Transforming Leadership Conversations at IAG New Zealand with The Emotional Culture Deck

Melissa Cantell, the Chief Operating Officer at IAG New Zealand, led her leadership team through a transformative experience with the ECD Leadership Workshop. Not stopping there, her team then brought this impactful workshop to 60 of their senior leaders, sparking what some have described as the most meaningful leadership conversation of their careers.

"I had some very experienced people telling me that it was the most meaningful leadership conversation they’ve ever had in their career" so that’s pretty cool."

Melissa shared her enthusiasm for the session, highlighting how the workshop and The Emotional Culture Deck tool engaged her team. The focus of the workshop on emotional culture rather than corporate behaviour resonated deeply, leading to quick and meaningful discussions. Melissa noted the freedom and clarity this shift in conversation provided, allowing her team to dive into important topics with ease.

The session wasn't without its emotional moments. Melissa's team, deeply passionate about their roles and the people they lead, expressed a range of feelings, from constructive anger to motivation. This emotional engagement underscored a key takeaway: meaningful change is within their control and doesn't require complicated plans.

Importantly, the outcomes of the workshop are not to be forgotten or become mere wall decorations. Instead, they are to be actively lived and breathed by each leader, embodying the changes they wish to see in their approach and interactions.

Here's what else Melissa said about their experience:

"The session was fantastic - the team loved the topic, loved the ECD tool and are very fired up now about how to bring our emotional culture to life. The consistent feedback was that changing the conversation to focus on how we want to feel as humans, not how we need to behave as a corporate, was very freeing, and as a result, we got into some very meaningful conversations very quickly.

There was a lot of emotion - the team are passionate about their people and got quite constructively angry at times - but the process also made it really clear that changing things is within their accountability and remit, and doesn’t need to involve complex plans.

Our commitment was that the outcomes from the day won’t be another corporate artefact that gets cascaded, put on the wall and forgotten - they will live and breathe with each leader in whatever way works best for them, and it’s up to each of us to make the change happen."

Thank you so much for providing us with a tool that has been so impactful."

Melissa's closing gratitude for The ECD as a tool highlights its significant impact, not only in facilitating discussions but in fostering a culture where emotions and human connections are valued and prioritised in the corporate environment.

The ECD Leadership Canvas & Workshop Plan

The ECD Leadership Canvas is a strategic tool for leadership teams to visually map out and guide the emotional culture of their team or organisation. It's like a charter that captures the team's aspirations for their culture and how they want to lead emotionally.

Purpose of the Workshop The ECD Leadership Workshop is an immersive session aimed at enabling leadership teams to understand and shape the emotional culture within their team or organisation. It's about intentionally crafting the emotional culture to lead effectively, empathetically and drive the success of their teams and organisation. 

Get the Canvas & Workshop Plan Here > >

Download Free ECD PDF

Check out the PDF of The Emotional Culture Deck before you invest in the cards or any of our courses that help you learn how to use the game

Download here >

Enrol in our ECD Online Masterclass

To really make the most of The Emotional Culture Deck, enrol in our Online Masterclass Course and put yourself enroute to emotional culture mastery.

Enrol here >