Alexandra Blackman
Advisory & Development
The questions I am approached with vary, as does the form my involvement takes.
Sometimes I work with an executive or leader over a longer period of time. Sometimes I become involved with a team or a working relationship that has come under strain. And sometimes my involvement begins with a request to explore what is happening within an organisation and what is needed to move forward.
Quite often, what begins with one question develops into something broader. What becomes visible with an individual leader may turn out to be part of something broader within a team or organisation. A problem in a working relationship may be connected to leadership, decision-making or earlier developments. And an organisational question may call for support in different places and at different levels.
That is why the form my involvement takes is not always determined in advance. We look at the question, the context and what is needed.
01
Strategic thought partner to boards, executives and senior management
I work with executives and leaders on complex questions arising in their day-to-day practice.
These may involve leadership and decision-making, what is happening within a team or organisation, a difficult working relationship, or a development where it is not yet clear exactly what is required.
As a strategic thought partner, I help disentangle what has become intertwined, bring different perspectives and interests into view, and explore what a situation requires of its leadership.
I do more than ask questions. I bring in my own observations, experience and interpretation, make connections and articulate what I see when this helps clarify what is going on and what possibilities there may be.
02
Leadership and individual development
I work with leaders and other professionals who want to examine their own actions and continue developing within the reality of their day-to-day work.
Our conversations begin with whatever is occupying them or whatever they are encountering at that point. This may be a specific situation at work, a question, an experience, or something that is difficult to make sense of. Starting from what they bring, we explore what becomes visible, how different experiences and circumstances are connected, and how these influence their own actions.
Sometimes the focus is a current leadership question or a difficult situation. Sometimes someone notices that certain responses or ways of acting keep recurring. And sometimes there is mainly a desire to develop further, take a clearer position or make choices with greater freedom.
Insight is important, but it is not enough. Understanding something does not automatically mean that you can relate to it differently.
That is why the work also focuses on what happens in day-to-day practice: what someone can begin to see, experience and do differently, and what is needed for new possibilities to become part of the way they act.
03
Teams and working relationships
When collaboration does not come easily, I work with people to understand what is happening between them.
People may be talking to one another and still find that, across their different experiences and perspectives, they are not really reaching one another. In those situations, I look not only at what is being said, but also at what happens in the interaction: how what one person brings into the conversation is taken in by the other, and whether it actually influences what happens next.
This may involve a team, but also a working relationship between two people or a small number of people. There is room for different experiences and perspectives, while at the same time we explore how people respond to one another and how patterns can develop that begin to influence the way they work together.
What makes sense as a response for one person can become part of the problem that the other then responds to. When this dynamic becomes visible and understandable, it creates room to look not only at the other person, but also at one’s own influence on what happens between people.
The aim is not for everyone to think alike. It is to make visible and discussable what is influencing the collaboration, what people need from one another, and what each person can contribute from their own role to changing what happens between them.
Support can also be valuable when there is no conflict. For example, when a team wants to develop further, make better use of what is already there, or is facing a new challenge together.
04
Organisational development
Sometimes the question does not sit in one place.
There may be signals coming from different parts of the organisation. Decisions are not having the intended effect. Collaboration or trust has come under strain. Change is not taking hold. Or there may be an ambition to develop further and a question of how leadership, collaboration and development can evolve with the organisation.
I help explore and make sense of what is happening within the organisation and how different developments are connected.
I look at this from different perspectives and levels: at what people are experiencing, at what is happening between people and groups, at leadership and decision-making, and at the broader context in which all of this is taking place.
From that understanding, I advise on and support what is needed to move forward.
This may mean being involved in different parts of the organisation over a period of time: in conversations with the board or executive team, in supporting leaders, with teams, around specific working relationships, or at moments when important decisions and developments come together.
In this way, individual interventions do not stand alone. They can become part of a broader development in which the organisation learns from what happens in practice and uses that understanding to move forward.
A form that fits the question
An assignment does not therefore need to be fully defined in advance.
Sometimes it is clear from the outset that individual support, team support or strategic advice is appropriate. In other situations, my involvement begins with a conversation, an analysis or a specific question, and what is actually needed becomes clearer as the work develops.
I remain in conversation with the client about this throughout. This allows my involvement to adapt to what emerges in practice, while keeping the purpose of the work and the responsibilities within the assignment clear.
An initial conversation
If you would like to explore what is happening within your organisation, team or leadership and what is needed to move forward, we can begin with an initial conversation.
The question does not need to be fully defined before we speak.
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Contact details
Feel free to call or email me.