Consulting

“Nothing we do…can be accomplished alone.” So said the Stockbridge theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, many years ago. In one way or another, all of us spend our work lives with others. Sometimes we need to step back and reflect on what led to a poor outcome, what our vision for a productive future is, how we are working together as a team, who has authority for what, and any number of other dilemmas that arise regularly as we try to make what we do every day worth doing.

The second half of Niebuhr’s statement is: “Therefore we are saved by love.” That’s true in work life as in the rest of life. Especially if we take “love” to mean an openness to reflecting with others on what our experiences at work might be telling us and how that can guide a deeper connection to the organization’s mission. This is one meaning of “emotional intelligence,” and it’s an essential workplace resource.

While I was directing the Erikson Institute, we founded the EI Consultation Service, both as a way of giving back to the local community, which has been so supportive of Riggs over the years, and as a training program for Riggs staff. We worked with a range of clients, including educational, mental health, medical, religious, communications and philanthropic institutions. I now offer organizational consultation privately, with areas of focus like leadership development, team building, retreat design and facilitation, envisioning the future and other activities so important to a healthy and productive workplace. With various colleagues, I’ve led workshops on these topics and formed consulting partnerships to focus on the challenges certain kinds of organizations face.

I’m also available to psychotherapists and other mental health professionals for clinical case consulting.