CASE STUDY

Volvo

Global Automotive Client

With the acquisition of two major truck companies, our client went from being a single brand to a “house of brands.” In the wake of these significant cultural changes, Westwood helped execute a variety of global, multi-brand leadership initiatives.

The Challenge

After two major truck company acquisitions, our client became the largest truck maker in Europe and the second largest in the world. They needed to reorganize and start sharing their resources and technology while also preserving each company’s distinct personality and values. To do it, they had to start functioning as a global, cross-functional, multi-brand family.

But they faced very real leadership challenges. First, they had to address the personal feelings of loyalty people had for “their” original companies. Because these brands had been long-time competitors, long-held attitudes had to be changed. Second, they had to carefully merge three very different cultures.

The challenge was creating a new global culture that everyone could get behind.

Our Work Included

Workshops | Westwood facilitated a series of leadership and team development workshops for major project leaders. During these workshops, we offered tools, methods, and actions to support them from project kick-off to completion. These two and three-day events gave teams the opportunity to forge positive relationships, formulate their mission and vision, and get a head start on initiatives.

Meeting Facilitation | When new groups needed to come together, we often came in to facilitate meetings and help merge cultures. We consistently fostered an atmosphere where nobody felt threatened, there was no animosity, and everything depended on building trust, fostering understanding, getting the work done, and defining and respecting roles.

Leadership Simulations | We created custom-designed coaching experiences and leadership simulations so that leaders we worked with could practice the leadership behaviors they wanted to retain. We often worked with intact teams to help them practice leadership behaviors in real-time, with instant feedback, so that they could develop and internalize the habits associated with success.

Leadership and Change Management Resources | We created a variety of change management resources for our client, including a comprehensive project management toolbox packed with success strategies for project managers. This toolbox included information on everything from creating change readiness and accelerating change to tracking success and managing conflict. We also developed two to four-hour modules on change management, which we delivered to key staff so that they could, in turn, spread the knowledge to their own teams.

Leadership Publications | Westwood International developed organization-wide leadership publications, including The First Ten Days: A Project Management Guide to Starting an Effective Team Project.

Our work was rolled out to three major truck companies across three different cultures, three different countries, and multiple languages.

The Solution

Our client introduced global learning initiatives that would prepare managers and executive leaders from all three brands for success in an integrated, global environment. The goal was to create common learning opportunities that gave their top leaders the space to learn from each other, start trusting each other, and begin creating a culture of innovation together.

We supported our client’s new vision with a range of solutions delivered over the course of several years.

Our work was rolled out to three major truck companies across three different cultures, three different countries, and multiple languages.

The Outcome:

Our work was rolled out to three major truck companies across three different cultures, three different countries, and multiple languages.

Over the course of several years, Westwood International helped our client’s top leaders enhance teamwork, communication, and effectiveness across countries and cultures, and made it possible for project leaders to seamlessly transition from vision to action.

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