There are differences in opinion among Board, management and staff about what is working well and what needs to be improved in the organization.

Your team is having difficulty working together and you’re not sure why.

An employee has expressed interest in “moving up” in the organization and has asked for your help in gaining the necessary skills.

You make agreements and get buy-in throughout the organization about what is working well and what needs to be improved.  Individuals are satisfied that they had the chance to voice their opinions, and aggregate results show trends that are hard to dispute.

Your team identifies the underlying issues that are hurting its performance in a respectful and constructive manner.  They implement solutions that address the real issues instead of trying to mitigate symptoms of the problems.

You understand what competencies the employee already has that are required for higher positions and develop a plan for helping the employee acquire the other required competencies.

You have hired or will be hiring managers and supervisors with little or no prior management experience.

Staff need to learn how to implement a new policy or procedure.

You know that many of your experienced managers and supervisors will eventually leave your organization. 

Managers and supervisors understand their roles and have the skills to develop successful people and programs.

The daily operations of the organization run smoothly because staff know what is expected of them and have the skills needed to follow established processes.

You have a pool of “home-grown” leaders who are prepared to make the transition to management and supervisory positions when the time comes.

Conflict and tension between employees distracts them from their work and creates an uncomfortable environment for others.

You hired employees that seemed like ideal candidates during the interview process, but soon afterwards became low performers that need constant supervision.

Performance evaluations are dreaded and avoided by managers and employees alike.

Effective processes for communicating and resolving conflicts at all levels of the organization, resulting in increased morale and greater productivity.

Reduction in turnover and performance problems because you hired employees that are a good match for your organization.

Evaluations are conducted on a regular basis as a way to support the professional development of staff and foster high performance.

You have some Board members that are “hands off”, while others want to be involved in management-level decisions.

Board membership is not representative of the community you’re serving or does not support the strategic direction of the organization.

Board participation is weak because meetings are long and unproductive. 

Board members understand their roles and responsibilities and adhere to appropriate board-staff boundaries.

You adopt a strategic approach to recruitment and achieve your desired Board composition.

Board members accomplish more because meetings are focused, productive and well-attended.

You are applying for funding to create a new program in your organization.

You have anecdotal evidence that your services are valuable to the community, but you need to demonstrate the impact of those services to funders.

Funding is limited and shrinking, and you need to find a way to stand out among your competition.

You can effectively “sell” your vision for the new program to funders because you built a logic model using sound data and a theory of change.

You measure outcomes for your programs and use your anecdotal evidence to “tell the story.”

You use your evaluation data to stay one step ahead of others by:

You are having a Board or staff retreat to discuss important issues, and you want to be an active participant in the discussion.

You are part of a collaborative project that is having difficulty moving forward because there isn't agreement about which direction to go.

The organization needs to make some significant changes and you’re sensing resistance from other managers and staff – but no one is telling you directly what they want or fear.

You and your Board or staff members stay focused on the issues at hand and discuss them in a respectful, solution-focused way.

The collaborative agrees on its purpose, roles of members, strategies, goals, tasks and timelines.

You get greater commitment to making the necessary changes because your plan is based on honest input gathered from a neutral “outsider.”

You invested significant resources to train a group of new managers, and you want to make sure they apply the knowledge and skills they gained.

The Board chair and Executive Director are leading efforts to change the board’s culture and want periodic check-ins to make sure they are staying on track.

A supervisor needs to meet with a difficult employee and provide constructive feedback about his/her performance.  The supervisor needs help preparing what to say and how to say it.

Managers integrate what they learned in training into their everyday work.  They spend less time managing crises and more time fostering high performance in people and programs.

The board makes steady progress toward the desired change in its culture.  Old habits are replaced by new norms, and the Board creates its own positive momentum.

The supervisor articulates the employee’s strengths and areas needing improvement without sounding confrontational.  The supervisor and employee agree on steps and a timeline for improvement. 

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