Culture, Structure and Team Effectiveness Training Course for OD Leads

Programme Summary

Organisation development is the subject of this five-day training course for HR directors, OD leads and heads of transformation at strategic level, ending in an organisation development plan for one business unit. Many change efforts stall because the organisation was never diagnosed properly or because interventions were chosen by habit. The approach moves from the principles of organisation development, through diagnosis, culture and structure, and team effectiveness, to intervention design and the measurement of impact. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in organisation development.

The Business Case

Organisations spend heavily on restructures, culture initiatives and leadership events without knowing which of them changed performance. Leaders who diagnose before they intervene, and who agree measures in advance, can direct limited change capacity to the issues that hold results back and can show sponsors what moved.

• Change Adoption: Improves when interventions are built with the people affected rather than imposed on them.
• Team Effectiveness: Becomes visible as roles, decision rights and working agreements are made explicit.
• Retention of Key Talent: Is protected as culture and structure issues are found early and addressed.

Principles and Evidence Base

• Action research: The planning, action and results cycle structures the diagnostic and evaluation work in Sessions 2 and 5.
• Lewin's three-step change model: Unfreezing, changing and refreezing frames the intervention sequencing in Session 4.
• Weisbord's six-box model: Purposes, structure, relationships, rewards, leadership and helpful mechanisms organise the diagnosis in Sessions 2 and 3.
• Appreciative Inquiry: The Discover, Dream, Design and Destiny cycle shapes the strengths-based interventions in Session 4.

Intended Participants

• HR directors who sponsor culture, structure and capability change across an organisation.
• OD leads who diagnose organisations and design interventions for senior clients.
• Heads of transformation who need people-side evidence to support programme decisions.
• Senior business partners who advise executive teams on team and organisation design.

The programme serves banking, healthcare, public administration and manufacturing organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate an organisation using action research and the six-box model.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose culture and structure issues from interview, survey and performance data.
3. Participants will be able to construct a team effectiveness review with agreed roles and working agreements.
4. Participants will be able to design an intervention sequence matched to the findings of a diagnosis.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise interventions by readiness, risk and expected effect.
6. Participants will be able to justify an impact measurement plan to a sponsoring executive.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Foundations of Organisation Development

What does organisation development change, and how does a practitioner work with a client system?

• Action Research Cycle
• Lewin's Three-Step Change Model
• Client and Consultant Contracting
• Stakeholder and Sponsor Map
• Case Review of Two Sector Change Efforts

Day 2: Organisational Diagnosis

How is an organisation diagnosed so that findings can be trusted by the client?

• Weisbord's Six-Box Model
• Interview Guide and Data Collection Plan
• Pulse Survey Design
• Data Feedback Session Plan
• Diagnostic Findings Summary

Day 3: Culture, Structure and Team Effectiveness

Which cultural and structural patterns limit performance, and how are they shown?

• Culture Mapping from Observed Behaviours
• Structure and Decision Rights Matrix
• Role Clarity Review
• Team Effectiveness Assessment
• Working Agreement Template

Day 4: Intervention Design and Sequencing

Which interventions fit the findings, and in what order should they run?

• Intervention Options Menu
• Appreciative Inquiry Four-Stage Cycle
• Readiness and Resistance Assessment
• Intervention Sequence Plan
• Risk and Dependency Log

Day 5: Applying Organisation Development to One Business Unit

Is the organisation development plan ready for a sponsoring executive to approve?

• Applying the Session 2 Diagnosis to the Chosen Unit
• Testing the Session 3 Findings Against Team Evidence
• Aligning the Session 4 Sequence to Sponsor Priorities
• Impact Measures and Evaluation Schedule
• Completing the Organisation Development Plan

Methodology

The programme is built around structured exercises and case analysis. Participants work with an anonymised business unit dataset containing interview notes, survey results and structure charts. They diagnose, design interventions and build measures in small teams, then present their plan to a simulated sponsor panel for challenge and feedback.

• Suggested activity: Running a mock data feedback conversation with a resistant client.
• Suggested activity: Mapping decision rights for a unit with overlapping roles.
• Suggested activity: Sequencing three interventions against a readiness assessment.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an organisation development plan for one business unit. It contains a diagnostic summary, a culture and structure review, a team effectiveness assessment, an intervention sequence and an impact measurement schedule. It is used to brief a sponsoring executive and to open a contracting conversation with the unit leadership team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is organisation development suitable for leaders who have not led a change programme?

Yes. Organisation development is taught at strategic level for leaders who sponsor or advise on change. It assumes responsibility for people, culture or structure, not prior consulting experience or statistical expertise.

Which models does organisation development rest on in this programme?

Organisation development here rests on action research, Lewin's three-step change model, Weisbord's six-box model and Appreciative Inquiry, each applied to a diagnosis or an intervention.

How is the plan from organisation development used at work?

You use the organisation development plan to brief a sponsoring executive, agree priorities with a unit leadership team and set the measures against which later results are judged.

How does organisation development differ from a change management programme?

Organisation development starts with diagnosis of culture, structure and teams and designs interventions from the findings, while a change management programme centres on moving a defined project through communication and adoption.