
Case Study
Advanced Manufacturing Services (AMS) Limited engaged the services of the 21st CLC when they started to experience business and people challenges related to significant growth.
AMS invested in the Leading Healthy Teams programme that included specialist coaching, mentoring, relationship intelligence, leadership and team development, interactive workshops, toolkit delivery and team surveys.
​Richard Jones, Managing Director at AMS, explains how the interventions have helped AMS develop their leaders and teams, while improving wellbeing, engagement, productivity and performance.
Story
When a business experiences significant growth quickly, the impact is often felt right across the board from the ownership, through to the leaders and their teams.
This situation arose for Congleton-based electronics supplier, Advanced Manufacturing Services Limited (AMS).
“The significant spike in orders and work volume caught us by surprise. It literally occurred overnight,” said Richard Jones, Managing Director for AMS.
He added: “While it’s a good problem to have, it was nevertheless a challenge we needed to address swiftly and effectively for the benefit of our employees and customers.”
During this period, Richard experienced firsthand the impact of surging workloads on himself and his team.
“We were fighting fires for a while. Everybody felt an increased sense of pressure, that quickly turned into stress. We are all human, it’s just a natural output from everything we were dealing with. It was difficult to know what to do next. We couldn’t get resource into the business quickly enough and there was simply no time to train,” said Richard.​
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Key Areas of Focus
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It became clear that AMS required some external specialist support to address the challenges associated with growth.
Key areas of focus included:
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Resources and skills to support growth
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Training and development
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Team connection and alignment
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Staff wellbeing
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Ownership and accountability
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Leadership styles
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Team engagement, relationships and performance
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Processes
AMS decided to engage the services of The 21st Century Leadership Company (The 21st CLC) to work with their leaders and teams.
Chris Whiteley, Managing Director of The 21st CLC, commented: “When businesses experience significant growth over a short time period, the impact on staff is considerable.
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It was clear that the AMS team were struggling to cope with ever-increasing workloads and a host of other issues. We set about helping Richard to put in place a robust structure to manage growth effectively, with a key focus on resources, training, staff development, accountability and collaboration. It involved a 360 view of the business, leadership and teams, to bring about positive change that would convert into tangible results.”
As a leader in its field, AMS’s success has been built on staff development and customer service. So, when the business started to experience high growth, it was clear the adverse effect this was having on the staff.
Andrea Jones, who heads up the finance function at AMS said: “We have always been committed to staff development and place significant importance on personal wellbeing too. When we began to experience the challenges, it was clear that we needed additional support to address increasing workloads, pressure, stress, and a breakdown in communication and relationships.
“Having worked successfully with Chris Whiteley at another organisation, it was an obvious choice to get him involved with AMS to tackle some of our key issues. He’s a proven coach and somebody Richard and I trust to deliver the right interventions for our leaders and teams. Our immediate priority centered on helping Chris to understand the key challenges, then set about creating a plan to support everyone across the business.”
Solution
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Following a situation analysis, Chris and his Programme Lead, Lorna White, recommended the Leading Healthy Teams programme to AMS, specifically focused on connecting every member of the business. This involved relationship intelligence, leadership and team development, workshops, interactive activities and team surveys. In addition, Chris coached and mentored Richard via monthly 1-2-1 sessions, to ensure the effective implementation and management of transformational change.
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The Leading Healthy Teams programme started out with a personality assessment for each team member involving the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI).
This widely used and renowned relationship intelligence tool helps you to know yourself more fully, understand others more accurately, manage yourself more effectively and achieve better results by building healthier relationships.
Richard said: “Self-awareness is pivotal to leading effectively. A willingness to evaluate the impact of your own thoughts and actions on others. And of course, how you respond to different communication styles across your team. I found the study of my own and others key motives, strengths, overdone strengths and conflict sequences fascinating. It has enabled me to work much more effectively with everyone.
“In fact, I have the SDI app on my phone and refer to it regularly before meetings or calls with staff and customers. By understanding their personalities and traits, you can adapt your approach and communication style. In the past I wondered why people weren’t responding well to some of my requests.
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“It often related to me going into my red zone and being confrontational. Now I understand the need to compromise (meet somewhere in the middle) with people to develop stronger relationships and achieve better outcomes from my engagements. It has worked wonders.
“I’m delighted that the team have also embraced the SDI personality assessment. Although there was some skepticism at the start, everyone has fully bought into it and they are now benefiting from the journey.”
Following the personality assessments, the group completed a team performance survey. This provided some key insight into their main challenges, with each one being addressed through several interactive activities at a workshop hosted by Lorna White (Programme Lead for the 21st CLC).
Andrea commented: “The workshop enabled everyone to articulate their own thoughts in a safe and inclusive environment. It is critically important that every voice is heard, and we address issues quickly and effectively. By empowering our teams to take responsibility and accountability for problems, we’ve seen a significant increase in staff making decisions for themselves, rather than leaning on Richard. The team are now working more collaboratively and effectively across all areas, which is translating into stronger relationships and better outcomes for individuals and the business.”
Results
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​Richard, Andrea and the AMS team embraced the Leading Healthy Teams interventions wholeheartedly. They have overseen transformational change that has delivered tangible results and return on investment across multiple facets of the business. Richard praised the programme: “Leading Healthy Teams and its series of interventions has been game-changing for our business. Reflecting on where we were, to where we are now – it’s like night and day.
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“The entire team is more connected, cohesive and happy. This has translated into significantly improved wellbeing, engagement, productivity and performance. We are now operating more seamlessly and effectively than ever before, and our customers are benefiting as a result. The turnaround has been remarkable and that is down to the great work of The 21st CLC and every single member of our business.
“From a personal perspective, I’ve benefitted enormously too. Chris has been a significant influence on me with his coaching and mentoring. I’ve been able to bounce around ideas with him, gain different perspectives, understand the bigger strategic picture and manage change effectively.
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​“He’s helped me to do less and finish more, which has made a real impact. We now have a robust structure in place and a very strong team to support continued growth.”
Andrea has also overseen the positive change within the business: “It’s been a fantastic experience for everyone. Staff are now much more open. They’re owning problems and assessing solutions together. Everyone has each other’s back. As a result, relationships are now much stronger within the team and communication is fantastic. This mindset has also transitioned into a continuous improvement focus where team members are now actively looking at how they can improve processes and make departments work more effectively. We are delighted with the work undertaken by Chris and his team.”
One of the AMS team leaders responsible for delivering the Leading Healthy Teams toolkit activities to her team is Charlotte Burton, Operations Director. She enthused: “I’ve found the whole process challenging in a good way. It’s made me come out of my comfort zone. The programme and activities have enabled us to understand each other better. As a result, we’ve forged stronger relationships, improved communication and are working much more effectively as a team. The interventions have transformed our approach and outcomes in many ways.”
The Sales Director and Operations Director for AMS are now using the Leading Healthy Teams toolkit activities and associated surveys to develop their teams further.
Charlotte added: “We’ve already experienced the tangible benefits of the Leading Healthy Teams programme. A key part of this is the toolkit that allows us to tackle issues quickly and effectively through collaboration and ownership. Importantly, I also receive feedback on my leadership style and approach, which helps me to engage more effectively with everyone. We’ll continue to use the toolkit, its activities and survey into the future to keep developing our teams, promoting continuous improvement and enhancing performance further."
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Conclusion
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From the chaos of unexpected growth to this very day, the transition for the AMS team has been significant. Every single member of the business has played a part in bringing about positive change for the good of AMS, its staff and customers.
Each problem has been openly discussed and acted upon as a collective. Throughout the process every voice has been heard in a safe and inclusive environment. People now understand each other better, work together more effectively and benefit from stronger relationships.
This has become the catalyst for fantastic results across the business. Today AMS is blessed with a connected, happy, and high-performing team that is focused on continued success in the future for its people and customers.
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Contact
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Chris Whiteley - 07796 177120