As organizations progress through developmental stages, there are periods of growth, realignment, outreach, in-reach and so forth. Each one brings its own challenges. Not managed well, these set the stage for divisiveness, hurt feelings, angry interchanges, and attrition within the organization and staff.
The Potentials team provides a deep knowledge base across industries. Our professional consultants have expertise in the areas of conflict transformation, organizational systems, human development, consolidation, strategic reorganization, visioning and revitalization.
Consulting Versus Coaching? We offer both. They each help you resolve issues and work towards goals. Our consultants are subject matter experts who provide professional or technical insights, guidance and recommendations.
We do not do “one size fits all.” The first task for the consultant is to meet, learn from, and plan with three or four point people in your leadership. We’ll determine a mature overview and assessment of your situation.
We will submit a proposal to you for the work we might do together. It will be based on conversations about the hopes, dreams and critical needs of your members, leadership, and stakeholders. Together we’ll determine an understanding of what success will look like. We’ll also recommend which of our specialists best meets your specific needs.
Initially, a consultant will come on site to meet and work with as many members of your organization as possible. This allows for every neurolinguistic learning type to develop an understanding of (and hopefully, appreciation for) the “outsider”, who will be working from within their system.
All businesses and organizations go through typical developmental phases. Our consulting is organized around these stages and the unique challenges they present.
Many clients come to us for help in growing their organization. They seek guidance, inspiration and best practices. Here are some of the areas of our focus.
VISIONING
History tells us that people without a vision perish. A clear sense of direction is essential to aligning strategy, goals, activities, and staffing. Organizations without an inspiring vision often find themselves in cycles of conflict. Using rigorous reflective process, we will help you give shape to your dreams for your organization, community, or congregation.
VITALITY
“Vita” is the Latin term for life. What is your source of life? What are the strategies, tools, and practices that can help your organization not just survive but truly thrive? Potentials will help you assess, prioritize and integrate the key resources for your organization to move into a new chapter of vitality and positive effect in the world.
REVITALIZATION
Missions and values can shift over time, leaving you struggling to find the next chapter in your development. We will help you get back on track, reasserting your vision, values and mission in the kinds of practices that inspire your employees, members, and constituents.
INNOVATION
Organizations often find that the world has changed around them in ways that their mission no longer feels relevant. We will help you do more than pivot; we will help you develop new ways of making your mission come to life, boldly reinventing yourselves for the challenges that lie ahead, transforming the ones that shaped your past.
STRATEGIC REORGANIZATION
How has your organization adapted to meet changing needs? Sometimes the issues are more than just a new strategic plan; sometimes they are structural. Our consultants can work with you to design a new structure to better address those needs and accomplish your goals.
STAFFING PATTERNS
From job descriptions to reporting structures to annual reviews, we will work with you to assess your current staffing structure and help you develop a model that will increase satisfaction among employees, efficiencies for the organization, and service to your communities.
STRATEGIC THINKING
Strategic thinking involves finding a “same page” about organizational values and mission. It looks for unique opportunities to support the values and mission. It welcomes a diversity of input and ideas. And it enables an organization to determine strategic priorities for moving forward.
TACTICAL PLANNING
Have you ever had great ideas that everyone agreed upon – yet never saw those ideas come to fruition? Tactical planning deploys techniques to develop a clear plan and process for helping to achieve the organization’s strategic priorities and goals.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Growth often requires changes within an organization. And change can create hurt feelings and disruption. We will help you manage change without undermining the very reasons for your success in the first place.
It is easy to slip from, “You do not like my ideas” to “you do not like me.” At Potentials, we are aware that the world is a bit “edgy” right now. We are focused on harnessing the creative energy of conflict. We believe transforming “negative” conflict into positive and productive energy is essential.
CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION
While disagreements are bound to happen, infighting and destruction are not inevitable. We believe that organizational conflict over ideas does not need to create relationship conflicts. Instead, we teach ways to turn differences into positive energy, creating different solutions. We call this, “creative conflict.”
MEDIATION
The definition offered by the dictionary for mediation is: “Intervention in a dispute, process or relationship in order to improve or resolve it.” In short, we help people work through their differences towards a better solution for all. We have consultants trained in different philosophical schools of mediation and Intercession.
Organizations can struggle with how to navigate the future and a way forward is not always obvious. Next stages could be painful or create hurt feelings. This is especially true for many communities of faith. Our consultants will help you navigate these difficult choices and help you make the best choices for all involved.
CONSOLIDATION
Consolidating with another organization is often an option when two entities understand that combining energy and vision will contribute more to constituents than either can alone. Consolidation often brings an opportunity for renewal and revitalization. We can help guide you through this fruitful and tricky process.
COLLABORATION
Potentials works to help organizations collaborate in ways that advance their greater mission. Sometimes, this is the process by which two communities work alongside one another to imagine a shared future. Through a guided process, leaders find ways to work together to maximize the resources of both rather than replicating one another’s work. For most organizations, collaborations are not an add-on dimension of their processes; it is integral to who and how they serve.
REVISIONING
Revisioning is the process by which an organization rediscovers their why and realigns their mission to reflect their purpose. Through revisioning, your organization will realign or rediscover its original vision. We help members and leaders reconnect to their purpose and “why”. And, in examining that “why,” redefine their mission and vision. As an organization reimagines itself, evaluating the staffing patterns is crucial.
LEGACY
There are multiple reasons that organizations arrive at the conclusion that they do not have a viable future. This is always a difficult decision and a challenging process. Considerations include changing demographics, inability to bridge generational changes, increased age, decreasing capacity of current leadership, decreased resources, or increased facility maintenance. We help you chart a path forward that is rewarding and beneficial for all.
