How Tate built a stronger, more connected Leadership Community

The Challenge

Tate had leaders operating at very different levels - from technically focused managers through to strategic leaders.

During a period of significant organisational disruption, those leaders needed to work together more effectively. They were managing difficult organisational decisions, reconnecting with colleagues whose normal routines had been disrupted and repeatedly adapting strategy in response to changing circumstances.

Stress levels were high.

The challenge was therefore bigger than individual wellbeing.

Tate needed leaders across different levels of the organisation to develop the capacity to perform, communicate and lead more effectively together.

Creating a Shared Understanding of Performance

The mixed-level cohort proved particularly valuable. Senior leaders were prepared to share their own experiences openly, which encouraged others to do the same.

Relationships deepened and trust grew.

What began with discussion of familiar negative behaviours quickly moved into something deeper. Participants started to recognise how their own limiting beliefs and behaviours were affecting their ability to perform. The shift was from simply responding to difficult circumstances to understanding what they could personally influence.

The Results

Participants also reported:

• Reduced stress

• Increased exercise

• Increased meditation

• Greater engagement

• Improved productivity

For many, the experience was transformational.

As people recognised the relationship between their own form and their outcomes, they became better able to take control of the behaviours affecting their performance. Confidence and ambition began to return. Leaders also became more focused on developing the people around them rather than simply managing their own demands.

What's really interesting about this programme is that the way in is quite simple, yet it takes you very deep and into who you are as a person. It's had impact at all levels of the organisation. Hamish Anderson, CEO, Tate Eat

Building Sustainable Leadership Habits

The most significant outcome was that the early changes lasted. Follow-up with the leadership group showed that the changes in mindset had been maintained.

Participants remained happier, more engaged and more conscious of the choices influencing their own performance. Tate subsequently incorporated OwnLife into its annual performance-review process, encouraging people to discuss how they maintain their own form and what support they need from leadership.

What started as support for individual leaders therefore became part of a broader conversation about how leadership performance is sustained across the organisation.