We collaborate with our clients to develop and, more importantly, operationalize new levels of 'leaderfulness' into their business priorities, projects, and operations.
A lens for making sense of leadership and culture
Many of today's leadership and culture models focus on addressing symptomatic pain points by surveying for employee satisfaction, confidence, and/or engagement.
At The Ally Co., we like the credence ‘all models are flawed, and some are helpful’, and offer another lens for making sense of leadership and culture - one that explores the underlying forces of systems, power, and behaviour.
Indicators and drivers for 'leaderful' teams
The model above explores the impact of leadership on culture through a core set of drivers, indicators, and competencies.
It can help to identify, solve, and manage deeply rooted problems/opportunities within different ‘intention-impact gaps' - where the underlying forces of project failure, human suffering, and under performance exist.
The ability to genuinely use our power in a positive way to affect change.
As humans, we regularly find ourselves in competition when it comes to getting our needs met or our priorities to the 'top of the list'. If the stakes are high enough, this tension can manifest into harmful conflict. Either way, the underlying dynamics and forces at play in all our interactions with each other is the phenomenon of power.
Many of us do not have the awareness, skills, tools, and resources (and sometimes the willingness) to navigate the complexity of the many power dynamics we find ourselves in. So, we lean on old habits and behaviours, coping strategies, and 'tricks' we have picked up along the way.
At The Ally Co., our work with teams is aimed at helping people to gain a deeper understanding of their power - what it is, how we get it, and how to use it with skill and wisdom - for the sake of creating meaningful connection and positive impact in our lives.
The ability to clearly and consistently show up in ways that align with our core values.
An individual's values and culture (or organization's) are not defined by the words on its website or marketing materials - they exist in the everyday behaviours, decisions, and impact of the people who are a part of the collective.
When our core beliefs are clear and consistently practiced by leaders, a foundation exists to support people in developing connection, trust, and momentum together.
The ability to operationalize our power (and leadership) through deep listening, meaningful dialogue, and purposeful direction.
Developing and maintaining open, safe, and fulfilling relationships is an essential skill for leaders who are power-aware, people-centred, and systems-conscious.
Our work aims to cultivate new levels of awareness and skill through the exploration of existing communication opportunities and the introduction of helpful tools and strategies.
The ability to meaningfully align needs, values, and hopes/fears across varying levels of system (the individuals, the team, and the larger collective).
You might have heard of the “great resignation or reset”. We align more with the reframing of this movement as the “great realignment”. People have been experiencing and living through a global pandemic in their own way which has led to many of them making conscious choices to align their work with what is most meaningful to them.
Our work is aimed at (re)connecting people, both individually and collectively, to a shared set of cultural foundations (values, vision, mission). This work is also about connecting people with themselves and each other.
Meaningfully connected teams are more resilient, adaptive, and trusting.
The ability to navigate conflict/tension in a way that deepens understanding, connection, and capacity.
Our work explores four types of conflict to help people cultivate the awareness, skill, and capacity to activate the benefits of healthy tension and conflict (think collaboration, innovation, adaptive capacity, and more).
Top teams throughout the world - in sports, aerospace, technology, and more - embrace tension and conflict and use them in healthy and positively impactful ways.
The ability to improve well-being through the setting and holding of healthy boundaries.
When people are burnt out, overwhelmed, and/or frustrated, nothing else can matter. A team’s well-being - at work, at home, or in the community - is a key indicator of the impact that their leadership and power dynamics are having on them.
Our work aims to locate the most meaningful actions that teams can take to create integrated, sustainable, and healthy habits (e.g., rituals, boundaries, non-negotiables).
The ability to respond to change in ways that enable people to continously create positive impact and thrive.
One of the highest levels and indicators of leaderful teams, adaptive teams face less friction and require less force when responding to change over longer periods of time. They demonstrate the awareness, skill, and willingness to respond to and shape meaningful opportunities.
Our work aims to help teams clearly articulate, challenge, and shift their thinking when it comes systems, strategies, leadership, ways of working, and more.