About Us
about us | bios
Founded in 1980, The Effectiveness Institute is a team of training and consulting professionals who are experts in the areas of communication, influence and team performance. Our purpose is to create breakthroughs in the way individuals, teams and organizations perform - to build and sustain high performance cultures within our client organizations
Our Philosophy:
All enterprises rise or fall on the ability of diverse individuals to work together. They must give and receive feedback, resolve conflict, promote ideas, be loyal, motivate others and deal with their emotions and the emotions of others. When these individuals are committed to a common purpose -- and treat each other with trust and respect -- performance is maximized. Traditionally, these concepts have been described as "soft skills." We call them "people skills." At The Effectiveness Institute, we believe that they are the critical success factors for managers and employees at all levels of every organization.
Our Methods:
The Effectiveness Institute provides organizations with proven models and techniques for creating high performance teams. We help clients discover how to leverage trust, respect and commitment to increase productivity and employee satisfaction. I highly recommend The Effectiveness Institute to any organization that is committed to investing in designing and delivering a business plan that achieves results through people. - Pam Harkins, Vice President of Human Resources, Starbucks Coffee Company
TRAINING
Our training workshops focus on the key pressure points of most organizations: communication, teamwork, resolving conflict, leadership, managing change, customer service and selling skills. We provide only time-tested proven material. No matter what the topic, every workshop builds awareness, achieves participant "buy-in" and develops real-world skills. While the outcomes will vary by client needs and workshop content -- no one leaves unchanged.
CUSTOMIZATION: The Effectiveness Institute's training is applicable to virtually all organizations and industries. However, we frequently customize our materials. Modules or entire workshops can be tailored for specific organizational challenges, initiatives, industry terms or themes.
WHO DOES THE TRAINING? Training can be delivered by Institute consultants, or you can become certified in many of our workshops to deliver them within your organization.
CONSULTING
The stated purpose of The Effectiveness Institute is to create breakthroughs. We accomplish this through training and "process consulting." This means we don't just supply one-size-fits-all answers. Instead we create a process where -- together -- the Institute and the client uncover the critical success factors for that organization. Only then do we propose and implement solutions.
This is important because most organizations know what they currently WANT (higher profits, growth, less turnover, better service, increased productivity, lower costs) but not necessarily what they currently NEED (clearer purpose, people focus, more teamwork, stronger executive relationships).
"Organization culture influences economic performance -- for better or for worse."
- John Kotter and James Heskett
HOW IS THE PROCESS STRUCTURED? Process consulting "looks" like many things: interviews, training, surveys, facilitating, team building and coaching. Each has a different purpose and results in a different outcome. What makes it a true process is the mix and order of these activities. The Effectiveness Institute creates a unique combination that focuses on the most critical issues facing a client organization. A momentum is achieved that ultimately creates a new corporate culture.
WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT? In an organization, performance is about what gets done and what is left undone. This is exactly what culture does. It drives the behavior of people. It drives their priorities. It controls what is valued, what is rewarded and who is promoted. A corporate culture determines not only how things are done but what people believe is even possible in their organization. Therefore, to truly improve performance--and sustain it--the culture itself must change.
WHERE DOES CULTURE CHANGE START? In our process consulting, we focus on the leaders. They may be executives, directors, managers or long-standing employees. Regardless, an organization or work group's culture is formed by its leaders. It is their beliefs and values expressed through actions that serve as a basis for culture. Actions and behaviors repeated over time become patterns and filter throughout an organization to establish the culture.
