Empowering Champions

Sandra Norval, Head of Environment at Southern Rail, shares her experience of working with Adam Woodhall:

Innovate and invigorate

"At Southern, we needed to identify a way to advance our existing Champions structure, to build resilience and empower the team to take action. Using a third party was helpful to bring innovative ideas to the table and to develop a programme in a collaborative manner. This also introduced a fresh voice to help re-invigorate the team.

Having met Adam Woodhall, we quickly developed a strong rapport and a good understanding of what was required. I had identified the need for a training day, but what Adam provided was much more than that: he worked with me to create a progressive development programme."

Developing a bespoke programme

"While some organisations may have offered a more rigid, ‘templated’ programme, Adam worked with me to design and develop a bespoke programme which was tailored to fit our exact requirements and aligned with Southern’s needs.

My objective was to provide the following for the Champions and the business

• Engagement, empowerment & confidence
• Catalyst for change
• Development of their role and overall sustainable direction of Southern
• Learning opportunity
• Tangible actions for them to take away
• Fit with my schedules
• Use new methods of working

Adam wholeheartedly met these objectives."

Motivated and empowered

"One of the direct benefits to the business is that our Champions took away an action plan which will lead to tangible outcomes in the projects that the Champions developed on the training day.   Examples of the projects are a zero waste to landfill project at Eastbourne and Brighton Stations and a project to use a piece of unused land for planting to benefit biodiversity.

Adam worked with me to encourage senior leaders to endorse and engage with this programme.  This also gave an opportunity to demonstrate the opportunities and challenges faced by Champions and the structure which surrounds them.  This awareness by leadership will help with future planning.

The whole process also developed the Champions community, gave a real networking opportunity and left them motivated and empowered to take action. The workshop attendees were asked to rate the workshop, and gave it a 97% approval rating. I was delighted to see everyone buy in to the process, so I feel that Adam exceeded my expectations.  I would definitely recommend Adam’s work to other businesses."

“By the end of the session I felt confident about the implementation of new projects”
Ben Warrington, workshop attendee