Team Effectiveness

You have talented individuals on staff, but as a leadership team you’re performing at an “OK” level at best.

Meetings are not always a great use of time, and decision-making could be improved.

You are working toward “norms” but you don’t (yet) operate as a team that shares ownership, engages in constructive debate, and holds each other accountable.

We can partner with you to…

Strengthen your decision-making culture

Some clients come to us with the complaint that decision-making is so inclusive that it takes forever; others say it’s top-down without regard for diverse viewpoints. We’ll assess what is working and not working, share well-established frameworks, and agree on necessary, achievable changes. It’s an area of tremendous opportunity for external impact and staff morale that is easier to systematize than many people realize.

Clarify roles and/or job targets

It’s okay and often necessary for leaders to wear “multiple hats”, but not okay when there is duplication of efforts or ambiguity around job goals. We can work with you and your team to create 1-pagers for key positions: the “mission” or mandate for the role and what success looks like in qualitative and quantitative terms. More powerful than a job description, it can provide fundamental guidance on what to prioritize on Monday.

Improve executive team dynamics

Many executives get along with one another, but that doesn’t make for an effective team — especially in times of uncertainty. We take a research-based approach and facilitate dialogue around which dynamics you want to prioritize, e.g. “psychological safety” or “accountability.” Whatever you choose, we’ll name the specific, observable behaviors that will move your team closer to your shared goals.

Testimonials

“Allison provided nuanced insights and healthy push-back over the course of our project, which I really appreciated. I found it helpful and I would go back and think about it, and in many cases she changed my mind in a good way. Our team also raved about how helpful Allison was as a thought partner and coach on our project. She was responsive, asked great questions, and could quickly shift gears wherever the conversation or direction of the project went.”

Aarti Dhupelia

Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Education at National Louis University

“Allison is a great coach and partner to leaders in mission-driven work! She has deep knowledge of tools and templates that have helped our executive team work together more effectively and get crisper on our strategy. Her guidance and connection to resources saved us time and effort because we could start with a proven process.”