Problems We Handle
Collaboration challenges may be chronic and obvious, or may lie hidden until big changes strain the weakest links in an organization. We support clients with:
Growing pains
The shared idealism that fires a small startup often begins to crumble under the weight of growth. People no longer know everyone they work with, and founding principles grow hazy and distant. An expanding organization needs new, scaleable systems for cultivating trust and staying connected to mission and values. We provide those tools.
Restructuring
Shifting authority or reshuffling departments will shake up how teams do their work – a source of stress as well as an opportunity to improve. People can embrace change much more easily if those affected have a principal role in defining the new lines of communication and decision-making. Restructuring without that input, on the other hand, is a recipe for shortsighted choices, confusion, and resentment. We untangle grievances, tap everyone’s wisdom, and prepare teams to proceed with confidence.
CEO succession
An outgoing CEO or ED leaves a wake of uncertainty. Will the new chief change the culture? Order layoffs or build draconian new systems? As defenses go up, each person and department becomes more isolated. We reconnect them, bringing all hands together to decide how to move through the transition collaboratively and transparently.
Skeptical stakeholders
Some decisions call for bringing together groups who view one another as confusing aliens, or as adversaries. Your goal might be getting everyone on board with a shift in direction, or tackling a problem that spans your industry, or working with government decision-makers on controversial policy changes. The most robust solutions come from collaboration among all the stakeholders – and to succeed, they have to be focused on solving a common problem, rather than believing their real problem is the other people involved. We help multi-stakeholder groups commit to an outcome that they can all fully support.
Recurrent conflict
Sometimes a conflict keeps flaring up – within a team, between teams, or up and down the management ladder – no matter how much attention you give it. Or you find yourself playing whack-a-mole when the problem you worked out with one person pops up again elsewhere. You might see outright power struggles or sense a fog of mistrust and avoidance. We clear the air by mining conflicts for valuable information, and we stop recurring fights by resolving the underlying issues, both interpersonal and systemic.