How we can work together

“I like to think of culture to be like the lily pond. On the surface you’ve got leaves and flowers and things that are very visible; a visitor would see them. That’s the ‘how we do things around here;’ but the explanation of why we do things in that way forces you to look at the root system, what’s feeding it and the history of the pond, who planted what. If you don’t dig down into the reasons for why we do things this way you’ve only looked at the culture at a very superficial level and you haven’t really understood it…

“Then we can ask the question: well given the culture, is that going to help you solve the problem or hinder you, and it always ends up being both. There are always parts of the culture that help solve the problem and other parts of the culture that get in the way.”

EDGAR SCHEIN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

 
 

  • We don’t often pause, reflect from 10,000 feet, and ask ourselves how clear and aligned we are on our core purpose as an organization. By the end of this two-hour workshop, you will have a better understanding of the level of focus and alignment your organization has, and how this can help or hinder your ability to act.

  • By becoming crystal clear about your organization’s core purpose and aims, position your team to act from a place of profound alignment.

    Recent work: I worked with the Eastern Shores School Board to redefine their mission and vision via system-wide focus groups and a democratic integration process.

  • Do you want to understand why you aren’t changing hearts and minds as effectively as you’d wish, or how to better engage partners?

    This is a structured interview and analysis process to understand people’s attitudes and beliefs. it’s easy to meet people where they are at when you know where “that” is.

    Recent work: A Sexual Assault Resource Centre wanted to understand how to better engage stakeholders in prevention efforts. We discovered a lot of surprising attitudes and beliefs about sexual violence that ended up radically shifting the Centre’s communication and education strategy.

  • When an organization’s values are embedded everywhere - from hiring processes to meeting agendas, funding priorities and communication norms - it’s very powerful. And when they’re not, it’s frustrating.

    An alignment analysis can take as little as two days for a small organization up to several months for a very large one.

    Recent work: Black Mental Health Connections, a grassroots non-profit, participated in the process to clarify which of two different directions they would grow in.

  • Do you want your organization to become more sustainable, inclusive, or innovative? Culture change initiatives have a high failure rate; I’ll ensure we avoid the common pitfalls such as mismatches between resources and level of ambition, overuse of surveys and step-by-step tools, vague use of the culture concept, and relying on initial project buzz for sustained engagement. And we’ll make it fun.

    Recent work: a Sexual Assault Resource Centre at a university wanted to establish a “culture of consent” on campus. Through research on current knowledge and attitudes followed by compulsory online learning modules, attitudes have shifted significantly.

  • In less than a day, you and your colleagues can generate a useful understanding of the values, implicit assumptions, and tacit beliefs that are critically affecting a particular goal or issue.

    Recent work: Environment and Climate Change Canada participated in this workshop to figure out how to become more innovative.

  • This process is an adaptation of Kegan and Lahey’s popular Immunity to Change process, providing a step-by-step reflection on why efforts to make a particular change keep failing. Usually, tacit assumptions that people have - without necessarily being aware of them - are causing one hand to implement the change while the other blocks it.

    Recent Work: at Environment and Climate Change Canada we used this process to identify barriers to innovative behaviour.

  • Strategic planning can be just a boring compliance activity that leads to a lot of papers in binders. Which is too bad. Because when it’s done right, strategic planning is the exciting and unifying process of agreeing on what your absolute top priorities are, how you’ll achieve them, and why you need to. I facilitate strategic planning retreats, as well as a one-hour workshop to demystify strategic planning.

  • I partner with organizations to explore complex issues, resolve problems, or reach a goal that is not straightforward to achieve. Following the four phases of Discovery (what’s going on?), Design (what will help?), Deliver (implementation), and Sustain (ensure continuity), we will define a process to address your goals.

    Recent work: Dawson College asked for my help in responding to Bill 151, which requires higher education to respond to and prevent sexual violence. I designed and facilitated a participative process for the community to help define Dawson’s response.

 

Working to address climate change, social inequalities, or to transition to a sustainable economy?