Unlock the potential of leaders and teams in the face of change.
What I Do
Leadership Development
Individual and Cohort Coaching
Support leaders to survive, develop and flourish in spite of changing circumstances and objectives
Develop high-potential employees to reach maximum impact- individually and in peer groups
Guide the transition to a new level of leadership such as newly appointed leaders of other leaders and first-time executives
Address ‘difficult’ employee situations by consulting with the supervisor and employee system to create a way to work effectively- together or apart
Team Effectiveness
Leadership Transition. A system-oriented approach to engaging a new executive, governing Board, and leadership team to facilitate the information transfer and relationship building that maximizes probability of success for the whole organization.
Team Effectiveness and Satisfaction. Support teams in conflict to assess what’s working and what’s not working. We then systematically address the relevant issues which often include clarification and alignment regarding goal, roles, processes and communication methods.
Culture Change
Plan and Implement Change Programs
Guide businesses to initiate or respond to strategic, operational and cultural change
Frequently oriented toward an overarching theme such as cost containment, customer service, safety, diversity and inclusion, etc.
Surface, normalize and address resistance to change
Cultivate executive oversight and sponsorship of change programs
Performance Interventions
High-Stakes Meeting Design and Facilitation. Interdisciplinary, multiple stakeholders and organization levels, high complexity and business criticality.
Process Improvement. Diagnosis, innovation, and implementation with an eye on both human systems and business outcomes.
Business Opportunity Framing. Facilitated process to frame and structure a new business or departmental venture upfront to maximize alignment and utilization of resources.
How My Work is Different
Typically, as frustration and anxiety rise, we narrow both our field of vision and willingness to try something new — just at the moment we need them most. Consciously or not, we will repeat a course of action that is most familiar; even when the negative outcomes underscore how much that action doesn’t fit the current context.
As a coach and a consultant, I actively interrupt this downward spiral. I introduce new lenses on both the competing business drivers and interpersonal dynamics to enable the client to see the whole of their current context and discover new pathways to success.
Systems-Orientation
I coach leaders and team members to see the current moment in a broader context. Together we access previously unseen dimensions of system dynamics to create new insights. Clients typically experience a surge of energy and curiosity when seeing the entire system and “not taking things just personally.” I then support clients to apply the insights to take new action toward their goals.
Focus on Results
I embed reflection and evaluation into every consultation, from an individual coaching session to a large scale organization change. We jointly monitor qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the impact of our work together- continuously refining the methods to maximize success.
Speaking Truth to Power
In one-to-one coaching, I partner with leaders to bring a combination of directness, compassion and honesty that becomes increasingly scarce as one climbs the organizational ladder. When consulting to larger teams and organizations, I leverage my experience of having worked both inside and outside of organizations, to maximize the value of an external perspective to influence the organizational system.
Sense of Humor
Have you noticed how often laughter rings out among successful teams and humor buoys us during trying professional and personal challenges? While levity itself is not our goal, I value it as important marker of rapport and openness to change.
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“My problem is…”
Contact me today for a no-obligation, exploratory conversation. We will jointly decide if I can support you in reaching your goals, or I will refer you to other resources.
About Jennifer Langdon, MSOD
JENNIFER LANGDON is a dynamic and innovative consultant with over 25 years of experience in corporations, associations and not-for-profit organizations. She specializes in building highly effective interdisciplinary teams through a combination of leader and team coaching and organizational development consulting. Jennifer works extensively with global, virtual teams and has lived and worked in North America, Europe and Latin America.
As founder of Human Systems Work, Jennifer consults with executives and mid-level managers to shift culture, improve communication and enhance personal and professional effectiveness. In 10+ years at Royal Dutch Shell, Jennifer provided internal consulting to a variety of clients, from the CEO and senior executive team to managers of billion dollar projects. Jennifer partnered with these leaders on objectives such as strategy renewal, change management, leader and team transitions, business process effectiveness, organization redesign and enhanced value delivery. From her Netherlands based role as the Manager of Organization Development for Europe, Jennifer also managed an internal consulting team, defining key change methodologies and building consulting capacity among line managers and HR business partners.
In previous roles with Houston’s The Methodist Hospital (OD Specialist); Accenture (Manager of Human and Organizational Performance) and Amigos de las Américas (Director of Training) Jennifer guided leaders and workgroups through a variety of individual development, team effectiveness and business performance improvement initiatives. The diverse and compelling achievements in these areas include: the systemic overhaul of the criteria and process for managing ambulance transfers during peak ER hours; design and implementation of an enterprise resource planning system for a safety-sensitive hydrocarbon pipeline organization; and the development of curriculum and training materials to prepare college-age volunteers to lead community health projects in Latin America.
Employers and Select Clients
Education and Professional Certifications
M.S. in Organization Development (1999), American University and NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science
B.A. in Social Psychology and Latin American Studies (1994), University of Texas at Austin
Systems-Centered® Training & Research Institute. Completed foundation, intermediate and advanced programs.
EQ-I 2.0®: Emotional Intelligence Assessment for Leadership
Hogan Leadership Assessment
Polarity Management: Polarity Approach to Continuity and Transformation (PACT)™
The Birkman Method®
Theory U®
McKinsey & Company: Organization Health Index (OHI)
I Opt®: Input-Output Processing Template
SAVI®: System for Analyzing Verbal Interactions
Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton)
Whole Systems Strategic Planning