Teams play such a vital role in our workplaces, paying attention to the healthy functioning of those you work with is one of the most important actions a leader can take.
The components of an effective team are simple to identify yet difficult to sustain- trust, communication and collaboration, and accountability. To become, and then stay effective, ongoing attention is important. This is the essence of Team Development.
Amy has been working with teams of all types for over 30 years. She brings her depth of experience to each team she works with. She’s equally comfortable with for-profit, for-purpose (non-profit), higher education and government sectors.
A team effectiveness program will be interactive and engaging, as well as enlightening for all.
Samples of pathways that have led to higher team effectiveness.
New Team
A non-profit organization underwent a reorganization, and expanded the leadership team which included some members who had been promoted had not had leadership team experience. We designed and implemented a series of 4 retreats with topics including psychological safety, trust, DiSC Workplace Profile, and building the team identity. After the retreats I continued to coach the leader around strategies for sustaining the effectiveness of the team.
Existing team with interpersonal challenges
A company president contacted me because of challenges within the Senior Leadership Team. In this approach we interviewed each team member to understand where some of the misalignment was occurring. With that information we set up 2 retreats, identifying pre-work including reading a book (The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team) and a DiSC Workplace Profile Inventory. At the end of the first retreat, each team member was asked to make a commitment to the changes they discussed, then had two coaching meetings with each person prior to the second retreat. Two months after the second retreat we completed with a check-in meeting to evaluate how things were progressing and identify new opportunities for continued collaboration.
Strategic Planning and Team Unity
A department director at a university requested facilitation in updating their strategic plan, with a secondary goal of helping the staff gel in their work together. We set up 2 retreats. The first retreat occurred at a local non- profit where we completed a project that was needed to help them prepare for a large fundraising event. We tied this to the concept of purpose, and engaged in discussions of personal and organizational purpose. The second retreat was a more traditional strategic planning session, with a SWOT analysis, and an overhaul of the current plan. I met with the director for 2 coaching meetings after the process to solidify team processes that were working well.
