UTurn^TV

About U Turn

U Turn delivers innovative, practical training that allows individuals to stretch themselves without feeling the discomfort of having to make radical personal changes that go against the grain of the authentic self.

Moments of Clarity is designed to empower each individual within any team to take full responsibility for their role within the team and the organisation.  My belief is that once each person fully commits to their role in an adult and responsible way the team naturally begins to work together better because they have accepted and fully embraced their personal responsibility for any task they need to undertake.

Every team needs structure, strong leadership, organisation, clarity of operational procedures and more importantly the understanding that failure to deliver has consequences that will be applied across the team in a fair and equitable manner.

The first day of Moments of Clarity is a full, frank and open discussion between team members about what issues they perceive are causing them difficulties within their role and that are affecting their ability to operate effectively within the team.  Each issue is discussed in a frank and open manner and all team members are offered the opportunity to listen to everyone else’s’ perspective on an issue and also to explain their own perspective.

An example of this is timely attendance at scheduled meetings.  Typically, discussions around this topic may contain the following elements:

• The reasons behind late arrival
• Why someone doesn’t think it’s important to arrive on time
• The cost to the organisation of wasted time
• An exploration of workload issues
• Respect for the team as a whole
• The effect on customers
• The perspective of the team by the rest of the organisation
• Perceptions of occasional visitors to team meetings
• An exploration of why there are no consequences for late arrival

It is likely that many other elements will be introduced into the discussion that will be specific to the organisation or the team.

This method is repeated for any issue that team members wish to raise.

One of the key parts of my role is to encourage open discussion and participation, ensure that no blame is apportioned (only responsibility for actions) and ensure that respect is shown to all individuals present at all times.

The opportunity to have a respectful, structured and honest ‘clearing of the air’ helps remove stress from individuals and day one comprises the first stages in rebuilding positive working relationships.

The second day of Moments of Clarity will focus on the construction of an Action Plan designed by the team.  The team will design and agree the solutions to every issue, assign an owner or owners for each solution identified, agree dates for completion (to comply with SMART principles).  As sponsorship of the Action Plan will be sought from a significant person within the organisation, the team will also be responsible for regular reporting (typically monthly) on the progress of the Action Plan to encourage achievement.

My experience is that teams function effectively through achievement.  Everyone wants to go home from work every day feeling that they have achieved and done a good days work.  Work is not a social club.  It is a place where adults come together to achieve the objectives of the organisation they work for.  Focus on this simple perspective is often lost in teams that are not functioning as well as they might and Moments of Clarity, as the name suggests, will provide each team member with clarity of purpose.  Team building happens as a natural consequence of this approach.

Some testimonials for Moments of Clarity:

The team building day was quite possibly the best money I have ever spent in the last 5 years of running my business. I was extremely skeptical, as were the rest of the team, with comments such as “When does the tree hugging begin?” and “This is a waste of our time!” After the day all the team agreed that the work done by U Turn was fantastic and we don’t know how we managed without them. The initial emergency coaching was only a quick fix and the team building allowed us to fully address all the issues and formulate an action plan to become an amazing organisation.  Justin Turner, MD, CarrotMedia

I have recently been through the ‘Moments of Clarity‘ programme with my team and am delighted with the results. The process that Jules took us through was enlightening, humbling and in some cases quite emotional, but by the end of the programme the whole team is now able to view themselves, their responsibilities and their place in the team in a whole new light. I would not hesitate to recommend this programme to anyone who manages people and wants to enhance the productivity, dedication and motivation of their team.  Marianne Whitfield, Cobweb Information

We held a “Moments of Clarity” two day event with our staff team. This had been after a turbulent couple of years with difficult changes occurring within the work place.  Jules Rutherford ensured all past issues were discussed and “laid to rest” in a very supportive way.  It has led the team to build very good relationships with each other and has placed the pride back in the work that we all do as everyone has realised that changes occur for the good of the group. We have all continued to build on what we have learned about ourselves and each other and transmit this into our working environment. New ideas which were discussed together have also been implemented since the event and this has been great for staff to see that their ideas have been taken seriously. Thanks for helping us all move on and become focused on “doing the work” again. Sarah Dobson, Project Manager for Playgroup Network and MD for Kids CIC

I have included links to the websites of each of the above companies so please feel free to contact them for any further verbal confirmation.

Moments of Clarity Outcomes

• Team cohesiveness will greatly improve
• Working relationships will improve inside and outside the team
• Delivery of an Action Plan based on existing team issues
• Improvements in how work and tasks are carried out and completed
• A more energised and enthusiastic team who are clearly aware of their responsibilities

Delivery

Moments of Clarity is a two day process and it is essential that all team members have the availability to attend both days.

This process can be delivered in one of two ways:

• Two days with the second day being no further than one week from the end of the first day
• Two days ‘back to back’

Requirements

• Comfortable room large enough to accommodate all participants
• Refreshments and lunch for all participants
• Flipchart