Is your senior leadership team fully aligned and ready for fast-paced change?
Even the most cohesive teams can find themselves derailed by the uncertainty of change. High workloads increase stress, changing priorities cause confusion and the frustration of unresolved differences of opinion creates tension and division in teams. Join thousands of leaders and teams who have already benefitted from revealing the hidden dynamics of their non-verbal behaviour and discover how you too can use it to align your team, reduce stress, increase understanding and resolve differences of opinion with more trust and transparency so your team:
- Is full of vitality and vigour, excited about possibilities
- Has clear objectives, pulling seamlessly together in one direction
- Knows exactly what to think, say and do to get the best from each other
Drawing on a decade of Equine Facilitated Leadership to fine-tune the skills of leaders and teams, Opus reveals the 12 hidden dynamics that every team needs to make visible to achieve optimal team performance
“Unambiguously brilliant.” Adrian Packer CBE, CEO, Core Education Trust
“Opus could seriously result in a significant improvement in both relationships and performance, for you and your teams.” Gina Lodge, CEO, The Academy of Executive Coaching
JUDE JENNISON is an Executive Team Coach, developing senior leadership teams through disruptive change. She is the creator of the Leadership Academy Online and works experientially with a herd of horses to provide life-changing aha moments that reduce stress, align teams and accelerate results.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents FRONT MATTER
Dedication
Foreword by CEO of Wesleyan
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE - BRILLIANT TEAMWORK
Chapter 1 – What makes a great team?
Chapter 2 – The Opus Method of Brilliant Teamwork
PART TWO - THE OPUS METHOD
Chapter 3 – Step One – Aliveness
Resilience
Stress behaviour
Psychological safety
Vitality
Team Aliveness
Team Discussion
Chapter 4 - Step Two - Alignment
Introduction to the Alignment model
Lead from the front
Lead from the middle
Lead from the back
Team Alignment
Team Discussion
Chapter 5 - Step Three – Awareness
Introduction to the Awareness model
Self-awareness – understand your impact
Relational awareness – how relationships impact the team
Field awareness – how the wider field affects performance
Energetic awareness – how to use energy and emotions to influence
Team Awareness
Team Discussion
Chapter 6 - Step Four – Ability
Introduction to the Ability model
Courage
Compassion
Clarity
Connection
Commitment
Team Ability
Team Discussion
Chapter 7 - Step Five – Acknowledgement
Verbal feedback
Emotional feedback
Non-verbal feedback
Appreciation
Team Acknowledgement
Team Discussion
PART THREE - CREATING THE MAGIC
Chapter 8 – Why don’t teams change?
Not enough time
Want a quick fix
It’s too hard
Team Discussion
Chapter 9 – The Magic of Brilliant Teamwork
Challenge of working in a team
Self-regulation
Alive, Aligned, Aware, Able, Acknowledged
Memorable experiences
Team Opus
Team Discussion
Epilogue – Opus’s story – the life and death of teamwork
Meet the equine team
BACK MATTER
Gratitude
Author bio
References
Index
About the Author :
JUDE JENNISON is an Executive Team Coach, developing senior leadership teams through disruptive change. She is the creator of the Leadership Academy Online and works experientially with a herd of horses to provide life-changing aha moments that reduce stress, align teams and accelerate results.
Review :
If you run a team of any sort, this is a book you have to have! Jude Jennison puts things in a way that are straightforward to understand and adds methodology that is implementable in any team!
One of the best books I have read on team performance.The client case studies at the start of each chapter were excellent.
Brilliantly illustrating an idea or point.
It was really refreshing to see some new thoughts around leading.
I particularly liked the 3 leadership positions which demonstrated that all teams play a leadership role. Just a different one at times.
If you want some practical and well presented learning on teams and high performance, this book is for you.
It’s the case studies that really bring this book to life. Jude’s work with leaders and teams using her team of rescue horses makes for fascinating reading and each case study helps the reader reflect on the model that Jude presents. The testimony from her clients really shows how transformational they have found the experience of working with the horses.
Dani Bacon is an organisational development consultant, co-founder of Distinction Business Consulting and co-host of the Distinction Podcast
Jennison argues that it is a book for senior leaders, but I would suggest its appeal is broader and it is suitable for anyone working in, or leading, teams.
