Introduction - a few words about AmbevTech and the project
AmbevTech is one of the largest breweries in the world with a technology centre. 2019 saw a number of changes in the life of the company: in less than 6 months, the number of employees increased from 400 to 1000, thanks in part to the success of Management 3.0.
However, alongside the success and exponential growth, the company has also faced challenges, particularly in the area of leadership development. According to feedback from GPTW (Great Place To Work, an international research and consultancy that supports companies in 57 countries to develop an attractive workplace, trust and corporate culture), indicators on team alignment, people development and recognition within the organisation have fallen short of expectations. It was then that the company decided to make a change.
The Beginnings - A New Mindset and Toolkit - The Emergence of Management 3.0
Soon after the decision was made, the senior management decided to try out Management 3.0. A workshop was held to introduce the management to this way of thinking and the practices that could be used in the company to improve it.
"We enjoyed this little insight so much that we immediately discussed developing a Management 3.0 mindset organization-wide and getting our team to engage and develop their culture around this mindset," said a team member from AmbevTech.
Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese organizational theorist, once said that "Quality begins and ends with education". In line with this, the company decided to train all its managers on Management 3.0.
Sixty people with different backgrounds, different styles and approaches, different ideas and experiences - this can be an advantage. At the same time, as an ever-growing company, it was very important for AmbevTech that everyone in a leadership position had the same foundations and the same views on what was important for the company.
The first Management 3.0 exercises are introduced
The first - and one of the most important - Management 3.0 practices they used was the creation of a leadership knowledge group called Jedi Counsel. Today, it is clear that the use of tribes to connect leaders was essential to their development. After all, everyone has the same goal: to be a good leader. People in the leadership knowledge group still meet every two weeks. The purpose of these meetings is to share values and experiences, which allows them to monitor the development of their practices.
We change ourselves instead of others
They quickly realised that they needed to understand the personalities of each leader and to clarify the benefits of change. In addition to the basic knowledge they needed to start the process, it was very important to understand that they needed to influence the leaders who were otherwise least supportive of change. They needed to make them become the catalyst of the process.
Of course, initially everyone felt resistance. They all had different but understandable reasons. They knew that real change happens in small steps and requires patience, so they reacted to the resistance within the organisation in the same way. They were always looking for ways to reach out to different types of people and bring them on board. In addition, it was important that everyone could assert themselves.
If another team wins, we get a boost
It was good to see how the success of one team influenced the other teams. One team used the Personal Maps and the Moving Motivators (alongside other Management 3.0 exercises) and made great progress, which increased team engagement and integration. Building on this success, other team leaders have adopted it. In this way, step by step, the people and the company culture have developed organically. They now have almost 11 practices built into their operations.
With Management 3.0, the numbers have changed as follows:
While the numbers are indeed a testament to the successes achieved, they remain focused on creating an environment in which they can ensure the professional and group-wide development of their staff; working with their managers to create a safe and continuous feedback environment.
They now track indicators down to the individual team level, so they can work specifically on the factors that matter to them.
All of this requires effort, patience and continuous alignment. It is a process of experimentation in which all members of the organisation are an integrated.