I spearheaded the creation and facilitation of the inaugural leadership development foundational training program at the organization. This trailblazing initiative was meticulously designed to address core leadership competencies and personal growth areas including self-awareness, communication, mosaic thinking, practical application, and personal branding.

Key Components of the Training:

Self-Awareness: The program deeply focused on enhancing leaders' self-perception and awareness of their behaviors and impacts on others, fostering a more introspective and insightful leadership approach.

Communication: It emphasized effective communication strategies, teaching leaders to articulate their thoughts clearly and listen actively to foster better interpersonal relationships.

Mosaic Thinking: The training introduced mosaic thinking to promote innovative problem-solving skills, encouraging leaders to synthesize diverse ideas and perspectives to form coherent strategies.

Practical Application: Leaders engaged in real-world scenarios and case studies, which enabled them to apply learned concepts in practical settings, enhancing their adaptability and decision-making skills.

Personal Branding: A significant focus was placed on personal branding, guiding leaders to identify, develop, and communicate their unique leadership identities, thereby increasing their influence and effectiveness within and beyond the organization.

Outcomes:

The program was met with enthusiastic feedback, with participants reporting significant enhancements in their leadership skills, including better problem-solving abilities, improved communication, and a stronger sense of personal leadership identity. With an NPS of 43, this training not only elevated the participants' capabilities but also set a precedent for future leadership development efforts within the organization.

The results of this training will influence the next pilot.

Designed and facilitated a training program focused on cultivating connections within teams by improving group dynamics and enhancing the skills of giving and receiving feedback in May 2024. This training aimed to strengthen interpersonal relationships and foster a collaborative work environment.

Key Components:

Interactive sessions on understanding and improving team dynamics.

Techniques and best practices for giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Group activities and role-playing exercises to practice new skills.

Strategies for building trust and effective communication within teams.

Outcome:

Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the training content and reported intentions to apply the skills and strategies learned. The training successfully equipped teams with the tools needed to foster better connections and improve overall team performance.

In collaboration with ISO experts within the organization, I developed and facilitated a comprehensive ISO training program. This training aimed to enhance employees' understanding of ISO standards and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

Key Components:

Detailed explanation of ISO standards relevant to the organization.

Step-by-step guide on implementing and maintaining ISO compliance.

Interactive sessions with ISO experts for practical insights and real-life applications.

Workshops and practical exercises to reinforce understanding and application of ISO standards.

Outcome:

The collaboration led to a well-rounded training program that significantly improved employees' knowledge and application of ISO standards, ensuring better compliance and quality management within the organization.

The organization passed their ISO audit with added gold stars.

As a precursor to the April 2024 Leadership Retreat, I conducted an introductory training session specifically focused on improving presentation skills. This training covered essential aspects such as "romancing the room," body language, and voice tonality, aiming to equip participants with the tools they needed to deliver impactful and engaging presentations.

Key Components:

Techniques for engaging and captivating an audience ("romancing the room").

Importance of body language in presentations.

Mastery of voice tonality for effective communication.

Practical exercises and real-life scenarios to enhance learning.

Outcome:

Participants reported feeling more prepared and successful in their presentations, demonstrating improved confidence and effectiveness in their communication skills during the leadership retreat and in their subsequent roles.

Retreat Overview:

In collaboration with organizational leaders we designed a comprehensive leadership retreat focused on enhancing presentation skills, embedding learning from past retreats, and improving leadership communication for April 2024. This retreat aimed to build on previous experiences while introducing advanced techniques for effective leadership communication.

Key Components:

Interactive sessions on advanced presentation skills.

Workshops for embedding and applying learnings from past retreats.

Leadership communication strategies tailored to organizational needs.

Collaborative activities to foster team cohesion and effective communication.

Outcome:

The retreat successfully strengthened leadership communication and presentation skills, leading to more confident and effective leaders within the organization.

Training Overview:

I designed and delivered a goal-setting training program focused on teaching employees how to set effective SMART goals and the best practices for giving and receiving feedback. This training aimed to empower employees to set clear, actionable goals and to foster a culture of constructive feedback within the organization.

Key Components:

Introduction to the SMART goals framework.

Workshops on crafting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.

Sessions on how to give and receive feedback effectively.

Practical exercises and real-life examples to reinforce learning.

Outcome:

As a result of this training, 91% of the organization successfully completed their goals for the year within the allotted timeframe, demonstrating a significant improvement in goal-setting practices and overall organizational productivity.

Training Overview:

Developed and implemented a comprehensive performance management training program aimed at enhancing employee understanding of performance ratings, reviews, and the overall performance management process in January 2024. This training was designed to address gaps in knowledge and to streamline the performance review process across the organization.

Key Components:

Detailed explanation of performance ratings and their implications.

Step-by-step guide on how to conduct performance reviews.

Interactive sessions for practicing review conversations.

Clear instructions on the performance management process and timelines.

Outcome:

The training resulted in a significant improvement in the completion rate of performance reviews, achieving a 100% completion rate across the organization.

In December 2023, I created and facilitated the “Receiving Feedback Session,” an impactful training aimed at equipping employees with the essential skills to gracefully receive feedback. This session explored what feedback is, why it's crucial, and how participants could turn it into a catalyst for personal and professional growth. We focused on the art of receiving feedback – a skill that not only builds trust but also creates an environment where others feel comfortable sharing their observations.

Audience: Global at The Pasha Group

Results: Increase in overall attendance and 100% planned application

In November 2023, I created and facilitated the inaugural Lunch & Learn Session enterprise-wide. This session was hosted twice, once for the Mainland and once for Hawaii.

Session Overview: Dive deep into one of the core elements that make effective leaders stand out and discover how you can integrate it into your professional journey. Whether you're a seasoned executive or an aspiring leader, there's always something new to learn.

Key Takeaways: Participants will gain the fundamental aspects of providing feedback. This knowledge will enhance your ability to navigate the upcoming performance cycle and family gatherings during the holiday season.

Audience: Global at The Pasha Group

Results: NPS 73, 100% planned application

In October 2023, I collaborated with our internal audit specialists at The Pasha Group to create and facilitate global compliance awareness training around the ISO 14001 standards. Within 24 hours, the training was created and deployed enterprise-wide resulting in 100% customer satisfaction.

In September 2023, I had the pleasure of facilitating with the LCGM Department of Stanford Medicine located at the Stanford O’Donahue Farm. The day was focused on strategic alignment and connection. The environment supported their learning and the content helped each leader build trust with one another.

Key Takeaways:
-Establish a collective commitment to working harmoniously and collaboratively

-Ensure every participant hears some details about the team, feels their importance in the team and earns something new about each person

In August 2023, I facilitated an hour-long session at the Stanford Football Stadium for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Annual Retreat. The event was designed to forge deeper connections among team members while enhancing their collaborative spirit. It was an experience that left a lasting impact.

The event created an environment of trust and camaraderie, fostering a sense of unity within the department.

Key Takeaways:

-Understanding your colleagues can enhance collaboration and problem solving.

-Everyone brings different building blocks to the table, every perspective matters.

At Stanford Center for Excellence in Pulmonary Biology and Stanford University, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine we delved into the concept of resilience and explored its invaluable application in professional settings. The session was packed with eye-opening discussions and practical strategies to cultivate resilience both individually and as a team. Here are two key takeaways that will empower you to sustain your growth beyond the course:

-Understanding of Resilience

-Personal Resilience Action Plan

Hosted by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) in March 2023, the description read:

The most skilled OD practitioners are the ones who are committed to their ongoing development. They actively pursue new opportunities to learn and grow, both personally and professionally.

At our March meeting, we will welcome special guest, Sarah L. Larson, past-Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the OD Network as we visit the Global OD Competency Framework and discuss some ways to develop as an OD practitioner. Facilitated by Saleemah Green.

As an internal consultant and partner, Engineering leadership approached the Organizational Development Team to create a team building experience centered around continuous feedback. This included activities around How We Work, Communication, Team Charters, and Continuous Feedback. Debut as a leadership-driven initiative in January 2023.

Strategically designed a multi-faceted approach to organizational (behavior) change through manager training.

At Carta, continuous feedback is a driver of performance management however, many managers lack consistency in their approach. This program, aligned to organizational values, sought to teach managers the fundamentals of continuous feedback including:

Self Awareness, Branding, Individual & Team Growth, and Innovation

Debut as a pilot in January 2023

As a Menlo College Guest Speaker in December of 2022, I provided students with a foundational understanding of what learning and organizational development is, what practitioners do, and future outlook.

The future outlook included a deep dive on AGI (aligned to ChatGBT potential), virtual training in the metaverse, and how students can bring forth a new era within this industry.

Developed for and by Cartans (Carta Employees) in October 2022. This was a two-fold facilitated live session where participants could learn, practice, and prepare for performance conversations.

This was provided along with additional performance management support alongside the performance cycle.

Hosted by the Organization Development Network in September, 2022. The description read:

Attendees will gain insight on what a culture of continuous feedback is and how it can support innovation and personal (employee) development. They will gain insight on tactics and tips they can use in their organizations. They will have the opportunity to partner and apply what they learn about continuous feedback within an organization in breakout rooms. 

Designed and facilitated a Managing Up Workshop & Panel Event for the Engineering Team at Carta in September 2022.

The workshop consisted of foundational knowledge around the topic and how to effectively manage up both with a manager and cross-functionally.

The Panel Event was the second part of the Managing Up Workshop hosted a week later. This allowed for participants to apply what they had learned and foster questions. Then those questions were asked to the panel of experts.

Facilitated a DiSC Workshop for multiple teams across Carta since acquisition in 2022. We reviewed the DiSC Team Map and how communication can influence stakeholders. Additionally, we looked at the map and drummed up engagement around similarities and strengths on the team.

The Senior Director of Organizational Effectiveness requested a final document reviewing all of the advancements made in the programs I oversee during my tenure at Stanford Medicine.

This included tenured programs that doubled in satisfaction scores, programs that have scaled from 20 participants to organization-wide, and community building programs focused on cross-functional collaboration in a distributed workforce.

Watch full presentation here.

The Administrative Director of the Physician Wellness Department inquired about the L&OD Team services at Stanford Medicine. I delivered 3 options ranging in cost, time, and effort.

The options ranged from continuous feedback and team building, to conflict management and strategy setting.

Due to my departure, I was not able to facilitate the final project but I did have a warm hand off with my team to ensure success.

As an L&OD Partner at Stanford University, my last facilitation was the Continuous Feedback Workshop for Laboratory Cell & Gene Medicine (LCGM) Department.

This workshop consisted of three virtual live sessions two weeks apart with application and implementation of learnings in between. The first session is a seminar on the StrengthsFinder Assessment including the importance, overview, and impact of the results. The second session was a workshop that centered around reflection and introducing how feedback can support overcoming weaknesses or blindspots. The third session centered around communication and fostering a culture of continuous feedback.

While I developed the workshop, due to my departure date, one of my colleagues was required to facilitate the offering.

As an L&OD Partner at Stanford University, I facilitated a short discussion within the SCCME Department at their Spring Retreat. The participants had taken the DiSC Assessment and this facilitation gave them an introduction to DiSC.

This introduction included communication tactics for each style and cultivated a communication plan for the department.

As a speaker at the 2022 CUPA-HR Spring Conference I facilitated a seminar on inclusive leadership through professional development authorship.

Participants left the seminar feeling “engaged and inspired.” They were “ready to apply what (they had) learned,” to their institution. The audience comprised of Higher Education Leaders, HR Consultants, and L&OD Practitioners.

After the seminar multiple participants and the session host reached out to tell me how my seminar transformed their perspective.

This trending topic was brought to current managers at Stanford University. In the workshop participants learned how to cultivate thoughtful and engaging conversations with their employees. Tactics and a process framework was shared to ensure easy application back in the workplace. Participants also cultivated connections throughout the organization through group work and sharing results.

Since it's original debut in February 2022, multiple units within Stanford University have participated in an intact-teams version of this workshop where the content will be curated to their specific groups.

This fosters a culture of feedback and transparent communication practices.

As the Supervisory Academy Program Manager, one of my goals of this year's program was to increase participant/employee authorship. This workshop was curated by needs analysis. Participants decided what they wanted to learn more about and what would help them the most in their roles as managers.

Employee experience was presented in a macro to micro way. First, an overview of employee experience was presented then, we selected a touchpoint of focus. Throughout this workshops participants worked together to cultivate an understanding of employee empowerment tactics along the employee experience roadmap. By the end of the workshop, participants took home information, tools, and tactics for each stage of the employee lifecycle.

Since it's debut in March 2022 at Stanford Medicine, other units within the organization have had curated intact-teams versions presented to their leadership and management teams.

This supports the implementation of employee empowerment throughout the organization.

Reciprocal Inclusive Networking Group

Unlike the Stanford Medicine Mentorship Program, RING is designed for everyone at all levels. RING has a 1/4 ratio of Mentors to Mentees, with robust programming, resources, and support. This program sought to cultivate cross-functional relationships across Stanford University. Programming included: Managing Up, Imposter Syndrome, Communication, Self-Awareness, and more.

Pilot Debut: January 2022

Managing Hybrid Teams was developed after a gap analysis of current training programs. This interactive workshop delivered in November 2021, encouraged attendees to engage their workforce through psychological safety and curiosity. Employees worked together in partnership to develop one strategy that they could apply to their team. Partners were encouraged to provide accountability for one another and keep in contact through the application process.

Self-Awareness, Listening, & Feedback

Kicked off the 2022 fiscal year with Supervisory Academy's first two sessions centered around core power skills for leaders at all levels.

Two 1.5 hour workshops were conducted in October, 2021.

Facilitated the CUPA-HR Northern California Fall Event with Dr. Emma Gordon in November 2021. The event was centered around employee empowerment and how HR Professionals could utilize tactics, resources, and best practices within their respective organization.

The event consisted of a seminar, panel of experts, and Q&A.

Participants received HRCI & SHRM credits.

Presented at the Party After the Patriarchy Conference in October 2021. The topic was cultivating the Great Attraction out of the Great Resignation utilizing organizational development, organizational behavior, and applied psychology research.

Facilitated the Fall L&D COP Training centered around online learning in October 2021. My portion was on Asynchronous learning and how the Stanford Community could best utilize it.

Case Study: Summer 2021

An analysis and solution for the current internal and external staff communications. An action plan for email communications, social media, and website presence are assessed. Sample content of suggested designs were provided.

This Summer 2021 retreat consisted of strategy setting for the BioScience Careers Team at Stanford Medicine. We walked them through a general strategy setting workshop that resulted in a year-long plan for increasing audience engagement through monthly, quarterly, continuous, and annual goals.

Case Study: Spring 2021

Analyzed and audited Stanford Medicine's current internal communications. Wrote up findings and delivered them to leadership. After application of recommendations, audience engagement increased by 43%.

Management Training

This Stanford Medicine workshop applies self-awareness and communication styles to teach situational awareness and how managers can give and receive effective feedback. This workshop was given in February 2021 and is still circulating as a self-paced seminar within the community.

Participants learned how to audit their social media, create their personal brand, and cultivate networking relationships. They learned how to optimize their LinkedIn profile and networking to create their ideal role/employee-organization relationship.

This workshop was adapted into the LEAP Program after original debut in February 2021.

LEAP (leadership, education, access, and power) is a program geared to provide foundational leadership knowledge and skills to those looking to become leaders. This program was designed in partnership with Stanford Medicine Leadership.

This program was piloted in 2020 and made a full scale debut in 2022. To read more, review it here.

Collaborated to create and manage the Career Conversations and Career Development trainings for management within Stanford Medicine in January 2021. This program quickly became a go-to for managers at any level within the organization. It is still being used today and has been adapted to both intact teams and Supervisory Academy formats (2022).

Effective Employee Engagement Strategy Setting

The Plastic Surgery Team at Stanford Medicine saw their engagement fall when they shifted to a virtual setting due to COVID-19. We developed a culture hack retreat that utilized agile thinking and team analysis to develop an employee engagement strategy (November, 2021). This resulted in a 6-month plan to ramp up engagement and increase productivity through cross-functional collaboration and increased communication.

Transitioned the in-person only courses to virtual engagements (March 2020). Resulting in increased capacity and enrollment for these essential management trainings.

Since 2019, I’ve managed the program and developed it into a critical part of the manager experience. See my featured works for more detail.

Transitioned Stanford Medicine's Learning and Development opportunities from in-person to virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March - April 2020. This resulted in an increase of organizational offerings and need-based training. This initiative ignited the organizational shift from hiring and firing to up-skilling and re-skilling.

Managed and iterated the Stanford Medicine Mentorship Program, increasing potential and impact each year.

A Listening Tour was performed in November 2019 to acquire candid information on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices within the organization. Data analysis performed in December of 2019. Results suggested management was not supportive in JEDI / DEI practices and groupthink was present in leadership. It was suggested that leadership, throughout the hierarchy perform the same activity or seek additional help from the L&OD team.

As the Health & Wellness Ambassador for the Division of Oncology (2014 - 2018) I implemented recipe books, walk challenges, and collaborative healthy activities. Suggestions were gathered from the group and votes were counted through a survey. Solutions were implemented and have continued.

Prepared the Division of Oncology, at the Stanford University School of Medicine, for Emergencies such as but not limited to: fire, earthquake, and emergency evacuations from 2016 - 2018.

Case Study: 2016 - 2017

This project reviewed two different departments at the same organization, one department has relatively high turnover and the other has extremely low, with most employees having a tenure of fifteen years or more. This study aimed to find the cause for high turnover and potential solutions. The questions we answered were: Does a leader’s motivational style affect the perception of their subordinates within the Organization? What is the perceived cause for turnover among employees within the Organization? One-on-one interviews were conducted with thirteen employees from both departments. The study found that the motivational style of the leader did not affect the subordinates’ intent to leave. The perceived cause for turnover between employees is low pay and/or lack of professional development. However, there were differences. The department with high turnover has narcissistic leadership qualities and the department with low turnover is more team-oriented. Potential solutions were provided based on the differences. As a result, it was recommended that leaders receive coaching for their leadership positions and that a mentor-mentee program is established.

Consulting Practice: 2016

The team worked together as a pseudo-consulting firm to assess, diagnose, and prescribe a ‘Talent Management’ course of action based on an organizational issue/case, research, analysis, and the topic assigned.

We presented ourselves as a consulting entity (external to the organization), and wrote a proposal letter, drafted a client report in response to the case, and facilitated a meeting with the class to present their proposal as they would do with a real client (class acted as client).

Facilitated virtually for the Students and Faculty at the University of Southern California in 2016.

Case Study: December 2016

The purpose of this project was to apply the concepts and ideas learned in Principles of Consumer Psychology for a specific product or service. Similar to developing a marketing plan, we drew on relevant research and application that made sense in regards to analyzing consumer behavior for our product, and we suggested specific marketing activities (tactics) for effectively tapping into that demand. This resulted in a detailed marketing strategy for the company.

Upon receiving the data set for the corporate client’s employee engagement survey, we analyzed the data by completing the following statistical procedures:

-Ran frequencies on all variables

-Computed appropriate measures of central tendency (e.g., means, modes, or medians) and variance (e.g., standard deviation) on all variables

-Computed indices of key issues (e.g., employee engagement, flexibility, teamwork, health & wellness, etc).

-Determined internal reliability of these indices by computing Cronbach’s alpha

-Ran descriptive statistics on the indices

-Examined demographic differences on indices (e.g., between business units, between age levels, between tenure levels)

-Conducted regression analysis using indices to determine predictors of employee engagement at this company.

Research: 2016

The intended purpose was to share information about the value of an I-O topic (skill set/practice) and how those skills/services can be used to improve the well-being and performance of people and organizations. The audience was set to be both I-O Psychologists and for those with non-I-O HR expertise, like business practitioners and leaders. The paper included: the most essential aspects of topic in a way that excites the audience about I-O psychology, provided enough information to gain their attention/cause them to want to learn more, and provided practical recommendations for applying these concepts in their organizations.

Case Study: 2012

Partnered with a colleague to measure the correlation of 100 student participants' goal orientation against birth order. No correlation was found however, the Dunning-Kruger effect was prevalent.

Websites Designed by Sarah:

RING

Staff Learning & Development Suite

CUPA-HR Northern California

LEAP

Supervisory Academy

LL Solutions LLC

Sarah L Larson's Portfolio (Current Website)