Alexandra Blackman
When you know something needs to change, but cannot yet see exactly what
Advice and support for executives, senior management, leaders and teams on questions involving leadership, collaboration and organisational development.
What is visible is not always what is really going on.
Sometimes it is clear that an organisation, team or working relationship is not moving forward in the way it needs to. Conversations take place, decisions are made and adjustments follow. People are committed. And yet things do not shift in the way people had hoped, nor do the intended results materialise.
Different experiences, interests and perspectives may have become intertwined. Responses that make sense from each person’s own position can reinforce one another. Earlier events may continue to shape what happens in the present. And what once made sense or worked well may now be getting in the way of further development.
I work with boards, executive teams, leaders, teams and organisations on complex questions involving leadership, collaboration and organisational development.
I help untangle what is going on, identify how different elements are connected, and make sense of how the situation has developed and what is sustaining it. I do more than ask questions: I bring in my own observations and experience, make connections and offer my interpretation of what I see. From there, it becomes clearer what is needed to move forward.
Sometimes this begins with an individual leader. Sometimes with a team, a working relationship or a question that affects the organisation more broadly. The form my involvement takes is not predetermined. What is needed becomes clearer by looking carefully at the situation as it actually unfolds in practice.
I can also stay involved in what follows: as an adviser, as a strategic thought partner, and by supporting leaders, teams and organisations in taking that forward.
So that understanding what is going on can also lead to change in practice.
Strategic thought partner
For executives, executive teams and leaders facing complex questions involving leadership, collaboration, decision-making and organisational development.
Leadership and individual development
For leaders and other professionals who want to examine their own actions and continue developing within the reality of their day-to-day work.
Teams and working relationships
For teams and people in working relationships who want to understand what is influencing their collaboration and what is needed to move forward.
Organisational development
For organisations where questions arising in different places and at different levels are interconnected, and where it is necessary not only to address individual problems but to create the conditions for the organisation as a whole to move forward.
My involvement may begin in one place and develop from there. What becomes visible with an individual leader, within a team or in a working relationship may turn out to be part of a broader organisational question. Conversely, organisational development may call for focused support for leaders, teams or working relationships.
The form follows what the situation requires.
When my involvement can be of value
Not every question I am approached with is clear from the outset. Sometimes there is a specific problem. Sometimes there is mainly a sense that something is not working as well as it could. And sometimes there is no problem at all, but a desire to develop further.
The reasons for involving me can vary widely.
- An executive wants to understand what is happening in the organisation and what is needed.
- A leader finds that established ways of leading, communicating or making decisions are no longer working well enough.
- A team has a great deal of commitment and expertise, but is not managing to make full use of it collectively.
- A working relationship has come under strain, and conversations no longer seem to lead to greater understanding or a way forward.
- Work on change or development has been underway for some time, but ideas and agreements are not taking sufficient shape in day-to-day practice.
- Or there is room for further growth, and the question is how leadership, collaboration and development can evolve with it.
Questions that may lie beneath this
- What is really happening here?
- Why, despite our efforts, are we not moving forward in the way we would like?
- Why does something that makes sense to one person create tension or resistance for another?
- What does this situation require of me as a leader?
- What is sustaining the current situation, and where might change become possible?
- What is needed not only to understand or agree on something, but to actually do things differently in day-to-day practice?
I do not approach these questions with a predetermined answer. I explore them together with the people involved.
An initial conversation
A question does not need to be fully defined before we speak.
You may know exactly what you would like support with. Or you may simply sense that something in leadership, collaboration or organisational development needs attention, without it yet being clear exactly what is going on or what kind of approach would be appropriate.
In an initial conversation, we explore what is happening, what you need, and whether my way of seeing and working fits what you need.
You are welcome to get in touch for an initial conversation.
Contact form
Contact details
Feel free to call or email me.