Speaker: Deborah Goldstein, Executive Director, NC Leadership Forum
Introduce yourself by sharing your name, organization, and title.
Deborah Goldstein: Hi, my name is Debbie Goldstein and I work at the North Carolina Leadership Forum at Duke University in North Carolina.
Why did you engage Tracey and Indigo Innovation Group, and what were the critical areas that I helped you focus on?
Deborah Goldstein: The North Carolina leadership Forum engaged Tracey to work with us on facilitating a series of meetings that involved leaders from around the state working on issues of housing from the Republican and Democrat perspective, as well as rural and urban and suburban perspectives and differing points of view.
What expertise did I bring, and what was unique about working with me?
Deborah Goldstein: Tracey has a phenomenal sense of group dynamics. She worked with us to facilitate each session and did a marvelous job in particular of sewing together here is what we've done, here's where we're going, here is a wonderful narrative of what has been said and what people are bringing to the table, and she has phenomenal instincts when it comes to thinking about what is the best way to get different voices to participate, make sure they feel comfortable, make sure they feel heard, and make sure that if they're being too quiet that they think about how to step up and put their voice into the room. We had a moment in one of our programs where we had a presenter go way way too long and began to lose the audience. And Tracey really stepped up at the end of the session to bring everybody's attention back to the center and help them think about why we were there and what the presentation's core message was that related to what we were trying to accomplish. And it was a magical moment that I really remember thinking we would be lost without Tracey's leadership of the program. And she just has a warmth and a sparkle to her that everyone who participates in her programs warms to and welcomes, and helps keep people participating even when the conversation gets tough.
Highlight specific achievements, challenges overcome, and our collaboration's value to you and your organization.
Deborah Goldstein: One of the key challenges of our program is that from session to session, we have to think about what's working with the group, how to carry the conversation forward, and how to manifest important conflict that allows people to get at why they really disagree. I think Tracey is just a phenomenal thought partner in thinking about group dynamics and how to make those conversations happen. She's not afraid of having a difficult conversation and she also brings that, as I've said, that warmth and inclusiveness to the conversation that makes everyone feel comfortable even when we're getting to the tough stuff. She's also a wonderful planner and happy to quickly jump in and think about how we can mix things up to keep everybody engaged.
Provide inspirational words you would like to share to invite others to work with me and Indigo Innovation Group.
Deborah Goldstein: North Carolina is a growing state with many challenges ahead of it and many different conflicting interests trying to figure out how to best approach important policy needs. Tracey is an excellent partner in thinking about how to have the important conversations and move group dynamics along so that people can get to know each other, better, get more comfortable putting their voices in the room and begin to really problem solve and talk with each other about how we're going to make North Carolina a better place. I couldn't thank her enough for working with us and continue to work with Tracey to make North Carolina a kind of place we all want to live in.
