UNCOVERING THE LEADERSHIP RESOURCE WITHIN
ABOUT BP
Almost the dictionary definition of a multi-national company, British Petroleum is one of the world’s seven oil and gas ‘supermajors’. From its headquarters in London, the scope of their operations is vast. From oil and gas exploration to refining, engineering and manufacturing, to creating proprietary technologies that live at the cutting edge of digital, BP is a hotbed of innovation.
THE CHALLENGE
REVERSING A SELF-IMAGE PROBLEM
BP’s technical expertise is substantial, and understandably it attracts some of the world’s brightest engineers and most established digital industry figures. That’s fantastic in development environments, but when it comes to leadership it doesn’t always translate. People had been promoted on technical merit, but were staying focused on individual jobs or tasks, rather than seeing themselves as managers or leaders. You could say that BP had a self-image problem.
THE APPROACH
We ran our own diagnostics to plan the transformation. Knowing that our success criteria depended on them taking ownership as shift managers and supervisors, we needed to set clear visions and directions for individuals as team leaders. We called it The Transition to Leadership programme.
There have been more than a few initiatives through BP’s door, so we needed to avoid the ‘If I keep my head down it will go away’ reaction, or worse ‘Not another training programme’ by engendering confidence to have conversations around performance, productivity and behaviour. We alternated workshops with 1-2-1 coaching centred around Courageous Conversations, and leader as coach. In doing so, we created a more truthful picture as tech experts saw the value in accountability, engagement and morale.
THE RESULTS
One person said it was “The best training programme in my 36 years at BP”. Time and again we heard sentiments to the effect of that the programme being “Remarkable”, and “Energising”.
Delivering Leadership capacity and tangible business results and a return on investment though business critical projects.