Work with Joe: Turn Leadership Insight into Daily Practice
By Rev. Joe Conway, MBA, CDM
Better questions matter most when they change what we do next.
The team leaves a workshop with good notes. A week later, the same few people do all the talking. A hard question gets brushed aside. A decision moves forward before anyone checks the facts.
The notes were useful. The habits still need work.
That is where I want ABIDE to help. Through leadership consulting, workshops, and executive advising, we can look at what keeps happening and choose a better next step. The aim is to turn insight into daily practice.
A workshop can start a conversation. What happens after it ends deserves a plan.
Start with the problem your team faces
You do not need a polished pitch to reach out. Start with one concern. Perhaps staff hold back in meetings. Perhaps hiring rules shift from one person to the next. Perhaps a team has changed, but its old habits have not.
We begin by asking what is happening, who it affects, and what you have already tried. Then we discuss the kind of support that fits. A skill gap may call for practice. A confusing rule may need a new process. A heavy workload may need a staffing decision.
Training cannot solve every problem. The CDC's training standards begin with checking the need, including whether training is the right response.¹
Three ways we can work together
1. Leadership consulting
Consulting gives us room to examine the rules and habits behind a problem. We may look at how people are hired, how decisions are made, or whose concerns reach leaders. We agree on the scope before the work begins.
For example, a team might use the word “fit” in hiring without defining it. We could ask which skills the job requires, how those skills will be judged, and whether each person faces the same fair criteria. The goal is a process people can explain and check.
2. Belonging and leadership workshops
Workshops give people a shared place to learn and practice. Topics can include bias, listening, disagreement, and making room for more voices. We use situations that fit the work your team does.
A practice task might be simple: hear a concern, ask one open question, and check your first assumption before responding. Then we discuss what helped and what made the task hard.
People should have ways to take part without sharing private pain. Choice, dignity, and clear expectations guide the work.
3. Executive advising and focused strategy support
Some decisions need a thoughtful partner outside the room. I work with executives, boards, and HR leaders to examine a challenge, test assumptions, and weigh options. We discuss the scope and available capacity together.
This may mean working through a culture concern or a decision with competing needs. We ask whose views are missing, what the evidence supports, and who will own the next step. Your leaders keep responsibility for their decisions.
What we mean by a safer place to speak
Psychological safety means people believe they can ask for help, raise a concern, or admit a mistake without being shamed for speaking up. Amy Edmondson's study of 51 work teams linked this kind of safety with team learning.²
That does not mean every idea is right or every request gets a yes. People still need clear standards. They also need a fair hearing and a useful response.
“Any questions?” means little if the last person who asked one got punished.
A practical starting point is to review what leaders do after someone speaks. Do they listen? Ask for facts? Explain the decision? Follow up? An invitation matters more when people can trust the response.
Make practice part of the work
The CDC's standards call for active learning, feedback, and support after training.¹ In an ABIDE engagement, we can agree on how your team will carry the learning forward.
Here is one possible practice plan. It is an example, not a report of a client result:
Name one change. Ask for concerns before a decision is final.
Try it in real work. Put that question on the meeting agenda. Offer a written way to respond, too.
Choose an owner. Name who will gather input and explain what happens next.
Check and adjust. Ask what helped, whose voice was missed, and what needs to change.
Follow-through may sit with your team, include more ABIDE support, or involve another qualified partner. We agree on who will provide that support and what it will include.
Measure change with care
Before we start, we agree on what useful progress would look like. That might include clearer decision rules, broader input, or concerns receiving a timely response.
Attendance can tell us who showed up. A good review can tell us what people liked. Neither proves that habits changed. We look at what people tried and what happened over time.
We also ask what else changed. New staffing, a new manager, or a lighter workload may affect the results. Research can guide the work. It cannot guarantee what one team will achieve.
Who this work is for
ABIDE works with healthcare teams, nonprofits, faith communities, and HR and organizational leaders. You do not need to share my faith or agree with every view I hold. We need room for honest questions, evidence, and respect.
I am based in Wilmington, North Carolina. In-person work is offered across North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Remote and hybrid options are also available. We can discuss the format that fits your needs.
Bring one question. We can start there.
Tell me what keeps happening, who it affects, and what you want people to do differently. We will discuss whether consulting, a workshop, or advising is a good fit.
My purpose is “To cultivate an environment for your success.” Your people bring knowledge I do not have. I bring questions, research, and a practical way to examine the work together.
ABIDE | Bring Your Questions. Keep Your Brain.
Sources and context
These sources inform the discussion. They are not studies of ABIDE client results.
