King County’s Office of Performance, Strategy & Budget had collected three years of employee survey data showing a large disparity in results between men and women. Creative Ground was hired to figure out what was going on and develop a roadmap to address it. My work with them started with a full assessment of the culture based on interviews with over 70 staff. The assessment showed a consistent challenge with how one of the agency directors managed women, in particular, and ongoing tensions within the senior leadership team. We built out a year-long plan to shift the inequities and by the end of our engagement, surveys showed a marked change in people’s perception of safety and equity in their workplace.
“Our agency hired Lisa to help design and facilitate a process to improve our workplace culture. Lisa’s creativity, grace, energy and belief in a more inclusive work environment allowed our leadership team and staff to increase our mutual respect, deepen our interpersonal connections, and explore difficult topics. Through her expert facilitation, guided self-examination, and creative story-telling, our office grew more cohesive and trusting with new norms and patterns of behavior. I, and many others, have been profoundly changed through our interactions with her and her ideas. Our leadership team as a whole is more responsive, open and willing to tackle difficult interpersonal and power dynamics that previously would have been ignored. Rarely has a consulting experience changed so much with such lasting impact.”
–Michael Jacobson, Deputy Director, King County Office of Performance, Strategy & Budget