Collaborative leader

​Managers have a decisive role to make sure that the organizational model developed in the HSE culture project is going to be an integrated part of the everyday work practice in GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS. The evaluation of the HSE culture project confirms that employees and managers at every level in GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS have adopted the concept of the HSE culture project by using the terminology in the organizational model.

The focus now is a continuation of the HSE culture project by operationalizing the organization model “from speech to action”: the responsibility for this operationalizing is in the line. This means that it is crucial that managers exercise leadership that supports the organizational model. To make this happen, managers need to reflect upon and understand the relation between “saying and doing”: for instance, how should I as a managers facilitate our success factors in my department

All managers will get help to understand the relation between “saying and doing”. The starting point for this is that all managers will participate in a one-day course on the concept of the collaborative leader (which is based upon the theoretical perspective in the organizational model developed in the HSE culture project). The course is a combination of a thorough repetition of the organizational model followed by individual and group reflections upon what it means to be a leader that both supports and strengthens the organizational model. Everyday working situations that managers face are used as cases to practice on. A follow – up plan for every manager is made after the course day.

The project is organized as a close collaboration between GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS and researcher from NTNU Samfunnsforskning AS, Studio Apertura. The researchers have the professional responsibility, and are going to follow up closely every manager as part of the follow-up plan. A reflection table is used as a method in this follow up: everyday working situations are reflected upon and placed in the reflection table as a means to reflect upon how a situation, a dilemma, or a decision is going to strengthen and/or weaken the intentions of the organizational model. The purpose is to help all managers to practice so that they reach the point where it comes “natural” to act and interact in accordance to the intentions of the organizational model.​​