Organizational Change

Ethnography + Coaching + Design

I work with teams to redesign the way they collaborate by transforming how they communicate

While organizations hire employees for their technical expertise, team cohesion requires skills in collaboration that teams are rarely trained in. In high-stakes situations and with complex projects that don’t have easy solutions, these relational skills become vital in facilitating a smooth flow of work.

Communication provides the bedrock of this capacity to collaborate

Combining insights from the Anthropology of Work, Design Thinking and Nonviolent Communication, I offer an 8-week training program that provides the foundational tools for collaborative communication at work.

Conversations that Connect:

Transforming Workplace Communication

  • Listening with Empathy

    In this foundational session, participants will learn to listen to each other with presence and precision. They will be guided on where to focus their attention and what to do with their own thoughts, questions, advice, and counterpoints. They will also get to taste how it feels to express themselves and be heard.

  • Uncovering Feelings and Needs

    This workshop trains participants to add depth to their listening by focusing on hearing the emotions and needs that underpin our communication. Participants will learn to understand their own needs and communicate them and gain clarity on the needs of their colleagues when they engage each other.

  • Making Requests

    Many of us find it challenging to ask for the things we need. Requests can bring up the fear of being judged or as appearing weak. Avoiding them can lead to overwhelm and burnout at work. In this workshop, we will examine the common barriers people face in making requests and how to overcome them.

  • Saying No and Setting Boundaries

    Many people avoid saying no and setting boundaries out of a fear that it can cause conflict or disconnection. This session teaches participants to reframe boundaries as an affirmative practice that protects connection and collaboration without compromising their needs.

  • Translating Judgments

    Blame-free work environments are critical for creating safety to facilitate collaboration in teams. In this session, participants will learn to translate judgments, theirs and others, into unexpressed needs. Through this, they will learn to address contentious issues without blame.

  • Designing Spaces for Collaboration

    This session will introduce principles of design thinking that participants can use to cultivate an experimental mindset that facilitates collaboration. They will also learn a process of perspective mapping that they can use to work with each other across disciplinary differences.

  • Finding Flow

    When we feel disconnected from the work we do, it can be hard to stay motivated. When this happens, many people find themselves working against themselves to get through the tasks at hand. This session helps participants realign their work with what is meaningful to them and to access states of flow.

  • Building Community at Work

    The concluding session will focus on how to integrate the learnings from the previous sessions. We will map out ways to sustain an active community of people who bring intentionality to their communication. We will end by designing ways that participants can get support and find their people a work.

Structure of Program

  • Workshops are hour-long sessions that are experiential. Participants will be taught skills and given the chance to practice them in breakout rooms.

  • I offer 1:1 coaching to employees to support them with integrating these skills and applying them to specific situations at work. Coaching sessions are 45 minutes.

  • I work with leaders to support them with integrating these skills to transform the way they lead, including how they communicate with their teams and with stakeholders outside the organization. Coaching supports leaders in having difficult conversations with empathy, navigating uncertainty, overcoming burnout, and aligning the day-to-day work of the organization with its core values. Sessions are 45-minutes long.

To bring me into your organization, schedule a free 30-minute consultation below