About
“Ellen is a master facilitator who makes everyone in the group feel validated and inspired as they work toward a common goal. She is able to tackle the most complex organizational issues with extraordinary skill and dexterity.”
—Barbara E. Will
Dartmouth College Associate Dean of the Arts & Humanities
Testimonials
“Ellen has a deft touch and a capacity for holding steady and staying focused in the heat of difficult conversations. Her openness to new and creative ideas enables her to be a remarkable resource for groups and teams dealing with complex issues and relationships.”
—Marty Linsky
Faculty, Harvard Kennedy School;
Co-Founder, Cambridge Leadership Associates-
“Ellen brought invaluable skills to our nonprofit organization as we struggled to identify how to best streamline and use our energies. She has a piercing mind and genuine warmth which she combines with high energy and a unique ability to help groups find consensus.”
—Heidi Webb
Past Board Chair,
Webb Innovation Center for Dyslexia -
“Ellen helped bring our Board forward, clarifying our goals and vision. A year later, her work is still discussed at most Board meetings. People remember what she says. She is a diamond for the organizations and companies she works with.”
—Susan Winship
Director, Sudanese Education Fund
-
“Ellen helped us find our voice.”
—Cathy Cogen
Director, National Interpreter Education Center,
Northeastern University
Author Archives: bluesagepartners
TeamBuild February 2020: Lead from any chair
In my work, I have seen that high functioning groups distribute responsibility to everyone on the team. While the chair, manager, or leader of the group can control a lot through his or her authority, no one person creates great … Continue reading
TeamBuild January 2020: Turn down the heat
When groups face challenges in which there are disagreements, high stakes, and/or resource constraints, conversations can get heated. In times as these, it may happen that emotions run high, language becomes loaded, and individuals present as verbally and even physically … Continue reading
TeamBuild October 2019: Go to the balcony with an organizational scan
In a previous blog (BlueSagePartners.com, January 2017), I talked about the technique of stepping back or “going to the balcony” to get perspective on a group. When I start work with a new group I often conduct what I call … Continue reading
TeamBuild September 2019: Finding your voice
There’s an exercise I’ve used with teams that on the surface is about public speaking – but it is also a lovely metaphor for presence and influence. Ronnie Heifetz developed it for his class at Harvard Kennedy School many decades … Continue reading
TeamBuild August 2019: Changing hearts and minds
In working with teams, I think it’s important to understand that some challenges take time and require buy-in to resolve. The leadership gurus I worked with at Harvard, Ronnie Heifetz and Marty Linsky,[i] call these adaptive challenges. They define technical … Continue reading
TeamBuild July 2019: Why it works to not work
July seems like an appropriate month to talk about when and how to “not work.” Some of the best work that teams get done is accomplished together, but not in a meeting. Give teams relaxed time One time I drove … Continue reading
TeamBuild June 2019: The power of virtual agendas
In February, I talked about the power of working online with teams. This month I want to zero in on one online tool – a shared agenda that also is used to take meeting notes in real time. In three … Continue reading
TeamBuild May 2019: Visual voting
This past weekend I used a tool I call “visual voting” and it proved surprisingly effective in moving us forward. For visual voting, options being discussed are written on flip charts and participants walk up to the flip chart and … Continue reading
TeamBuild April 2019: Share the conversational pie
Don’t you hate when you get stuck in a conversation with someone who hogs the “conversational pie”? Similarly with groups, members disengage when one person, or a few people, take up most of the air time. If some people don’t … Continue reading
TeamBuild March 2019: Remember to be surprised
In a graduate school course I taught this fall (strategic planning for nonprofits), I ended each class by having my students list a facilitation technique used in class and then writing it up. A few of my students gave a … Continue reading
Blue Sage Partners 