Global Team Launch

Client: VP of Marketing for a Fortune 500 company.

Client Need

A new VP was named after a series of organizational and strategic changes, and almost half of the VP’s direct reports were new to the team. The VP requested coaching and support in starting up his new team, getting them aligned around new strategies, and preparing for the launch of new products. GCA conducted interviews across the team to gain insight into key issues, concerns and perceived opportunities. Utilizing the data from the interviews, GCA worked with the team to define a vision and common purpose, and build a basis for alignment across the departmental functions. The team set mutual expectations for each other around team norms, and defined accountabilities. We built a downstream communication strategy to create consistent messaging and alignment across the selling teams. A weekly “Touch Point” meeting was designed for leaders to connect on critical issues of the week. Ongoing coaching with the VP, as well as team coaching and leader coaching helped to maintain focus and adherence to agreed norms, and consistency around the Touch Point meetings. An exercise to identify individual strengths and experiences within the team allowed the team to leverage each other more effectively to drive outcomes, and provided a common language for discussion of challenges.

Results

A follow-up survey of the team leads indicated that they felt better equipped to collaborate and meet the challenges of the new strategy. Engagement scores in an annual survey were the highest in the sales organization, and their ability to work in an aligned and collaborative way was credited for the successful launch of a new product.