Case Study: Strengths-based Strategic Team Integration
From Capability Centre to Strategic Partner
In 2023, one of the top-ten global automotive suppliers was at a crossroads.
Onshore business leaders were visiting India to assess the PSP team's (Purchase Support Platform) potential and decide on future investment.
The question wasn't just "Can you do the work?"
It was "Should we trust you with more?"
The PSP Team wished to demonstrate that they could be more than a service provider. They could be strategic partners.
The Intervention Approach
Step 1: Understanding Team Strengths
We began with individual strengths assessments for all team members, then created a group report mapping the collective capability.
At an individual level, team members got to know about their own and each other's strengths.
At the team level, the strengths were categorised into 4 buckets- Influencing, Strategic Thinking, Relationship Building and Executing. A heat map was created to identify where strengths were concentrated.
Referencing this, team members set up a gallery walk for the Onshore leaders who were going to visit the team on the first day of the workshop. Two to three team members "owned" a stall, sharing about their project accomplishments, strengths and what they bring to the table.
Step 2: Co-Creating Strategic Direction
Using real-time facilitation, the entire team co-created a timeline: Past → Present → Future
Celebrating achievements of the last 5 years
Recognising current wins
Vision for the next 5 years
The PSP leaders further refined the vision and guided the teams members to plan strategic initiatives to achieve the vision.
From the heat map, the team also identified where the gaps existed. Like any other strengths-based approach, team members also brainstormed on how they would overcome their shortcomings through their strengths.
Step 3: Exchanging Need and Offers
By this time, the team members were convinced that they could leverage each other’s strengths to do better work.
Team members articulated what they could offer others and what they needed from colleagues to succeed in their strategic initiatives.
Tangible Results
The intervention delivered measurable impact:
Months after the intervention, the leaders stated that the team felt more integrated.
4x increase in business from the Onshore unit
Expanded mandate to build capability and grow team size
The team is inching closer to becoming a valued strategic partner