Stage Two – Creating a learning culture
Stage Two started once there was some trust built between the two groups. This stage was focused on the phenomenon of learning. The objective was for them to learn competencies foundational to building trust, collaborating on business matters, and creating an authentic partnership. Individual ontological coaching was provided to the senior leaders of both organizations and focused on moving into a new way of interacting and exploring their personal/professional relationship to trust. Spot coaching on site during session breaks and meals was offered to any participant and involved issues of trust across groups and within their own. The changes visible after this stage were:
- The discovery that once they learned a new skill that there was a ‘next’ one to learn
- Most internal personal issues within each group were able to be resolved by employing intentional listening skills which allowed misunderstandings to be rectified.
- Employee and Union leadership participation was fluid due to people who did not want change leaving or resigning and folks excited about the potential learning and change wanting to join the partnership process.
- A shared vocabulary to speak about the process with one another was agreed upon by a Regional Director and Local Union President. This was then adopted by other hubs/bases.
Stage Three – Practicing action and partnership
Stage Three was implemented when the collective group demonstrated some autonomous competency in the skills learned in the previous stage. In Stage Three, participants began to build authentic trust and have intentional dialogues with one another. Challenges were identified, trust was tested, joint decision making and problem solving was initiated, and issues were discussed in accordance with the guidelines and skills learned previously. Individual and spot coaching continued and as it progressed more issues of trust surfaced. Additionally, some Regional Directors and their Union counterparts sought coaching together to resolve long-standing issues.
Changes visible after this stage were:
- The articulation, tracking, and resolution of issues related to frontline employees that were left unaddressed when initially brought to management’s attention.
- The recognition that some of the issues were systemic in nature and required company-wide policy change.
- There was an absence of side conversations during the sessions as participants practiced intentional listening.
- Managers began to raise issues important to them for resolution. Previously, 90% of the issues were initiated by Union Leaders.
- Four of the five managers at the seventh base went back to the frontline or left the company.
- Participants began to notice personal growth and how they listened to and trusted their families.
- Participants started to believe in the integrity of the partnership process and the commitment of each group to see it through.
