Catz Fuller inspires new ways of thinking and doing with a spirit of friendly competition in her workshops
The past few years have seen major changes at Baker Hughes, a global energy technology company. Once an oil & gas tech leader, Baker Hughes is boldly transforming itself into a green energy innovator with a critical mission: to help meet the world's demand for energy by making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for the people and the planet. New strategies call for new skills and behaviors though. Enter Catherine “Catz” Fuller, an internal talent expert tasked with embedding human-centered problem-solving skills into the company’s cultural transformation.
Transforming linear thinkers into empathetic problem solvers
For Catz, leadership development isn’t just a profession; it's a part of her DNA. Currently the Senior Learning Strategy Leader for the global learning and development team, she is passionate about helping people to work in new ways. “It answers my personal purpose of making a difference in people's lives, one person at a time. I find it really satisfying and fulfilling,” she says.
“[Helping people to work in new ways] answers my personal purpose of making a difference in people’s lives, one person at a time.”
- Catz Fuller, Senior Learning Strategy Leader at Baker Hughes
Working with professionals from diverse disciplines, Catz helped them embrace a more flexible approach to problem-solving. In 2019, Catz and several of her team members became certified to facilitate both ExperienceInnovationTM Learn and ExperienceChangeTM. She was immediately amazed by how the human-centered approach yielded more creative solutions that benefited the organization’s new strategy. “It's so different from how we typically look at and solve problems,” she says.
Since then, Catz and fellow facilitators on her team have delivered dozens of workshops to hundreds of Baker Hughes employees, generating impact in the business and racking up many memorable experiences. “It wasn't very difficult to facilitate, even for the first-time facilitators. The content was really easy to lean on,” she said.
Harnessing the power of competition to drive business outcomes
One of Catz’s favorite experiences as an ExperienceInnovation™ | Learn facilitator was an innovation competition she designed and delivered in the style of the popular show Shark Tank. The competition aimed to help an aftermarket business team apply their newfound human-centered approach to real business challenges. After initially brainstorming, prototyping and testing in small groups, they presented back their high-level ideas to a panel of judges at lightning speed.
“It was amazing,” Catz recounts. “The teams saw–and experienced–that there are so many different ways to solve a problem.” She adds that the workshops are particularly effective because they allow participants to immediately apply new concepts and principles to a real business challenge. “This is so important in terms of solidifying the learning of design thinking and immediately putting into action what they're learned.”
At ExperiencePoint, we know that our workshops are most effective when our facilitators make them their own, finding creative ways to satisfy their sponsors’ and learners’ specific needs. Catz’s spirited approach to innovation is inspiring and we look forward to seeing what she does in her next workshop!
