Innovation at a leading professional services firm
We worked with the innovation and strategy function at a leading professional services firm to create a forward-looking innovation strategy.
Innovation leaders had successfully driven isolated initiatives but lacked the support to roll out a cohesive strategy that addressed the changing competitive landscape. Cultural barriers made it hard to improve ways of working, resulting in burnout and increased voluntary leaving. We used insights from clients and feedback from internal stakeholders to understand the strengths of the firm and surface barriers that prevented talented practitioners from delivering their best work efficiently and joyfully.
These insights allowed innovation leaders to focus on small but meaningful changes that created an innovation flywheel: building trust, improving processes, and supporting practitioners to experiment and take risks — internally and with clients. In the end, this resulted in a clear plan that the client moved forward. The plan created a foundation for improved client service, sustainable financial performance, and an environment that supports recruitment and retention in an increasingly competitive talent landscape.
case study
LEADERSHIP STRATEGY AT A GLOBAL MEDIA COMPANY
We worked with the leadership team of a major media company's risk and safety function to create a sustainable global strategy.
Leadership had hired skilled and talented individuals, but they were not functioning as a true team. Instead, the function moved from crisis to crisis, and a lack of communication and standardization led to duplicated effort, disparate outcomes, and burnout. We gathered insights from front-line workers and supported leaders to do the same. We created and ran a process highlighting the front-line perspective as leaders crafted a shared set of values and a global strategy to set their direction. We also supported global leaders through one-on-one coaching as they created a cadence that balanced responsiveness with the need to move critical projects forward.
As a result of our work together, the risk and safety function reduced burnout and voluntary leaving, eliminated duplicative effort, and developed ways of working that captured global efficiencies—while remaining sensitive to local contexts and constraints. More importantly, the functional leadership team deepened their relationship with the businesses they supported and positioned themselves as high-value, trusted advisors for crucial risk and strategy decisions.
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