Schuitema Client Testimonials on Leadership and Care and Growth

"Empowering a Sustainable Workforce

A programme of change in work style and behaviour has transformed the Johnson Matthey site at Panki, India. A workplace that was once characterised by a strong sense of 'them' and 'us' – the worker / management divide – has now become home to a strong team ethic and commitment to excellence. Productivity at work has increased, hand in hand with a greater emphasis on employee and community wellbeing. This remarkable paradigm shift has earned Panki the 2008/09 Sustainability Award for People.

The ethos among employees was previously one of only 'doing what I was asked to' – and no more. Working structures were inflexible and the site was noted for its militancy. So when the programme of change was introduced there was initial resistance: people were worried about their jobs and felt that any change must be bad.

A Human Resources module called 'Care & Growth' was set up to underpin behavioural change. Everyone was covered, from the managers down to the operators on the shopfloor. Individual accountabilities were determined and everyone accepted their roles and responsibilities. This has been backed up by periodic reviews, counselling where needed and a system of performance based pay increases at all levels. In the past, people were more concerned with what they could get, not what they could give, and the site has moved on from a 'get' culture to a sense of 'give to get'."

Johnson Matthey Catalysts

"The Care and Growth model was used by African Explosives Limited (AEL) to achieve a strategic step change in organisational effectiveness; particularly to address the lack of accountability in the organisation. This lack of "ownership" had led to a number of undesirable business outcomes including declining safety performance, increasing costs, decreasing product quality, lower market share and declining profits.

The intervention was specifically aimed at improving these “hard” business parameters, but it was also aimed at improving the "soft" aspects of the culture of the company.

Before we started people were scared to discipline their subordinates and the only people who were ever fired from the company were dismissed for late coming or absenteeism. No performance related disciplinary issues were ever raised, and all the discipline happened at the lower levels of the company with most managers never being criticised at all.

After the intervention, we knew exactly what to hold a manager accountable for and had a vibrant culture of honest feedback from the top to the bottom of the organisation.

The Growth part of the Care and Growth model is split into means, ability and accountability. Previously we were trying to hold people at the lower levels of the organisation accountable for issues where they had neither the means nor the training to enable them to do their job. Equally, when a manager did not do his/her job, they were invariably sent on a training course, even though it was perfectly clear that they knew what to do, and that they had the time and resources but had just failed to do it.

The intervention was a huge success and the “hard” parameters as well as the “soft” improved immensely. The most profound change in the organisation was the development of courage and generosity in the people. These are the key elements of “Intent” that underpin the Care and Growth model and what made a huge difference to the culture of AEL."

Graham Edwards (Dr), Chief Executive
AECI Limited

"After having been exposed to the benefits of the Care and Growth Leadership model as a young and inexperienced manager (in a production environment in the gold mining industry in the late 1980’s), I have used it successfully on several occasions to lay the foundation for building high performance mining teams.

The model manages to legitimize the supervisor - subordinate power relationship and effectively deals with the intent of the leader, as: respect for others, is the core value present in all successful supervisors and managers. The empowerment model develops clear line of sight for each individual in terms of their unique contribution to the business and ascribes means, ability and accountability responsibilities to the both supervisor and subordinate.

With this in place, with the issues of time, authority, control, coaching and how to hold people accountable being dealt with, and an accountability and leadership diagnostic tool in the toolbox, the organization’s leadership is equipped to start applying the model in the working environment. Experience has shown that this change is best done top down, and that senior management ‘buy in’ and support are key success factors (the do-as-I-tell-you approach does not quite cut it if you are living the Care and Growth Leadership lifestyle and it is a way of life).

The biggest beneficiaries of this intervention are the operators at the shop floor, as their line supervisors and managers not only develop strong service cultures, but mature in their intent and behaviour towards those they have been appointed to lead. The simplicity and fundamental truths underpinning the learning make this a popular organizational intervention, as the principles hold true for both the working and the personal lives of every human being.

I can therefore strongly recommend its use as a tool for effecting sustainable change in the culture and performance of mining operations."

Horst Jäger
Nkomati Mine

"Regarding your intention to use the Care and Growth model for your "big ticket" innovation I believe that you have made an excellent choice. I have direct personal experience of using the model in an industrial application to achieve a strategic step change in organization effectiveness. The organization concerned was African Explosives Limited (AEL) and we used the model to address the lack of accountability in the organization. This lack of “ownership” lead to a number of undesirable business outcomes, including declining safety performance, increasing costs, decreasing product quality, lower market share and declining profits.

The intervention was specifically aimed at improving these "hard" business parameters, but it was also aimed at improving the "soft" aspects of the culture of the company. Before we started, people were scared to discipline their subordinates, and the only people who were ever fired from the company, were dismissed for late coming or absenteeism. No performance related disciplinary issues were ever raised, and all the discipline happened at the lower levels of the company, with most managers never being criticized at all. After the intervention, we knew exactly what to hold manager accountable for, and had a vibrant culture of honest feedback happening from the top of the organization to the bottom.

As Etsko has no doubt told you, the Growth part of the Care and Growth model is split into mean, ability and accountability. Previously we were trying to hold people at the lower levels of the organization accountable for issues where they had neither the means nor the training to enable them to do the job. Equally, when a manager did not do his/her job, they were invariably sent on a training course, even though it was perfectly clear that they knew what to do, that they had the time and resources, and had just failed to do it! I am please to say that the intervention was a huge success and that the “hard” parameters as well as the “soft” improved immensely. One of the most profound changes in the organization was the development of courage and generosity in the management ranks. These are key elements of the “Intent” that Etsko talks about, and made a huge difference to the culture of AEL.

Regarding the application of the model to the Education in South Africa, I can only say that leadership issues inside an Educational Organization are unlikely to be any different to the leadership issues in AEL or any other industrial organization. In my view the model is generic and I would expect it work as effectively in your organization as it did in ours. If there is any more information that you may need, or would like to discuss any element of the model or the implementation process at AEL please feel free to contact me again."

Graham Edwards (Dr), Chief Executive
AECI Limited

"Johnson Matthey Catalysts has had a 7 year (and ongoing) working relationship with Schuitema Associates which has transformed Leadership in JMC. The bottom line is that we have better managers now than we did and the majority of them are the same people. But not only that, it is they who have made this a stronger and more profitable business which has a long term sustainable future."

Ben Jenkinson, HR Director
Johnson Matthey Catalysts

"The training today was superb – best ever. The link to our values and Cargo examples were perfect and really added value to our business."

Senior Manager
Mercedes Benz Passenger vehicles

"I have applied Care and Growth and it has really worked for me. My people are more motivated than in 20 years and I don’t have what is a traditional problem in this business of retention. My CSI is the best in the country across all the Mercedes Benz dealerships."

Brand Services Manager

"Schuitema concepts are very powerful, as embodied in the Personal Excellence framework and these assimilate beautifully with my cultural values and beliefs. I experienced a paradigm shift in my thinking about my role as a leader."

Adnan Shafaq, CEO
Askari Investment Management

"A lot of leadership stuff doing the rounds is considered soft by industrialists. It has to do with cultural change and does not show measurable results. Schuitema’s methods show results which are measurable in terms of safety, productivity and higher standards. A lot of initiatives work but only while they are being applied. There is no lasting change. The Schuitema initiative has proved not only to be sustainable but also capable of growth."

Graham Edwards, Managing Director
African Explosives Limited

"Schuitema was instrumental in changing the leadership style of the Port Elizabeth plant. The CARE AND GROWTH™ philosophy has been incorporated into our way of life and two years after Schuitema concluded their involvement with us the philosophy is alive and well and accepted by all levels of management. This cannot be said of any other previous interventions."

Trevor George, Manufacturing Director
Bridgestone Firestone SA

"It is the human key to productivity improvement. It is inspirational and humbling."

Duncan Blackburn, Manufacturing Director
Dow-Sentrachem

"This approach enabled Dulux leadership to rally subordinates and create a healthy, growing and market-driven company."

Prejay Lalla, Sales Director
Dulux Decorative

"The CARE AND GROWTH™ Leadership program addresses the core issue of enabling maximum employee contribution. Unlike many "consulting programs", the Schuitema system addresses fundamental aspects of the human condition and our endeavours. I am a fan of the Schuitema Leadership program and would recommend it to anyone who is genuinely interested in growing people and delivering results."

Ross Duffy, Managing Director
Franke (China) Kitchen Systems Co. Ltd

"The Leadership principles associated with the CARE AND GROWTH™ of subordinates and teams is the critical success factor in achieving world class performance. This enrolment and empowering model creates an environment of sustained trust, loyalty and willingness as opposed to an environment of grudging compliance. This can be directly linked to superior and sustained business performance."

University of Cambridge
(Testing the hyposthesis in the UK, Sweden and Denmark)

"The Schuitema approach has captured the essential ingredient missing from South Africa in the apartheid era when mediocrity was accepted as inevitable in an African setting."

David Harding, Chairman
Regen

"I would like to thank you for your input, direction and your CARE AND GROWTH™ model introduced at the Vuselela Conference in Zimbabwe. My view is that Vuselela is about a philosophy and culture and the reincarnation of a spirit that you helped us set free."

Martin Rosen
Pick 'n Pay

"I have been looking for an empowerment tool for years and at last have found it."

Gerhard Kinnear, Operations Manager
National Brands Ltd

"AEL had been introduced to the Schuitema Leadership thematic some years earlier ... Now, some 8 or 9 years later the effect of the leadership intervention has not disappeared – on the contrary, it has grown and become entrenched as a way of life. Productivity has improved year on year on year, safety is at its best ever level, and product quality has spectacularly changed gear into a different league... I would thoroughly recommend the Schuitema Leadership approach to anyone who is serious about creating a sustainable transformation in people and organisations."

Graham Edwards, Managing Director
African Explosives Limited

"I was privileged to be on a program you presented whilst I was still employed at Munnik Basson Dagama. I have moved on since the MBD days and got involved with a number of other businesses, one of which was opening a Scooters Pizza outlet, first in Cresta and earlier this year in Wilropark – Roodepoort.

I had a look at your website today and saw you have all these major companies as clients which does not surprise me. Letting you know what I learned at the course whilst employed at MBD I later applied at my Scooters Pizza outlets which is very small compared to your other clients.

One of my staff recently won the Pizza Olympics and I can proudly say that the other staff are just as good as the one who received gold. I had very little staff turnover, and my success with the staff using your guidelines has given me the winning edge, your program works not only in the corporate environment but also in a pizza shop! I am currently in the process of moving on to new ventures which is not so much people orientated and I wanted to share this info with you and the Franchisor, before I left."

Theuns Botha

"I personally have become more satisfied and content in life. I am now trusting people more, taking important decisions, experiencing enhanced personal relationships, stronger in my faith, realizing that I only need to contribute & give my best & leave results on Allah. I am trying to be a better person.

Care & Growth model has really been a great success at Paramount Distributors; Primarily we have started thinking on all our issues and our people know the process, although the implementation has been sluggish. 90 days accountability shall also enhance the performance, employees have stopped griping as they used to do in the past although that this effect needs to be trickled down to the workers. Management has also started looking at employees as humans rather than means to get some job done. A proper evaluation system or score board concept is not implemented yet. Transformation into a more productive, energetic, systematic, ethical organization is in process."

Muhammad Tariq Ahmed, Director
Paramount Distributors

"The Care and Growth model has such strong principles at its foundation that any individual or organization that sincerely commits to applying the processes is bound to experience a profound transformation. Going through the workshop was a humbling experience - I could have never imagined that so many of my management and leadership paradigms were so inadequate.

As we introduce Care and Growth into our organization we realize that the transformation to an organization where people work not because they have to but because they want to is a daunting task. What gives me confidence that we will succeed, is the intent and capabilities of the Schuitema team. I pray that all individuals and organizations in their journeys of excellence achieve true success through the Care and Growth Model. Amen."

Asif Misbah, Director
Macter International

"After having read quite a few of the personality / character development books and participated at some training sessions, I strongly feel that the Care & Growth model of Leadership presented by Mr. Schuitima is closest to the ideological principles which we share as Muslims where we treat others as our brothers in a benevolent manner and want for them what we want for ourselves. Our group, in Pakistan, is trying to establish a principle based healthcare system and for that we are offering this training program, as a strong tool which has the capability to create a paradigm shift, to our physicians and key opinion leaders in this sector."

Dr. Zakiuddin Ahmed
Medical Director-Macter Pharmaceuticals, COO - Smart Health Care,
CEO - eHealth Services Pvt Ltd

How the South African Cricket team has benefited from Care & Growth™ Leadership Model

"In reply to your enquiry regarding the work I have done with the SA cricket team as well as the IPL, I did the following three interventions:

1. I worked through the Schuitema thematic with both coaches and their management teams: I asked them to describe a coach with whom players would willingly 'go to war'. We discussed what the main focus of the coach should be: the results or the players? Although they initially experienced it as counter intuitive, the workshop helped them understand the importance of the coach's focus. If the focus is on the results, the players feel exploited, as the results are all about the coach and not the players. If however the players experience the coach's intent as being interested in them as people and their wellbeing (Care) and also to empower them to become the best cricketers in the world (Growth), they will be totally committed and the results will follow. Which has just been proven by the success of the Proteas against Australia.

2. In my sessions with the team my main theme was the ability to be in the 'now' and to surrender the outcome. Initially a difficult concept, but once they grasped it, very powerful.

3. In my sessions with the players individually I reinforced this theme and helped them to master it. In addition to this I also assisted the players in running a mental program in order to improve their concentration on the field. This latter part is not based on the Schuitema thematic, but on a model developed by an Olympic champion, Lanny Basham."

Excerpt from the reply received from Dr Francois Hugo about application of the Care & Growth™ Model on the SA Cricket Team

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