The Working Well Together programme
A flexible programme for people who need to work well together, at the top of an organisation and across it. It might be a CEO and chair building their relationship, a senior team in transition, or two colleagues where tension is starting to affect their work. For colleagues, a shorter version can help address difficulties early, before full mediation or a formal grievance becomes necessary.
When working relationships aren’t working, much of the weight tends to fall on the CEO. Managing tension, smoothing over misunderstandings and holding things together can quietly take up hours of time and a great deal of headspace. It can often feel easier to leave things alone and hope they settle. Tackling them instead frees leaders to focus their energy on the mission.
The programme combines coaching, VoicePrint and the approach of workplace mediation. Mediators keep conversations safe and constructive and focus on underlying needs rather than fixed positions. Here that approach is applied from the outset, opening up channels of communication and enabling people to talk honestly about how they work together. VoicePrint, a research-based communication framework, raises awareness of how we talk and listen, and gives people a shared and objective language that takes much of the awkwardness out of these conversations.
The aim is to empower people to handle tension and disagreement well themselves, rather than relying on the CEO or HR to manage it. We can’t design away every disagreement, but we can build healthy ways of handling them, and a culture that can ripple out into the wider organisation.
Each programme is shaped around the people involved. A typical programme for a senior team includes:
- A scoping meeting with the relevant stakeholders to confirm the aims of the work
- One-to-one coaching with each team member, an hour each
- A first team coaching session on working together, communication and how the team wants to operate
- VoicePrint self and listening profiles for each team member
- A group VoicePrint feedback session, or individual feedback sessions
- A team VoicePrint workshop on how the team communicates as a whole
- Two further team coaching sessions to embed the work, the last of which reviews progress and agrees next steps
The first part is usually front-loaded over a few weeks, with coaching continuing over the following months. Timing fits around the organisation, and there’s always the option to continue beyond the initial programme.
Offer for ACEVO members
| Programme element | Fee |
| Scoping meeting with stakeholders | No charge |
| Initial one-to-one coaching session (per team member) | £100 |
| Team coaching session 1 (2 hours) | £200 |
| Group VoicePrint feedback session (2 hours) | £300 |
| Optional individual VoicePrint feedback (90 minutes, per person) | £150 |
| Team VoicePrint workshop (2 to 3 hours) | £500 |
| Team coaching session 2 (2 hours) | £200 |
| Team coaching session 3 and review (2 hours) | £200 |
| Professional fee | from £1,500 |
| VoicePrint profiles and reports | £116 + VAT per person (at cost) |
Programmes for a CEO and chair, or for two colleagues, are priced on request.
About Samantha Benson – SSB Coaching
I’m an EMCC Senior Practitioner coach, an accredited VoicePrint practitioner and a trained workplace mediator (The TCM Group), with close to 30 years in education and charity leadership. As a school governor and trustee, I understand the relationship between leaders and their boards from both sides.
Get in touch
If you have any queries please email [email protected] or call 020 7014 4600.