Organizations are people in action. Yours is unique. Designed to enhance communications, problem-solving and decision-making, our change interventions lead to sustainable improvements created by the people in the organization – “inside out” not “outside in”.
Regardless of organizational size or type, Watermark Partners approaches each situation with three guiding principles.
Design Custom Solutions
Rather than apply a template of directives to bear down on the area of need, we ask questions and listen carefully to examine our client’s perspective, understand their views to gain clarity of where opportunities and roadblocks exist. We co-create appropriate, original and lasting solutions.
Energize Individuals and Teams
Real change is impossible from the outside, in, or from the top, down. Our coaching and facilitation style engages brilliance inside both individuals and teams. Confident of your organization’s integrity and expertise, our passion is inspiring and energizing everyone to make change for the better.
Yield Sustainable Results
On client engagements, our job is to work ourselves out of a job. Guided by the principle of maximum appropriate participation, we facilitate sincere conversation and practical actions. This creates an internal shift in operating methods, and meaningful changes that last.
Service Offering
Whole System Change
Rapid and sustainable change through employee engagement and robust processes.
We are experts at large scale, complex change from a whole systems perspective. Scaled to your needs and custom-designed, these processes will address your organization’s unique challenges and provide new-found efficiencies. We are comfortable working at the turbulent intersection where human and organizational needs meet, and financial and regulatory requirements reside.
What ever part of the status quo you want to disrupt, the result is an organization owning its responsibilities and thriving with energy and focus.
Margie is a seasoned practitioner of whole scale change methodology. As a facilitator of the process, she worked closely with a planning team to design a large event for leaders operating within our large and complex organization as it undergoes a massive system transformation. Margie demonstrated her commitment to the success of the event from the outset to project completion.
The whole scale intervention exceeded our expectations for what is possible when you bring a system of leaders together to have structured conversations about their experience and how to make it better. We are in the process of bringing to life the improvement ideas generated at the event.
The whole scale change initiative helped to unify and strengthen our leadership across the organization following a structural change.
Margie patiently guided our planning group through the design and implementation of our first gathering. I have many years of experience as a provider, manager and leader in health care. The approach used and facilitation techniques enabled us to shape and inform [our future] in an inclusive, innovative way!
Example Engagements
The need: to re-establish role and relationship clarity across a complex 25,000 person system to enable a new organizational structure.
The response: Facilitated a three-month process of organizational engagement resulting in a corner stone, two-day meeting of 170 people, in five leadership roles. The participants focused on enacting the new structure gained clarity on roles and interdependency, and actively contributed to the system transformation by building coalitions to get the work done. This process became the prototype for continued organizational transformation.
The need: a province–wide planning process to enable meaningful input and problem-solving across distinct service organizations working together for pandemic preparedness.
The response: Over two years, provided design leadership and facilitation of large-scale meetings (over 300 people) engaging leaders from health care regions and a range of institutional partners. This innovative, system-wide planning process ensured proactive identification and resolution of issues, effective use of resources and maximized communication and cooperation across geographic and institutional boundaries.
The need: broad stakeholder engagement for the renewal of mission and values statements that would represent and empower a diverse population.
The response: Designed processes for meaningful input from 575 internal and external stakeholders. Conducted data analysis events which provided further ownership and meaning making for the organization. Developed, with the client, a large-scale stakeholder meeting for a microcosm of 70 representatives to renew the organization’s mission and values renewal. This project was completed in three weeks.
The need: conflict resolution and role clarity at a national non-profit organization following the introduction of a new governance framework.
The response: onducted national change readiness assessment, provided project team change leadership, implemented processes to stimulate dialogue in all parts of the organization, designed and facilitated a national meeting for 150 participants to resolve differences and recommit to organizational purpose.
Meeting Design & Facilitation
Meeting effectiveness impacts morale, culture and productivity. Managing meeting materials (content) and process (agenda) can yield huge speed and outcome advantages
We design and facilitate meetings that keep people focused, engaged and happy with the results.
The more I think about it, the better I think it was! You did a superb job all the way around!!!!! … Again, thank you so much — I’m hearing rave reviews all the way around!
Engagements
The need: broad stakeholder engagement and dialogue for strategic planning.
The response: designed and implemented an employee engagement and information sharing event (150 participants) related to strategic planning.
The need: a large privately-held manufacturer (annual revenue one billion dollars) needed to increase its operating capacity to deal with rapid growth and implement a new top management structure.
The response: Provided strategies to increase meeting effectiveness, stimulate inter-departmental communications, and engage the work force in problem-solving and change implementation. Elements included executive team retreat, re-designing meeting protocols and implementing employee led engagement practices.
Other Meeting Design Engagements
- Role clarification
- Conflict resolution between the client and a vender
- Intra-departmental goals, objectives and plans
- Communication skills, barriers and resolutions
- Mission and values statements
Learning and Leadership Development
We custom design and facilitate learning and development experiences based on the principles of adult learning and focused on skill development in targeted competency areas.
Engagements
As part of an international team, provided design leadership for the development of a four-day leadership program for global implementation. Conducted leadership development sessions and facilitated consultant skills training. This work began with needs assessment and required multi-country endorsement before and during implementation.
Throughout our 5-year engagement, Margie was a solid team member and a strong individual contributor. We worked across time zones and cultures to bring a top-notch experience to our people. Of particular note was her command of the material and her ability to make material relevant for participants. Her style is to listen, adjust and engage—while all the time encouraging people to stretch and develop. Leadership Excellence was a valuable and enjoyable learning experience for those who attended. I am pleased to recommend Margie’s work and do so without hesitation.
Designed experiential workshops in Team Building and Empowerment for managers based on needs assessment and reflecting corporate values.
In particular, we commend [Margie] for her listening skills and astute ability to customize the material to our culture. Margie was flexible, accessible and committed to monitoring deadlines and keeping the project on target. Margie’s willingness to share her expertise and knowledge from her past experiences was very valuable. Thank you very much for your contribution to a great training product.
HR Strategy
Your people are your greatest asset. Drawing on backgrounds in senior operations and HR management, we are uniquely positioned to help clients develop and implement tailored people strategies. We work with your current HR or management teams to align individual and team actions with organizational purpose.
Engagements
Provided organizational analysis and design, leadership and management skills development, and process redesign to a regional, family-owned agricultural firm during a time of rapid expansion. This enabled the group to implement new structures, clarify roles and responsibilities and move forward with confidence
Margie engaged in facilitating the team’s efforts and presenting the issues and challenges to assist in formulating a go-forward plan. …the work resulted in increased awareness, launched the development of a plan, clarified roles and responsibilities. We feel very positive about the outcome.
Developed strategic staffing and succession plans within a crown corporation to enable business continuity and growth, ensuring that business goals and people development are aligned.
The Halifax Port Authority engaged Margie Humphreys over the past several years with such projects as Strategic Staffing, Focus Groups and Strategic Planning. Her expertise in organizational behaviour and structure allowed us to move forward in the areas we needed to.
Margie was there to guide us and ensure our success. The best part of working with Margie was the trust that was built between the HPA team and her.