Wants & Needs: Providing Support on a Journey

Prior to working in consulting, I worked in mental health. As I learned and engaged with people, I adopted the understanding that people are on a journey and my role was to walk alongside them for a short time to help them overcome an obstacle in their journey. My role was to listen to what was happening, and what they wanted, then share with them what they needed to get there. This understanding helped me be a better mental health professional and continues to be a useful perspective as an organizational development consultant. We begin a journey with a client for organizational development and they say what they want – to resolve a conflict/alleviate tension, do team building to improve relationships, create a more inclusive work environment, to make a significant change in their organization. I give clients what they want by lifting up what they need to get there. Here are a few ways this has shown up.

“Clarity around the why and process agreements start to form the boundaries and outline ways to work differently.”

I’ve had a string of clients reach out for support with their team dynamics and organizational culture. For each client, I started by being curious about the tension and gathering different perspectives from those involved. As the layers of conflict and tension were pulled back, I learned there was a lack of or under-utilized policies (boundaries), unclear expectations for work and products, and no system to hold people accountable. Under these conditions, feelings of frustration and confusion can fester and bring out the behaviors that make it hard to work with others – being hypercritical or micromanaging, defensiveness, bullying, and contempt in the form of tardiness. People begin to feel unsafe and if you feel unsafe for too long, you go into a crisis. In situations such as this, clients tend to need: time together to discuss their work, reconnection to personal and/or organizational values, reconnection or clarity around the why (impact) of their work, and a few process or structure agreements to begin implementing.

Time together and connection to values make space to lift up the challenges people are experiencing and start to reveal how these challenges are affecting people. Clarity around the why and process agreements start to form the boundaries and outline ways to work differently.

Another example shows up in strategic planning. A common source of stress for nonprofits is sustainability. Many nonprofit organizations survived the pandemic (a crisis) and the ripple effect on the workforce – the subsequent demands for equitable pay and work environment -- hasn’t made recovery easy. They see the need for more funding and development to continue working towards their mission. As a consultant, I hear clients’ fear and anxiety about the stability of their organization. In situations like this, I encourage and coach clients to refocus on the work they want to do and the impact they want to have. Clients want to create goals around fundraising and development but it's important for me to remind them that their work is not raising money. With this in mind, what they need is to think about the specific activities, strategic goals, intended outcomes, and intended impacts that would inspire and entice funders and community members to give– a strategic plan. Additionally, if money and funding do become scarce, their plan will help them to remain focused and impactful with the resources they have available.

As you think about what you want for your organization, consider what you need to get there. Reach out to me and my team at The Spark Mill - we’d love to support you on your journey.