Katy joined Vimto early in 2016, and in 2017 we met with Katy and her team. She was one of a group of managers at Vimto who were at the beginning of their Incredible Thinking journey.
To begin, Katy had a one to one coaching session with our Head of Inspiration, Matt Fowler, and completed the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test online, before starting and attending a programme of team sessions.
This is always where we like to start. Helping our clients understand their own personality profile, preferences, perceptions, challenges and increasing their personal awareness, all contributes to team building sessions later on.
The Incredible Thinkers team have a reputation for challenging people, pushing them to grow. We’re unapologetic about this because we know honest conversations are needed to really make a difference. Katy said “Matt and Paul are constantly challenging us. I really like the fact that they do this consistently and at all levels, with no hesitation or fear. They test you, they push boundaries, help you strive for change, and in my experience they make a difference by doing so.”
Katy has completed the Incredible Thinkers’ ‘Great Line Management’ programme over the course of a year at Vimto. This comprised of a series of eight workshops tailored to business and team objectives, and Katy’s personal goals too. Workshops included:
- Incredible Thinking
- People Manager skills
- Communicate to engage
- Situational leadership
- Coaching for performance
- Leading change
- Creative thinking
- Action Learning group
Katy’s ‘wow’ moment was “…regarding the use of the word ‘fail’ and your own interpretation of failure. Incredible Thinkers turned this idea on its head. We learnt not to fear failure but use it to develop and learn – changing our perception of failure was really inspiring! This was not like any training I’ve been on before!
I had come across the concept of a ‘growth mindset’ before but never had the support to explore it. Incredible Thinkers gave us the support we needed, with working examples and unique insights, which enabled us to change the way we thought and the way we lived our lives.
The process and the exercises within the sessions teach you about other people’s perspectives in a creative way. There was a lot of fun and laughter, but it also had a dramatic and serious impact on us all! Working with different personality types, buddying up to embrace opposite perspectives, had a big influence.”
Bringing learning to life and keeping it alive through tried and tested tools and techniques is embedded in what the Incredible Thinkers deliver. When they leave and individuals and organisations are left to their own devices, this is what has the most value. They maintain light touch contact with clients to support and embed what they show people.
As Katy reflects “There really was so much to implement from the sessions personally as well as professionally. I see things differently now and have applied the learning at home too. Incredible Thinking has increased my awareness massively of behaviours, both my own and in other people. I genuinely have no fear of failure now which is huge for me. I’m more creative, striving to break the norms and ‘embracing the weirdness’ is a phrase I’ve enjoyed adopting.”
Vimto has taken Incredible Thinking to a whole new level in the organisation. Katy along with others from cross functional teams has also been involved in what they call ‘the Mars team’ looking at the values and culture of the organisation not top down but bottom up. The people own the organisations culture and live it. Change is actively embraced and the challenge that Incredible Thinkers are reputed for is replicated which breeds innovation.
Katy attributes outputs including improved processes, increased innovation and a culture of continuous improvement to Incredible Thinking and overall what is now a high performing team as a result.
Contact Incredible Thinkers now to find out how we can help you and your teams be at their very best.