From Crisis Mode to Cultural Transformation
When Active Minds experienced fourfold growth during the pandemic, the nonprofit faced unexpected cultural challenges. With a more diverse workforce and most employees new to the organization, they needed to build trust and create an environment where everyone could thrive.
"When Covid hit, we were 15 people. Two years later, we were 50," said Alison Malmon, Executive Director at Active Minds. "Growth itself wasn’t the challenge—but three-quarters of our people were new, which overwhelmed our existing culture. We had to rebuild."
Identifying Leadership Challenges
Allison asked their new VP of Equity and Inclusion, Director of Operations, and Senior Manager of People and Culture (all new headcount as part of the growth) to do a temperature check around the organization. It revealed a lack of trust in leadership and a recommendation to seek outside help.
"We had to find a consultant that could help us figure out the root of the challenge and then solve it," said Alison. "Molly, Collectively’s founder, had done this work before and wasn't afraid of what we told her. She had a direct style that resonated with the selection team and me."
Building Trust Between Leaders and Teams
As Collectively worked with Active Minds on Leadership Development, new information emerged.
“With Collectively’s help, we identified a lack of clarity in expectations between staff and leaders, and even between leadership bodies,” shared Alison. “We needed to clarify who is responsible for what and how we hold people accountable.”
Through manager training, executive coaching, and additional consulting work with the leadership team, Collectively helped Active Minds move out of crisis mode.
"Now that we have a grip on what’s happening internally, we're looking at what we want to put in place," said Alison. "We can look ahead and continue to shape the culture and the direction we want to go.”
Solving Culture Problems
Looking back, for Alison and other tenured members of the Active Minds team, the challenges they experienced came on fast.
“For a long time, our culture was not a challenge at all. And then it became a huge challenge—it felt like it flipped almost on a dime,” reflected Alison. “I would recommend Collectively to anyone in my situation. They helped identify problems that were hard to see from the inside and then solved them. They're particularly valuable for organizations experiencing rapid change who need both quick wins and long-term solutions."
Industry
nonprofit
Company size
small
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