Case Study No. 04 : Berks Nature

Incorporated in 1974, Berks Nature is only two years from its 50th anniversary. The organization believes that nature is essential to one's quality of life, and they demonstrate this belief through land protection,?environmental restoration and education. Berks Nature works with landowners to permanently protect their land, they own preserves and properties, and they have created and maintained over 27 miles of trails in and around the greater Reading area, trying to connect people through nature.?

Kim Murphy the CEO of Berks Nature, has been leading the non-profit for over 18 years. The wife and mother spent a significant part of her career in leadership, fundraising, and public relations, so she was used to managing people and overseeing several projects simultaneously. When Berks Nature experienced tremendous and rapid growth (the organization doubled in staffing and building size), Kim connected with Work Wisdom for executive coaching, intentional culture shaping, and organizational structure building to preserve the legacy of Berks Nature for the future.?

Work Wisdom:?What brought you to Work Wisdom??

Kim Murphy:?We came to Work Wisdom because we have had rapid growth in our building and now with our staff. We placed an addition that doubled the size of the building (opened in March). We've hired six new people in the past 18 months. We received a 28.5 million dollar gift 18 months ago, and we recognize how that could make or break an organization. So we decided to focus on culture and coaching so that we could thrive.?

WW:?What services did Work Wisdom Provide??

KM:?Kedren did executive coaching with me and?Tami,?my Vice President for Community Relations, and then she and some others from Work Wisdom guided us as we created a culture-shaping team. Kedren has walked us through the process with thoughtful questions like, What is our culture? What do we value? How do we grow into those values?

We've been working with her since January, and she's helped us work through a set of goals for Q1, Q2, and Q3–Then another piece is that I know my retirement date is seven years from now, so I call this work "a grand experiment." I want to ensure that what we've built is in a position to go on without me. So there's been succession planning with Work Wisdom as well.?

The staff at Work Wisdom is shining a light on who we are as a team.

WW:?What do you enjoy most about working with Work Wisdom??

KM:?The staff is terrific. We've worked primarily with Kedren, but Sarah's done some sessions for us, and Laura has also been working with us. They're true experts and deliver knowledge in a very candid and "small pieces" way. So you feel like they're holding your hand as you take on this discovery.

WW:?How has working with Work Wisdom impacted your team??

KM:?The staff at Work Wisdom is shining a light on who we are as a team. We are learning [to communicate] things that may be frustrating, and now we have the tools to fix them. We've done this deep dive into self-awareness, and now we're coming up the other side.?

?Because of our rapid growth, we didn't have the time to put in a lot of the structure, like policies and procedures. When you're only five people in the office, you shout across the room to each other anyway [laughs]. My staff is ages 22 to 72, so there are generational differences. We've had some storming, but now I see people feeling more empowered. I'm trying to empower them even more, and there's been good buy-in. And now we've been able to put a name to what we didn't know before. Now, everybody's like, "Nope, don't triangulate!" [laughs].?

WW:?What are you most excited about in the future??

KM:?I've also asked Kedren to help us with senior leadership team coaching, and I'm adding another person to that team. I hired a Vice President for Education, so providing some services that will help us be successful is what I'm looking forward to in 2023.

?WW:??What advice would you give to other leaders or CEOs who might be reluctant about reaching out to Work Wisdom for help?

?KM:?Sometimes, in that CEO position, it feels like there is a need to?know all and be all,?so asking for help or being vulnerable could be perceived as "I can't do this job." As if by identifying that you need assistance, you aren't doing your job. I would say we're set up as humans to do lifelong learning. You can only get better by working with people who have some expert knowledge. The way that they will be able to grow their organization and themselves– It will be amazing.

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