When to Engage
Ambrose & Bell is typically engaged before irreversible decisions are made — where clarity is required and the cost of getting it wrong is material.
This work is most relevant when leaders sense that something is misaligned, but the root cause is not yet clear.
​
Typical situations include:​
-
Before appointing a CEO, COO or senior leadership role
When the real issue may be structure, decision rights or operating model fit — not the individual.
-
Following investment, acquisition or ownership change
Where expectations have shifted but the organisation has not yet realigned how it operates.
-
When growth stalls despite capable people and funding
Often a sign of unclear accountability, role overlap, or an operating model no longer fit for scale.
-
Ahead of restructuring or transformation programmes
To ensure the scope, leadership and sequencing are correct before committing time, cost and reputation.
-
When execution risk feels high but the cause is unclear
Symptoms appear across delivery, governance or leadership — but no single issue explains it.​
Why engage early
Many organisations move too quickly to hire, restructure or launch large programmes without first understanding what is actually broken.
​
Operating model diagnostics create clarity on:
​
-
what is working,
-
what is not,
-
where accountability sits,
-
and what leadership capability is truly required.
​​
This reduces the risk of mis-hires, mis-scoped transformations and unnecessary disruption.
​
​What happens next
Engagements typically begin with a board-level operating model diagnostic, assessing structure, leadership capacity, decision rights and ways of working against strategic intent and operating context.
Where appropriate, this insight is translated into a clear transformation blueprint and, in select cases, supported through execution to ensure continuity between diagnosis, design and delivery.
If you are approaching a critical decision point and want clarity before acting, we invite a confidential discussion.​​