Seeing the whole picture as you grow

But as work began, it became clear that this was not just about delivering a project. It was about how the organisation as a whole would need to operate differently.

At the same time, the leadership team were already under pressure. Like many organisations in growth, they were working hard to keep up with day-to-day demands, often reacting to the latest issue as it arose. As one team member later reflected, it can feel like “always working on the latest fire.”

There was experience in the room, and people were moving into detail quickly. But without a shared view of the whole, it was difficult to see how everything connected.

It was like looking at the change through a keyhole. Each part made sense on its own, but only a small part of the whole was visible at any one time. Different people were seeing different things, and there was no easy way to stand back and look at it together.

Morphology came in to work alongside the leadership team, helping them step back before moving further forward.

The first phase created space to align. The team shared their perspectives on why the change mattered, the opportunity ahead, and the risks if they did not get it right. Although people had their own sense of the destination, this created a stronger shared understanding of what lay ahead.

They also explored what an operating model change would actually involve. Moving beyond the immediate task of opening a new site, they began to see the wider system and how different elements would need to work together.

This was the moment the view opened up. They were no longer each looking at the change through a keyhole. Now, they could stand together in the doorway, seeing the same picture and understanding how the different parts connected.

As Alice, Superintendent Pharmacist, reflected, “You all listened really well and made a real effort to understand our business and our issues.” This helped ensure that what they were seeing was grounded in the reality of the organisation.

With that shared view in place, the next phase was about bringing the work together into a clear overall plan.

This connected the different elements of the change: how the organisation would operate, how the work would be delivered, how people would be supported through the transition, and what success would look like for patients and stakeholders.

It also surfaced areas that had not been fully considered and helped the internal team structure the work into clear workstreams, with dependencies understood and aligned.

At this point, the organisation was no longer reacting to individual challenges. They were beginning to manage the change as a whole.

The final phase focused on turning that design into something practical.

Working alongside internal leads, Morphology helped shape the practical elements needed to make the change work. That included processes, standard operating procedures, clearer roles and accountabilities, and stronger governance and reporting, including KPIs and dashboards.

The approach remained flexible, adapting to changes in the delivery timetable while staying anchored to the principles agreed at the outset.

Importantly, the work was co-produced. Internal team members led key elements, supported by Morphology’s expertise.

As Graham Knight, Programme Manager, reflected, “The workstream objectives were clear and the aims and outputs evident. This really helped me to navigate the different work groups and activities required to design and implement the change.”

With that understanding in place, the organisation began to put change into practice.

Together, we shaped an approach that suited their context. This included clarifying what their values looked like in everyday work, introducing more regular conversations about performance, and creating clearer ways to talk about both tasks and behaviour.

Practical tools, guidance and simple materials helped people engage with the changes and build confidence in using them.

Throughout, Morphology worked in partnership with the leadership team. Thinking was shared, decisions were made together, and capability was built along the way. The work became part of how they operated, not something done to them.