Havergal College

Using Community Insights to Shape Strategic Direction

Havergal College, an independent girls’ school in Toronto, embarked on a transformative strategic planning journey with Berlineaton, driven by community input and a new Head of School’s leadership. The resulting strategic plan, “Empowering Excellence,” reflects the voices and aspirations of the entire school community, from students and parents to staff and alumnae. This collaborative approach sets a bold and clear vision for Havergal’s future as a leader in education for young women. Read on to discover how our partnership helped shape this powerful plan.

Key Team Members
Shelly Berlin
Mackenzie Farrell

A Profound Experience

The strategic planning process at Havergal College was a deeply collaborative and inclusive effort, engaging the diverse voices of the entire school community. From students to parents, staff, and alumnae, every stakeholder had the opportunity to contribute to the plan’s development. This wide-reaching engagement, combined with comprehensive surveys and consultations, allowed the school to gather meaningful insights and deeply understand its community’s priorities and aspirations. This collaborative approach ensured that the final strategic plan reflected the community’s values and vision, laying the groundwork for sustained success and impact.

Practical Solutions

Our team facilitated a structured and data-driven approach to strategic planning, beginning with targeted online surveys that gathered over 1,000 responses from all corners of the Havergal community. Using our Qualtrics platform, we analyzed the feedback to produce actionable insights that aligned with the school’s goals. This information, combined with best-practice research and consultation session feedback, provided a solid foundation for the development of a forward-thinking strategic plan. Through this process, we ensured that the plan was grounded in both community input and strategic analysis, making it practical and actionable.

Bolder Futures

The launch of Havergal College’s “Empowering Excellence” strategic plan in 2024 marked a bold new chapter for the school. By turning community insights into action, the plan set a clear and dynamic direction for the future of the institution. The collaborative nature of the process not only ensured alignment with the school’s priorities but also deepened connections within the community, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose. This strategic plan will empower Havergal College to continue its legacy of excellence and innovation, inspiring future generations of young women to make a meaningful difference in the world. View the plan here.

VIEW SECTOR

Related services

Collaborative
Solutions

Strategy Development
& Execution

Start the Conversation

Are you looking to set a new, bold direction, equip your teams and leaders with new skills, or make your organization stronger?

Let's Talk

  • The emphasis on Strategic Management was important to us, since we didn't want a plan that sat on the shelf after several months of strategic thinking. I found that Berlineaton didn't come to our organization with a preconception of what our strategic plan would look like, but they made an authentic effort to understand the people in our community and be in tune with its ethos, its goals and its people. They gained trust and confidence and continue to work with us on the implementation of our tactical plan.

    Head of School in Victoria,

    British Columbia

  • I have engaged Berlineaton over the years to support a few different initiatives. I have found they bring very strong skills and tools in the areas of strategic planning, change management, facilitation, problem solving, project management, engagement management and team building.

    Associate Deputy Minister,

    BC Government

  • Your efforts in guiding the robust planning process that has resulted in UCC’s Strategic Directions were quite simply extraordinary; your partnership was integral to any success achieved. Thank you. I hope you are as proud of the final product as we are.

    Sam McKinney, Head of School,

    Upper Canada College

  • Overall, I would highly recommend Berlineaton for anyone seeking superior results in the field of facilitated, team-based process improvement that blend a focus on more task focused business results with the team, and overall people, engagement required to promote higher levels of ownership and execution success.

    Executive Director,

    BC Government

  • Berlineaton helped me work through staffing changes and a significant workload immediately following the COVID-19 outbreak. Our coaching sessions were very much appreciated, and I was able to re-focus on the strategic goals of our organization, while still leading my team and day-to-day operations. Being able to improve my leadership competencies and navigate the last few months was invaluable to say the least.

    Executive Director,

    Not-for-Profit Organization in British Columbia

    Please confirm you are a person.

    Email Phone

    Shelly Berlin

    BA, MBA, FCMC, ACC
    Strategist, Confidante, Entrepreneur.

    Shelly is a co-founding partner of Berlineaton and has over 25 years’ experience in management consulting in strategy, process improvement and leader development.  

    She’s worked extensively with public and private sector organizations, and she is a professional facilitator, expert in the design, development, and execution of strategy. She is a certified executive coach and a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. 

    Shelly’s passion is to help leaders and their organizations achieve extraordinary success through bold thinking, courageous risk taking and disciplined action planning. Dark chocolate helps too.

    Email Phone

    Mackenzie Farrell

    BSC, MMgmt, CMC
    Collaborator, Community Builder, Go-Getter.

    Mackenzie is a Senior Consultant at Berlineaton, known for her experience in strategy development and execution. She brings an innate sense of curiosity, meticulous attention to detail, and a strong interpersonal focus to all aspects of her work. She works across all practice areas to support leaders in creating stronger, more effective organizations.

    Mackenzie specializes in working with independent schools, helping them to navigate unique challenges and build stronger, more sustainable institutions. She has worked with over 20 schools across Canada.

    With a deep-seated passion in helping organizations foster visionary futures for themselves, Mackenzie excels in guiding organizations through an engagement and people-centric approach on growth and improvement. Her strategic insights and commitment ensure that her clients achieve sustainable success.

    Outside of the office, she can be found taking advantage of all the world-class access to nature that the West Coast of Canada has to offer, including her favourite past times, skiing, surfing, and hiking with her husband and dog Molson.