The public sector is full of great people seeking meaningful work and a chance to make a difference. But a few years into the job, employees don’t feel appreciated, they lack trust in leadership and they begin to disengage.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I help you to design a retreat or other experience for your team to reconnect, reengage, and renew energy. My programs help you build trust and share knowledge.

But wait, we have tried training and team building, and it didn’t help.

Our programs are different. I work with you to ensure it will be fun, engaging, and customized to your public service agency. Cynical staff members who have complained about attending in the past rave about our programs. They can’t believe they actually enjoyed it. And actually learned something! I can give you their phone numbers if you do not believe me.

Most of all, employees are amazed at the relationships that they build with their colleagues.

Wouldn’t it be nice if after you hosted a program, team members sought you out to tell you how much they enjoyed it? It sounds implausible, but I have seen it happen.

Common concerns I hear from public sector leaders are:

• How touchy-feely is it? …. we have had issues in the past
• Is it going to be cheesy? Will we have to give everyone a pickle or some other vegetable?
• What about the introverts?
• The public sector is unique, most canned programs do not resonate with our staff.

Those are legitimate concerns. I am happy to share that I have addressed all of them.

• Although I provide interpersonal communication training, it is not touchy-feely. I am not a hugger and I bring this quality to my training design. No trust falls. I will not use the word vulnerability. Limited discussion of feelings, and only with a healthy dose of humor and brain science for the engineers and feeling-skeptics.
• There are no pickles involved. I love cheesy sports movies, but focus on relevant lessons which will lead to a-ha moments for staff.
• I am an introvert and have a special place in my heart for the introverted amongst you. I’ve got your back. Again, no trust falls.
• We use scenarios and stories based on public service so that every lesson is relevant and applicable.

Ok, you have my attention, I am ready to learn more.

Ok, you have my attention, but our budget is already allocated for this fiscal year.

I don’t like clicking buttons when I don’t know where they will lead me….

The first button will lead you to a fillable form to provide me with a little more information about yourself, your organization and your organization’s people needs. The second form is the same as the first, but it will let me know that you have a longer timeline and are just looking for information right now. Don’t worry, I will only email you back based on your responses and will not send you any additional emails, letters, unwanted puppies, or harrass you in anyway.

If you would like to be harrassed by me, you can subscribe to my blog or my podcast, or sign up for my email newsletter. You could even connect with me on LinkedIn. If you are really feeling overly familiar, you could Google my name. I am the only person named Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom in the world, so you will find 33,200 results and they are all me…. weird, huh? If you made it this far, we must be friends anyway, so, hello friend!

Training

Customized workshops or training series which combine humor and realistic scenarios.

Facilitation

Build staff relationships through a facilitated staff retreat or on-site meeting. We assist with meeting design as well as live facilitation.

Consulting

Sharon is an organizational development and knowledge management consultant. Are you facing challenges with employee relationships or knowledge sharing?