oezpa Team

Overview

Olya has spent much of her career as an organisational consultant in change management, with a particular focus on leadership and group process.  She embodies a broad range of training and experience with individuals, groups and organisations.  She takes a systemic approach and encourages an understanding of the hidden agendas that operate at each of these levels.  She believes that by having an understanding of these and of how their own behaviour and values impact on others interpersonally and in groups, leaders will be able to take up their roles even more effectively.

Background and Organisational Experience

Olya has a particular interest in organisation change and works with boards, leaders, senior managements and other significant groupings in a dynamic way.  This way of working enables senior managers to understand their own roles better as well as developing a good grasp of the dynamic of the group as a whole and how to influence it.  Greater understanding and clarity fosters in senior managers a better capacity to work together at the strategic level.

Olya integrates her training as an occupational psychologist and experience with corporate dynamics with her understanding of systems thinking.  This brings together work at the task level with an awareness of the impact of hidden agendas and political processes, therefore enabling more effective outcomes and pragmatic solutions.

Olya is a social scientist and began her career at London Business School in the field of organisational behaviour research.  She moved into the business world as an internal consultant, focusing on the impact of acquisitions and mergers.  She developed her understanding of group relations and group dynamics as an Associate of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and has worked as an independent practitioner with a portfolio of roles for the last 30 years.

Her interest in group dynamics and group relations focuses on the themes of authority, leadership and organisation.  She has designed and directed many workshops on leadership, group and organisational behaviour. During the 1990’s she was appointed Policy Adviser to the Group Relations Training Programme of the Tavistock Institute, which sponsors group relations conferences.  She works internationally and has published extensively.

Relevant publications on leadership

Is the Very Small Group the Family at Work, Bob Gosling Memorial Lecture, Organisational and Social Dynamics, Vol. 3, No.2, Autumn 2003.

Not Leading Followers, Not Following Leaders:  The Contemporary Erosion of the Traditional Social Contract.   In Organisational and Social Dynamics, Vol. 4 No 2, 2004

Representative Client Assignments

President, Learned Society helping him and his Board shape an organisational change programme in order to change the culture and ensure future development and growth.

Founding Entrepreneur and CEO, Private Organisation developing strategy, assessing and developing senior managers, and enabling the successful sale, allowing the Founder to retire.

International Regional Director, Beverages Company helping the leader develop his country managers as a team; designing a workshop that enabled them to understand and change the way in which group processes were impacting on their relationship with their leader.

Senior Managers, Therapeutic Community working with the managers and their teams in understanding how stresses internalised from disturbed clients impacted on the capacity to work effectively together

Academic Professor, designed annual study days over several years to examine and improve capacity to work effectively together

Education and Qualifications

BSc in Social Science, Southampton University

MA in Manpower Studies, London University

Diploma, Institute of Personnel & Development

Certificate in Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy, London Centre for Psychotherapy

Areas of Expertise

• Organisational Consultancy
• Team Building/Group Dynamics
• Executive coaching
• Mentoring
• Developmental role consultations
• Assessment of senior managers and directors