Fundamentally, we L.A.U.G.H with you!
Listen
We listen to understand. More specifically, we listen to you in order to understand you and your work or workplace, and we do that so that we can help you reconnect whatever is disconnected in your work and your workplace. Specifically, we listen to you so that, together, we can collect key information, including: what the disconnect is, why that disconnect is occurring, who is involved, the present impact of that disconnect in your work and workplace (both for you and for other stakeholders), how the disconnect may be resolved, the impact of maintaining the status quo (or "business as usual"), and the impact of resolving the disconnect (again, both for you and for the other stakeholders). That listening never stops as we help you move from disconnection to (re)connection because everything we do and hope for depends on listening for understanding!
Ask
When it comes to your work and your workplace, we believe that you have the answers within you. Sometimes they are just buried or clouded by years of disconnection and conflict. So, once we've listened to you during initial conversations, we continue to listen as we ask you lots of questions. Why? Why not? What if? What about? How? What about the "5 Cs?" Through asking these questions, we flesh out and evaluate various factors related to the disconnections. Goals, risks, obstacles, options, and opportunities are all part of the asking process too!
Understand
Through asking all of those questions, we move, together, toward a better understanding of many things, including yourself, your work, your workplace, others in and around your work and workplace, others impacted by your work and workplace, the specific sources and causes of disconnection, options and methods for (re)connection, and impacts of both maintaining the status quo and changing things going forward.
Grow Perspective
Before any lasting change can occur, there must be perspective that is as clear and as complete as possible. We help you identify what hangs in the balance, or more specifically, what it would look like and what impact it would have to move from the present conflicted and disconnected reality into your work and workplace potential, and what it would take to get from your specific "here" to "there." That's not an easy task, but Listening, Asking, and Understanding all build together toward that goal by providing you with a better perspective – one that is more clear and complete than our perspective often is when we try to "DIY" things. In the end, with that better perspective, you are better prepared to move forward.
How to Move Forward with a AAA Plan
Ultimately, help you identify how to move forward, past conflict and disconnection to reconnection, so that we can experience all of the benefits that flow from reconnection between individuals, workplaces, communities, and beyond. We believe that plan must be Actionable, Assessable, and Adjustable, or a "AAA Plan."
Actionable: The kind of change we are after will not just magically appear! If you want to (re)connect in your work and workplace, you must take a series of actions, no matter how small they may be. What's the first step? What's the next step? We help you identify the specific actions to help you reconnect to your work and in your workplace.
Assessable: At the risk of stating the obvious, it's not enough to just start taking actions (though that's often what we see people do!). The actions have to be the right actions at the right time. So, a key part of moving forward is identifying how you will assess the impact and effectiveness of those actions, or how you will continually evaluate whether they are the right actions at the right time so that you may determine whether other actions may be needed.
Adjustable: As you move forward toward (re)connection and resolution, the plan must be adjustable, or flexible. As Jeff Goins articulated in his book, The Art of Work, "action begets clarity." That's a reality that we have experienced many times in many different contexts. Quite simply, as we move, we continue to learn, and as we learn, we need to pivot so that we maintain progress toward the ultimate goal of sustainable work and sustainable workplaces.
This is the approach we take as we provide specific services to you. Some people even say that the way we LAUGH with them is a service in and of itself, and we agree with that! However, we understand that some may still wonder what we do specifically. We do a lot of what we think of as “facilitation” in different areas.
For example, once we've evaluated goals, risks, obstacles, options, and opportunities with your help, we move into facilitating the actual transition from the present conflict reality to your ideal. Again, the specifics depend tremendously on the circumstances. However, there are essentially five different practice areas where we facilitate progress. In most contexts, that progress involves a combination of several practices and tools.
Climate Assessment
Using various tools and resources, we assess what your workplace climate is. In other words, we determine whether the present reality is as you think it is, for better or worse! This assessment is customized to your workplace and your concerns. Often, it the starting point and becomes the foundation from which you move forward.
Specific Conflict & (Re) Connection Navigation
(as counsel or as a neutral)
Your work and workplace exist for other reasons, whether it's creating incredible food or products for others, distributing goods or services, or addressing societal challenges, your workplace exists for that reason, not conflict navigation. But, the reality is that there IS conflict in your workplace, and that conflict can create a lot of disconnection, in many ways. So, when the conflict is felt and there's a desire to address it in a sustainable manner, we come alongside to help you navigate it. We do what we do so that you can do what you do! When it comes to navigating specific conflicts, we help in two primary manners: either as counsel or as a neutral.
When you want outside perspective, suggestions, and support, we provide that. It's this type of counseling service that we often provide in the context of "bigger picture conflicts," or conflicts that are not specific to individuals within your workplace. For example, this counsel can be especially helpful in business-to-business scenarios, as well as in start-up and transition contexts, where you have an idea of where you want to get to but face obstacles that are seemingly beyond your control.
When the conflict is specific to individuals (or groups of individuals), whether they are all within your workplace or involve a mix of those within and beyond, we step in to act as a neutral party. In those contexts, we bring our years of experience and formal training to help navigate that conflict in an efficient manner that will allow all involved to move forward without the burden of continued conflict, litigation, etc. That training includes intense and ongoing study through the Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation.
Skills Development & Training
For those that embrace the reality that conflict happens and want to take proactive steps toward minimizing its negative impact in their work and workplaces, EiroBridge offers various services aimed at developing conflict and (re)connection navigation skills.
We do this through engaging trainings that we develop and deliver, customized to your specific needs, culture, and goals. Everyone in your workplace can benefit from these trainings. For some workplaces, this means separate trainings for managers and employees. For others, it means combined trainings for managers and employees. And, for larger workplaces, we develop and deliver "train the trainer" programs, so that they can implement the principles across that workplace.
For individuals who are routinely involved in workplace conflict by virtue of his or her position (such as human resources professionals, contract negotiators/administrators, and others whose job specifically involves conflict resolution), we offer 1:1 skills development coaching and support.
In workplaces where there are groups of such individuals, we also offer small group and team coaching and support.
Conflict & (Re)Connection Navigation Systems Development & Administration
Increasingly, workplaces are asking for internal conflict navigation systems. Given our own experiences, EiroBridge is uniquely situated to help develop such systems, especially if we've already worked with you in any of the other areas (climate assessment, specific conflict navigation, or skills development). That development involves drafting straightforward policies and procedures that compliment your existing materials, identifying potential facilitators that can work in your specific workplace going forward, and similar work.
Once the system is developed, we also help with its implementation. That involves communicating the system to the various stakeholders, so that they know it exists, what to expect, and how to participate. Implementation also involves training the individual facilitators, using various techniques, including "mock" and live scenarios.
Moving past implementation, we also help with administration of the system. That can involve ongoing educational efforts, assistance in handling various related materials, and similar tasks, all with an eye toward ensuring the system is functioning in an effective and efficient manner.
Finally, for established systems, we can help review whether the system is having the desired impact. If it's not, then we naturally help with identifying where and why any breakdown may be occurring, as well as potential corrective measures and implementation of the same to keep things on track.