How can a rapidly growing multidisciplinary team move beyond silos and create a shared sense of purpose?
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Public Health team had grown significantly since its launch in 2018. New roles, workstreams, and management responsibilities had been introduced to support a broader public health program across the organization.
While individual workstreams had clear strategic direction, the expanding team needed stronger connections, better cross-stream collaboration, and a clearer understanding of how each person’s role contributed to the wider purpose.
The team therefore invested dedicated time in reviewing how it worked, strengthening relationships, and creating a shared action plan that everyone could understand and own.
This case study was created by Insights, DEVELOR’s strategic partner.
The joint journey included:
- Working with the Organizational Development team to design a tailored development process
- Defining clear goals for breaking down silos and improving cross-stream collaboration
- Facilitating two full-day development sessions over a six-month period
- Combining team-building activities, Insights Discovery workshops, and action planning
- Providing each team member with an Insights Discovery Personal Profile
- Helping individuals understand their own behavioral preferences and their impact on others
- Developing a greater awareness of colleagues’ different working and communication styles
- Reflecting on team successes, future objectives, and workforce requirements
- Clarifying how individual contributions aligned with the Public Health strategy
- Creating specific actions and a shared roadmap for future collaboration and governance
The results:
- Stronger foundations for future team development and organizational change
- Greater understanding of individual preferences, strengths, and potential weaknesses
- Improved trust and rapport between team members and managers
- A clearer collective identity across different public health workstreams
- Stronger shared ownership of objectives, actions, and the team’s strategic direction
- More consistent communication and collaboration across the team
- Face-to-face monthly team meetings were introduced to support relationship-building
- New team-manager meetings established to strengthen peer support and consistency
- Insights Discovery embedded as an ongoing part of team communication
- Continued use and sharing of personal profiles with new and existing colleagues
“This was a new way of working for the team, from working in silos to working towards a shared purpose and thinking about all workstreams as cogs within the public health wheel.”
— Lisa Davies, PH OSM
Why download this case study?
- To see how a growing multidisciplinary team can strengthen its shared identity
- To explore a practical approach to breaking down organizational silos
- To understand how behavioral awareness can improve trust and collaboration
- To learn how team development can be connected with strategy and governance
- To discover how structured reflection and action planning can create shared ownership
Who is this case study for?
- Leaders managing growing or newly formed multidisciplinary teams
- HR and Organizational Development professionals supporting team effectiveness
- Healthcare leaders working across complex services and professional disciplines
- Managers seeking to improve collaboration between separate workstreams
- Teams looking to strengthen trust, accountability, and shared purpose
Download the full case study to discover how Northumbria Healthcare’s Public Health team used Insights Discovery, facilitated reflection, and action planning to move from siloed working to a more connected, collaborative approach.