MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY - GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP

Time and objectivity tend to be in short supply when an organisation needs to move forward.

Nor is it easy to assess from within whether relationships among a board or a management team are as dynamic and constructive as they might be.

Rather than look outside for solutions, it may simply be a matter of unlocking potential already there.

An informed, unbiased view is essential, especially if your organisation is to make sustainable progress and change.

Having helped identify options for your organisation’s future, Paton Independent will provide solutions with clarity, flexibility and impartiality.

Sample Services

Organisational review, development and support
Assisting housing associations to prepare for inspection and develop improvement plans
Governance effectiveness review and development
Training and team building
Advice on achieving excellence in complaints handling
Independent complaint or staffing investigations
Hands-on support with developing and implementing new business and constitutional partnerships

MEDIATION - WORKING CONSTRUCTIVELY WITH CONFLICT

Conflict in the workplace, the boardroom or with customers or other stakeholders can be damaging, time-consuming and costly. Unaddressed, it can corrode professional and commercial relationships and blight an organisation’s performance and reputation.

Mediation as defined by the Scottish Mediation Network is

“a process in which disputing parties seek to resolve their differences with the assistance of a trained mediator acting as an impartial third party. Mediation is voluntary and aims to offer the disputing parties the opportunity to be fully heard, to hear each other’s perspectives and to decide how to resolve their dispute themselves”.

Mediation works as a powerful tool to manage differences and disputes. It can also reduce the direct and opportunity costs an organisation incurs as a result of conflict, whatever its scale.

Taking a positive, constructive approach, we are often able to achieve resolutions in days rather than months. Structured but informal, the process is creative, completely confidential and the results can be liberating.

As a Scottish Mediation Registered Mediator, Carol Paton is a trained and experienced mediation specialist. She has recently joined forces with another consultancy, Hirstworks, to add value to an already wide-ranging workplace and commercial mediation service.

Working Constructively with Conflict (PDF)

For more information about mediation and how it could help your organisation, visit the Scottish Mediation Network website at http://www.scottishmediation.org.uk/index.asp

Sample scenarios

Disputes between contractor and client
Disputes between customer and service provider
Disputes between employer and employee
Keeping merger talks on track
Non-productive workplace relationships

INTERIM MANAGEMENT

No organisation is immune from finding itself overstretched or without key management staff – when a Chief Executive or senior manager has left, for example, or taken extended leave. Replacement processes can be time-consuming, arduous and costly. On the positive side, however, it may be an opportunity for a rethink – a fresh look at strategy, roles and responsibilities – or maybe there is a short-term task that simply must be done.

Paton Independent can provide a ready-made solution – an experienced manager capable of leading the organisation or carrying out a specific project. As your interim manager, Carol Paton brings the experience and specialist understanding needed to steer your organisation through at a time when it may be at its most vulnerable. A manager who is properly qualified for the task, an energetic doer and achiever, makes for a minimal learning curve and effectiveness from day one.

We guarantee a fresh perspective, an independent viewpoint and a commitment to work with the organisation in moving forward.

Carol Paton also bring an insider’s understanding of the implications of regulatory requirements for Scottish housing associations and charitable companies.

Sample Services

• Acting as Chief Executive
• Developing a recovery strategy for an organisation in transition or difficulty
• Strategic option review
• Governance review
• Special investigation
• A restructuring, merger or group structure
• Providing support to a governing body during an unexpected departure or extended absence of its senior officer
• Adding strength to the senior management team when capacity is stretched

COACHING

How many of us feel we have reached our true potential? Opportunities for growth and progress are almost limitless yet how often do the pressures of modern working life cause us to lose focus, direction and energy – we simply get stuck.

For an organisation to progress, its leaders and key managers must also grow and develop. Organisations that invest in coaching for their managers, on an individual or team basis, quickly see returns in improved motivation, performance and creativity. In simple terms, coaching provides structured confidential support to help managers keep achieving and moving forward. When managers grow so do organisations.

Sample Scenarios

The Board commissions a coach to support change in their senior staff team
The Chief Executive seeks external, impartial and confidential assistance as part of a framework of support and continuous improvement
The senior manager commissions a coach to support a member of staff through a challenging time or period of change
Coaching and mentoring for board members to improve the effectiveness of governing body meetings, and helping chairs and office-bearers in their roles
Conflict coaching advice and support