Central to our approach to effective leadership is the creation and on-going development of the core team, which we call the Flight Crew. This approach, although not always described this way, is widely used by those leaders who have already recognised the importance of such a team within the organisation. They take the time to find and encourage those key people to become fully effective members of the Flight Crew, and then encourage them to do the same. At the highest level the Flight Crew work with the leader to determine the overall strategy of the organisation and using the Coaching Cycle (see below), they address the core issues facing the organisation and then ensure that any solution is properly and effectively implemented throughout.

The Flight Crew are responsible for the coherent and consistent communication of the strategy and tactics of the business right down to the shop floor. The Master-Class approach helps to both create and equip the Flight Crew with the necessary skills and toolset to address the core issues within the organisation and then implement and sustain that solution over time. There are several key strategic steps in order to achieve the true effectiveness of this approach:

• Establish positive leadership and the core leadership team – the Flight Crew
• Become a mission/goal focused company ASAP (Attitudes, Strategies, Activities and Personal Leadership)
• Institute team briefings led by Flight Crew members throughout the organisation, from the top Flight Crew, down
• Create a community within the organisation, focused on making it more effective in the chosen markets
• Maintain support at all levels to take the organisation forward

The five stations of our Coaching Cycle were developed as shown in the diagram on the right. The Leadership Master-Class is designed for team leaders, and their teams, to learn and practice the tools contained within each station in order to lead their organisation forward.
The Cycle can be used at individual, team and organisation levels. At each of those levels the tools used to answer the five questions are the same, but they are simply working at deeper levels of understanding and analysis.

Module One: this module, of four days’ duration, starts with capturing the context of the programme in terms of the goal and necessary conditions of the organisation. This will involve mapping the organisation, capturing the 'Undesirable Effects' or 'UDEs' and beginning the process of answering the question “What to change?” Time is given to the precise articulation of the UDEs as these form the core of the analysis. By the end of this module we will have completed station one of the Coaching Cycle and a substantial part of station two. During the time between the first and second modules there is "homework" which is the validation of the analysis with other members of the team back in the organisation.

Module Two: this module, of three days’ duration, is where we move from the completion of station two to station three, – painting the compelling picture going forward. This is where we can fully answer the question “what to change to?” Again it is essential to use the rigour of the TOC approach to ensure that our solution is both robust and directly removes the constraint holding the organisation back.
As before, there is homework between this and the next module which again validates the work done to date and encourages others to give feedback on the compelling picture, as part of the vital process of obtaining buy-in.

Module Three: this module, of three days’ duration, is where we complete the coaching cycle for the first iteration. We construct the implementation plan for the solution developed in the previous module and determine the obstacles that will prevent the implementation from being successful. We also spend time checking for any potential negative outcomes that can be reasonably determined at this point in time. Out of those two types of reservation the implementation plan is completed and checked – ready to go.

Reflection and Review: (see diagram above) This aspect is part of the follow-up to the main programme and includes the review and reflection which is the core of station five. This is where it is possible to start the development of the learning organisation, where those course corrections that were taken are registered and where the ability of the key team, the Flight Crew, is enhanced.

The Master-Class Programme forms an excellent platform for those working in Supply Chain / Operations or Project and Programme Management environments.

Attendees will follow the same outline as for the standard Effective Leadership programme (see above) but with the emphasis on the following:

- In the context of Supply Chain Management we cover the ground introduced in the recently published third edition of Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning and the use of Replenishment to address many of the common problems found in most supply chains. Thus part of the Master-Class focuses on the development of the Flight Crew concept for supply chain management and on obtaining the right level of focus and understanding throughout the whole of the organisation.
The intention here is to:

• create a team capable of leading the supply chain function to re-balance the inventory in the entire supply chain based on actual consumption demand
• provide clear focus on priorities for both internal manufacturing and purchased components and material
• dampen the effects of volatility throughout your supply chain and re-stabilize plans throughout the system.

- In the context of Operations Management we cover the Drum – Buffer – Rope (DBR) approach first described in Goldratt’s book The Goal, and link DBR to Replenishment as they often work best in combination. One of the outcomes of this will be the creation of the Operations Flight Crew to both lead and determine progress in the drive towards 100% On-time, In-Full delivery to the client, right first time.

In both contexts the key links to other tools such as Lean and DMAIC are discussed; how to integrate these tools into one coherent and systemic approach is central to this programme.

Attendees will follow the same outline as for the standard Effective Leadership programme (see above) but with the emphasis on the following:

- Developing a deeper understanding of Critical Chain Project Management for both single and multi-project environments. The key links to other tools and techniques including Lean and DMAIC are discussed; how to integrate these tools into one coherent and systemic approach is central to this programme.
This programme is ideal for creating a dedicated Projects & Programmes Flight Crew - and for some companies, Engineering and Product Development Flight Crews - and will enable them to lead the direction into the future.

The primary attendee should be the team leader. We are also keen to encourage the other team members to attend so that, via the learning exercises which are central to the programme itself, each member of the Flight Crew can develop their individual skills and the overall skills of the team.

The principles and methodology taught throughout this Programme are central to course leader Dr Ted Hutchin's forthcoming book,
"The Right Choice: Using Theory of Constraints for Effective Leadership". Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy of the book.

The Programme will be held at our Training Centre in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, UK and will be delivered by Ted Hutchin who has an MA in Human Resource Management and a PhD in organisational Psychology. He is a Theory of Constraints Expert and an Industrial Fellow at Nottingham University.

This intensive programme comprises 10 days over 8 weeks, with 2 consecutive days in the first week; numbers are restricted to a maximum of six people per programme.

The fee is £2,950 plus VAT per person.

LEADERSHIP MASTER-CLASS 1 - JANUARY 2012 START: Module 1:  9th & 10th January   16th January   23rd January Module 2:  30th January   6th February   13th February Module 3:  20th February   27th February   12th March	LEADERSHIP MASTER-CLASS 2 - MARCH 2012 START: Module 1:  26th & 27th March   3rd April   12th April Module 2:  17th April   24th April   8th May Module 3:  15th May   22nd May   29th May
LEADERSHIP MASTER-CLASS 3 - SEPTEMBER 2012 START: Module 1:  4th & 5th September   12th September   19th Sept Module 2:  26th September   3rd October   10th October Module 3:  17th October   24th October   31st October	LEADERSHIP MASTER-CLASS 4 - OCTOBER 2012 START: Module 1:  8th & 9th October   15th October   22nd October Module 2:  29th October   5th November   12th November Module 3:  19th November   26th November   3rd December

If you would like further information about any of the Leadership Master-Class Programmes or their suitability for your team, please contact course leader Dr Ted Hutchin via email: tedh@constraintmanagement.co.uk or by telephone on 01664 502860.

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