Case Study: Working with the English National Ballet
Written by Diane Hodgson
JSB and English National Ballet have been working in partnership for about 2 years. This exciting project has been about developing capability across the whole English National Ballet organisation. And this is no ordinary organisation. We have worked at every level within English National Ballet and we have brought together the whole range of JSB’s capabilities including our management communication and employment law training expertise, together with consultancy and executive coaching.
It has been, and continues to be, a fascinating journey. We have faced some interesting challenges in working in this artistic environment. It was vital that we understood the culture, challenges, and people. We always try to get the best fit between our people and our clients. In doing so for this project, we discovered some hidden (and in some cases rather rusty!) talents in our own team - amongst us we have ballet, ballroom, Latin American and tap dancers! We needed to see below the surface to really engage with what drives and motivates members of the company. So we were lucky enough to attend rehearsals – to literally see the work in progress. We saw first hand how extraordinary effort and practice culminated in amazing performances. We saw teamwork in a new light – from marketing, to wardrobe, to technician. We saw how everyone’s individual contribution has to gel and fit at exactly the right time – there is no room for slippage or silo here. Some of the challenges were from a practical perspective – for example, how to time our interventions around major tours; how to be flexible in line with an inflexible programme of events?
The company is client facing in a very visible and particular way. Performance management takes on a whole new meaning when you consider how to measure and how to build capability in commenting on and developing the performance of people who perform for a living and for whom the notion of excellence is a daily, moment by moment, requirement. Consequently, our methodologies have had to run the spectrum of traditional to innovative. For example, we have developed and designed experiments and experiences to enhance learning for those whose primary mode of communication is their bodies rather than their voices.
The organisation is diverse and fluid. There is an ever changing international dimension - the numbers of dancers and musicians working there changes depending on the performances at any given time. There is multi tasking as we have never seen it before – for example, musicians are also leaders and managers.
Excellence is the norm and the organisation’s survival depends upon it. Our aim has therefore been to enable everyone involved to perform to the absolute best of their ability and to support organisational and individual development. We have worked on some predictable, yet critical, areas - many of which have followed a natural lifecycle of employee engagement from recruitment to managing performance and diversity. Yet there has been nothing predictable about our experience of working at English National Ballet. The engagement and willingness to learn has been incredible - it has felt like the notion of development runs through the blood of this company. The focus and processes have evolved in line with emerging needs. Our workshops have demonstrated an integrated approach allowing participants to build their skills over time and to focus on internal and external relationships. We have tried to make our team approach as cohesive as English National Ballet. We have aimed to be role models, individually and as a team.
The work is ongoing. We are currently coaching individuals and supporting the organisation to further strengthen its processes in support of new policies and procedures which in turn support a cohesive approach to strategic planning and management. We look forward to continuing to learn together.
Diane Hodgson is Director, Management Development at JSB Training and Development. She is a leading management development specialist, trainer, coach and counsellor. She combines team and organisational development ability with her expertise in transforming individual performance to deliver outstanding results for clients.
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