CASE STUDY

Breast Cancer Care Western Australia

POSITIVITY AT WORK: TEAM LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

About Breast Cancer Care Western Australia (BCCWA)

Breast Cancer Care WA (BCCWA) is a for-purpose organisation in Western Australia, dedicated to supporting anyone living in WA with a breast cancer diagnosis, and their families. They pride themselves on being an employer of choice and attracting and retaining qualified staff.

The Challenge

BCCWA already had a committed and engaged team, a positive workplace culture and a continuous improvement mindset. When Covid-19 hit in March 2020, leadership proactively looked for ways to keep the team connected and aligned, and to build resilience and promote wellbeing during a period of prolonged physical distancing and disruption. They sought to redress a balance of positivity from the pervasive negativity of the pandemic, and help their people cope with an uncertain period ahead.

Our Solution

5 Senior Managers and 24 team members participated in the Positivity@Work Learning Journey. The architecture consists of:

  • 6 x Positive Leadership workshops for managers (learning skills to build their own psychological capability and wellbeing, and how they could apply their learnings as people leaders)

  • 6 x all-staff learning sessions (introducing the 6M Model and positive psychology concepts)

  • VIA Character Strengths assessments and debriefs, as well as “best-self” reflection and exercises

  • Small group reflections on the learning journey (building positive, connected teams)

We conducted the Positivity@Work program over a period of three months.

Leaders learnt the skills to build their own psychological capability and wellbeing, and then how they could apply their learnings as people leaders. In the all-staff sessions, similar positive psychology concepts were presented and contextualised to staff’s collective and individual challenges and opportunities.

Throughout the program, we provided space and time for the real-life application of the concepts at work and in life more generally. The CEO of the organisation also had a series of individual coaching sessions with the aim of continuing to embed positive leadership practices into the organisation.

Our Results

Positivity at Work

The Positivity@Work program brought a sense of positive momentum to the BCCWA team in the tough external environment.

Leaders and team members developed a deeper understanding of each other, which then enabled them to recognise and then play to each other’s strengths and passions.

Outcomes

The learning sessions provided a regular forum for connection, reflection and sharing. This normalised current challenges and provided a safe space to learn and grow as individuals and as a team.

As well as fortifying their wellbeing and resilience, everyone set purpose-driven goals and commitments that provided meaning to their work.

In the Longer Term

A positive legacy.

This work lives on within BCCWA. A year later, the office walls are still adorned with their group strengths mapping, and people’s strengths continue to be leveraged on a daily basis. The techniques and the language of wellbeing are part of the fabric of the organisational culture. Positive Leadership behaviours are embedded and introduced to any new leaders joining the organisation.

Testimonials

“I had worked with Dr Suzy Green in a previous organisation and was looking for the right time to introduce the work of The Positivity Institute at BCCWA. As a result of the continuing benefits these programs provided us, we’ve been able to demonstrate the strong return on investment in proactive wellbeing and psychological capability building and the benefits of building connectivity, purpose and great delivery from our team.  Quite simply, when we invest in people showing up as their best selves, the business outcomes follow.”

–  Zoe McAlpine, former CEO, Breast Cancer Care WA

Breast Cancer Care WA