Challenge

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, an Obie Award-winning New York theater, faced unprecedented challenges: physical closure due to Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter call for equity, violence and uncertainty surrounding immigrant artists, and presidential election unrest. The multicultural Leadership Team struggled to prioritize team synergy and attention to each other's needs while shifting to a virtual stage. Despite strong stakeholder connections, the team needed to radically grow and build resilience to meet these compounding challenges.

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Approach

Over one year Fenneke implemented a systemic coaching engagement using the ACE approach (Awareness, Choice, Empowerment). This included:

1. Team Development through 10 coaching sessions to improve effectiveness and support organizational strategy;

2. Individual Leadership Development via 1-on-1 sessions to create calm, clarity, and confidence;

3. Team Lead Coaching for ongoing alignment. The process began with team diagnostics and stakeholder interviews, progressed through co-creating the coaching journey, and concluded with harvesting learnings and reinforcing new habits.

 

Impact

• Developing Leadership: Increased connectedness as a senior team, greater clarity in decision-making processes, and better understanding of roles and responsibilities

• Strengthening Team Connection: Humanized workplace with increased trust and resilience, team members now express needs and ask for help more openly, improved internal and external communication alignment

• Future Readiness: Formulated compelling team purpose, deepened stakeholder connections, established strategic meeting cadence for creativity and innovation

• Learning & Celebrating: Built constructive behaviors and working agreements, increased appreciation for celebrating successes, created space for reflection amid uncertainty

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