Team Development
Effective teamwork can amplify the impact of talented individual leaders and team members.
An adaptive approach
I work with leaders to explore ways to get the most from the time your team spends together, and to facilitate communication and coordination when you need to work asynchronously.
My consultation is tailored to where your team is in its development, the issues with which it struggles, and the demands of the work it has to do. Potential approaches range from extremely concrete and accessible tools and methods—for example, around meeting management—to more complex interventions—designed, for example, to strengthen your team’s capacity to work through disagreement and conflict.
Applying the insights I've gained
Some of the insights I apply to my work with teams include:
Teams evolve over time
As teams work together over time, they develop in their capacity to handle complexity and conflict. Knowing where a team is in its development is important in designing an effective intervention for the issues with which it is working. In some cases, interventions can also help a team speed up in its evolution toward high performance.
Teams exist to do specific kinds of work
A team is more than a group of people who work together. Teams are formed in order to serve a common goal. Their means of working together, for example, their cadence of meetings or mechanisms for communication and follow up, need to be designed with a focus on the purpose for which the team exists. I work with teams to understand the demands of their work and develop effective norms tailored to those demands.
Teamwork and team leadership are skills
A critical component of team development is ensuring that the leader is prepared to provide the structure and guidance it needs. I work with leaders to help them recognize what the team needs from them, and to develop effective approaches to support the team to do its work effectively.
Team members can also benefit from some shared language and methodologies to help them navigate difficult conversations and build effective norms, for example around making and following up on commitments.
Project Summary
Building skills and defining norms for a clinical leadership team
A clinical unit had grown beyond the capacity of the current leadership structure, and a new leader wanted to create a true leadership team capable of managing a large staff delivering complex care around-the-clock.
I worked with the leadership team to define norms for individual members as well as for the team as a whole, and to build skills, particularly related to setting standards and holding each other and staff members accountable.
Client Testimonial
"Elizabeth is not just a consultant; she's a catalyst for transformative conversations. She fearlessly addresses challenges, navigating stakeholders' perspectives with empathy and precision."
Client
The leaders I work with navigate more complexity than most.
Healthcare Organizations
Healthcare organizations, particularly academic healthcare organizations, are among the most complex organizations there are.
Higher Education
Universities, colleges and research institutes manage the tension between the need to sustain a safe community conducive to inquiry and learning, while remaining open to the surrounding community and the world.
Nonprofit Institutions
Nonprofit organizations navigate the same challenges as other businesses, but also face distinct tensions that stem from their mission-driven nature.
Services
I offer distinct consulting and coaching services, but I find the greatest value often lies in making connections between them.
To ensure we are focused on the most impactful intervention, every engagement starts with an exploration of your specific goals and challenges, and a review of relevant data. I can then design a targeted scope and process with real value for you, often combining aspects of multiple services, such as:
Strategy Development
A strategic plan is, at its most basic, the answer to two questions: “What is success?” and “How will we get there?”
Organizational Design
Complex academic and service organizations often grant considerable autonomy to department and local leaders. At the same time, they must coordinate activity across multiple functions and sometimes large distances.
Change Management
Getting the most from your teams and colleagues in a rapidly changing environment is hard, particularly when teams are challenged just to keep up with daily demands.
Executive Coaching
Executive coaching is an opportunity to address the organizational and business issues most on your mind, while also exploring and cultivating your leadership identity and voice.
Team Development
Effective teamwork can amplify the impact of talented individual leaders and team members.