Case CZ Development Program Performance-driven Teams

“CZ is an organization full of great people who are all strongly committed to our mission,” says Joyce van Herk, Product Owner Learning & Development at CZ. “However, we noticed that we could do better in terms of cooperation. How can you make teams, and ultimately the organization as a whole, even stronger? What’s the best approach?” 

To implement a performance-driven work culture in an enduring manner, CZ went in search of a strategic partner, which it found in de Baak. “With de Baak we immediately had the feeling of, ‘let’s sit down together to figure this out’. Which is very different to a regular customer-supplier relationship,” Joyce comments.

Team development and leadership go hand in hand

CZ and de Baak together designed a development program for performance-driven teams. The core of the program consists of strengthening cooperation, ownership, and result-oriented work methods. To make this concrete, CZ formulated five pillars to serve as foundation:

1. Working for each other
2. Work hard, play hard
3. Utilize each other’s competencies
4.  Strive for maximum impact
5. Take responsibility

A performance-driven work culture requires a healthy balance between people and results. “If you only focus on the relation side of things, then you lose sight of the goal and the performance. But if you only concentrate on achieving results, you run the risk of alienating employees or even of absenteeism. Part of our development programs is therefore to strike the right balance,” says Mariska Kemp-Ruiter, Incompany Adviser at de Baak.

Besides focusing on cooperation within teams, de Baak also considers the wider organizational context and the leadership required to enable the transition. “We are increasingly seeing our clients concentrate on cooperation within and between teams, but without lessening the importance of the goals,” Mariska explains. “We often deploy coaches to assist with the transition. This is not a matter of a one-off intervention, but of a lasting organizational development.” 

“In our programs we examine the entire organization: so not just the team, but also the context, the individuals making up the team, and the leadership. According to scientific research, all are very important in a high-performance organization, as well as the surrounding leadership. That’s why we actively include the leadership aspect in our coaching programs, and we discuss with the leaders how they could further boost their contribution. For us it’s all about the dynamics and the interaction between individuals, teams, and the organization. Teams are the connecting link between employees and leaders; it’s where they come together.”

Structure of the development program

“Together we started looking into how to design a development program for an organization that is already doing very well, but where there is still room for improvement. De Baak described the patterns of behavior that it identified in our organization. This fresh perspective from outside really helps you to rise above your own bubble,” says Joyce.

With a view to effectively assisting teams, the program started with an intake phase in which the teams mapped out their current situation and development needs. A starting point was then identified using the team scan, which is an instrument developed with ROI Institute. Next, the teams set to work on their challenges in customized coaching sessions, with the assistance of five de Baak coaches.

“We started with three pilot teams,” Joyce explains. “These were intensively monitored, and based on their experiences we could improve the program in the interim. Following the pilot phase, the other teams started with the program.”

An important component of the program was the training of internal team coaches at CZ. “We trained our own team coaches, together with de Baak. They are now gradually taking over the role of the external coaches, and in that way we are permanently embedding team development in our organization,” says Joyce.

Mariska adds: “The program started with intensive supervision by de Baak. Our team coaches get the internal team coaches on board the development program, so that they can gradually take over the team supervision. This ensures that CZ can continue the program independently and that team development becomes a permanent part of the organization.”

More trust , cooperation, and performance-driven work

The results of the program are clear for all. Teams have developed a better understanding of their cooperation, have become more aware of their own patterns of behavior, and have a better handle on how they can contribute effectively to achieving the goals.

“You can see growth with respect to all pillars in the teams that completed the program,” Joyce says. “Of course there are differences between the teams. Management teams tend to concentrate more on achieving maximum impact, while other teams grow in terms of utilizing competencies and taking responsibility. But what’s wonderful is how the program truly contributes to more awareness and more development. The team members have a clearer picture of where they stand as a team. The teams that have completed the program have really grown.”

Additionally, the program has enabled CZ to henceforth stimulate  team development on its own. “De Baak’s coaches haven’t just assisted us, but have also made us competent to continue the program under our own steam. And that really appeals to me in our collaboration: to have a partner that helps us on our way, and then waves us off into the future.”

The third outcome is that it has made CZ  more aware of the fact that cooperation is at least as important as the content of the work. Teams are less afraid to address each other, and are less afraid of being outspoken. “CZ is an organization that is very attached to good  relationships,” Joyce explains. “That can make it hard at times to directly address each other with a view to performance. The coaches help the teams to address such matters and to overcome ingrained patterns .”

Embedding team development within the organization

The collaboration between CZ and de Baak reveals how a performance-driven work culture is not just about setting and pursuing  goals, but also and especially about team development and cultural change. By combining external expertise with internal development, performance-driven work is no longer a separate pursuit but a structural part of the organization’s culture.

For CZ, this approach implies long-lasting change. As Joyce says, “My hope is that, in a few years from now, we can say not just that we have adopted a performance-driven work culture, but also that team development has become an integral part of how we work together at CZ.”

Working with de Baak has also been a very positive experience for CZ. “Two aspects truly make the difference,” Joyce says: “first, the expertise that de Baak brings with respect to team development and how to achieve results as a team in a pleasant manner. And second, how we worked together in our sounding board group to identify and overcome patterns  within CZ.”  Mariska adds: "We became increasingly familiar with the organization by working together in this intensive partnership. We really worked with each other and alongside each other. We can feel an ambitious energy  in CZ, and people are very approachable. Which is very pleasant for us and for the collaboration.”