. When leaders make poor choices in this regard, it can result in insufficient resources for critical operations, leading to bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

5. Resistance to change: Leaders play THE key role in managing change within an organisation. When leaders are ineffective change agents, people are inclined to resist necessary—sometimes critical—changes. Organisations which can’t adapt, collapse.

In essence, the leadership of a business is the guiding influence behind its culture and operational effectiveness. Strong leadership fosters an optimistic culture, a positive work environment, and sets the stage for a sustainably successful operation. When leaders fail—in whatever way—they disrupt this harmony, causing a ripple effect which always impacts negatively on the business's culture and functional effectiveness.

Identifying operational/cultural challenges and their causal links with leadership—and fixing them—requires a systematic approach. 

1. Conduct a thorough assessment:

• Leadership analysis/observation: Use a combination of analysis and observation to  evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership team. 
• Operational audit: Examine key operational processes, workflows, and systems, to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas needing improvement.

2. Employee feedback and engagement:

• Gather leadership and operational feedback from employees, using a combination of surveys, interviews, and focus groups. 
• Assess employee engagement levels and identify factors contributing to any dissatisfaction or disengagement.

3. Root cause analysis:

• Identify the root causes of operational problems—and their sometimes not so obvious leadership links.
• Determine if the issues are systemic or isolated, and whether they stem from leadership styles, communication gaps, or other factors.

4. Develop a strategic plan:

• Work with key organisational leaders to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for addressing both leadership and operational issues.
• Prioritise actions based on urgency and potential impact on culture and overall performance.

5. Leadership development and training:

• Provide leadership development programs to enhance the skills and capabilities of the leadership team, using the identified operational challenges as practical examples.
• Offer workshops on effective personal transformation strategies—because personal wellbeing is key to organisational transformation and effectiveness.
• Offer training sessions on vision creation, communicating under pressure (when we’re inclined to become ‘automatically stupid'), decision-making, and conflict resolution.

6. Implement operational improvements:

• Based on the operational audit, implement changes which will streamline processes, eliminate bottlenecks, and improve overall efficiency.
• Introduce new technologies, or tools, which can enhance operational effectiveness.

7. Communication and culture building:

• Facilitate open—effective—communication channels between leadership and employees.
• Foster a positive, co-created organisational culture—OF OPTIMISM AND WELLBEING—which aligns with the company's vision and values.

8. Change management:

• Assist in managing the change process, ensuring that employees are informed, engaged, and supportive of necessary changes.
• Address resistance to change through communication, education, and involving employees in the decision-making process whenever possible.

9. Monitor and adapt:

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress in both leadership development and operational improvements.
• Regularly assess the impact of implemented changes and adjust strategies as needed.

10. Continuous improvement:

• Encourage a ‘wellness’ culture of continuous growth, innovation, and improvement, both in terms of leadership and operational effectiveness.
• Provide ongoing support and guidance to ensure sustained positive changes.

By addressing leadership issues and operational problems in a holistic manner, our engagement can contribute to creating a more resilient, ‘well’, optimistic, effective, and harmonious business environment.