HOW WE WORK
We begin by understanding how your organization works today.
Organizations today are operating in an environment of continual change. Growth creates new opportunities. Complexity introduces new demands. Expectations continue to evolve. Through it all, leaders work every day to help their organizations move forward.
EVEN SO…
Organizational challenges still arise.
Organizational challenges rarely exist in isolation. Decisions, communication, accountability, leadership practices, and organizational systems influence one another. Understanding those relationships helps reveal where focused attention can create the greatest value.
HOW WE PARTNER
Relationshipping™ shapes how we work together.
We believe the quality of the relationship influences the quality of the work.
Relationshipping™ is Thunderbird’s intentional practice of building trusted, collaborative relationships that create the conditions for meaningful and sustainable transformation.
In practice, that means we seek to understand before we recommend. We listen for context, bring evidence and perspective into the conversation, respect the knowledge leaders hold about their own organizations, and shape solutions together.
The five beliefs below show what Relationshipping™ looks like when you work with Thunderbird.
HOW WE PARTNER
Five Beliefs That Guide Our Partnership
All five beliefs are visible at a glance. Select one to explore the commitment in greater depth.
BELIEF 01
We don’t begin with what we offer. We begin by understanding what you need.
Every organization has its own history, strengths, aspirations, challenges, and context. Understanding your organization helps us determine how we can best partner with you to support the goals that matter most.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE
We listen for context before defining the work. We shape the partnership around your organization rather than asking your organization to fit a predefined offering.
BELIEF 02
Our role is not to tell you what’s best. You are the expert on your organization.
We bring outside perspective, evidence-informed insight, and experience across organizations. You bring the history, relationships, operating realities, and deep understanding of your people and mission. Stronger decisions emerge when those perspectives come together.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE
We contribute perspective without replacing your judgment. Together, we examine what the evidence may be showing, test interpretations against organizational reality, and shape decisions that leaders can genuinely own.
BELIEF 03
We explore the story behind the challenge.
What is most visible is not always the full picture. We look at the conditions, relationships, decisions, and patterns surrounding the challenge so we can understand what may be contributing and where attention may be most useful.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE
We begin with the presenting experience, then look for the organizational story around it. That may include how decisions move, what people have learned, where expectations differ, and which systems reinforce the current pattern.
BELIEF 04
We believe better decisions emerge when we prioritize evidence over assumptions.
We gather and consider multiple forms of evidence, including organizational perspectives, operating information, and direct engagement, to create a clearer basis for deciding what deserves attention.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE
Evidence does not replace leadership judgment. It gives leaders a stronger foundation for distinguishing patterns from isolated events, recognizing strengths, clarifying uncertainty, and deciding where focused action may create the greatest value.
BELIEF 05
Our commitment is to meet you where you are and partner with you to strengthen performance together.
The work should reflect your organization’s priorities, readiness, and context. We work alongside leaders to strengthen the practices, relationships, and organizational conditions that support more consistent performance.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN PRACTICE
The partnership adapts to the organization’s starting point and evolves as new understanding emerges. We align the pace, depth, and form of the work with what the organization is prepared to use and sustain.
These beliefs shape how we partner.
LIFT™ helps us put them into practice.
THE THUNDERBIRD FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
LIFT™ translates organizational understanding into meaningful, focused solutions.
Explore each element to see how Thunderbird moves from evidence and organizational context to focused partnership and solutions.
LEADERSHIP INTELLIGENCE
We gather a fuller picture of how your organization is operating.
Thunderbird considers multiple perspectives and forms of evidence rather than relying on one data point.
Surveys
Understand experiences and patterns across the organization.
Interviews
Explore leadership perspectives and organizational context.
Focus Groups
Surface shared experiences across teams and stakeholder groups.
Organizational Information
Review relevant documents, structures, and operating information.
Direct Engagement
Observe interactions and learn alongside leaders as the work unfolds.
LIFT™ is not a linear checklist. As organizations learn, adapt, and grow, new understanding continues to inform future decisions and actions.
INSIGHT
We bring the evidence together to understand what it may be revealing.
Insight develops when multiple perspectives and forms of evidence are considered together rather than interpreted in isolation.
Identify Patterns
Recognize themes that recur across sources, groups, and experiences.
Connect Relationships
Examine how leadership, teams, systems, and context influence one another.
Recognize Strengths
Identify the practices and conditions already supporting effective performance.
Clarify Uncertainty
Distinguish what the evidence supports from what still requires exploration.
Create Shared Understanding
Develop language leaders can use to discuss the pattern together.
Insight is not a single interpretation delivered to the organization. It is a clearer, evidence-informed understanding developed with leaders.
FOCUS
Together, we determine where attention may create the greatest value.
Focus turns understanding into a practical direction by clarifying priorities, intended outcomes, and the design of the work.
Prioritize
Identify the few conditions that deserve attention first.
Define Objectives
Clarify what leaders want the work to strengthen or make possible.
Align on Outcomes
Create shared expectations for progress and value.
Design the Approach
Shape the sequence, depth, participants, and pace around context.
Plan for Learning
Determine how new evidence will inform decisions as the work progresses.
Focus is not a standard program selected from a menu. It is a jointly developed direction grounded in the organization’s evidence, priorities, and readiness.
TARGETED INTERVENTION
We work alongside leaders to strengthen what the evidence indicates matters most.
Targeted Intervention translates the agreed focus into coordinated work with leaders, teams, and organizational practices.
Executive Partnership
Support leaders as they clarify direction, decisions, and leadership practice.
Leadership Teams
Strengthen alignment, accountability, communication, and shared execution.
Leadership Development
Build practical capability among leaders closest to the work.
Organizational Practices
Strengthen repeatable ways of working that support performance.
Organizational Systems
Address structures, decision rights, information flow, and reinforcement when needed.
The intervention is not the framework. It is the specific work the evidence and partnership indicate the organization is ready to use.
Grounded in research. Applied through partnership.
Thoughtful discovery, evidence, and partnership create the clarity needed to make better decisions and design solutions that fit your organization.
Discovery
We seek to understand. We explore the conditions, relationships, and context shaping today’s experience.
Evidence
We distinguish patterns from assumptions. We use credible research and data to strengthen judgment and identify where focus can create the greatest impact.
Partnership
We shape solutions together. We bring the client’s knowledge and perspective together with Thunderbird’s experience to design approaches that are practical, relevant, and achievable.
Shared Clarity
A clear understanding of what matters most and why.
Meaningful Solutions
Clarity allows us to design solutions that address root causes and leverage opportunities unique to the organization.
Stronger Organization
Solutions are implemented in ways that strengthen alignment, build momentum, and create lasting impact.
THUNDERBIRD CLIENT EXPERIENCE
“Working with Thunderbird has been a transformative experience. As CEO, I’ve seen firsthand how their strategic insights and tailored guidance have empowered our team, streamlined our operations, and ultimately enhanced the quality of care we provide to our community.”
Healthcare CEO
BEGIN THE CONVERSATION
Let’s begin by understanding your organization.
Every organization has its own history, strengths, opportunities, and context. We don’t begin with predetermined solutions. We begin by listening, learning, and understanding what matters most to your organization.
No obligation.
No predetermined solutions.
Just a thoughtful conversation.
Organizational capability is how sustainable performance is built.
That is why we begin by understanding your organization before recommending solutions. Sustainable improvement comes from strengthening the system, not simply addressing isolated symptoms.
That is why we begin by understanding your organization before recommending solutions. Sustainable improvement comes from strengthening the system, not simply addressing isolated symptoms.
