If you are like me and so many others across the world, you have fallen in love with the Bridges model and want more! More tools, more support, more information, more examples, more ways to embed the learning for you and your team! You might be wondering how to take the next steps in keeping that spark and momentum going.
When I first attended my Bridges workshop 12 years ago, I was so deeply moved. I wondered to myself, “Where has this information been for the first 20 years of my work?!” That workshop changed the entire trajectory of my career, and from that moment on, the impact has been truly transformational for me both personally and professionally. When we use the Bridges lens in all that we do, we genuinely create unstoppable relationships and outcomes across our communities.
Becoming a certified Bridges trainer and Getting Ahead facilitator were my first steps in championing this incredible framework. This gave me the opportunity to really understand the bigger picture of how Bridges ultimately supports community well-being. From there, I created an internal working group of staff champions to map out a work plan, and I cocreated a customer advisory group for feedback on programs and service ideas before we implemented them.
These strategies, along with training all staff consistently in applying Bridges tools and strategies, gave us direct input from both our customers and staff in the improvement of our programs and services, which we know is the heart of Bridges (“not about me without me”).
Through these engagement strategies, we improved not only our participant attendance rates significantly, but we also saw improvement in our morale and staff satisfaction, as demonstrated in annual staff surveys. We also ran several Getting Ahead groups and created an amazing Staying Ahead initiative in partnership with our Bridges-trained community partners.
During this period of growth and transformation, I trained over 7,000 community partners in Bridges for improved understanding and collaboration, and I hosted biannual community of practice meetings with representatives from across our community to share implementation ideas. As a result, we witnessed significant growth and improvement in our collaboration with those we served, and we worked beside and within our community partnerships.
Today, I am a certified life, leadership and organizational coach, and workshop facilitator and consultant with aha! Process, and I’d love to support you in your journey. I often wish I had have known back then what I know now! Had I have had mentorship and/or coaching along the way, I surely could have avoided unnecessary trial and error processes that at times stalled success. I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work, and I feel blessed to be able to share this and support other champions in successfully adopting the Bridges model.
As an aha! Process consultant, I provide coaching and mentorship to other certified trainers, boards, businesses, organizational leadership teams, and working groups of champions to normalize and embed the Bridges lens. In this capacity, I meet each client where they are in their Bridges journey, and I help guide them to achieve their desired goals.
Coaching, mentoring, and consulting can help with so many elements of your Bridges journey. If you:
- love Bridges, yet need support to apply the concepts and tools in your daily work…
- are a certified trainer needing a little more support to boost your confidence…
- are a leader wanting to model and normalize the Bridges concepts with your team(s)…
- need more examples and context around how to adopt the Bridges model at all levels…
- want support in launching Getting Ahead and/or Staying Ahead initiatives…
- want to establish a cohesive working group of Bridges champions for your organization or business…
- wish to establish a community of practice to share Bridges implementation strategies among community partnerships…
- want to map out a work plan for implementation in reaching your organization’s future story as a Bridges champion…
- wish to create a consumer advisory group to gain input from the experts in the services you provide…
- need your board and senior administration to hear an overview of Bridges and how it can support the work you do…
we are here to help you whatever your needs are. Coaching, mentorship, and consulting can help to unlock your full potential and truly transform your entire organization and community. Let us support you in your journey toward becoming a Bridges champion!
For more information on strategic coaching, mentoring, and consulting services, please contact Lynn Jackson, Bridges Out of Poverty engagement manager, at ljackson@ahaprocess.com.
