Align Group has a holistic, multidimensional approach to four of the most important pillars of an organisation - culture, strategy, governance and performance. Align is a valuable partner to businesses excited to grow, develop and thrive in a rapidly changing business environment.
Align Group facilitates strategy and foresight sessions with boards, senior managers and key stakeholders or “provocateurs”.
Through these highly interactive sessions, organisations identify their purpose or “why”; the context within which their business operates now and will operate into the future; their desired outcomes; and the risks and opportunities they may face in the achievement of their Purpose. Through completing this process, it is also possible to confirm whether you have the right organisational culture to harness those opportunities, and avoid or mitigate those risks.
At Align Group we believe foresight is critical to the development of a sound strategy. Foresight is about provocations not predictions. It is a means of identifying patterns and trends, building scenarios, analysing those scenarios, and identifying the consequences of them. This allows you to identify the possible futures that you would prefer, along with the levers you may have to influence that future.
Further information on our approach to organisational culture change is outlined below.
You may also wish to review our blog on Governance, Strategy and Foresight.
When your organisation is happy with your high-level strategy, Align Group can work with you to develop a road map that contains clear measures of success, thereby ensuring you can achieve your strategy.
We do this through facilitated business planning sessions with your senior managers and staff, ensuring their engagement and buy-in to the success of your enterprise.
Align Group works with Chairs and boards to support effective governance. This may include:
Facilitating board evaluation processes including feedback sessions
Supporting Chairs with board dysfunction
Coaching and supporting management in such areas as minute taking and board paper development
Supporting new Chairs with annual board planning, agenda development and facilitation of meetings
Determining key criteria for the successful governance of your enterprise
Assisting with the development of an effective induction programme for new Board members
Reviewing board succession plans
Working in partnership with Chairs and Nomination Committees to recruit new board members using robust and rigorous methodologies, integrated with board succession planning and implementation
Align Group facilitates governance development programmes based on the ISO37000 – Governance of organisations – Guidance. These programmes can be run as a one or a two-day programme. As an example of learning outcomes, at the end of the two-day programme, participants will have a sound understanding of:
the role of a director
the different legislation that directors need to be aware of, including the different types of directors
purpose, strategy and risk governance
leadership – both from a cultural and an ethical perspective
the importance of board dynamics to board success
how to ensure you have the ingredients for sound decision-making
the importance of stakeholder engagement and social responsibility
what accountability and oversight actually mean for a board
the other ingredients that determine board success – this includes such areas as the importance of board succession; how you determine who to have at the table (including the all important emotional agility); rules of engagement; the role of the Chair; and the nuts and bolts of governance such as Board and Committee Charters, Board Agenda, papers and minutes.
The programmes are highly interactive and include quizzes, case studies, small and large group discussion and board meeting simulation.
All our programmes are customisable to your particular needs, whether that be internal governance committees, a particular sector such as agri-business or cooperatives; or in response to a particular area of development identified through a board evaluation.
Align Group provides executive coaching and support to senior leaders, chief executives, Chairs and board members. Our coaches have significant business and governance expertise, and enjoy sharing their knowledge with you and your people to support your success.
Align Group works with boards to undertake “state of the nation” reviews where there may be concerns regarding governance frameworks, structures and/or performance reporting; organisation culture; or management competence.
Align Group works with boards, senior managers and staff to identify the organisational values that enable you to deliver on your strategy. Too often we find that there is little relationship between an organisation’s strategy and the values that have been chosen.
We have worked for over 30 years in the field of organisational culture, in New Zealand and internationally. We define values as the attitudes, mindsets and beliefs that determine how your organisation will deliver its strategy. Our identification process is explicitly linked to strategy, context, risk and opportunity.
Once your values have been identified, and clearly defined in terms of importance and desired practices, it is then critical that all facets of your organisation are aligned to them, and that you have a clear way of reporting back to your board on how effectively they are being demonstrated throughout the organisation. Staff engagement is a key part of our approach.
Align Group supports organisations to ensure their operating models and organisation structure is designed to support the achievement of your strategy. We have significant experience assisting with mergers, acquisitions, new start-ups, and transformational change to address challenges in a variety of operating environments, including positioning organisations for the future.
