Shifting mindsets at Hamilton City
Council

Using the Elements of nature – earth, air, water and fire – as a metaphor to describe people and their preferences, the TetraMap tool has helped transform staff behaviours and attitudes to affect positive changes at the Hamilton City Council.

Hamilton is home to more than 140,000 residents and rapidly growing in popularity and reputation. This means a huge task at hand for Hamilton City Council (HCC) to maintain the pace and quality of development of the city.

How it started

In February 2010 the Senior Leadership team at HCC attended a two-day retreat, with their discussions focused around how to deliver the best possible customer service experience for the people of Hamilton and how best to engage all the 900+ staff in being a part of this journey.

Chris Sidwell, then HR Manager and now a Certified TetraMap Facilitator, says, “We introduced TetraMap to our senior leaders who readily adopted the language and began to cascade it down to their respective teams. It has become a highly effective resource for the staff.”

The proactive follow up

Following this, an in-house certification for trainers and HR advisors was organised in June 2010 with the aim of obtaining more tangible benefits for the organisation from the TetraMap tools. More than a third of the organisation (300+ staff) at all levels in the organisation from the CEO to tractor drivers has been ‘TetraMapped’ since then. “Most recently we have incorporated TetraMap into our Leadership Development Programme and this has been hugely successful with assisting our leaders to better understand themselves and others who they work with,” Chris adds.

Personal and team benefits

Helen Paki, Group Business Manager Community Group, is highly impressed with the personal and team benefits derived from the TetraMap experience. What Helen likes about TetraMap best is that “it is quick, concise and memorable”.

“We did TetraMap with four members of my team, and we saw how different we all were. For example I’m high in Fire (ideas, possibilities, spontaneous) and low in Air (systems, detail and process). Unlike me, most were high in Air and low in Fire,” Helen says.

“As a result of the programme, we understood each other’s strengths and how to work together more effectively. We acknowledged things we appreciated about each other’s Elements, and as a team we are just so much more relaxed.” Helen has also noticed real personal benefits since attending the Leadership programme here. “I’m now working on my personal efficiency, and have no excuse not to work at the tough stuff. It takes more energy, but I give myself time and don’t give up.”

Cory Lang, Team Leader Building Inspection, considers TetraMap an  “absolutely incredible and sensational tool”.

“We have ten guys, all strong characters, who have to focus on regulatory issues, and rules. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of Air in the team. I’m constantly asking the team to challenge their own mindsets, and to consistently use what they learned from TetraMap in every situation. When I’m coaching them I’ll bring it in too, and that helps us when we are reflecting on why things happened the way they did.”

Cory is also finding it interesting how the dynamics and the relationships with their administration staff have also changed. “We all just understand each other’s pressures and stresses a little more, which builds respect and reduces conflicts. If I were to sum up TetraMap I’d say for such a great tool it’s a shame it’s not more widely known and accepted. I can see it being used in business and education.”

Experiencing mindset shift

As a result of the TetraMap experience, HCC has experienced a mindset shift at a strategic level in staff attitudes, behaviours, and performance. This illustrates the working principle of TetraMap that changing people’s mindsets can change organisations.

While the TetraMap benefits seem obvious for the organisation at an informal level, it has introduced it into its tool-kit for team building, mediation, and conflict resolution at a more formal level. The Hamilton City Council plans to continue exposing more of its staff to the TetraMap understanding. “We’ll look for further opportunities to use this highly beneficial tool to support the business in achieving its objectives.”

Chris highly recommends TetraMap training to other organisations looking to attain a shift in mindsets and improved performance. “There are other similar tools to TetraMap, however the standout feature for us is the simplicity of the concepts and the language – enabling wide application and understanding.”