Real People, Real Results

More Productive meetings

“Pre-Cohort we put together a patient experience team to figure out ways to raise our patient experience scores. We floundered in our meetings, everybody had different visions and people talked over one another. The Cohort showed us how to apply leadership tools and everything changed. After that, we saw a rise in our patient experience scores."

"Sometimes you don’t know what people are thinking and feeling until you’ve had an opportunity to sit down and talk with them."

"Co-creating has made a noticeable impact in the way meetings are conducted, and the results we gain from those meetings. A quarterly meeting which normally would have taken about an hour and half to get through, was finished in 45 minutes (1/2 the time) with double the productivity."

“Rounding has helped me hear opinions from staff that do not normally contribute."

“My bosses have started to use rounding in our meetings even though they have not been through the cohort. Direct reports who were not part of Cohort are applying the principles and practices. I also have seen peers applying the concepts in our meetings without attending the program."

“We’ve had people contribute in meetings that haven’t said a word at meetings before. We had an idea from someone who typically stays silent in meetings about how we’re labeling medication cabinets. We are implementing her new idea across a few facilities now. One idea from a person who would otherwise stay silent can have a profound impact on patient safety."

"Instead of talking about issues, the tools have taught us how to clarify commitments and outcomes."

EFFECTIVE COORDINATION OF ACTION

“Delegating more to my direct reports through specific commitments rather than expectations (when they did not even know the expectations were because I had not been very clear) the staff are receiving additional responsibility I think they always wanted."

"My team understands and I have a clearer picture of what I need to be involved in and what I do not."

"I successfully brought two independent groups together to co-create and produce outcomes together rather than continue to work independently."

"It has helped me better understand how to delegate more effectively. In past, I would give vague directions."

"I know my desired outcome and I can use my team’s strengths to delegate now."

"I have used structural tension and commitment management with my clients to help coordinate desired outcomes and the action steps to achieve the goals."

SELF AWARENESS

"I have more confidence in my ability to lead because I have a framework that I believe in."

Heightened awareness of how little I practiced compassionate presence before and my tendency to view others as resources instead of people, the focus I had on deficit-based thinking, focus on weakness vs. strengths and my tendency to move to action without framing the purpose. I realize now I needed to go through the Cohort for me, not just for my job but for me."

There were some situations where people thought I was being judgmental, and I see now that I was; it is a drastic difference after the Cohort. The huge value to this is that it applies everywhere, personally and professionally. I am now more proactive than reactive, and I am bringing out the strengths of people I work with."

"It made me more aware of all situations, at home and at work, where I need to listen more attentively to people."

"I had a big gap with relationships at home. I listen to my kids more and give them that compassionate presence.

It allows me to be even more fulfilled than before the cohort at work because I am happier at home."

"An employee of mine called me with some ideas about a project and asked for my support, which I agreed that I would give."

"Once I hung up and thought about it, I realized I had never asked what support looks like to her, so I called her back to discuss. That part of my Emotional Intelligence that has traditionally not been very strong has gotten better."

"An awareness that playing the role of victim is draining."

"The leadership tools have helped me to re-frame the way that I solve problems, the way that I listen, and the way that I work with groups."

"We learned in cohort how to obtain commitment, how to listen, and how to serve. I now give people the presence that I really need to give them instead of simultaneously talking, typing etc."

"It has been tremendous to show us how to create the alignment between what we say we are about and what we actually do."

"The cohort helped me take the time to examine my leadership and look at what was important. It helped me clarify what I wanted to see happen in my personal life as well as my professional life."

"I am much more reflective and aware of individuals and why we are there. Always being cognizant of the strategic purpose and how it aligns with our organization’s goals."

"Profound for me from a leadership perspective. I feel that I have jumped over a barrier and realized that people have learned to wait for me to pick up the work after I give it to them; I am not doing that anymore. It has given me practical tools and methods so I can stay over that wall and not fall back."

LEADER DEVELOPMENT

"This is a much more effective contemporary approach as a way that we expect leaders to behave at work. In modernizing, there is a direct connection to engagement and retention, both of which are critical to where we are in the healthcare industry right now."

"The tools are highly applicable to day-to-day business; this is not something that you have to do separately from operating a business or leading a team. You can actually use a tool from the toolkit that can make conversations of all kinds more effective and have better outcomes, if it works, why not do more of it?"

“The cohort helps to take the principles of leadership from a theoretical understanding to actually equip people to apply it on a day to day basis."

“The cohort process has helped internal change agents to be more effective in challenging with compassionate presence, enabling resistance to be lowered and minds to be opened."

“I have leaders that have been able to achieve things with these tools that they historically have not been able to achieve."

"We have worked for multiple years on the Gallup and engagement scores, which is great. I would not say we have worked multiple years on leadership or how leaders can lead better. The Gallup is just a measure, and I think we need this training and development of our leaders.."

"Middle management is stuck in a situation where they do not have many tools. By giving them these tools, they can develop early and not develop bad habits.

"They are not busy trying to unlearn things. We can teach them from the beginning."

"Top-level executives have remarked on noticing the positive changes and want to help carry that standard."

Enhanced Team Performance

"Much better teamwork by using the meeting formats and rounds."

"By integrating the thinking councils into our team projects, we have expanded the front line team into more stretch assignments and have been successful in getting them involved. "

"Using structural tension has been profound in terms of being a better leader. It has helped co-create with my team and I feel the engagement rising on the team."

"My team is empowered to problem solve rather than me trying to solve for them."

"It has given me confidence that I am not the only one. Everybody has ideas to be considered as we move forward."

"It gives us a common language, understanding, and framework as we approach our work as a team."

My value for people has significantly increased and I have built better relationships with my teams."

“I can make effective requests resulting in better time management, more productive meetings and meaningful conversations."

“We’re now saying, “You own this, this is yours.” What can we co-create, what can we do, what can we do better?"

"It has made a significant impact on the staff. When I first took over this department nobody wanted to say anything, now they all want to share and offer ideas."

"My team is much stronger at co-creating. They often recommend a round to help get ideas on the table."

"I am more patient with the team now. I realize I do not have to have all the answers and I can get great insights from the team."

"We are able to co-create improvement plans together."

"I tend to be someone who lives in the gaps and it allowed me to approach my team in a different way and make progress with my team."

"We are more relaxed as a team. We really listen to each other and feels like we judge each other less."

"It gives me hope that everybody encounters poor decision-making. Instead of ignoring a bad decision, we now have permission to revisit that choice in order to move ahead. We do that together, transparency without judgment is present. The focus is on positive outcomes instead of blame."

STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS STRONGER CULTURE

"I developed good relationships within the cohort and all of a sudden, the organization is much smaller than it used to be. My little world is a lot broader. My relationships have changed; we are more cohesive. There is a deeper level of trust that exists now that did not exist before."

"We communicate differently and it is more effective. "

"Executive team level-we feel heard more; the rounding has helped me feel heard more. I feel like the direction we are trying to move the culture in is enhanced by this Leader philosophy; it augments what we are trying to do here."

"Together we can change the culture of our hospital."

Enhanced Engagement

“I see employees that are more engaged, more trusting of me as a manager, and are more willing to buy in to the vision that’s going to help us accomplish the outcomes that are important."

"When we talk about employee engagement, I see this process as being critical to equipping the manager with ways that he can get his people to be engaged and for the right reasons. That’s how you get the best outcomes."

"My performance evaluations have gone much better since learning the principles. I focus much more on asset-based thinking and look to leverage the strengths of my team. I believe this will lead to better engagement."

"We are utilizing everybody’s strengths and have realigned responsibilities to their strengths. It makes people more productive, and it makes them feel better about producing because their capabilities are met."

"We have worked for multiple years on the Gallup and engagement scores, which is great. I would not say we have worked multiple years on leadership or how leaders can lead better. "

"The Gallup is just a measure, and I think we need this training and development of our leaders."

"Having individual development planning sessions with struggling employees has allowed us to move to identification (together) of where people would best focus their development."

"I have seen improved communication, management and leadership capabilities, morale, and engagement."

"Our staff feels that we are hearing them and hearing them all the way through. It makes people feel valued."

THE BENEFIT OF COACHING THROUGHOUT THE GROUP COHORT PROCESS

"When you’re in a cohort you are working on the big picture, the concepts and principles. With the private coaching sessions you really bring it into the field."

"You’re able to bring a specific issue and learn how to apply the leadership principles to your specific piece."

"I see it as giving our leadership the tools that they need to be more effective in their jobs."

"Sometimes people need a trusted confidant to provide a safe space for coaching."

“The coaching allows you to talk about specific applications, issues, and relationships you are dealing with and how to pull all of these tools together to effect beneficial change (this type of comment was made 4 times)."

“I really enjoyed brainstorming ideas with Amy and then determining what I wanted to do next. The sessions allowed me to translate the material from class into tangible action."

“I felt like I had to be prepared for my sessions so that helped me stay focused on applying the SI principles."

"Amy helped challenge some of my thinking and helped me move into action on several projects."

"Coaching was huge – 90% of my ability to build confidence in the beginning was from coaching, then 75%, then 50% then 20% because we accepted Amy was leaving and we then had built capacity in ourselves and had each other."

"The coaching offered me an opportunity to talk privately about things I would not have wanted to put in front of the whole class, and I got to think of things that I would not have come up with in the class. I was not sold on the idea when I first heard about it but it was very valuable. "

"Amy brought to me a higher perspective, helping me understand what thinking strategy looks like and where it belongs in the organization. Amy was adept at giving me suggestions but letting me make the decisions.

"There is personal accountability that is present. It helped me stop feeling like a victim, and although I do not think I whined about it out loud, I was whining in my head."

"I worked a lot on resilience with Amy, I find that I am less anxious in approaching situations at work and I do a lot more Appreciative Inquiry of what is going right."

"Very early on Amy said, “You’re not going to get it all in the classroom and you’re not supposed to”, it helped to root the key principles, tools, and expectations. It took the stress off."

"It is not just a training class; it went very personal, very deep. I found it very spiritual it is a part of the DNA now for me."