Growing Organizations

Strategic Change Culture Development & Integration Listening Architecture^™ Inclusion, Equity and Belonging
Bridge-builders for Inclusion and Belonging Strategic Communication

Innolect is known for helping clients “Think Differently”

We understand that when companies and leaders truly innovate, there will inevitably be brushes with failure. If leaders never make mistakes, they’re not taking risks, and that means the company chooses to maintain the status quo. We help leaders cultivate courage to pursue innovation.

Innolect helps build the foundation for employees to bring their best selves to their work. Our Innovative Intelligence^® tools and techniques make it easier and more fun to generate creative ideas and solve problems.

All client services are customized… “one-size does not fit all.”

We exist to build creative, high-integrity workplaces that:

lead with purpose and clarity
attract and retain top talent
thrive in times of uncertainty
outperform the competition
engage employees to grow and put their strengths to work

Strategic Change

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” – Peter Drucker

Leaders struggle to respond to the cumulative challenges of a “VUCA” (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. Ironically, as the world has become more confusing and unpredictable, expectations for agility as well as performance and profits continue to rise.

Our Strategic Change Practice consultants serve as change guides, working in partnership with clients to address business challenges. Regardless of size or focus, our blueprint for change emerges only after we have taken time for thoughtful discernment. Next comes care with:

Design (creating the map), and
Facilitation (guiding the journey).

Core Principles:

Ensure change is initiated and led by the people involved. We co-design to increase commitment and alignment.
Build internal organization “change mastery.” We work ourselves out of a job and build internal capacity.

Culture Development & Integration

“No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.” - Jack Welch

An organization has its own unique cultural DNA or culture. It determines what employees value, how they behave, their priorities and what they do when no one is watching. Since as many as 50% of people leave a job in the first two years, cultural fit is important.

Cultures are shaped “One Leader at a Time.” To understand a culture, we look at an organization’s leadership, values and structure.

Leaders are “culture shapers” who:

Keep the vision, values and purpose top of mind
Serve as role models and storytellers for what is expected
Influence day-to-day employee actions and behaviors

We help executives and their teams:

Look at their cultures from a fresh point of view
Envision the culture they want to create and engage employees in the process
Design a roadmap to shape and align cultures to the business strategy
Facilitate the learning, feedback and reinforcement necessary for lasting change

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Innolect’s STRATEGIC LISTENING ARCHITECTURE^™

Organizations are experiencing the Great Resignation. As listening experts, we know the TOP driver of retention is being heard. Organizations that listen, understand and act on what employees say are 15% more likely to retain them.

Most organizations don’t have well defined listening strategy. Innolect’s Listening Architecture^™ is a deliberately planned approach to engage with and gain insight from employees. Our Listening Architecture^™ equips organizations with quantitative and qualitative strategies that lead to greater inclusion and retention success at individual, team and systems levels.

Why is Listening Architecture^™important?

Shows employees that their voices are relevant and heard
Improves the employee experience and efficiency
Strengthens customer relationships
Reduces resignations and attrition
Establishes psychological safety for employees to speak their truth

WHY INNOLECT

Industry leader in listening assessments, products and services
International listening recognition and research awards
Field-tested, statistically validated listening assessments featured on ABC’s 20/20
Award-winning program design and implementation
Published scholarship and 6 Listening books

Reach out to us today…We ARE Listening!

Inclusion, Equity and Belonging

The ability to attract and retain top talent is critical in a company’s competitive environment. Unfortunately, without awareness, employees can unintentionally offend and alienate others with inappropriate jokes/language, stereotyping, lack of recognition, thoughtless comments, or negative body language. Without training, when employees do notice inappropriate behavior, they often remain silent, and think, “Someone else should say something” or “I’ll say something later.”

How much are organizations spending on EEOC and Racial Bias cases?

1.7 billion
17.4 billion
172.4 billion

Innolect focuses on building high-integrity workplaces where: All employees are valued, involved, supported, & respected. Our collaborations are designed to:

Improve the quality of work life by using fair and consistent treatment
Provide equal growth opportunities for ALL employees and suppliers
Create an inclusive environment where respect, understanding and encouragement of others, in and outside the company, is a business imperative

Innolect explores ways to reconcile, influence and appreciate cultural, ethnic and individual differences. Our inclusion and diversity programs and assessment services offer compelling, intentional, experiential methods to assess, design, develop and deliver results. Our practices, created in response to senior executives’ and HR/OD professionals’ needs, provide strategic and disciplined points of view to increase engagement, retention, belonging and productivity.

Services and Programs

The Business Case for Diversity – Using the most current research and best practices we design and facilitate approaches to educate, build awareness, and gain understanding for the value of and business impact of diversity and inclusion.
Supplier Diversity Strategy – With an experienced Supplier Diversity Team, we offer design and implementation of Supplier Development Programs, development of Strategic Supplier Diversity Recruitment Strategies, assessment of existing Supplier Diversity Programs and Supplier Diversity Leadership and Team Development Initiatives.
Employment Engagement – We help employees commit, both emotionally and intellectually, to accomplishing the work, mission, and vision of organizations. With engagement at an all-time low, we discover internal barriers, design participative approaches and implement actions customized to specific issues or concerns.
Employee Resource Groups (ERG) and Leader Development – A key value of joining and/or serving as an ERG Leader is an opportunity to develop new capabilities, skills and visibility. We help to develop leader pipelines with diverse future leaders and offer unique learning opportunities through Sustainable Legacies^™ programs aligned with D&I objectives.

The Courage to A.C.T. workshop helps build a culture of inclusion and leads to increased respect, productivity, profitability, higher job satisfaction and lower turnover. It takes participants out of their comfort zones. Participants take what they learn back to the job and know what to say or do when noticing inappropriate comments or behavior.
Engaging and Valuing Talent – Innolect’s ROI workshop identifies inclusion factors that increase employee engagement. Participants learn personal work patterns and behaviors that stimulate a culture shift leading to increased engagement and productivity. When employees feel valued, job satisfaction goes up, turnover goes down, and productivity improves.
Interpretation Required: Working Across Generations – There is a need to prepare for and integrate the next generation of employees, yet few organizations have prepared leaders to work with five distinct generations. Leaders receive help in how to work across generations to better select, assess, engage, develop and retain talent.

Innolect Facilitator Differentiators
Beyond Awareness
Manage Bias – Change Behavior – Track Progress

Engage diverse facilitators who model authenticity and vulnerability
Hold small group sessions to encourage open, real-life conversations
Establish psychological safety norms for participants
Provide practical action focused Toolkits
Develop customized, interactive scenarios to practice tools
Debrief all activities and address questions with DEI expert facilitators/coaches

Sample Training Topics

Leading Strategic Change
Building Team Trust
Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions
Inclusive Facilitation and Allyship
Psychological Safety and Covering
Leading and Engaging Hybrid Teams
Listening and Radical Empathy
Mental Fitness and Resilience
Navigating Polarities
Leading through Uncertainty
Organizational Agility
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution
Emotional Intelligence & Growth Mindset
Key Ingredients: Supplier Diversity Success

Bridge-builders for Inclusion and Belonging

Strong voices are needed within organizations to ensure and build greater inclusion, equity and belonging. Innolect is helping organizations identify policies that hinder equity success as well as guide leaders in how to facilitate inclusive dialogue with individuals, teams and systems. We help leaders take steps to create safe spaces to solicit and listen to employee concerns without defensiveness. As leaders and employees learn and practice new skills, they are more prepared to act with courage and inclusiveness. They learn how and what to say to address sensitive issues.

Sample Dialogue Topics

Consciously Overcoming Your Unconscious Bias
How to Talk About Racial Bias and Inequities
Speak Up – What to Say and How to Say It
Bridge-Builders: 3^rd Party Advocacy & the Courage to Act
Sensitive Conversations: How to be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Radical Empathy and the Courage to Listen
Living Room Conversations: Top Three Challenges Facing Diverse Employees

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Strategic Communication

A leader’s ability to communicate change quickly and effectively can mean the difference between an organization thriving or declining. During times of uncertainty, complexity and change, communication is the glue that:

Aligns goals for better coordinated action
Promotes faster, more effective decision making
Ensures smooth implementation

Our communication experts help leaders learn “best practices” to engage the right communication channels, processes and practices. We work to ensure that messages build trust, commitment and are:

Timely
Consistent
Aligned
Transparent

Time-tested Selected Communication Strategies and Tools

1. Communication Audits

Evaluate usage and effectiveness of current channels, processes and practices
Use technology most efficiently and effectively
Adapt messages to employee preferences and practices
Engage collaborative decision-making strategies and tools
Standardize operating procedures for clarity and engagement

2. Strategic Stakeholder Roadmaps and Communication Plans

Provide a framework to ensure messages, initiatives and actions cascade to key stakeholders
Revise plans as targets are met, circumstances change, or new objectives are identified
Measure outcomes

3. Key Communicator Programs

Communicate with Impact - Ensure leaders are well-informed and prepared with consistent messaging to:
- Support the vision, values and change internally and externally
- Engage and influence others to achieve goals
- Present consistent, clear and compelling updates at the right time, through the right channels and to the right people
- Listen to and involve others in key activities and goals

Team Briefings - Regularly scheduled face-to-face or enhanced video processes that encourage two-way communication from those closest to the source of information
- Cascade information throughout the system within set time frame
- Offer JIT data for managers to share with direct reports
- Provide consistent, timely and accurate information
- Move through layers of workforce simultaneously
- Maintain momentum during change initiative

Listening Groups - Forum to help leaders engage employees in dialogue to gain input as well as explore and discuss issues.
- Focus Groups:
  - Generate hypotheses for future opportunities
  - Develop sound approaches for intended audience
  - Gain understanding from those on the frontlines
  - Enhance use of survey results and delivery channels

Keynote Presentations & Webinars

When you engage a speaker for a conference, keynote, lunch & learn, webinar or workshop, you want an expert who can engage and hold an audience. The Innolect community offers sought-after authors, thought leaders, and expert speakers who highlight our most current research and expertise. Write us today to schedule one of our team to speak at your next corporate event, industry conference or leadership development initiative. Our speakers customize their content to meet your needs…whether to inspire, activate, energize, inform or persuade.