The definitive guide to a fair, just, inclusive, and high performing organisation

Over 300 listeners lined up, piqued with curiosity, and appeared on screen in rows of tiny boxes ahead of David’s workshop, a Transformational Culture Taster Session. A mini revolution was enacted, in digital form, as we sought to disrupt organisational culture as we traditionally know it. Time is up for the long arm of HR, damaging disciplinary procedures, and untrained leaders. Too often, businesses are imprisoned by draconian and divisive policies, retributive and punitive by nature, undermining relationships and preventing organisations from delivering their objectives.

Our Founder, David Liddle, started with a dream of a world where organisational culture was driven by its people, with guiding values of wellbeing, inclusion, sustainability, and justice. To mend and restore broken systems, renewed into strategically empowering, visionary bodies. He soon realised that this dream could become a reality – cue the arrival of Transformational Culture, a blueprint to holistic business success and longevity.

The Transformational Culture Model™

Under the Transformational Culture Model™, organisations will be defined and led by three distinct but collaborative sectors: leadership, acting as the trusted role model; HR which will be values led, strategic and empowering; and a fair, just and restorative justice function. Systems are aligned to values, through effective frameworks, woven with a golden thread.

This model is designed to provide structure and shape around culture – but it’s not prescriptive and didactic, like traditional frameworks might be. It’s flexible, tailored to the unique makeup of each individual organisation. Corporations such as TSB Bank, London Ambulance Service, and Aviva have begun to transition to this modern line of thinking – and others are quickly following suit. In its essence, it’s about fostering community, common purpose, courage, connection, collaboration, compassion, and curiosity. All stakeholders – organisation, employee, union – combine to be a truly unified function with one singular overarching narrative.

Under a transformational culture, organisations balance values with evidence, integrating wellbeing, engagement, inclusion, sustainability and social justice through effective leadership and a people and culture function. A shift will happen from retribution to transformation, enabled by a culture flow system that pivots on process and provokes the aligning intersection of purpose, strategy, mindset and behaviours.

Transformational Justice

This new form of dealing with conflict blends procedural and restorative justice to create a powerful model that is fair, inclusive, safe and robust. Justice is facilitated by a Resolution Framework, TCM’s fresh approach for resolving workplace complaints and grievances. It replaces the suite of disciplinary procedures in place at archaic organisations, centring on values, outcomes and people. Adult to adult dialogue is the centrepiece of this framework, increasing early resolution and facilitated conversations to resolve conflict. Relationships are prioritised and mended in this process.

Transformational Leadership

Fronted by our Engage Leadership™ programme, managers will no longer direct and dictate employees. Trained and equipped to lead with vision, resilience, clarity, agility and compassion, teams will blossom under the guidance of a strong and understanding leader. Creativity, innovation and high growth are cultivated through extensive leadership and team development, facilitated by expert coaches.

Transformational HR

The entrenched HR function evolves into a strategically powerful people and culture arm of an organisation. They “own” the culture, embodying, structuring and deploying the values and behaviours that an organisation seeks to uphold. An overseer and purveyor of all that is fair and just, not to be feared by employees, or favoured by managers.

Questions from viewers fired throughout the workshop, illustrating the inspiration that was invoked by David’s revolutionary concept. One stood out: how can those in heavily entrenched environments, who are typically reluctant to change policies, make this work?

For David, the answer is simple – and underpins what a transformational culture is truly about. Talk, listen and engage people. Active involvement, from the offset, fosters inclusion and wellbeing. Working collaboratively, with compassion and clarity, will ensure that culture is transformed, and for the better.

If you’re interested in transitioning your workplace culture, you can contact David directly. Let’s make that dream a reality.

Robyn Marsh: Senior Communications Executive at The TCM Group