Traditional problem-solving involves analyzing what’s broken and selecting from competing ideas for how to fix it… Shawn’s approach to facilitating and training in collaborative problem-solving is all about staying curious and working with others to generate ideas far superior to anything that an individual might derive on their own.
Our Areas of Expertise...
Collaborative Leadership. Facilitative Leadership. Wise Leadership. Our philosophy and practice around leadership development rests firmly on the assumption that the leaders who are most effective at inspiring and guiding others towards a common goal are ones who do not always presume to have all the answers for how to get there! Rather, the leaders we work with come to understand that the truly wise leader is most effective when leveraging the collaborative ingenuity of the group/organization. The wise leader says, “I don’t know the best way to get there, but I know we can figure this out together.” They hold the space for quantum leaps by bringing out the best in others. If you engage us for leadership development support, this is what you will experience.
Success in leadership and teams requires a fair amount of cognitive intelligence (IQ); however, studies show that the most effective leaders also demonstrate higher than average abilities in understanding and leveraging emotional information–often referred to as “Emotional Intelligence” (EI). Our approach to working with EI involves self-assessing your abilities (e.g., relating to Impulse Control, Empathy, Assertiveness, Self-Awareness, Problem-Solving, and more) using the EQ-i 2.0 instrument, followed by skills building sessions and/or leadership coaching.
Our approach to leadership coaching starts with an assumption that you, the leader, are the best source for the most innovative and meaningful solutions to your leadership challenges. Our highly engaging coaches guide you through a process of defining goals and developing breakthrough solutions. You are capable of more than you may realize; our coaching process will bring out your full potential.
High performing teams include individuals who understand the value of understanding and leveraging different personalities and skill sets toward collective success. Most importantly, effective teams are characterized by embracing conflict in constructive ways. Our team building and team development processes will challenge your team to raise the bar and learn–through experiential simulations–what you are capable of.
Few investments yield as much lasting results as that of establishing and developing a foundation of strong relationships between colleagues. Rather than taking a purely recreational approach (e.g., social outing, paintball, go-carts, etc.), we provide highly experiential, enjoyable AND professionally facilitated team building experience custom-designed for your group demographics and goals.
If you are looking for someone to come in, take a look around, and then tell you how to improve your organization…we may not be a good fit for you. On the other hand, if you are stuck or realize the need to evolve with regard to reaching your potential–individually and collectively–within your organization, we can help. Our approach to Organizational Development (OD) rests on the assumption that you have what it takes; you just need some help thinking it through in collaboration with your fellow colleagues.
Our approach to conflict starts with an understanding the conflict is not inherently good or bad–but how we deal with it can lead to relatively destructive OR constructive outcomes. When problems arise, different perspectives and ideas often seem incompatible, but it does not have to be this way. We help you to dig deep and understand otherwise unstated aspects that ultimately become the ingredients to constructive outcomes. Through mediation, problem-solving workshops, or facilitated forums, we work with pairs, small groups, and organizations to help you work through these difficult issues.
As long as the goal involves helping people get along more effectively, we can help. Some consulting engagements do not fit neatly into the categories above, though we may still be the right fit for you. Examples include: advising on internal training programs, consulting on media production, interviews, providing training for television hosts, advising and/or facilitating for elected public officials, etc. If the purpose is to collaboratively solve problems, give us a call!