recent examples
Workshop Design + Facilitation for Teams and Culture
From in-person team retreats and strategic planning sessions, to online events and workshops for 10 to 100 people – I love bringing my unique blend of design thinking and innovation methods, plus my coaching and facilitation expertise, to the organizational conversations that matter most.
Tapping into Values as the Foundation for Business Strategy
We all know, at least in theory, that our values are important barometers for measuring how well we live our lives. But how often does a team or organization take time to explore what they value collectively as a team, and how honoring those values will make them more successful in business? (spoiler alert: it will!)
I recently joined a small, growing team at their annual retreat to facilitate a values-focused, strategic planning workshop. We started by exploring their team values through the question “What makes a great team?” From there, we evaluated their year in review (employing one of my favorite brainstorming techniques, the Sh*t Storm), and connecting those pain points with moments when the team was not showing up with their core values. Taken together, the team was able to see how honoring their values actually enables them to work with clients in ways that not only feel authentic and aligned, but actually support the business’s financial and operational goals.
Joining Two Distinct Cultures into One Cohesive Team
Recently I had the opportunity to join two teams inside a community hospital – the design thinking team and the lean operations team – as they went through the transformative process of merging. While aligned on their high-level vision and purpose, these teams were fundamentally different groups with unique methods, norms, and traditions. The question thus became: “How might we unify ourselves into one cohesive team, while continuing to nurture the elements of each group that are special and meaningful?”
To support this transition, I prepared and delivered a day-long workshop to begin the process of unifying the two teams. Through preparatory interviews, I learned about the differing styles of each teams, which helped me identify the activities that would best support conversations and action. Then, through a variety of consensus-building activities, the team identified its core values and discussed ways to put these values into action – a practice that continues today as they deliver human-centered care to patients and their families.
