ABOUT ADAPTAWISE
Psychology-Based Solutions for Leadership Excellence
Many leadership teams are unaware of these essential skills that enhance the functioning of leaders and transform team friction into team cohesion — making it easier for the team to take coordinated action that drive results.
Get To The Root of the Issue
To Create A New Path Forward
Here’s the truth: if your company is held back by communication or people issues, it won’t change by itself.
Stalemates are often a result of conflict that’s gone underground. This can look like people working in siloes, avoiding conversations, tense discussions in meetings, or even taking detours in the office so as not to interact with a team member.
Stalemates can go on so long it’s no longer clear what the reasons are for the tension.
“False harmony” sometimes creates an illusion that the trouble is gone. Or sometimes leaders act as the go-between for team members. When this happens, team dynamics often get worse and the leader ends up exhausted and losing focus on their own visionary and strategic tasks.
Issues get worse until they reach a breaking point — unless you take charge of fixing them. Finding the root of the problem often requires a deeper probing — untangling the historical as well as present day reasons for the conflict so teams can move on without the same problems resurfacing in new ways.
My work supports both the team leader — helping them out of a time-consuming “hub” role — and supports the leadership team — helping them “deal with their crap,” develop more effective communication skills, and create new ways of working together.
“I spent 75 minutes with Nancy and it was like a light bulb went off. Suddenly I understood why certain types of work frustrated me, I had language to explain to others how I work best, and I knew how to create a schedule that both got my work done and energized me while doing it. It has completely changed how I move forward with achieving my goals.”
— Liz Wiltsie, Future Proof Skills Lab
“I've consistently been impressed by Nancy’s capacity to see what's not being explicitly discussed and her skill in bringing those critical insights to light. Nancy's commitment to understand the nuances of development and team optimization makes her an invaluable partner.”
— Sharon Strickland-Clark, Benevent?
“While working with Nancy I was able to identify and confidently make the changes I wanted in the way I lead and communicate with our team and in our business. This contributed to a team effort resulting in triple digit growth in key areas of our business over 12 months.“
— Jamie McNaughton, VP, McNaughton Inc.
Save Time by Building Skills ‘On the Job’
Rather than teaching skills in trainings or workshops that don’t translate into different behavior back at the office, we work on team skills while you work on your business goals.
Having expert guidance while you discuss issues helps you create better connections between team members. This speeds up their ability to work together and helps you solve the business issues faster.
This also works in decision making. When barriers to people speaking up in meetings become evident, we can address them. You can make faster and better decisions when you know you’re getting everyone’s candid input from the outset.
Another benefit of working on team dynamics while you pursue your business goals is that the communication patterns are more apparent and changes can occur in real time.
You don’t have to rely on people accurately (or honestly) reporting problem areas because problems surface as you work together. Since people are often unaware of the behaviors that create obstacles for others (or their reasons for those behaviors), seeing the problems play out in in real time and in front of trained eyes and ears, shines a light on the issues and creates pathways for change.
As a result of this work, leaders are less burdened with people problems because they’re no longer acting as the go-between. As more communication channels are opened between team members, people can cross-check their information, become more responsive within and across departments, and get work products out faster.
”Some of our team still talk about the company training session and refer to the reports you provided.”
— Emily Dykema, Integrator Culver CPA
"Nancy listened and heard what I wasn't saying. Then played it back to me or asked me a question that got me to think or come to a realization."
— L & D Executive
“Nancy helped surface unspoken dynamics, break down silos, and strengthen the trust and alignment we needed to move forward together.”
— James Waite, Roberson Waite Electric
Use Business Metrics To Track Progress With Teams
“That which is measured improves.”
~ Karl Pearson
Rather than focusing on “team health” as an abstract concept, my work focuses on clearly linking team behavior to business goals such as implementing strategies faster, meeting deadlines, improving customer service, and gaining higher profit margins.
Team issues that interfere with achieving these goals are identified and brought to light so people can make changes (it’s hard to change behaviors without being aware of them). Sometimes this means managing mismatched communication styles, leveraging team members’ strengths, or engaging the right kinds of conflict.
Sometimes teams get bogged down with personal conflicts that play out in unproductive ways. This often occurs with family businesses where family members avoid conflict altogether and drive it underground, or engage in personal disagreements without clear business boundaries.
When we work on team issues while pursuing business outcomes, we can make strategic changes in real time that have a cumulative effect.
We use the business outcome metrics, not just team satisfaction reports, to assess whether solutions at the team level are working — whether they’re providing more value creation, more revenue, stronger profits, more efficient processes, and so on.
The enhanced wellness and fun at work become an added bonus, not the target itself. — It is, after all, a business!
“Nancy is a compassionate, caring, insightful person, first. A coach second. She is real and authentic with a ton of knowledge to share. I am so grateful that she has been and will continue to be in my life.”
— Tim Walker, The Experia Group
"Within just the first two sessions of working with Dr. Nancy, I learned things that justified my investment for the entire year.”
— Tom Ruggiero, Esq.
"Nancy definitely helped clear away all the different things I was trying to do and get to my purpose."
— Matt Elledge, Senior Deputy Director, Veterans Affairs
Typical Clients…
My clients come from a variety of industries. Some are in the utility, construction, or manufacturing fields. Some are in the financial arena. Some are in professional services. Some are in tech or start-ups. Many of the companies I work with are family-owned. Some of them run on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System).
The common thread between them is a commitment to improving their ability to work together. Most companies I work with have a strong culture of teamwork; they value their people and want to develop their potential. When team issues arise, they’re dedicated to working them out. Many of them, by their own admission, wait too long to reach out.
I bring a commitment to work with people in all their complexity and make it simpler. Not by glossing over what’s complex, but by understanding and leveraging it.
When it comes to business issues…
people are often the problem, and always the solution.
“We worked with Nancy for a year and got clear about who our ideal clients are, streamlined our business offerings and took away all kinds of roadblocks. We grew our team, grew our business, and increased our revenue by 300% all while having the best time of our lives.”
— Urvi Mehta, Co-Owner of Clients Online
“Nancy has helped me in immeasurable ways in my development as a leader. I highly recommend Dr. Nancy Jonker to anyone looking to up their game in the realm of personal and professional development.”
— Chelsey Foster, Executive Vice President & COO, Highpoint Community Bank
“Every call with Nancy was a breakthrough. My biggest takeaways were clarity that helped me focus on the right things at the right times and the mindset work that helped me believe in myself.“
— Sandy Moll, CEO of Advanced Business Solutions
About Nancy
As a clinical psychologist (PhD, 1989), I discovered that many business owners were experiencing tremendous stress trying to juggle both business operations and complex team relationships. In 2016, I transformed my clinical psychology practice into executive coaching and consulting, bringing psychological principles into the business world. Some clients affectionately call me their "Business Therapist."
My Journey
My fascination with human behavior has centered on three questions: What makes people behave the way they do? Why do tensions drive people apart when so much is at stake? And what prevents them from achieving what they truly want?
As I worked with visionary leaders (often told they had ADD), family business owners, and business partners facing relationship breakdowns, I saw how these talented individuals needed psychological insights to:
Effectively manage conflict
Handle the weight of leadership decisions
Adapt to constant change
Today, I help leaders and their teams bring out the best in themselves and each other so they can create greater value for all their stakeholders—including their families and communities. I blend insights from positive psychology, behavioral design, neuroscience, and systemic team coaching to enable people and businesses to thrive.
"Nancy is really fun to work with, very trust worthy/confidential, a good listener. She always sees the good in people and situations, is very encouraging and optimistic. And... she has great snacks!"
— Ryan Engelsma, Engelsma Homes
Quick fun facts about me:
I’m the third kid out of a crew of six (five of them girls)!
My top strength on CliftonStrengths 2.0 is “Learner.” It’s fun for me to discover and share up-to-date methods and ideas.
I’m a Kolbe Certified™️ Consultant [instinctive strengths]
I’m an AQ [Adaptability Intelligence] Practitioner Certified through AQai.
I’m an author and speaker.
I love country and acapella music. My favorite bands are Zach Brown Band and Pentatonix.
OUR VALUES
Words We Live By
Beyond the core values that orient my life, the values my team and I seek to abide by at AdaptaWise are:
Live with Awareness and Gratitude
Lead with Curiosity
Deliver Customized and Responsive Services
Make an Impact
Enjoy the Process
OUR PHILOSOPHY
One of my favorite country songs is “God Is Great, Beer Is Good, and People Are Crazy.”* Some people might take offense at that, but I find people’s behavior fascinating.
People are ‘crazy’ in that we’re unpredictable, complex, and driven by some very basic and common needs.
I believe just as strongly that people’s behavior makes sense. If it doesn’t seem to make sense, we haven’t dug deeply enough to understand.
My approach to customizing services is to dig deep enough, participating in the business fully enough, to understand the roadblocks so we can dismantle them in the real-time flow of work in the most effective and efficient way possible.
*billy currington, recorded 2008, released 2009 ©️
hunter montgomery, Bobby Braddock, and Troy Jones - composers.Meet the Team
-
NANCY JONKER, PhD
CEO and Founder
Nancy brings her psychology experience to teams, leaders, partnerships, and family business owners to help the entire business run more effectively.
⟡ 30+ Years of Experience
⟡ Kolbe MO 7671
⟡ Licensed Psychologist
⟡ AQai & Kolbe Certified -
KAITLYN KAMIENIECKI
Executive Assistant / Customer Service
Kaitlyn adds her sparkle to communication and admin support of AdaptaWise. She’s friendly and available for client’s questions and concerns.
⟡ 10+ Years of Experience
⟡ Kolbe MO 9523 -
KERRI BRANDSEN
Accountant
Kerri’s attention to detail serves AdaptaWise and clients by keeping accounts accurate and up to date.
⟡ 25+ Years of Experience
⟡ Kolbe MO 7724
During your free consultation call, we’ll discuss the particulars of your situation. This includes:
your experience as a leader / owner in the company
trouble areas you’re seeing in the team/company and what you think is going on
what you’ve tried in the past to solve them
the next practical step(s) to take
if it seems there may be a good fit for us to work together, we’ll talk about what that would look like
This call is confidential and there’s no assumption or pressure to work with me at the end. However, this call is meant for people who are interested in learning more and possibly working together. If you prefer to email me directly, send a message to nancy {at} drjonker.com.