Right now, across Aotearoa and the wider region, it feels like everyone is navigating the same squeeze. Leaders are being asked to do more with tighter resources, adapt to faster change, and somehow keep their teams clear and engaged. Things like AI and hybrid work are obviously shifting the landscape, but human judgement and how we collaborate are what actually turn complexity into momentum.
That’s exactly why we’re focusing heavily on teamwork this month. In our recent webinar, Building Team Performance by Design (and the blog we’ve linked below), we dug into a really common scenario: most teams already have the individual talent they need. What they often lack is the deep, shared understanding of context and agreed ways of working to unlock their collective value.
When the pressure comes on, it's incredibly easy for teams to default to urgency, functional silos, and friction. But with a bit of deliberate design, they can align, make better decisions, and move faster on the work that actually matters.
For those of us in leadership, OD, or People & Culture, the takeaway is clear: team performance isn't just a "nice-to-have" alongside strategy execution, it’s the engine for it. When our organisations are running lean, team relationships, shared situational awareness and norms matter even more. The opportunity right now isn’t to push people harder, but to help capable teams work together with real intention.
Speaking of teamwork, the WBL team has been putting our own into practice in service of a different kaupapa. Giving back to the communities we live and work in is really important to us, and our Northern and Southern teams recently spent some great time volunteering for the Cancer Society and Kiwi Community Assistance.
We’re also really looking forward to bringing the whole WBL team together in Wellington / Pōneke this September to reflect on our own context and purpose, and honestly, just to enjoy each other’s company!
Ngā mihi maioha to all who attended and engaged with this webinar on 12th August. And, an especially warm acknowledgement to Scott Ambridge, CE Enable NZ, who generously shared his time, experience and insights about building his executive leadership team - by design.
We had some great questions from participants, that have prompted us to share more in our most recent blog (see below), about the practical steps Leaders, OD and People & Culture Professionals, can take to support teams to unlock existing collective capability.
Forward Motion – Harnessing collective strength to shape change
Gus and Natasha are co presenting a session on Enabling Leader-Led Growth: The Future of Scalable, Sustainable Talent Development
The Friction Point: Unlocking the power of talent development assessments can feel like a zero-sum game: either pay the cost of external consultants or absorb the delivery burden into already overextended P&C teams.
The Need: Talent pools need to be diverse and deep; futureproofed for transformation and agility. Leadership identity and development need to be fostered early in career.
The Opportunity: Scalable, accessible development insights; the system and tools need to do more of the heavy lifting
If you’re also attending the Summit we look forward to seeing you.
How to Help Capable Teams Unlock Collective Value
By Rachael Stott
As organisations are asked to deliver more, with tighter headcounts, increasing expectations and greater complexity, we’re increasingly reliant on teams to bring together different expertise, perspectives and capabilities to solve problems, make decisions and get things done. Most teams are made up of experienced, committed and highly capable people who bring expertise, problem-solving capability and the ability to make decisions in complex environments. So, the opportunity isn’t necessarily to add more individual capability; it’s to unlock more of the capability that already exists within the team.
It’s about being deliberate about how the team works together, rather than leaving team performance to chance. But, when the pressure is on, we know that focus naturally shifts to delivering ‘the work’ - solving the immediate problem, responding to stakeholders and meeting the next deadline. What gets squeezed out is the time and space to step back and focus on how the team is working together; to leverage the real value of the team’s collective capability. So, how do you begin a team performance conversation, when the team may not yet see the value of it? Prompted by a participant question from our recent Building Team Performance by Design webinar, this blog explores a familiar leadership challenge: helping capable teams recognise what more might be possible.
Before rolling out a new strategy, assess your team's readiness.
Steven Morris (HBR, 13 August 2026)
Article recommendation by Rachael Stott
This article feels like a timely reminder that strategy execution is rarely just a planning challenge; it’s a ‘people readiness’ challenge.
Steven Morris’ Readiness Triad of Appetite, Capacity and Skillset offers a useful lens for asking whether people have the motivation, conditions and capability to carry change through the inevitable friction of ‘real work’. Its emphasis on ownership and meaningful commitment links strongly to Self-Determination Theory, (the foundation for Assessio’s MATCH-V), which helps leaders better understand what energises people and where there is alignment between individuals, roles and organisational demands. Read through this lens, the article invites leaders to shift from assuming readiness to diagnosing it: combining a human understanding of motivation, evidence-based insight into capability and fit, and the agility to adapt the work environment - before execution falters.
The WBL Team
Exceptional Leadership. A Better Future.
Image credits: Unsplash (Antonio Janeski)
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