Northern Initiatives
Michigan
Challenge
Northern Initiatives is a community development financial institution that provides loans and business services to Michigan entrepreneurs and small business owners who add jobs and help their communities thrive. The organization was going through significant changes, including the departure of a longtime executive director, a new strategic plan devised by the board of directors, and a surge in growth to new markets across Michigan. In addition to geographic growth, staff demographics were diversifying and, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the staff had never met in person.
The new executive director sought to unify her growing team, leading them to alignment around common goals and building strong working relationships to provide the highest level of client support. She brought in Community Allies to facilitate a thoughtful and engaging one-day staff retreat, to foster trust and connection and help the team unify around the new strategic plan.
Approach
Community Allies recognized that staff were working in silos across three distinct categories–geographic, departmental, and length of tenure at Northern Initiatives. In order to perform together effectively, members of each group needed to understand the programs and expertise of the other groups. We facilitated several rounds of discussion in small groups organized around those categories, allowing each group time to convene and discuss what is exciting about their work. Each group then reported out on their combined view of the most important things for others to know about their roles and what they most needed from the others. The new employees, able to find peer support across geography and department, shared their hope that their diverse perspectives would inform new strategies and experimentation.
Grounded in these new connections, the participants went into randomized groups to respond to the new strategic plan. They gave voice to both excitement and concerns and provided feedback on additional resources needed for implementation.
Results
The retreat spurred many “aha” moments, including the realization that more resources need to be allocated to business services and that a compiled calendar of each department’s events would best support outreach to business owners. It was also the first time in Northern Initiatives’ history that staff was invited to give feedback on the strategic plan, which helped establish staff togetherness as a motivator for the organization’s future direction. In a post-retreat survey, Northern Initiatives staff reported improved understanding of one another’s roles, needs, interests, and concerns, and increased excitement about working together to realize the goals in the new strategic plan. Perhaps more importantly, despite the leadership change, there has been nearly no staff turnover in the year since. Rather, the retreat effectively opened up a path to deep staff connectivity, with participants asking for opportunities to spend more time with the peers they met at the retreat and came to truly like.
“I’ve hired Ellen when I need a skilled process designer and facilitator who can thoughtfully craft experiences that lead teams to sound strategy, stronger relationships, and more equitable outcomes.”
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