Case Study - 360 Feedback for leadership development

The Client

OVO is a collection of companies with a single vision: to power human progress with clean affordable energy for everyone.

OVO Retail serves 5 million customers with digital energy services across five retail brands, and with the acquisition of SSE retail in 2020, OVO became the UK’s third largest energy supplier.

The Challenge

OVO as an organisation faces unique challenges. It has set ambitious targets in relation to moving toward a sustainable zero carbon economy, and also seeks to be an organisation and employer that embraces progressive practices: sophisticated use of technology and data, creating a culture of experimentation and learning, all in a workplace that allows people to thrive personally as well as succeed professionally. At the same time it is an environment where change is constant and fast, and where growth through acquisition has led to a need for diverse cultures to be integrated. At OVO, feedback for leaders is essential - the leadership challenge is great and there is little room to course correct: it is an environment where it can be hard to find space to stop, share feedback and make sense of what to do with it.

The Approach

OVO’s leadership development team built a simple process - to be facilitated by a skilled coach - to collect, compile and share qualitative feedback with OVO leaders. The process prioritised the following:

  • Speed and efficiency - going straight to the key issues

  • Psychological safety for those providing and receiving feedback

  • The identification of critical themes - strengths and areas for improvement

  • A coaching conversation that allowed those receiving feedback to make sense of what they have heard, process any natural emotional reaction to the feedback, and take steps to address critical areas

Process Steps

My Role

I was engaged to be one of the coaches collecting and providing feedback. Thus far I have worked with 11 of OVO’s senior leaders across the Retail, Ops and People leadership teams. He’s what Charlotte Eaton - OVO Chief People Officer - said about working with me: 

“Rich has done a significant amount of work across our leadership team and has taken time to get to know our business which means leadership development conversations are more specific and more impactful. Rich has a thoughtful, considerate coaching style, which myself and others have found really helpful in providing a reflective space.”

The Result

For each participant

  • Raised self insight

  • Increased awareness of strengths as perceived by others and opportunities to leverage further

  • Clear, context specific, development areas, and associated actions

For each leadership team

  • Groundwork for team development sessions where individuals’ strengths and development areas were shared

  • Complete picture of how the team shows up and the shadow they collectively cast 

For OVO

  • Increasing leaders’ comfort and skill in seeking and using feedback