Background

The founding directors of a successful architectural practice had implemented a clear succession plan.

The dilemma was that although the next generation of directors was in place, they had yet to develop their own strategic vision and a true leadership mindset.

Moreover, in a buoyant economy the challenge was how to avoid complacency and how to generate an understanding of the new opportunities that had yet to be explored.

Process

We began by undertaking a detailed analysis of the underlying performance of the firm.

Combined with the findings from our interviews with both staff and clients, this provided an independent overview of the status quo.

It also highlighted the opportunities for improvement… and with it the energy and impetus for change.

Results

We then worked with the new directors to clarify their vision for the future of the practice, and helped them formulate a set of strategies for achieving this based on a new organisational structure.

Teams were set up to be responsible for sub-activities across the firm and we then worked with them to develop clear sub-goals and sub-strategies consistent with achieving the directors’ overarching vision.

After working with our client for around a year the result was a clear sense of direction running throughout the firm, with individuals and teams at all levels understanding how they fitted in and what was required of them to together achieve success.

Moreover, by encouraging the next tier of senior staff to think strategically, we had also helped to begin the development of the next generation of leaders.

CASE STUDY 1

Managing Succession -

in a Medium Sized Architectural Practice