THE CONTEXT

Seattle-based nonprofit Lifelong has a powerful mission—to remove barriers to health with relentless compassion so no one faces illness and injustice alone. As the organization transitioned from a leadership team of 12-15 people to a smaller executive team of 7, Lifelong CEO Erica Sessle wanted to set the tone for the new team and build alignment for the next chapter. She engaged Mary Jane Pioli, a certified executive coach and business strategist, to design and lead a two-day retreat to help facilitate the transition.

“My goal was to build trust and align on the vision for where we’re going to take the organization. And also just to have fun and get to know each other more deeply. This is a team that has been working closely together (and well!), but we needed to continue to build that trust in order to function at an even higher level.”
- Erica Sessle, CEO, Lifelong

CLARIFYING THE VISION

Mary Jane invited Jennifer to help kick off the first day of the retreat with an Enneagram workshop, which uses a customized Integrative Enneagram assessment to illuminate the unique strengths and motivations that drive individual behavior and influence team relationships. The Enneagram session enabled a new shared language for the team and a framework they could put into action right away to understand each other better, communicate more effectively, and accelerate progress—during the workshop and beyond.

“Every team has a unique makeup of personality types, who approach things with different perspectives. The Enneagram model enables them to see where they differ, where they align, and how they can lean into each other. It gives each team member greater awareness about their own tendencies and how others operate.”
- Mary Jane Pioli, executive coach

PERSONALIZING THE PATH

The executive team organically referred to the Enneagram results throughout the retreat as they worked through the details of the transition and developed their shared leadership vision and guiding principles. For example, the knowledge that their team includes both core Style 2s, who prioritize serving and helping others, and core Style 8s, who tend to be more action oriented, made them more intentional about balancing concern for team well-being with the need for results.

“It’s so helpful to understand yourself and your colleagues in this way. It’s a shared framework that helps accelerate trust building. It allows people to modulate their behaviors and communication style depending on who they’re talking to. It gives you the tools to shape a positive team dynamic.”
- Erica Sessle, CEO, Lifelong

CATALYZING GROWTH

The new executive team came out of the retreat with a strong platform for better communication, a deeper understanding of the different lenses through which they interpret information, and a clear charter for how they want to lead going forward. Through a mix of 1:1 coaching and additional Leading from the Center workshops, both Jennifer and Mary Jane are continuing to help the new Lifelong leadership team activate their strategic plan, stay true to their guiding principles, and deepen their understanding of their diverse perspectives and strengths. Erica has engaged Jennifer to take Lifelong’s next layer of leadership, the senior operations team, through the same workshop series to extend the shared language they have built to all of the organization’s senior leaders.

“Jennifer’s session was very well received; the team really enjoyed it. Even with just a half-day workshop, the learning was actionable right away.”
- Mary Jane Pioli, executive coach

“People were using and referencing the results right away. The Enneagram is giving us a shared language, which has been a huge plus coming out of this.“
- Erica Sessle, CEO, Lifelong