Serving Veterans

Introduction

Compassionate care for Veterans

Compassionate care provided by healthcare professionals in Veterans Homes is essential for meeting the complex medical needs of veterans. These dedicated professionals, driven by a deep sense of purpose, work tirelessly to deliver exceptional care. However, the design of their working environment in combination with the accuracy  of their communication can sometimes lead to unproductive team dynamics, impacting performance and workplace well-being. Recognizing this challenge within a key department, the Chief of Human Resources and the Director invited us to guide the pharmacy team in fostering stronger collaboration and growth to optimize team performance.

The Challenge

The pharmacy department operates in a high-stakes environment, where team members navigate diverse roles, communication styles, and the daily demands of veteran care. Without a comprehensive strutured approach regarding reflection and development, teams may struggle with communication, transitions, cohesion, and maintaining focus on critical tasks amidst daily stress.

The Goals

In collaboration with the department manager, we established the following objectives to align with the team’s aspirations and the organization’s broader context:

• Foster a reflective environment to evaluate past performance while encouraging proactive development.

• Cultivate a culture of continuous individual and collective growth to drive ongoing improvement.

•  Support the team in developing a clear, actionable strategy with short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives to enhance effectiveness.

Our Intervention

Our expertise in soft skills development and advanced change methodologies informs our approach to team enhancement. Traditional ‘team-building’ activities, while enjoyable, often provide only fleeting improvements in interpersonal dynamics. To create lasting change, we prioritize team development—a strategic, evidence-based process that focuses on strengthening relationships, aligning goals, and leveraging individual and collective strengths for long-term success.

We intervened in the team using a variety of educational methods, self-assessment tools and appreciative inquiring techniques to investigate and analyze the cause including the existing psycho-dynamical patterns of communication and frameworks to help the team collectively rebuild a culture of trust.

Methods

– Dispute Resolution
– Appreciative Inquiring
– GuideWork™ (Move & Improve™)
– Self/Team Assessments
– Communication Skills
– Organizational constellations
– Qualities at Work
– SMART (fuzzy) goals

Our Approach

– Negotiation & Mediation
– Appreciative Inquiring to analyze underlying causes and patterns
– Conducting individual and collective assessments
– Educating the team leaders and team members
– Guidance of team leader on the job
– Empowered the teams in co-creating principles for professional relationship
– Educated team leaders in conflict management

Results

The intervention yielded significant outcomes, enabling the team to present a comprehensive development plan to their Director shortly after the session. Participants identified key themes from assessments and work examples, translating them into prioritized actions across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons. Emerging team norms reinforced a collaborative ethos, while the appreciative inquiry process sparked a renewed focus on growth.

Key Outcomes:

♦ Resolved disputes and realigned the team with its shared mission.
♦ Restored trust among team members.
♦ Gained deeper insights into individual and collective learning styles
♦ Increased understanding of roles, tasks, and skills within the team.
♦ Enhanced leadership skills to prevent and address communication challenges.

The Follow up

While a single day proved sufficient for this group, we noted the flexibility to reconvene if needed, based on the team’s unique challenges. Post-session recommendations, shared via a detailed verbal briefing with the team leader, outlined follow-up modules to sustain momentum and build on the established foundation.

We visited the team eight months later. This spontaneous visit was a delightful opportunity to reconnect. We were thrilled to discover their remarkable progress since our last meeting—they were truly thriving!

* The huge success of this project led to further sole source engagements within the Department of Veterans Affairs, reflecting the impact of our unique qualifications.

Looking Back

This engagement underscored the value of tailored, strength-based development in mission-driven settings like Veterans Homes, where teams are the backbone of service delivery. By prioritizing co-creation and reflection, we addressed immediate needs while equipping the team for long-term resilience.

The opportunity to expand our work with the Department of Veterans Affairs highlights the trust we earned and the meaningful difference we made. For our Co-Founder, a veteran himself, contributing to the well-being of those who serve veterans was profoundly fulfilling, reinforcing our mission to drive impactful change and his personal commitment to support his “brothers in arms.”