investment management company
Team Development using the Lumina Spark Tool
Opportunity
A technology team at an investment management company engaged Sheridan Worldwide to design a development offsite to enhance self-awareness, improve team dynamics, and foster collaboration. The team, comprising 14 members across London, Hong Kong, and India, came together to break down silos and align around a shared purpose.
The offsite’s objectives included:
- Identifying individual and team strengths and gaps
- Understanding the impact of personality on team performance
- Enhancing collaboration through practical scenarios and group discussions
- Creating action plans to address priorities and improve decision-making
The solution
Sheridan selected a coach-facilitator aligned with the team leader and skilled in Lumina Spark. Pre-session preparation included individual profiles and a team diagnostic to assess trust and psychological safety. One-on-one debriefs ensured personalised insights and readiness.
The 1.5-day offsite blended Lumina data, team diagnostics, and real-time group work. It focused on building adaptability, trust, and customer-centric thinking. A key theme “Customer Obsession” became the team’s unifying purpose. Sub-groups were formed to drive related initiatives aligned with business goals.
Impact
The offsite strengthened self-awareness, improved communication, and built trust. The team co-created a strategic action plan rooted in individual differences and team strengths, fostering cohesion and alignment. A debrief with leadership identified areas for continued development, ensuring momentum post-session.
We had a fantastic experience working with the Sheridan team for our SLT offsite; it was a truly collaborative approach. Our session focused on team psychometrics and leadership team development, and the insights we gained into our individual and collective strengths have paved the way for more effective collaboration and communication within our team. Our facilitator, took the time to fully understand the context of the team and what we were aiming to achieve. The outputs he crafted were positioned perfectly to engage our diverse team and maximise every moment we had together in the same room – a rare commodity for a globally dispersed team! On the day, the facilitated activities were delivered in an innovative manner, making them even more engaging and thought-provoking. This allowed us to delve deep into our own narrative, explore our team dynamics, and uncover areas for growth individually and as a team. As a result, we left the session feeling more connected, self-aware, and equipped to tackle future challenges together.
2025 Development
Following the success of the 2024 offsite, the team re-engaged Sheridan in 2025 to continue building on the foundations laid…
In July 2025, the coach re-engaged with the leadership team they had previously supported in September of the prior year. Given the significant changes within the team—including the departure of several original members and the onboarding of new colleagues—it was an ideal moment to reset team dynamics, strengthen trust, and build a shared understanding of purpose and direction.
This 1.5 day development session formed part of a wider offsite initiative designed by the team to focus on collaboration, performance, and leadership.
Day 1: Observing and Aligning with Experiential Learning
The coach joined the team during the latter half of a session delivered by the Team Challenge Company. That day included two immersive, experiential activities:
- “Flat Out: Formula One” – A project management challenge where teams used a blueprint to build and race a model F1 car, requiring strategic planning, time/resource management, and clear delegation.
- “Red Alert Challenge” – A high-tech, escape-room style game that emphasized cross-team collaboration. The exercise concluded with a moment of realization that success could only be achieved by breaking down silos and working together.
The coach observed the team during the “Red Alert” activity and used the experience as a launch point for the following day. He helped the team highlight their leadership behaviours and team strengths that emerged during the challenge and set the tone for deepening these dynamics in the next day’s work.
Day 2: Full-Day Development Session
The coach facilitated a full-day workshop focused on enhancing collaboration, strengthening team dynamics, and advancing stakeholder engagement. The session built on themes observed during the previous day’s experiential activities and created space for the team to reflect, align, and plan strategically for the future.
The day began with a leadership reflection, where team members explored the connections between their behaviours during the immersive challenges and their day-to-day team dynamics. This helped surface strengths and opportunities for growth in how they work together and lead.
Next, the group engaged in a stakeholder mapping exercise, in which each participant role-played a key stakeholder. This allowed them to step into others’ shoes and take a system wide perspective on their team’s role and purpose. It also Informed how best to increase influence , refine relationships and improve cross-functional engagement.
The workshop concluded with a strategic priority session, ensuring their primary goals aligned with the whole organisation’s strategy. They also reinforced the key behaviours they would hold each other accountable for as a team.
Outcomes
The session generated several clear outcomes. These included a defined set of actions arising from the stakeholder mapping exercise and a commitment from the team leader to lead the development of a broader stakeholder engagement and influencing strategy. The team also agreed to review and improve the structure of internal meetings, with a focus on clarity of ownership and more purposeful agendas. Finally, they committed to developing a clear and consistent communications plan to support alignment and accountability across the team.