Turknett Leadership Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a professional membership association for healthcare providers that specialize in the treatment of rheumatological diseases, including arthritis and lupus. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Turknett Leadership Group? =

They provided leadership coaching and skills consulting. I had an executive vice president in needs of intervention work regarding their leadership skills. After consulting with one of their consultant and giving him a rundown of what I was looking for, their business office sent me a proposal for services, which we tinkered with and then executed on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After this first engagement, we had a number of VPs that needed the same kind of work. We were shifting from working in silos to working in teams, and to a certain extent we were becoming a matrix organization. There were a lot reporting modalities in play, so they did a number of trainings with different groups around team building, team communication, trust, leadership, conflict resolution, etc.  

They developed all the trainings in consultation with me. The VP-level work was tailored to each individual: identifying issues, roadblocks, strengths, and walking them through alternative behaviors.

They’ve also helped us with hiring searches. Specifically, we’ve replaced our Executive VP and hired a number of senior-level people. Turknett did pre-hire assessments to help us in the selection process.  

What is the team composition?

The three consultants I’ve worked with over the 13-year relationship have all been PhD level professionals in some area of psychology: organizational psychology, traditional psychology, etc. These are people who are in private practice and work in conjunction with Turknett as organizational psychologists.

My primary point of contact is Michael (Senior Consultant).

How did you come to work with Turknett Leadership Group?

I became aware of them through an alumni meeting that one of our staff members held, which featured an employee of Turknett speaking on their leadership model.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $475,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2012–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve seen changes in behavior in the people we’ve worked with and received positive feedback from anonymous surveys of our employees that those people work with. Satisfaction was at 100%.

How did Turknett Leadership Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Their proposals to work with an individual or team came in with a quote, and if there’s an ongoing need for additional work, they would discuss it with me.

The relationship was consultative in nature, so we worked through phone calls and the rare email Due to the confidentiality and sensitive nature of their work, most collaboration is done face-to-face in meetings with me, or with me and the executive vice president.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What made them effective with us was that they’re highly educated and in the business of good mental health and emotional intelligence. In other words, they are skilled in the art of being human in a work environment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there was anything they could have done better. When you’re in that kind of working relationship, you’re a professional offering a service, but you’re working with human beings that either will or will not change their behavior and attitudes. You can’t force change, so if someone is unwilling or unable to change their viewpoint or broaden their horizon, then you can’t do anything about that.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with most business, you must have buy-in from your top positions: in our case, the executive vice president. You also must have a willingness on the part of the people being coached to participate in good faith. Without those things, the relationship won’t be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the HR director of a state government agency that provides low-interest loans to towns and communities across the state for any type of environmental infrastructure. The common purpose of our division is to ultimately improve the quality of life in our state.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Turknett Leadership Group?

We needed help with coaching services for our staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Turknett provided professional development coaching services for our staff, and they also invited us to their inclusion and diversity training course in 2020. Around 5–6 team members took the professional development coaching sessions throughout our engagement, and eight of us took the diversity training class. The former was a certification class and lasted several months.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around five people from Turknett, including Cherry (Strategic Partner), Lyn (Co-Founder & Co-Chair), Michael (Senior Consultant), and Kathyrn (VP of Operations).

How did you come to work with Turknett Leadership Group?

I got to know Turknett very well because I worked with them in the early 90s, but then I left to work for the state. When we were developing statal programs, I used them as a vendor for professional coaching, and I kept using them throughout the years.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The inclusion and diversity certification started in October 2020 and ended in 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Everyone within our team who took the professional development class enjoyed it and felt much better about where they are in their current professional career — two teammates even were promoted. Additionally, the inclusion and diversity training helped us find ways to talk constructively and respectfully to people on our team, accepting their diverse viewpoints.

Currently, we’re working on implementing what we learned from that course, and our managers now have a better understanding of how to approach employees and embrace their differences. It was a very good course to help us minimize the chaos and tension caused by diversity issues.

How did Turknett Leadership Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Turknett performed exceptionally well. Their service didn’t stop after the class ended; they stayed in touch with us and followed up to ensure we got what we paid for. We communicated via email or phone calls, and the training course was virtual due to COVID-19.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Turknett has very high integrity, and they do excellent work. Having worked with them in the past, I can tell that they're an exceptional group, and they have a great reputation across the state  — I would rate them 5/5.

They did their work with great intentions in mind, and they ultimately provided great results. Additionally, their team was comprised of goodhearted people who were looking to make positive changes in our lives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I would just encourage them to keep doing what they’re doing. They are impacting people one person at a time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend you to work with them. I’ve been recommending them to a lot of people.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a national non-profit membership Association organization. Our work supports chronic disease directors in state and territorial health departments across the U.S. by offering member development, program support, and other professional services related to public health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Turknett Leadership Group?

To help facilitate management and development training for our leadership team.

SOLUTION

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

We have worked with them in the past and they offered a customizable approach that fits the needs of our team.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

They worked with our Executive team to formulate and facilitate a custom training focused on leadership characteristics for our recent in-person retreat for our Sr. Leadership team.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Five people from the team worked with us to include the CEO, assistant, and two subject matter expert consultants.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

The leadership team was able to engage and build internal relationships. We were also able to gather vital feedback from the team on "whats working" and "whats not" and use that information to plan and implement various organizational initiatives.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very responsive team prior and during the event.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The customizable approach to the offerings.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Overall successful event. We provided direct feedback to the CEO related to a few areas of improvement that we identified.