Struggling Teams

Stacy Koppen, Director of Nutrition Services for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS), knew she had an issue with the way employees related to one another. While SPPS encouraged a farm-to-school connection with students and their food, frontline employees were disconnected from supervisors and even school staff, causing their decisions and attitudes to veer off course. A negative dichotomy between departments threatened to derail their main objectives and slow the growth of community outreach.

Faced with a stark “us vs. them” mentality, Stacy sought out Paul Fayad and Positive Leader’s Positive Culture Index (PCI℠) and Positive Assessment Tool (PAT℠) to help shift the way all 325 SPPS Nutrition employees worked together.

As is often the case with good leaders, Stacy and her SPPS team already had the pieces they needed for a reset: willing employees who wanted to be heard and make a real difference in the system. What they needed, however, was a true neutral voice that could cut through the disunion in the ranks. Together, Paul, Stacy, and key SPPS employees first identified some of the barriers that stopped SPPS Nutrition Service technicians from working together, including a lack of consistent communication channels and a prevailing negative attitude toward colleagues in other departments.

Armed with valuable feedback, Paul went to work. In a conference setting, he outlined a plan to slowly right a ship that had gotten off track and missed its bearing by a few degrees. Where other stakeholders were perceived as partial to a specific department, a neutral approach by an outside party meant Paul could knit together the existing potential that Stacy already saw in her team and frontline workers. The Positive Leader journey steered SPPS into calmer waters by simply changing the navigation by a few degrees with a steady plan of action.

The PAT℠: The first step in most Positive Leader journeys, Paul deployed the PAT℠ to help employees learn a new way to relate to one another. From understanding preferred methods of communication to insights into each employee’s mindset and leadership style, Stacy and her team were better able to plan for positive interactions and more open communication.

Consistency: One of the most valuable pieces of insight Stacy gained from Positive Leader was the dissatisfaction employees felt when they didn’t know where, when, or to whom feedback should be addressed. Positive Leader helped not only rectify the issue of inconsistency, but empowered all employees—no matter where they worked—to bring up questions and concerns in a constructive way.

The changes were slow and steady, denoting true change in how employees reacted to one another. Utilizing the PCI℠ starting in 2016, employees rated the organization’s cultural index at a 3.96 out of 5. With each year the PCI score indicated improved morale, and when last surveyed in 2023, that score was at a 4.5.

When an organization’s culture feels hostile to the very employees who have the most potential, there’s a clear disconnect. We don’t live in a perfect world. Not every individual is going to feel 100 percent positive about every professional interaction. Positive Leader, however, gave SPPS Nutrition Service employees a healthy, consistent, and impactful way to communicate across department lines. Stacy and her team already knew that no matter what the role, every employee deserves to feel heard. Positive Leader gave employees the tools to improve their workplace culture and contribute to smoother sailing ahead.