How We Work

We Make Organizations More Effective

Our goal is simple. We help leaders strengthen their organizations with products and services that directly impact their organization’s effectiveness. The drivers of organizational effectiveness are clear direction, effective and efficient processes, and strong people and teams.

Our five methodologies are practical approaches that directly impact these drivers of effectiveness.

Organizational Effectiveness

Organizations that are effective have clear direction, efficient processes, and strong leaders.

Direction, People and Process are at the core of our work and have guided the development of our other methodologies.

Direction
Process
People
  • Direction


    Vision, values, goals, strategies, and tactics propel an organization to fulfill its purpose. Direction gives meaning to action and translates activity into progress.

  • Process


    Day-to-day tasks and deliverables yield their best results when processes are clear and strong, and aligned with organizational objectives. Effective processes turn direction into action.

  • People


    People have the skills, capability and desire to translate intent into reality. People and the culture they create drive the future of an organization.

Continuous Improvement

Improving day-to-day processes with new ways of working together.

Efficient and effective processes help achieve better results and higher performing teams. Our approach is collaborative and leverages collective expertise and engagement to solve tough process-related problems.

Observe
Focus
Redesign
Execute
Sustain
  • Observe


    Take a step back to observe. Find out what is really going on by focusing on what is working well, what opportunities exist to improve, satisfaction with current processes and team strengths.

  • Focus


    Focus on the highest impact process improvement opportunities, identify objectives, and form a Design Team to tackle the redesign.

  • Redesign


    Imagine what the future could be by mapping the current process, identifying opportunities for improvement and redesigning the new process.

  • Execute


    Analyze and understand what is changing, what is staying the same and what it will take to get there. Develop a plan to manage the transition from the people, content and process points of view.

  • Sustain


    Determine how to make the improvements ‘stick’ by considering who needs to be empowered. Carefully monitor and support execution. Ongoing commitment will create a culture of continuous improvement.

Executive Coaching

Helping exceptional leaders through reflection, insights and action.

In today’s complex world, leaders need to be focused, adaptable and continually learning to create sustained success. Our approach to developing leaders starts with a strong fit between a coach and client, creates insights towards specific goals and sets the stage for long-term growth.

Relate
Agree
Assess
Aim
Advance
Sustain
  • Relate


    A good, trusting ‘fit’ between the coach, the leader and the organization.

  • Agree


    A formal Coaching Agreement that specifies the terms of the relationship, including confidentiality.

  • Assess


    Assessment tools that are used to establish baseline information about the leader.

  • Aim


    The goals of the coaching engagement, including how to measure progress.

  • Advance


    Progress towards goals through action-focussed coaching sessions that strengthen the leader’s current and future leadership capacity.

  • Sustain


    A co-developed “next steps” plan that is a catalyst for the leader’s long-term growth and development.

Research

Seeing and using data in innovative ways.

There is no shortage of data in our world, but there is a shortage of good, concise information for decision making. We use data to create insights that inform decisions and formulate action. Our approach is to understand the questions our clients are asking, determine how best to get to the answers, conduct our data gathering and analysis, and present results in easy-to-use formats.

Define
Create
Analyze
Synthesize
Communicate
Activate
  • Define


    Identify the core questions to be answered.

  • Create


    Determine the survey methodology that will best and most efficiently seek answers to the core questions.

  • Analyze


    Conduct statistical analysis, benchmarking, etc. to understand what the data is saying.

  • Synthesize


    Prepare reports and dashboards that convey meaning.

  • Communicate


    Display results in easy-to-understand, digestible ways.

  • Activate


    Create action for improvement.

Strategy

Helping leaders set a bold course with an aspirational vision, unique purpose, non-negotiable values and well-executed strategies.

A strong, clearly defined, widely shared strategic plan has the potential to lead an organization towards imaginable success. Our approach involves stakeholders and other constituents and helps leaders set direction as we guide them through our inclusive, collaborative process.

Scan
Articulate
Define
Align
Execute
Monitor
  • Scan


    Scan external and internal environments. Identify what current realities could affect future opportunities and summarize the strategic issues that must be confronted.

  • Articulate


    Articulate the organization’s vision, mission and values. Describe in a precisely meaningful way the preferred future, the unique purpose and the beliefs that drive behaviours for the organization as a whole.

  • Define


    Define the specific goals and priorities necessary to achieve the vision and fulfill the mission.

  • Align


    Align the specific actions, accountabilities and resources required to achieve the strategic priorities.

  • Execute


    Execute in a planned way that meaningfully brings the strategic plan to life.

  • Monitor


    Monitor progress through appropriate measuring and reporting tools, course correct where required and celebrate success.

Facilitation

The key to a good meeting is good design and effective facilitation.

The word facilitation is derived from the Latin word, “facilis”, which means “to render less difficult” or “to make easy”. Facilitation is about creating a structure and environment that makes it easy for people to collaborate and problem solve.

Objectives
Understand
Design
Deliver
Debrief
Improve
  • Clarify Objectives


    Understand the objectives and gain clarity about desired outcomes.

  • Understand Your Audience


    Understand who will be attending in relationship to the context and expected outcomes.

  • Design Agenda


    Determine flow, activities, tempo and content that will achieve the objectives.

  • Deliver


    Deliver the agenda, making adjustments as required.

  • Debrief


    Evaluate and debrief what worked, what was tricky and what to do differently.

  • Improve


    Integrate learnings.

Coaching Model

Vision
Plan
Network
Execute
Balance
Grow
  • Vision


    Dream. Set your goals, aspirations, and intentions. Define your “why” and the specific purpose of your performance journey. Formalize and confirm your vision of the future.

  • Plan


    Prepare. Get organized and develop plan, steps and routine that will get you to your goal. Develop a plan of action with specific targets that will see you achieve your goal.

  • Network


    Build. Cultivate the relationships and community you would require to support you in your achievement journey. Seek out mentors, peers, and other accomplished individuals. Surround yourself with a network of shared purpose.

  • Execute


    Do the work. Ensure that you are doing the work including that behind the scenes. Be open to feedback. Do not be afraid to experiment and fail. Execute your plan of action.

  • Balance


    Prioritize yourself. Ensure that you are taking time for your mental health. Take time to reset and prioritize other life goals. Ensure you achieve balance with other aspects of your life. Reflect on and adapt your path as needed.

  • Grow


    Achieve. The road to success is never a straight path. The object is to be better than you were yesterday. Ensure that there is evidence for growth and achievement and discuss how you can self-sustain this cycle independent on your coach.

Want to learn more about the way we work?

Book a meeting with our team!

  • 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

  • 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’ve worked with the Berlineaton team on a number of strategic initiatives for Vancity. Berlineaton has been a great collaborator in the design, development and launch of an innovation network designed to accelerate our transformation. My standards have always been high and they have never disappointed in their ability to deliver.

    Lori Block, Former Vice President,

    Vancity

  • I have worked with Berlineaton since 1999. In that time, I have found the Berlineaton team to be highly-skilled facilitators who consistently create the atmosphere and structure necessary to effectively manage and deliver complex projects. Their Strategy, CI, and People Development methodologies work well in any scenario in which I have seen them applied. Moreover, they create an environment that allows for a tremendous amount of creative, engaging, high-quality work to be completed within very short timelines, and with high levels of staff ownership and support.

    Martin Foy, Regional Director,

    Alberta Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development

  • The Berlineaton team has a deep knowledge of strategy and change management. They are engaging, whip smart, and empower leaders and organizations to do the work required to create compelling visions and missions and most importantly how to implement and live the goals and priorities.

    Michelle Koski, Executive Director,

    BC Investment Agriculture Foundation

  • 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

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