The Whakatāne District Council employs approximately 385 people across the district providing essential services, facilities and recreational opportunities. In 2026, the Council currently delivers more than 30 different services and manages around $1.4 billion worth of community assets. Underpinning their strategic priorities is a strong and resilient Council organisation focused on continuous improvement.
The People & Capability Team supports the organisation with the knowledge and skills to lead and work effectively. This includes building leadership capability, establishing clear and consistent policies and processes, and developing systems such as remuneration frameworks that support fair and effective decision-making. As a result, its effectiveness has a direct impact on how well the organisation performs overall.
TLDR
- The P&C team lacked a clear way to prioritise work in a fast-changing environment
- AGLX helped define a clear strategic direction based on a shared understanding of success
- Focus areas were established to guide where effort should be applied
- Developing guiding principles and defining core tensions created a consistent way to make decisions in context
- The strategy is now embedded in day-to-day work, including meetings and quarterly reviews
- The team has improved focus and communication, reduced fragmentation, and have delivered key outcomes (policies, remuneration framework)
- The internal narrative has shifted from “reactive” to “responsive”, strengthening confidence within the team
What was the challenge that brought you to AGLX?
When Michelle Trudgen stepped into the People & Capability Manager role, the team was operating under significant pressure. There was no clear sense of strategic direction, despite a strong desire within the team to improve and evolve. A wide range of ideas and initiatives were in play, but there was no consistent way to decide which ones to pursue.
This lack of clarity was reinforced by a dominant internal narrative that the team was “always reactive.” The work of responding to organisational needs was seen as a barrier to more meaningful, proactive work. This created a sense within the team that they were underperforming. The team found itself trying to do too much at once, as a result, progress was inconsistent, and it was difficult to sustain momentum.
This environment also created friction within the team. Strong, capable individuals approached problems from different perspectives, but without a shared way of working through trade-offs, discussions could become polarised. Decisions were often framed as right or wrong, rather than as context-dependent choices.
Underlying all of this was a view of strategy as something static and heavy. The expectation was that strategy would result in a detailed document with fixed objectives, something that would likely add pressure rather than reduce it.
What was needed was a way to bring clarity, structure, and consistency to how the team made decisions in a changing environment. This combination of factors prompted the decision to seek a different approach.
Michelle met with Doug Maarschalk of AGLX, who introduced an adaptive approach to strategy, reframing it as a practical way of working rather than a document to produce. This immediately resonated with Michelle.
“As soon as I spoke to Doug, and he talked to me about the adaptive strategy approach, I got this massive light bulb, wow, that’s what we actually need.”
What did you do with AGLX?
AGLX worked with Michelle and the People & Capability team to develop an Adaptive Strategy, designed to guide decision-making in a complex and constantly changing environment.
Doug guided the team through a structured process to identify their shared understanding of success, map out the key challenges they were facing, and define clear focus areas. With this clarity, the team defined four key focus areas to concentrate their effort. These became the basis for prioritisation and decision-making, helping the team concentrate on work that would have the greatest impact.
A critical part of the work involved surfacing and naming the core tensions inherent in the team’s role. Naming these tensions created a shared language for navigating complexity and reduced friction within the team.
To support consistent decision-making, the team developed a set of guiding principles. These principles act as a reference point for how to approach decisions in practice, enabling individuals to make context-aware judgements without relying on rigid rules.
The resulting strategy was intentionally simple and usable. It was embedded into team routines, including meeting structures and quarterly reviews, ensuring it remained active in day-to-day work.
Michelle then presented the strategy to the Council’s general managers and their teams. This helped build a shared understanding of the P&C team’s direction and made it easier to explain priorities and decisions across the organisation.
What was different about the AGLX approach?
What stood out most was the practicality of the approach. The work stayed grounded in the reality of the team’s environment and challenges, and the focus was consistently on making better decisions and improving day-to-day work.
AGLX took the time to understand the context in depth, asking questions that challenged assumptions without imposing predetermined answers. The engagement felt collaborative, with the strategy emerging from the team’s own insights rather than being delivered to them.
Importantly, the strategy was designed to be used. It was not something to be filed away, but something that would actively support conversations, prioritisation, and decision-making.
The impact of an adaptive strategy
The impact of the work has been practical and visible in how the team operates day-to-day.
One of the most immediate shifts was in decision-making. The team now has a clear basis for prioritisation, grounded in a small number of agreed focus areas. This has made it significantly easier to decide what to progress and what to defer. Work is no longer driven by urgency or individual preference, but by contribution to the agreed strategic direction.
This has led to a reduction in wasted effort. Initiatives that do not fit the current focus are consciously set aside; as a result, the team is completing more of the work that matters.
There have also been clear improvements in the delivery of core outputs. Two foundational People & Capability policies have been reviewed, updated, and implemented. With updated policies in place, these processes are now more consistent and efficient. Another major delivery outcome has been the progression of a remuneration framework and process. While this work may have occurred eventually, the strategy created the clarity and justification needed to prioritise it and secure executive support.
The team has also established a regular operating rhythm. Quarterly reviews are now in place and being maintained. These provide a structured way to reflect on progress, adjust priorities, and respond to changes in the environment without losing direction.
The introduction of clear focus areas and shared language around tensions has reduced friction and improved the quality of discussions. Team members are better able to understand each other’s perspectives and work through trade-offs constructively.
There has been a significant shift in team confidence and narrative. The team no longer describes itself as overwhelmed or “reactive”. Instead, they reframed their role as being “responsive” to the organisation. This simple change in language has had a profound impact on how the team sees itself and the value it provides.
Another important shift has been in how the team engages with the wider organisation. By clearly articulating what they are focusing on and why, the People & Capability function has strengthened its ability to communicate with senior leaders. This has made it easier to gain support for key initiatives and has improved overall understanding of the team’s role.
Michelle described the experience as a fundamental shift in how the team approaches its work.
“Developing an adaptive strategy is about recognising that the world happens and having a way to respond to it, rather than setting rigid expectations.
It feels like we’ve finally got the core in place. We can actually focus on the things that make us better and make the organisation better.”
She also highlighted the practical impact on the team’s effectiveness.
“We’ve gone from trying to do everything to actually focusing on what matters most. It’s made our jobs easier and made us more effective.”
Perhaps most importantly, the work changed how the team sees itself.
“We’re no longer telling ourselves we’re failing because we’re reacting. We’re responding, and that’s our job.”