ESMA team members came ...
Dear Colleagues, Over twenty PTT/ESMA team members came together for three days in Houston with one goal in mind, to Make Shell Win. The overall theme of the three day meeting was Build Smart. This includes not only building smart applications, but also building smarter ways of working, engaging smarter with each other and becoming more efficient in team communications as well as with the end-users.
Day 1 - Coming Together Following the welcome, Leo delivered the following key message which was brought forward from the TaCIT XLT and ESDV LT meetings: “Let’s Make Shell Win”, with significant emphasis placed on the journey from being good and working towards becoming great and the ability to demonstrate business value for Shell all whilst becoming a high performing team. Progress was reviewed against the ten key drivers of last year. There needs to be a continued emphasis on irresistible technology, 5-0-5, storytelling, delivering on promise and single point of accountability. The entire team was recognized for the talent they bring to Shell. The question left to resonate in the minds at the end of the session was: “So how am I going to change to make this a high performing team, a higher performing ESMA, and be relevant to making Shell win?” Following this, there was an ice-breaker where everyone had 15 minutes to create their very own coat of arms, with quadrants such as family, hobbies/interests, biggest accomplishment and something no one knows about you. This helped the team get to know each other and gave them something to spark up conversations during breaks and lunch. Later in the morning there was a session on the Team Management System Profile, which is a tool that identifies the individual’s work-style/preference. In total there are eight different styles/preferences that when combined, typically characterizes high performing teams. The session gave an understanding on how different individuals approach their work by using a personality inventory. There was a discussion on “how each team member could complement each other and how best to leverage each other’s strength”. Each person left with knowledge on their main work workstyle/preference as well as the major characteristics of
the other eight roles. Paul then conducted the Vision session, in which he shared the ESDV Vision and connected it to the ESMA mandate and its five bullet points. Afternoon sessions were devoted to each team sharing their work in a highly entertaining session which even included a short history lesson on how the bowling ball was invented and a guest appearance from Superwoman herself. These presentations gave everyone insight on what each group does and where they are going in the future. By working together, building connections and knowing the right people to go to, ESMA will be able to drive delivery, performance, on budget, on time products that fit their end-user’s needs.
Day 2 – Explore to Improve Day two started with a Shell People Survey session led by Richard. There was a look back to last year’s improvement actions and a review of this year’s questions. A deep discussion on feeling free to speak your mind, trust within the team and work-life balance followed, with staff opening up and sharing their own personal experiences. The next session was led by three guest speakers being Paul Lower (Lead Project Manager), Manuel Gonzalez (representing Technical Landscape Services) and Bill Hamilton (Global Workflow Consultant). Each of them shared how to most effectively interact between themselves and ESMA. The morning closed with dividing people into groups of six to conduct a deep dive into what could make the ESMA community work together and operate as one. After lunch, the entire afternoon was dedicated open space. The Product, Build, Sustain and PI COE teams were tasked with the question: “What are the obstacles or roadblocks to be successful in your respective teams?” Each team came together to discuss obstacles they face in their everyday work, dialogued on possible actions and solutions and shared their outcome with the entire group. The day ended on a light note, with the announcement that “Team Andy” had achieved the highest score during bowling event the night before. The lucky winners were then presented with a small prize.
Day 3- Driving For Performance The third day kicked off with a session titled “Get to Know the Products” where a brief overview of PI Core Sight, WRFM and PTM was shared with everyone. The goal was to inform the team of some of the ongoing major projects and new technology. The following session focused on ranking the action items gathered throughout the workshop by “importance (value) vs. effort.” The team collectively agreed on where to put them.
With the three day workshop coming to an end, we wanted each team member to have their story ready to share once they went back to their offices, either in Houston, Rijswijk or the numerous other locations the team is located. Each table came up with an elevator speech to respectively Peter Voser, Arjen Dorland, Robert Clinton and Leo’s Grandma, as if one of them were to come up and ask a key question: What do you do at Shell?
Next Steps Each ESMA team member is requested to communicate the key points and topics of interest to fellow ESDV and TaCIT members. You can find the content used during the workshop on the PTT/ESMA SharePoint located here. The PTT/ESMA workshop was an overall success. With the spotlight on coming together, exploring ways to improve and driving for performance, the team can be triumphant in doing their part to make Shell win!
Day 1 - Coming Together Following the welcome, Leo delivered the following key message which was brought forward from the TaCIT XLT and ESDV LT meetings: “Let’s Make Shell Win”, with significant emphasis placed on the journey from being good and working towards becoming great and the ability to demonstrate business value for Shell all whilst becoming a high performing team. Progress was reviewed against the ten key drivers of last year. There needs to be a continued emphasis on irresistible technology, 5-0-5, storytelling, delivering on promise and single point of accountability. The entire team was recognized for the talent they bring to Shell. The question left to resonate in the minds at the end of the session was: “So how am I going to change to make this a high performing team, a higher performing ESMA, and be relevant to making Shell win?” Following this, there was an ice-breaker where everyone had 15 minutes to create their very own coat of arms, with quadrants such as family, hobbies/interests, biggest accomplishment and something no one knows about you. This helped the team get to know each other and gave them something to spark up conversations during breaks and lunch. Later in the morning there was a session on the Team Management System Profile, which is a tool that identifies the individual’s work-style/preference. In total there are eight different styles/preferences that when combined, typically characterizes high performing teams. The session gave an understanding on how different individuals approach their work by using a personality inventory. There was a discussion on “how each team member could complement each other and how best to leverage each other’s strength”. Each person left with knowledge on their main work workstyle/preference as well as the major characteristics of
the other eight roles. Paul then conducted the Vision session, in which he shared the ESDV Vision and connected it to the ESMA mandate and its five bullet points. Afternoon sessions were devoted to each team sharing their work in a highly entertaining session which even included a short history lesson on how the bowling ball was invented and a guest appearance from Superwoman herself. These presentations gave everyone insight on what each group does and where they are going in the future. By working together, building connections and knowing the right people to go to, ESMA will be able to drive delivery, performance, on budget, on time products that fit their end-user’s needs.
Day 2 – Explore to Improve Day two started with a Shell People Survey session led by Richard. There was a look back to last year’s improvement actions and a review of this year’s questions. A deep discussion on feeling free to speak your mind, trust within the team and work-life balance followed, with staff opening up and sharing their own personal experiences. The next session was led by three guest speakers being Paul Lower (Lead Project Manager), Manuel Gonzalez (representing Technical Landscape Services) and Bill Hamilton (Global Workflow Consultant). Each of them shared how to most effectively interact between themselves and ESMA. The morning closed with dividing people into groups of six to conduct a deep dive into what could make the ESMA community work together and operate as one. After lunch, the entire afternoon was dedicated open space. The Product, Build, Sustain and PI COE teams were tasked with the question: “What are the obstacles or roadblocks to be successful in your respective teams?” Each team came together to discuss obstacles they face in their everyday work, dialogued on possible actions and solutions and shared their outcome with the entire group. The day ended on a light note, with the announcement that “Team Andy” had achieved the highest score during bowling event the night before. The lucky winners were then presented with a small prize.
Day 3- Driving For Performance The third day kicked off with a session titled “Get to Know the Products” where a brief overview of PI Core Sight, WRFM and PTM was shared with everyone. The goal was to inform the team of some of the ongoing major projects and new technology. The following session focused on ranking the action items gathered throughout the workshop by “importance (value) vs. effort.” The team collectively agreed on where to put them.
With the three day workshop coming to an end, we wanted each team member to have their story ready to share once they went back to their offices, either in Houston, Rijswijk or the numerous other locations the team is located. Each table came up with an elevator speech to respectively Peter Voser, Arjen Dorland, Robert Clinton and Leo’s Grandma, as if one of them were to come up and ask a key question: What do you do at Shell?
Next Steps Each ESMA team member is requested to communicate the key points and topics of interest to fellow ESDV and TaCIT members. You can find the content used during the workshop on the PTT/ESMA SharePoint located here. The PTT/ESMA workshop was an overall success. With the spotlight on coming together, exploring ways to improve and driving for performance, the team can be triumphant in doing their part to make Shell win!
