CREATING NEW VISION FOR AN ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY

Sometimes a project comes along that hits all of the right notes, and challenges us in the right ways. Working in Charlottesville with New Hill Development Corporation (NHDC) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to develop a community-focused small area plan for the Starr Hill neighborhood has been one of those projects for Floricane.

Over the past six months, a small team – Ebony Walden, Shelli Jost Brady, Marle Hylton and John Sarvay – has been engaged in deep, focused discussions with residents of Starr Hill, members of Charlottesville’s black entrepreneurial community, and other NHDC partners. The goal? Develop a vision for the future of Starr Hill that centers the neighborhood at the heart of black economic and social success for Charlottesville.

The vision: The Neighborhood Vision is of a Starr Hill Area community whose future growth is guided by a commitment to racial, economic and social equity. We will create a neighborhood identity rooted in African American presence and prosperity with real opportunities for the Black community to foster ownership -- of property, commerce and culture.

The vision was just the beginning. Over the summer, the Floricane team worked with Chicago-based RW Ventures and LISC to develop an ambitious set of economic, housing, and cultural strategies to shape future development in Starr Hill. By creating a hub for minority businesses and closing financing gaps for black-owned small business they will strengthen the physical connections between Starr Hill and the rest of Charlottesville. The plan lays out more than two dozen specific recommendations to drive black wealth creation, property and business ownership, and cultural presence in the city.

Striking a balance between a community’s aspiration and the near-term reality is a major challenge in work like this. By tethering the plan and emerging strategies around a set of guiding principles – building black prosperity and a more equitable community top on the list – we were able to keep pushing the plan to do both what is right for the community and what is best.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be working with architect/designer Peter Fraser to transform our written plan into a visual roadmap for the community. We’ll begin working with our partners at New Hill Development Corporation to talk through specific approaches to implementing a set of strategies that range from a monthly gathering of food trucks and entertainers to a major mixed-use development.

As we slide out of October into the winter, we hope to be able to reflect back on our time in Starr Hill knowing that the community challenged us to be better as consultants – and that we helped position Charlottesville to provide more equitable opportunities for its black residents.

BEGINNING WITH CULTURE

A lot of organizations focus on the customer experience. Increasingly, we are spending time with organizations focused on employee engagement. It often surfaces beneath the all-encompassing umbrella of “organizational culture.”

Employee engagement and organizational culture are not new ideas at Sheltering Arms Institute. Unlike many of our clients, the brand new rehabilitation hospital (slated to open next summer) gets to build its culture from scratch.

There’s an old phrase we hear a lot – start the way you want to finish. With a commitment to become a destination rehabilitation hospital for the Mid-Atlantic region, the team at Sheltering Arms Institute is thinking a lot these days about creating a hiring process and candidate experience that starts with culture.

Starting with culture means giving prospective employees an experience that makes their values of courage, integrity, positivity, community, discovery, and accessibility visible and tangible during the hiring process. Over the next few months, hundreds of people will apply for positions at the new rehabilitation hospital. What they say about their experience as candidates – and, in many cases, as new employees – matters. A lot.

In the midst of building this hospital, the actual building, SAI is choosing to raise their values, mission, and vision up on the priority list and out into a lived experience. Giving candidates an experience they can reflect is key. How candidates are greeted, what the environment looks like, the questions asked, and the consistency of the interview experiences are all culture touch points that need to be handled in the right way.

SAI’s leadership knows that their new culture will set them apart from other hospitals and they are committed to getting it right from the start. 

HOW TO NOT BE WILE E. CYOTE

Role clarity, efficient workflows, and consistency: Hefty goals for a recent engagement with the Creative Services Team at John Tyler Community College. 

As the session started, it was clear the team works well together. And it was clear that their drive for a common purpose and for consistency in their work would require more than healthy relationships.

The team’s engagement began with the creation of an internal mission and vision statement. Establishing more clarity and alignment around purpose sets the stage for a team to change the way it engages around work. In the case of the John Tyler team, it allowed the rest of the day to focus around work flow and role clarity.

Why the emphasis on work flow?

In the old Road Runner cartoons, Wile E. Coyote is always on a rocket careening down a road and focused on one thing – catching the Road Runner. The frame zooms out to show the road coming to an abrupt stop at a canyon. There’s the moment of realization, a look of panic, and then the inevitable dust cloud when the coyote goes off the cliff.

Work flows have gaps, and when teams are running fast – well, we go over the cliff. It’s rarely pretty.

Being a creative services team, we asked the folks at John Tyler to be creative. They drew a visual of their current workflow. They worked through decision making points, and they named their ideal client experience.

By mapping their work flow on paper, they were able to get off of the rocket and look at the road. They saw the gaps, and the potential cliffs. And they looked for solutions. All too often we focus on how the gap can’t be fixed. We throw up our hands or we try to fill it with a behavior not natural to our own. We were inspired by the way this team balanced their opportunities with their strengths.  

This was not our first encounter with this team at John Tyler Community College. Seeing a team evolve and incorporate their work with us into the day-to-day operations is always fulfilling. 

Can you imagine what Wile E. Cyote would be like if he had that type of self-awareness? It would have made for a far less enjoyable cartoon, but maybe leveraging his strength in determination would have driven some new, less catastrophic behaviors.

RUNNING IN THE SAME DIRECTION

There’s a moment familiar to many long-distance runners when momentum can go either way. The road that lies ahead feels harder than the ground covered. The choice is simple: to let the past create drag and slow the pace, or embrace the challenge of the road ahead feeling empowered by what you have already accomplished.

The American Civil War Museum (ACWM) recently completed what passes for a marathon in the world of museums. After years of dreaming, and working, they opened the doors to a brand new museum building focused on a clear account of the causes, impacts and after-effects of the Civil War. (Not up to date on this major milestone? Check it out here.)

While running can be a solo activity, there is power in running with a team. The power of a team comes from a shared commitment to finish the race. We recently convened the ACWM team to search for alignment and energy as they prepare for the next chapter in their journey. That is a team that is running together. 

Using Insights® Discovery as a starting place, we created room to run for 30 people to explore ways to strengthen their performance going forward. All 30 invested energy and perspective in the conversation, and all 30 left with increased alignment and clarity.

The team agreed on four key behaviors they believed would help the museum, and their own work teams, run more smoothly. They could have stopped there. Many teams do, but we then asked them to go a step further in their work teams, and individually, by identifying specific changes they would put into place to strengthen their commitment.

Making commitments together requires team support and accountability. Relying on a team to help you cross the finish line requires trust, openness, and vulnerability. It requires some runners to slow their pace, while others press harder. It invites a commitment to seeing everyone finish the race.

By creating shared commitments, the American Civil War Museum team is better prepared to run their next marathon. Having endured a challenging run, clearing the finish line as a team is a moment to celebrate – and feel inspired to keep running.

The Zoom photos

On June 12th we gathered 70 amazing people into a room with the focus on connecting. We talked about organizational struggles and successes. These photos shine a light on the connections that were made.

Meet Helen McKinley: Floricane's Spring Intern

Hello, Everyone! My name is Helen McKinley and I am a senior attending Randolph-Macon College. As I entered college for the first time, I had an unwavering goal to major in Biology and become a doctor. In my first 2 years of being a Biology student, I took rigorous math and science classes, but I also worked hard in my school’s Information Technology (IT) department, improving both my computer and customer skills. I quickly developed a knack for observing executive-employee dynamics, communication challenges and best practices between colleagues, exchanges amongst coworkers and clients, and how I personally fit in amidst it all.

While working in the IT department, I analyzed how certain interactions between the workflow, clients, and fellow employees can either help or hinder progress within the workplace. After witnessing a business consultant give advice to help improve such interactions in our department, I soon realized that I loved working with people more than working in a lab. By the end of my second year, I switched my major from Biology to Psychology with an emphasis in Industrial/Organizational.

As a new Psych major, I took classes that emphasized the biological, social, and directional aspects of understanding the human psyche. I was very interested in the Leadership course that I attended, as it gave me insight on the different leadership styles (Directional, Servant, Charismatic/Transformational, etc.) and how they can work hand-in-hand. This class was helpful in allowing me to realize not only others’ skillsets, but my own as well. I knew from there that I wanted to aide companies through business consulting. I wanted to intern at a place where I could shadow professionals in the consulting field, and so my college professor connected me with Floricane.

My goal is to learn from Floricane’s experts on improving companies’ leadership and workflows, while having tons of fun in the process! It has been exactly one month since I’ve started my internship here at Floricane and I can honestly say, that in a short amount of time, I’ve learned a great deal about what Floricane does and the company’s goals.

I obtained the most knowledge by observing John and Kathy’s Insights workshops. I had the chance to meet and observe staff at various companies who utilized the Insights profiles, and I watched as they learned how to improve communication and workflow between their coworkers by understanding each other’s personalities.

One of the most important things I’ve learned so far is that there isn’t a singular personality type that is “better” than the rest in a work setting; instead, all personalities are complementary to each other, and balancing the different traits to effectively complete daily tasks is key. As my time at Floricane continues, I know I will learn even more about valuable leadership strategies that will help me in directing teams in the future to come. 

Building a Future for a Historic House Museum

As a rising senior at the University of Richmond, I am constantly asked what I would like to do once I graduate. My most common response to this question is, “I’m not exactly sure, but I would potentially like to do consulting”. I had never had an experience in the consulting world but I love to think critically and problem solve so the career path has appealed to me.

So, I was excited to have the opportunity this summer to start an internship at Floricane and work on projects to learn more about consulting and determine if it is a career I would like to follow.

I was thrown into Floricane’s consulting during a “charette” event at the Wilton House Museum.

I grew up in Richmond, but had never visited the museum. I had driven by the “Road to Revolution” and “Wilton House” signs on Cary Street Road numerous times, wondered what they meant. My favorite subject is history so I was excited to visit the Wilton House Museum, and to learn about the Randolph family and the colonial era home.

It was cool to meet and engage the people – board members, docents, other museum directors, and educators – who attended the event, and to see the feedback provided about the Wilton House Museum’s strategic plan. One highlight of the day: A personal tour of the house itself!

The next day, fellow intern Stephen and I met up with Lesley, who is leading the project for Floricane, to debrief our experience. We discussed how the event went and went over the feedback we gathered. We then talked through ideas we had for Wilton and its plan.

Two days into my first consulting experience, and I am excited to say that I am looking forward to my next project and learning more!

Putting the "Work" in Workshops!

Maybe you’re familiar with one or more of Floricane’s workshops. Whether it’s Introduction to Insights Discovery or our Manager Development Program (to name just two), we are passionate about helping people develop the skills they need to achieve their organization’s purpose.

But how do we go about choosing what workshops to offer? And what’s next on our workshop calendar?

Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to confront the “problem” of how to revise and revitalize Floricane’s workshop offerings. For me, soaking up as much data as possible and then talking the details to death is how I best process through a problem. I often tell people that my brain is not working unless my mouth is moving.

It’s equally true that my brain thrives on input as well as verbal output. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to receive lots of input. A number of Floricane clients spent a few hours helping us rethink our new slate of workshop offerings.

We want to design programs that are practical, and will help our clients day to day on the job. Of course, we can’t know what our clients specifically need unless we ask. So, we did just that.

We started with a survey that went out to past workshop participants. (Thanks for completing it, part workshop participants!) The survey helped us understand what past offerings participants liked best and what topics they might like to see offered in the future.

Data gathering was just the first step.

We also conducted a very informal focus group (those clients I mentioned, above) to do my favorite thing – talk it out. There’s obviously no one right answer to the question of what workshops to offer (much less when and how), but we walked away from that discussion with a few key takeaways:

1.     We can always do more to strengthen the experience in the workshop room. Our group noted that workshops should not be a one-and-done experience. There should be pre-work and post-work to keep the conversation, and the learning, going.

2.     We can step up our game when we communicate about what’s on tap for the upcoming season of workshops with increased in-person conversations, and that we should continue to make sure that discussion hones in on what’s best for that specific client.

3.     Less is more when it comes to the calendar of workshops open to the public, but that we should increase and make clearer our slate of “in-house” workshops that we take into our client organizations.

What does that all mean for the future of Floricane’s workshops? For now, I’m busy designing a new calendar that reflects what we’ve learned. Soon – and I won’t make you wait too long - you’ll see Floricane (online and in person!) unveil our offerings for the next year and a half. In the meantime, know that we’re never done listening to your feedback. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions about workshops. I hope you’re as excited as I am to get back to class!