Ensemble Thinking : Hard-Won Wisdom & Real-World Practices to Bring Back to Your Teams

We have learned so much in 2022 about why it matters to have a work environment where everyone in the organization stays connected, motivated, and inspired by their work. This year we’ve witnessed and withstood so many workforce trends: from the normalization of the hybrid workplace (yes, Zoom calls are here to stay!) to The Great Resignation, to the impacts of inflation.2022 has proven that understanding and caring for your employees is critical for retention, and that employee satisfaction has a direct impact on your business’s bottom line. 

So how can executives and company leadership ensure that team development and staff happiness is not only on track, but stays that way for the long haul?

We’ve collected our favorite hard-won wisdom and real-world practices to offer your teams. They can be used as jumping-off points for dialogue and reflection and personal and group growth exercises. Take a look:

Team Development Practices

We all know that teamwork makes the dream work—but ensembles take us even further into a more inspired, harmonious, and productive workplace. While it may take time for these practices to become second nature, applying them regularly will contribute to both a personal and group sense of flow, overall high function, and excellence. 

• No Diminishment: Overcoming Negative Thoughts & Speech

• Building Healthy Relationships

• Showing Appreciation at Work

• The 1-3-7 Rule: Restoring Relationships After Conflict

• Shifting Your Mindset on “Mistakes”

• Our Compassionate Accountability Process, Part 1: Sharing Responsibility Within Teams

• Our Compassionate Accountability Process, Part 2: How to Practice With Your Team

• The New World of Work: Balancing Humanity & Technology

• 4 Musically-Inspired Ensemble Practices

• 6 Key Qualities of Ensembles
  

Leadership Inspiration

Each month, we share stories of people across every kind of industry and discipline. Whose story resonates with you? How can you apply their wins and learnings to your leadership coaching and mentoring?

• Brené Brown: Dare to Care

• Chief Dr. Robert Joseph: Reconciliation is the New Way Forward

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Power of Storytelling

• Ella Fitzgerald: We Work Better When We Work Together

• Greta Thunberg: Speaking Up Can Change the World

• John Muir: Steward of the Future

• Miles Davis: Ensembles Break Down Barriers

• President Volodymyr Zelensky: Servant of the People

• Rachel Carson: We Are All Connected

• Ray Dalio: The Willingness to Learn

• Reverend Doctor William Barber: The Ecstasy of True Hope

• Simone Biles: The Strength to Hold On and The Courage to Let Go

• Yvon Chouinard: How You Climb a Mountain is More Important Than Reaching the Top
  

Business Model Innovation for the Real World

We believe that the genius is always in the room and that there’s a leader in every chair. Once you realize that your people ARE your business, it becomes obvious that there’s practical value in innovation management. Here are a few favorite real-world examples of our clients and partners experiencing cohesiveness in action: 

• Provoc: Shared Leadership in Practice

• SAALT: No One Can Have All the Answers

• The Masiello Group

  • Creating Space for Team Decisions and Group Wisdom

  • From Corporate Culture to Sharing Leadership: Finding Alignment

  The Round Table Dialogue Series

• Episode 1: The Great Leadership Awakening

• Episode 2: The Requirements of Cultural Transformation

• Episode 3: Shifting from Teamwork to Ensemble Flow

• Veris Wealth Partners: Turning Values Into Culture

• YES! Jams: A Place to Practice Sharing Leadership & Power

For more than 20+ years, we’ve guided the individual and collective transformation of companies, teams, and networks as they work to share leadership, power, meaning, and responsibility. Through our leadership training program, executive coaching services, and strategic consulting offerings, we have built our Shared Leadership Framework™ and our Shared Leadership Journey™ to help organizations withstand challenges and flourish in every circumstance. 
We invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn and keep in touch with us via email in 2023 – we look forward to continuing to learn with you, sharing more stories of how teams just like yours are exploring and practicing new ways of working and relating together.