DREAMS, DRIVE, DATA // HOW "ME" BECOMES "US"

Shifting the culture of work

Shifting​ culture is an art and a science.

ART

With strong L&D, sustainable growth is possible! I see and support the reciprocal relationship between individual growth and team success on a daily basis.  Whether I am working with organizational leaders and team members in schools, non-profits, or companies, I have helped people learn to: 

• collaborate generously

• listen and share for effective innovation

• give feedback courageously  

• better understand how to foster a diverse, inclusive, and equitable working environment

The benefits are many and the possibilities endless for companies that invest in moving employees from "me" to "us".

SCIENCE

A strong culture of "us" is informed by a people-centered, metric-driven approach to measuring growth.  A nuanced approach to initial benchmarking and long-term assessment is essential to achieve desired, company-wide results. Things that feel right can be measured through both quantitative and qualitative methodology.  As a social scientist, I have the training, expertise, and experience to:

• lead the design and implementation process for setting L&D and DEI goals through focus groups, surveys, and analysis of other inputs collected by HR

• identify successful behaviors and attitudes that can be taught and assessed for feedback to enhance hiring, team building, and retention goals in a diverse environment

• identify quantifiable engagement goals tied to retention and role success that support long-term personal goal setting and company-wide loyalty and success

DREAMS & DRIVE: ​nurturing mindset Teams and team members dream and drive when they are poised to collaborate with honesty, empathy, and curiosity. The best and most transformative dreams are shared. Shared dreams develop through close collaborations. People who love working together drive one another and find untapped initiative within themselves. ​Personal drive is sometimes innate and always inspired. Initiative is shaped by curiosity and personal reflection, and both can be taught and fostered through collaborations and workshops that help team members better understand how and why they engage with their work and with others. This type of learning also sustains diverse work environments that want to be both inclusive and effective in leveraging learning across identities. ​ Shared dreams doesn't negate the importance of personal desires, but they further capacity for "thinking and doing" because they support effective collaborative work. When people trust the culture and want to share their ideas for a purpose that is bigger than their own needs, they take initiative.DATA: implementing systems Systems informed by data and crafted with educational expertise inspire people. Data analytics informs systems. Whether its internal demographic information, peer feedback, supervisory reports, documented anecdotal experiences, or industry-wide information, data is only useful when its critical analysis is sophisticated and ground in a keen understanding of how individuals thrive in systems. A system must be clearly articulated and also flexible enough to encourage individuality, foster responsive shifts, and simultaneously maintain leadership's vision for the culture of work. Foundational work in diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential when setting the bar for measurable shifts in hiring, retention, collaboration, and employee satisfaction. Powerful shifts in leveraging human capital relies on a strong mission and deep understanding of how individuals learn and thrive. Long-term investment in successful teams looks like effective programs that:

• break down stereotypes and misconceptions

• offer people tools to engage in courageous conversations

• normalize feedback and evaluation systems that reward curiosity

• develop comfort with ambiguity

• carefully define metrics for success to include, as appropriate, acts of deliberate and inclusive collaboration

• operate with the assumption that everyone is living up community norms with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

​Dreams + Drive + Data = TRANSFORMATIVE COLLABORATIONS

Honest collaborators have courage, conviction, and confidence in their ability to engage in the moment, while still holding the big picture. Empathetic collaborators develop trusting relationships with colleagues by making connections across different experiences and perspectives. They are open to learning more about others' ideas and strategies for success. They understand that specific relationships and problem-solving opportunities are connected to larger issues and many interrelated parts. ​ Curious collaborators are powerful leaders when that curiosity is buttressed by honesty and empathy. They are able to seek out and explore new and original questions about the world; actively seeking answers in generative, collaborative spaces.