What we do

We help leaders and investors improve execution, performance and value creation by strengthening organisations, developing leadership and making change happen.

We keep things simple.

Our approach is underpinned by three key principles:

1. Contextualised

We build a deep understanding of the business, its strategy, market and stage of development before deciding what needs to change.

2. Outcomes-driven

We start with the business outcomes you need to achieve and focus our work on the changes that will make the greatest difference.

3. Empowering

We work with investor and executive teams, not around them - transferring our knowledge and tools so improvements continue after our work is done.

Our work starts with the business outcome.

We use evidence and experience to understand what is getting in the way, then work with leaders to make the changes needed to improve performance.

— Phil Makinson, Scalewell co-founder

The Scalewell Approach

Projects with scaling companies typically follow a ‘Review, Plan, Develop’ sequence. Depending on your context we can focus on the “Review” stage or move straight to “Develop”.

Review

Good decisions start with good evidence.

We use interviews, data and structured assessment to understand what is helping or hindering performance and where change will have most impact.

Our assessment capabilities include:

  • After agreeing the leadership capabilities required to be successful in role, we assess each leader rigorously using a variety of techniques and instruments. We then sensitively help each leader understand our analysis for their own development purposes as well as providing a valuable summary to their line manager.

  • Execution Radar is our execution intelligence system for PE investors and portfolio companies. It identifies where the VCP is putting too much pressure on the organisation, helps leaders make the right changes, and measures whether those changes are improving execution and performance throughout the hold.

  • We carry out in-depth analysis of the executive team, examining its composition, size, goals, roles, processes and behaviours and the way it monitors its own performance. We also examine its performance from the perspectives of key stakeholders the executive team is meant to serve.

  • We examine the Board’s composition, culture, processes, behaviours relationship with the executive team and individual Board member performance to make recommendations for improvement.

  • We work with Private Equity and Venture Capital investors before and after investment to improve investment decisions, portfolio performance and value creation.

    Our work includes leadership and organisational due diligence, portfolio assessment and development, drawing on our leadership, team and organisational expertise alongside Execution Radar where appropriate.

Plan

Insight only matters if it leads to action. We work with leaders to decide what needs to change, prioritise the actions that will have most impact and create a practical, sequenced plan for making it happen.

That may mean changing priorities, organisation design, leadership, capacity, ways of working or the plan itself.

Develop

We help leaders and teams make the changes identified through the Review and Plan stages - building the capability, leadership and ways of working needed to improve execution and performance.

Our work includes:

  • Company narratives create a simple, memorable and powerful foundation to provide direction, guide decision making and promote desired behaviours in your company

    Using structured sessions with your leaders and people, Scalewell captures your company’s foundational elements, including your purpose or mission, vision, desired culture, values, strategy and customer and employee value propositions. We then support your leaders communicate the narrative internally and externally in an inspirational and compelling way.

  • We help leaders design organisations that can deliver their vision, strategy and business objectives. We establish clear design criteria to evaluate structural options, identify capability gaps and ensure the organisation has the right structure, roles and capabilities to perform effectively.

  • We help scaling businesses build the people systems and processes needed to attract, develop and retain talent, strengthen performance and support the desired culture. Our experience spans the full employee lifecycle, from recruitment, selection and onboarding through to recognition, development, reward, promotion, succession planning and exit.

  • Scalewell offers highly personalised development programmes designed around an individual leader’s needs, combining discovery, reference feedback, development action planning, executive coaching and three-way development conversations with line managers.

  • We help executive teams improve alignment, decision-making, accountability and ways of working so they can lead the business effectively through growth and change.

  • We are experienced at creating tailored programmes which broaden and mature managers’ capabilities to scale teams and create environments where change can be achieved. These are often interactive masterclasses with cohorts of managers and leaders of up to 10 people per cohort.

Scalewell has provided us with valuable advice through Fitness to Scale. Their specific expertise in culture and leadership is deepening our own understanding of performance optimisation in early-stage, growth companies and we continue to benefit from their insight.

— Ed Lascelles, Partner, Albion VC