We were lucky to catch up with Rachelle Archer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

“That zone in the Venn Diagram where the needs of the community you serve, the unique skills and passions of your team, and your resources as an organization intersect? That’s your sweet spot.”

Let me explain.

Last summer I was hired to spend a year collaborating on some much needed organizational development with a local nonprofit. A Reason To Survive (A.R.T.S.) is a small Creative Youth Development organization on a big mission to transform the lives of young people and their communities through the power of the arts. After 18 months of working mostly remotely serving youth in National City who had been deeply impacted by the pandemic, A.R.T.S.’ Executive Director James Halliday was scrambling to meet the demands of a hurting community inside and outside the organization, adjusting to an ever growing team of new hires, managing youth programs, artist residencies, and a facility in desperate need of care. The team was working overtime to keep up with the fast pace of in-person summer camps and special events being thrown their way while battling the burnout, isolation, and frustration that impacted so many of us at that time.

One morning in a group coaching session, staff finally opened up about how they were feeling. It was clear that this team cared deeply about the youth they serve. They were fired up about putting their creativity and talents to good use. However, as a small nonprofit, their limited resources of time and funding were stretching them beyond capacity and everyone was feeling the burn. Conflicts were popping up between team members. The tension was taking a toll on their well-being and straining their relationships and productivity. As we explored possible solutions, they expressed needs for clarity and a stronger connection to the organization’s vision and goals, as well as a desire to be included in important decisions and plans that were impacting them. While I listened to them talk, I began sketching all the things they were sharing on a big sheet of paper on the table where we were gathered, creating a large Venn diagram. I circled the community’s needs, the team’s strengths, and the organization’s limited resources. Suddenly a light went on for all of us: “You’ve got to start designing for capacity.”

Over the following months that phrase became a mantra at A.R.T.S.: “Design for capacity”.

So what does that mean? As leaders, we often have shiney aspirations for all the things we want our organizations to accomplish. We get caught up in all the ways we want to impact lives through our work and succumb to the pressure to respond to the endless needs around us. Unfortunately, if we make decisions in isolation, we can quickly frustrate and overwhelm our team with our well meaning plans. Designing for capacity is a way to mitigate that, to bring all our stakeholders together to design programming, job descriptions, policies & procedures, calendars, and work rhythms that work for everyone, keeping the available resources in mind.  Instead of burning our team out, we offer them interesting challenges, motivate and inspire them, taking their unique needs, limitations, and strengths into consideration. When we design for capacity we match our population’s needs with our team’s passions, talents, and creative solutions, staying within the current capacity of the organization.  When we don’t take the time to design intentionally together, we often set our team–and ourselves–up for failure and the folks we serve ultimately miss out.

So how did this unfold at A.R.T.S.? First of all, James started by listening. Then he began proactively investing resources and time into building what they now call their “Community of Care”, a workplace culture where professionals support one another, feel safe enough to get vulnerable, dream big, set goals, learn and celebrate together. They’ve come to understand that well-being has a ripple effect and that they’ve got to have a healthy team if they truly want to help young people heal and give back to their own communities. Third, James started building a leadership team, empowering them with real authority,  taking the pressure off of himself as the sole decision maker. They regularly check with the larger team to see what their capacity is to take on new projects. They engage in planning and debriefing sessions to get everyone’s input on what works, what needs improvement and how to move forward together. Staff’s job descriptions are changing, reflecting the work they actually do, what they care about and where they can excel. A.R.T.S. is also building the capacity of the team, offering meaningful professional development opportunities, connecting staff with peers and resources in the field. After a year, things aren’t perfect at A.R.T.S. I’m proud to report, however, that much of last summer’s chaos, stress and interpersonal tensions have shifted. A.R.T.S. is transforming into a place of order and calm, where a sense of purpose, connection and camaraderie are tangible today!

Rachelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My mission at Artful Leadership Coaching & Consulting is to help leaders impact lives sustainably by putting their own well-being first, so that they can lead with a full tank and create a caring culture that supports both staff and the community they serve. Drawing from over 30 years in the nonprofit social service sector working at the intersection of the arts, education, and healing, I collaborate with organizations with big missions to foster the individual, interpersonal and organizational health & well-being that will empower them to work in alignment their vision and values, bring their full potential to life and flourish together for the long haul.

Since the mid 90’s I’ve been supporting marginalized youth and the adults who serve them, primarily at the Monarch School for unhoused youth where I started as a founding team member and stayed for nearly 22 years. Serving youth and families impacted by the trauma of homelessness, chronic poverty, immigration, and our country’s oppressive  child welfare and justice  systems taught me about the importance of building community, and putting people, relationships and well-being first. It also taught me about what adults serving marginalized populations need to do their work sustainably. In order to help others effectively with any kind of longevity, we must tend to leaders and helping professionals with the same care they give to those they serve. I founded Artful Leadership in 2020. Having discovered powerful tools to overcome my own burnout and compassion fatigue as well as ways to transform the toxic cultures created by ill-equipped and stressed out leaders, it became my life purpose to help colleagues do the same.

I offer a range of engaging virtual and in-person services:

• Inspirational talks

• Team building, wellness, and visioning retreats

• Training and professional leadership development focused on individual, interpersonal, and organizational well-being and healing-centered practices

• Individual leadership coaching

• Team coaching, program design, and on-going implementation support

My training in Expressive Arts Therapy and years of healing and educational practice have also solidified my belief in the transformative power of the arts. Ready for something different after 2 years of mind numbing zoom calls? I’m your gal! My offerings are characterized by creative expression, embodiment, multi-sensory play and imaginative collaborative solution building. Participants report experiencing tangible relief from burnout and toxic stress, deep and meaningful connections with colleagues, and fresh perspectives on tough challenges. Lastly, there’s a special place in my heart for those working with youth in the arts and I specialize in training those seeking to use their creative skills for education, healing, and transformation.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

There are a few things I think are important for coaches and consultants supporting leaders and teams in this sector: listen, build relationships, and provide on-going support.

All too often, trainers bring in cookie cutter content, frameworks and models that don’t feel relevant or meaningful to folks who are up against complex and emotionally taxing challenges. Offering one-off sit-and-get PD’s to helping professionals is often a waste of valuable time and resources. Workers who give so much to others need to feel heard, connected, and supported over time. They crave opportunities to build supportive relationships and networks with peers and to learn from one another, not just outside “experts”. In my experience, they want to create safe and trusted spaces where they can be vulnerable about their challenges and learn to address tricky issues that come up in the workplace with courage and care.

As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” A commitment to true cultural transformation is what is required to create lasting results and a brand clients feel in their bones that they can trust.

Any advice for managing a team?

We are in a time where employees are demanding more value from their jobs. Employee retention, inclusion, burnout prevention, mental health, and workplace culture are top of mind for leaders across sectors. Here are 7 keys I teach to help leaders lead artfully and transform toxic workplace culture into a community of care:

1. Get grounded

Get rooted in your purpose and be clear about what you stand for. Ground your decision making in a clearly defined set of values. This will build trust with your people and keep you from getting overwhelmed, pulled in multiple directions, or compromising your integrity.

2. Get honest

Take time to reflect on your current practices and ways of being. Author James Clear says, “Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results.” Be honest with yourself. Are you inspiring and motivating people or adding to their stress and burnout?

3. Get connected

Put people first and prioritize relationships. If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us it’s that isolation is devastating and humans are designed for community. As Dr. Shawn Ginwright says, we’ve got to shift from transactional to transformative relationships. Build time for human connection into your weekly calendar. Do this one-on-one; do it as a whole team. You think you don’t have the time, but you will save hours you would otherwise waste on petty drama, conflict, and ineffective communication.

4. Get clear

There are few things more demoralizing than a lack of clarity. Staff want to know where they’re going, what’s expected of them and who’s in charge of what. I can’t tell you how often I get brought in to work with teams that have been described as “burned out”, only to discover it’s a lack of clear leadership, role clarification and communication that’s frying the team.

5. Get committed

Build trust with your people by making a real commitment to well-being in your organization. Find out what your team needs. Pick something–anything that works–and stick with it. Empower them to make their unique contributions to those efforts so that prioritizing well-being becomes everyone’s work.

6. Get & give feedback regularly

Listen for what makes your team feel cared for, inspired and motivated. Praise them for what they contribute. Let them know lovingly–and quickly–when they miss the mark. Most importantly, be humble and ask them what is missing from you.

7. Get down

Yes, you read that right. Cue the 70’s funk playlist and get down with your people. Throw a dance party. Blow off some steam and have fun. Get down at their level. Celebrate them. Be willing to take risks and go to bat for them. Get vulnerable and share your challenges with them. The social capital you build in those moments goes a long way!

A caring culture based on common values, trust, positive relationships, healthy communication and a strong sense of purpose will keep your team going for the long haul.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rachellearcher.com
• Instagram: @artfulleadership
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artfulleadersconnect
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelle-archer-897149b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9v9TfDShlgsNEGPkj9vRhA
• Other: The Artful Leader podcast –available on all streaming platforms https://sites.libsyn.com/405857

Image Credits
Rachelle Archer Vanessa Callaghan