Team Development
Because "We're a Team"
isn't the same as teamwork
Help your team work better together, even when the work gets hard.
A team can be full of smart, talented people and still struggle.
Communication gets messy. Decisions take too long. Conflict festers. Accountability becomes inconsistent. People make assumptions instead of asking questions. And somehow, the same issues keep showing up in the next meeting. Swirl, swirl, swirl.
My team development helps teams move from a group of individuals to a team that actually works together.​ I help teams build the trust, communication, accountability, and shared understanding they need to collaborate more effectively and tackle the issues that get in the way of their effectiveness and productivity.
What's getting in your team's way?
Maybe they need to...
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Have conversations they're currently avoiding
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Build or rebuild trust
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Communicate more clearly
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Navigate conflict without making it personal
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Establish shared expectations
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Improve accountability
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Work across differences in style and perspective
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Make better decisions together
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Strengthen relationships
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Navigate change
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Stop having the same conversation over and over
You don't necessarily need a team-building activity. You may need a better conversation or a set of agreements.
Team Development that goes beyond trust falls
I'm all for fun. But team development shouldn't be about awkward icebreakers or learning that your facilitator was once panned by the New York Times (it's true, I was).
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The goal is to help people understand how they work together and how they can work together better.
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Depending on what your team needs, we might focus on:
COMMUNICATION​
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How do I know that you're picking up what I'm putting down?
TRUST​
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Which behaviors build trust, and which quietly erode it?
CONFLICT​
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How can we disagree more productively without avoiding the issue or damaging the relationship?
ACCOUNTABILITY​
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How do we create shared ownership instead of relying on our manager or PM to chase everyone?
SHARED EXPECTATIONS​
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Developing a shared definition of what "good teamwork" really looks like
TEAM DYNAMICS​
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How do our individual styles, assumptions, and habits affect the way we work together?
DECISION-MAKING​
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How do we move from discussion to decisions, and then actually follow through?
CHANGE​
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How do we thrive through change rather than just surviving it?
Does your team need training?
Or a conversation?
One of the advantages of working with a facilitator who also understands leadership development and coaching is that we don't have to force every team problem into a training program.
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Depending on what's happening, I might:
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Facilitate a conversation when the team needs to address something together.
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Lead a workshop when the team needs new skills or a shared framework.
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Facilitate a retreat when a leadership or client team needs dedicated time to step back, reconnect, and do important work.
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Coach individuals or the team when people need support changing behaviors or working through challenges.
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Create a customized experience when your team's situation doesn't fit neatly into a box.
What team development can look like
Interactive sessions focused on a specific team challenge
TEAM WORKSHOPS
On- or off-site experiences with relationship-building, learning, reflection, and meaningful work.
TEAM RETREATS
Help your team have the conversations that are difficult to facilitate yourselves.
DISCUSSION FACILITATION
A program built around your team's goals, dynamics, culture, and challenges.
CUSTOMIZED TEAM DEVELOPMENT
A series of sessions that gives teams time to learn, practice, apply, and come back together.
ONGOING TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Greater awareness for greater understanding
Sometimes the fastest way to improve a team is to give people a better understanding of themselves and each other.
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I use a range of assessments to help teams uncover communication styles, thinking patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that can either strengthen collaboration or get in its way. The assessment is never the destination; it's a starting point for better conversations and more effective teamwork.
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Click on each assessment image to learn more about it.
Explore how different behavioral and communication styles show up at work. Teams learn to recognize their own tendencies, understand what others need, and adapt their approach to communicate more effectively.
Use personality preferences as a lens for understanding how people take in information, make decisions, and approach the world. It can help teams appreciate differences without turning them into labels.
Growth Mindset (custom): Explore how beliefs about ability, challenge, mistakes, and feedback influence the way people learn and lead. Teams identify where a fixed mindset may be getting in the way—and practice ways to respond with greater curiosity and flexibility.
Saboteur Assessment from Positive Intelligence: Identify the internal patterns that can hijack our best intentions under stress. Whether it's the relentless need to achieve, overthinking, avoiding conflict, or taking on too much responsibility, recognizing these patterns gives people a chance to choose a different response.
I know teams. And I know people.
I've spent 15+ years working in corporate learning and development, along with years coaching professionals and leaders and facilitating groups through challenging conversations. (And my background in theater has given me lots of insights into group dynamics.)
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That means I don't approach team development as a collection of games or just a personality assessment. I look at the behaviors that are actually affecting how your team works.
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And then we do something about them.
Why Kate?
What clients say
Kate provoked us to put the theory into real-life scenarios. - Ivo, NYC
Kate facilitated a great environment for discussion and illumination of some of the issues we’re facing in the company. - Jon R., RIC Energy
Kate was also quick on her feet and made tweaks to the agenda that led to some of the most intimate, revealing conversations I've ever been part of in a work setting. - Kevin, NJ
