Working with Tangled
Shoulder to shoulder. Not head to head.
The best work happens when we're working on it together. I'll bring experience, challenge, pace and persistence. You'll bring the people, knowledge and decisions only the business can provide.
That means honest conversation, shared pace, and decisions made together — not another layer between you and the work.
In the boat
This isn't fire and forget.
You're in the boat.Tangled isn't a "come back to me when it's done" engagement. The organisation remains involved throughout.
How much rowing you do depends on how we structure the team and the work. But you're in the boat.
Tangled is there to enable resolution, not be it. That same principle runs through the approach we take.
The relationship
Honest. Open. Pragmatic.
The relationship should feel like two parties trying to solve the same problem, not consultant versus client.
- Saying what we think.
- Challenging assumptions.
- Listening properly.
- Dealing with difficult conversations.
- Focusing on facts when emotion is getting in the way.
- Making decisions rather than endlessly discussing them.
- Being honest when something hasn't worked.
- Adapting when circumstances change.
Difficult conversations
Let's have the difficult conversation.
When something isn't working, Tangled doesn't dress it up. We go back to:
- Why are we here?
- What did we agree we were trying to solve?
- What's changed?
- What is actually happening?
- How do we get back to the objective — or do we need to pivot?
Take the emotion out. Focus on the facts. This is not about being blunt for the sake of it. It is about making progress.
Pace and resources
Progress beats perfection.
Tangled brings pace. Not artificial urgency. A bias towards decisions, action, learning and momentum.
- If something can be decided, decide it.
- If something needs testing, test it.
- If we're wrong, learn quickly and change direction.
- The work needs the right people, enough attention and enough capacity to move. Good intentions don't solve difficult organisational problems.
If the people needed to make progress aren't available, we'll say so. If the scope or expectations change, we'll address it quickly.
Expectations
What Tangled needs from you.
Not a contract. Just a description of how good work happens.
A willingness to dig in.
This isn't a fire-and-forget programme.
Access to the people who know the problem.
The expertise inside the organisation matters.
The ability to make decisions.
Progress requires decisions, not endless consultation.
Honesty when things change.
If expectations or needs evolve, we tackle that quickly and pragmatically.
People and stakeholders
Understand what matters to people.
Constructive influence, not manipulation.People rarely come to organisational change without their own motivations. Tangled pays attention to those motivations because they influence behaviour and engagement.
- Recognition.
- Responsibility.
- Promotion.
- Pride.
- Influence.
- The desire to make something better.
That understanding is used constructively: celebrate contribution, give credit where it's due, understand resistance and build the right support around the change.
Stakeholders
Good outcomes aren't created by convincing one person. Tangled pays attention to who knows the problem, who is affected, who has influence, who needs to decide and who deserves credit. Stakeholder management is part of making the change work, not a separate communications exercise.
Mutual value
It needs to work both ways.
When things have gone wrong, the question is not "Whose fault is this?" It is: "What happened, what changed, and what do we do now?" Tangled focuses on facts, accountability and resolution rather than blame.
The relationship should create value on both sides. Tangled is not looking to become permanently embedded in a business. The objective is to help resolve the problem and leave the organisation more capable.
Strong relationships often continue after the commercial work ends — because they are based on mutual respect, not dependency.
When to say no
We know what good looks like.
We'd rather say no than enter a relationship that won't create value.We'll be honest if we don't think we can create it together. This isn't a list of reasons Tangled might reject a client.
The message is simple: if the fit isn't right, we'll say so. Both sides are better off for it.
What success feels like
The goal isn't to need Tangled forever.
It is to leave with capability and independence — the final stage of the Tangled Journey.
- Clearer ownership.
- Stronger capability.
- Better ways of working.
- Decisions made.
- Problems resolved.
- People confident about what happens next.
Capability & independence.