A cocktail of strategy, team building and fun.

Our own Stephen Welch interviews Siobhan Hammond, Head of Communication and Change Consulting at Gallagher.

Gallagher is one of the world’s largest insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting firms. They are a global leader in creating better outcomes through employee benefit communication, internal communication and employee engagement. Archetypical recently worked with Siobhan, who leads a team of 30 delivering for clients. The highlight was a team event we facilitated.

Stephen: Hi Siobhan. Thanks for chatting. As the team leader, tell me more about your goals for the project we worked on together.

Siobhan: It’s a relatively new team, with lots of new people. We wanted an event where we could talk about our strategy, and get to know each other more.

Stephen: Yes, post-Covid, we’re working with a few teams who want to re-connect and re-align.

Siobhan: Indeed. A key part of what we wanted to achieve was about sharing the vision and strategy and getting people to work together to explore what the plan means in practice. Your facilitation helped us create the conditions for success. We’ve since developed plans to focus on delivery of the strategic drivers, to build momentum.

Stephen: What does that mean in practice?

Siobhan: Based on the discussions we had with you, we’ve since organized regular sessions to track progress on the key strategy areas. We’ve also focused on improved collaboration to keep the momentum going. Your experience and expertise was a helpful contribution to our thinking around how to make this happen.

Stephen: Glad to help. As you know, I’ve had roles similar to yours in the past so it was nice to share ideas and experiences. You mentioned also that part of the objective of the day was for people to get to know each other more and have powerful constructive conversations.

Siobhan: Yes, it was good to spend the afternoon playing Corporate Snakes and Career Ladders. The game gave people a chance to connect and learn new approaches and ways of thinking and working. For example, we’ve been using the Types of Adviser restaurant analogy a lot since: it’s been helpful to frame conversations and develop mutual understanding.

Stephen: Good. I noticed you completed the self-assessment questionnaire, so I’ll write up your report. In the next few days.

Siobhan: The team were buzzing after the session, and I just wish we’d had more time together to just chat and network. We’ll do this next time.

Stephen: From conversations I had, team members seem to like the mix of strategy work, personal development, and fun. We know from psychology that you always learn more and remember more when you are having fun. Here’s what a couple of them said to me: