Plumb Line philosophy
Stepping into a client organisation as an OD consultant is a real privilege and honour. It implies some key traits and philosophies of the owner or manager of the business; mostly that he or she cares about employees and understand that organisational success depends on the ability to unlock the potential of individuals and teams, and to keep people engaged with the purpose of the business.
The Plumb Line philosophy is to share this caring approach and make it real for employees. As a consultant I am a privileged guest in clients’ businesses and I try to handle this privilege with care and humility.
I believe in simplicity. For me this means an accurate diagnosis and doing the core things right. As people we are complex and dynamic, and often simple, yet relevant solutions, is what unlocks the most value in organisations. Treating people as valuable and worthy of respect, even difficult decisions and performance management processes yield the desired outcomes for both employees and the organisation.
As colleagues we can thrive together, achieve great things that are larger than ourselves. But this takes effort. We all have experiences and periods of being stuck, as individuals, in teams and in growing a business.
I have seen and experienced what Csikszentmihalyi describes as FLOW: ”moments when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile”.
The approach of Plumb Line is to facilitate personal and organisational FLOW. We search creatively for holistic solutions to the benefit of the individual employee, the efficiency of the team and the sustainability of the business.
I believe in expert skills and knowledge and to this end collaborate with specialists in complimentary fields of work. This allows access to services like industrial relations, counselling, psychometric assessments and coaching to name a few. The requirements of clients, what is key to their success, defines the service offering and specialists are applied accordingly.
As a framework for delivery we depend on, and work hard to align with the values that drive the purpose of Plumb Line. The values of Plumb Line are:
| VALUES | HABITS |
|---|---|
| Professional | Competence, exceptional strategic thinking and timeous delivery is key to ensuring real change and purposeful people management. |
| Authentic | Everyone is unique and has the potential to contribute in a specific way that is meaningful for them. Being honest with oneself and open to discover your authentic self allows for deep purpose and meaning. |
| Relational | Understanding others and building long-term, trusting relations is the basis for all client interaction and development processes. |
| Compassion | Making a real effort to understand the reality of others, what they are going through and what they need, is the guide for designing accurate and effective solutions. |
The team
Wickus Guelpa
B.A. Industrial Psychology
Wickus has 18 years’ experience in organisational development and has been consulting to a variety of businesses over the past 16 years. His focus is on relationship development within the work context whilst ensuring the most efficient organisational design and structures. The challenge of getting people to collaborate is one he relishes and unlocking the creative energy in teams comes naturally for him. Using self-knowledge and excellent self-management skills as the basis for his work, he facilitates sustainable change in people and teams. Wickus shares his expert knowledge of small and medium businesses with great enthusiasm with business owners and managers.
Wickus is an accredited user of the Leadership Circle, Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator and Belbin team profile instrument.
When not working, you will probably find him somewhere in nature with his wife and two sons, exploring new places and enjoying really good food and wine.
Plumb Line Story
The birth of Plumb Line was initially an individual journey of grace and acknowledgement of personal brokenness. This personal experience led to my believe that we are raised up by God to give direction and be plumb lines for others, being motivated to do what is right. My purpose is to apply my talents and skills to the benefit of people in the work environment. Why? Businesses, and specifically the people in it, are close to God’s heart, and there are clear instructions to be found in Scripture on how to achieve success in business. God has set a plumb line for us and we need to play our part in living our calling.