People Development Archives - Meraki Consulting

It’s Not Personality, It’s Wiring. Why Team Conflict Is a Behavioral Mismatch

It’s Not Personality, It’s Wiring: Reading the Real Story Behind Team Conflict

Coaching, People Development / Nicole Beggs

It’s Not Personality, It’s Wiring Reading the Real Story Behind Team Conflict You have been taught to think about team dynamics in terms of personality conflicts… strong personalities…difficult people…bad attitudes…communication breakdowns. But what if most of what you’re calling a “people problem” is actually a wiring mismatch that nobody has identified? What if the team […]

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Behavioral Assessments vs. Personality Tests

Leadership, People Development / Nicole Beggs

Behavioral Assessments vs. Personality Tests The Difference Matters More Than You Think If you’ve spent any time researching hiring tools or leadership development programs, you’ve likely encountered a long list of assessments promising to unlock human potential. Personality quizzes, behavioral profiles, strengths tools, culture fit surveys, the options seem endless. But here’s the problem: not

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The Tool Is Not the Transformation

Leadership, People Development / Nicole Beggs

The Tool Is Not the Transformation The Leadership Conditions That Determine Whether PI Helps or Harms Every year, organizations invest significant resources in behavioral assessments like The Predictive Index, hoping for clarity, better hiring decisions, stronger teams, and more effective leadership. The science is sound. The outcomes, however, are inconsistent. Not because the tool is

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The Behavioral Code You Didn't Know You Had – And Why It Matters Now

The Behavioral Code You Didn’t Know You Had & Why It Matters Now

Leadership, People Development / Nicole Beggs

The Behavioral Code You Didn’t Know You Had & Why It Matters Now You already know management feels impossible. What you might not know is why it feels impossible in the specific way it does for you. Why some managers spiral into overthinking every decision while others leap into action without enough information. Why certain conversations

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Why Good Managers Feel Like Failures

Leadership, People Development / Nicole Beggs

Why Good Managers Feel Like Failures & What That Actually Reveals Why the role (not your capability) is the real problem Every management book promises you the same thing: master these skills, and you’ll succeed. Some form of – learn to delegate, give better feedback, build psychological safety, have the hard conversations, and lead with empathy

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What a Team Building Consultant Really Does (And Why It’s Not About Trust Falls)

People Development, Talent Optimization / Nicole Beggs

What a Team Building Consultant Really Does (And Why It’s Not About Trust Falls) When “Team Building” Needs to Actually Build Something If you hear the words team building and immediately picture awkward icebreakers, forced vulnerability, or trust falls no one asked for, you’re not wrong. That version of team building is alive and well…

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Talent Optimization Software: Powerful Tool or Expensive Dashboard?

People Development, Talent Optimization / Nicole Beggs

Talent Optimization Software: Powerful Tool or Expensive Dashboard? Why Talent Optimization Software Only Works If You Know How to Use It Talent optimization software is everywhere. Platforms promise better hiring, stronger leaders, improved engagement, and teams that magically align with strategy. On paper, it sounds like the solution you’ve been waiting for. In practice? Some

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Bridging the GAP — From Awareness to Action

People Development, Talent Optimization / Nicole Beggs

Bridging the GAP — From Awareness to Action It’s not enough to know where the GAP is – you must also build a bridge to get your people where you want them to go. Leaders who stop at mapping alone, leave their people stranded. Leaders who commit to bridging, transform challenges into opportunities and position

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Mapping the GAP — From Insight to Checklist

People Development, Talent Optimization / Nicole Beggs

Mapping the GAP — From Insight to Checklist Awareness is powerful, but awareness alone won’t move your organization forward. In Part 1 of this series, we established why leaders must “mind the GAP” between their current people reality and the future state required by strategy. Now comes the harder part: actually mapping it. The real

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AI’s Role in Workflow: Smarter Systems, Sharper Teams

People Development, Talent Optimization / Nicole Beggs

How AI and Behavioral Data Are Changing the Way Work Gets Done Here’s the truth: most teams don’t fail because of talent. They fail because of friction. Missed communication, unclear roles, dropped priorities, it’s death by inefficiency. Enter AI. In the right hands, it’s not a threat to teamwork, it’s a turbo boost. Combined with

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Jason G.

May 2, 2024.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Nicole as a consultant, trainer, and administrator of Predictive Index for both for-profit and non-profit entities. In both cases, the PI software proved to have an immediate impact on my teams With the non-profit organization, we used PI to evaluate both our board members and frontline outreach teams. The PI data was used to better align our board committees and to give our executive director an easy-to-read playbook for managing the diverse personalities and motivations of a growing board. I’m unaware of what other tools could have given us the deep insights we got from PI, and they came at a critical time. It was indeed a blessing. With our outreach teams, PI gave us the same level of operational management insight. We were also able to leverage the software as a screening tool within our hiring process. Nicole trained several of our board members and team leads on the software so that we had the working knowledge to access and integrate the many recommendations into our daily workflows. Due to the successful implementation with the non-profit, I introduced Nicole to the HR manager at my employer. I suggested an in-house demo with one of our teams that needed some tweaking following a recent expansion. There was some hesitation, even a little pushback. Some team members felt we were “too busy” even to take the questionnaire, let alone roll out whatever new practices it would recommend. What’s rewarding about PI is that the whole system initiates with two simple questions. Even those in opposition had to yield to its simplicity. From there, it was a similar experience as that with the non-profit. The “work-style” assessments were incredibly accurate, and they immediately helped the team’s directors identify the sources of common tension points within the group. I left that organization for a C-level position with another company, and I was able to perform the same team and organizational assessments for my new group. Consistently, PI delivered the relevant insights to empower us as leaders to get the most out of our group. Beyond that, the PI assessments spotlight what our organization is presently set up to accomplish vs. what we, as leaders, have defined as our organizational goals. That distinction is invaluable and eye-opening as we focus our strategic plans. Far more than the value of the software, Nicole’s expertise, generosity, patience, and compassionate nature have been instrumental in helping our teams understand and adopt the PI recommendations. We operate in a competitive industry, and people management has never been as challenging as now with the recent shifts in the labor market. I’m thankful to have PI as a tool and Meraki as a partner to help us be more skillful and efficient in our people management, which, of course, translates directly to the successful delivery of our products and services.

T.H., Non-profit

January 6, 2024.

The depth of Nicole’s heart is unmeasurable. I met her for the first time in a parking lot unloading necessities for a group of young people who were searching for guidance and in need of necessities. Her giving didn’t stop there. She continued to bless our non-profit with her gifts and resources. Two years later she is pouring into our organization with her wisdom, using the Predictive Index to build a foundation that has taken our non-profit to stages that a “new” and “small” non-profit can only dream and hope for. Her wisdom, gifts, and talents have changed our organization! We doubled our guesstimated reach of serving vulnerable youth this year, youth that are wandering our streets, in the community we call home, searching for someone who will show them their worth. Our mission is that no youth will journey life on their own without a consistent, healthy adult beside them. Meraki Consulting Partner is walking beside our team and we are so deeply grateful, as is our community and the youth we’re currently serving and will serve! Thank you!

P.C. ,Travel

December 15, 2023.

“I have gone into a coaching session completely broken and in tears. Everything seemed to be going wrong in my life and work was a nightmare. Nicole listened to everything I said and even brought things to my attention that I had never really thought about. By the end of our session, I was laughing and had a game plan for tackling issues at work and home.”

D.R., Engineer

October 12, 2023.

"Nicole is undaunted in her approach to breaking down the barriers of limiting beliefs. Thanks to her I have a new appreciation for my strengths and talents and the desire to grow even more than I have already.”

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People Development

It’s Not Personality, It’s Wiring: Reading the Real Story Behind Team Conflict

Behavioral Assessments vs. Personality Tests

The Tool Is Not the Transformation

The Behavioral Code You Didn’t Know You Had & Why It Matters Now

Why Good Managers Feel Like Failures

What a Team Building Consultant Really Does (And Why It’s Not About Trust Falls)

Talent Optimization Software: Powerful Tool or Expensive Dashboard?

Bridging the GAP — From Awareness to Action

Mapping the GAP — From Insight to Checklist

AI’s Role in Workflow: Smarter Systems, Sharper Teams

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