Client Results / Case Studies

What's it like to work with Libby Wagner?

Read four different case studies from Libby's clients and learn about their situations, what intervention strategies Libby Wagner recommended and the results!

Case Study 01

College Builds Resiliency

  • The president of a regional college needed to unite the faculty and administration to better serve students, as infighting and an inability to collaborate were impeding completing projects and accomplishing strategic goals.

  • Libby worked with campus leaders to identify obstacles, whether they were current or historical myths about faculty and administration working together for the same cause. Using a combination of focus groups, interviews, coaching, and interactive sessions, Libby brought the team together to articulate common goals and purpose.

  • Campus leaders reported better, more positive working relationships and the ability to be innovative together. President noted, “there would’ve been no way we could’ve worked through the issues of the pandemic, campus shut-downs, and conversion to online working and learning without our work with you.” Leaders were able to focus on the work at hand, rather than their interpersonal strife.

Case Study 02

Sabbatical Saves Residency Program

  • The Medical Residency Director of a multi-functional, multi-clinic/hospital program worked tirelessly to provide a robust learning environment for both medical residents and medical faculty. The pressures of a triple-booked schedule, constant demands from credentialing bodies, administrative responsibilities, and the desire to be present in her own family led to burnout and exhaustion, despite the obvious love and passion for her work. All of the ordinary pressures were compounded by working to lead an organization responsible for leading during a global pandemic, specifically focused on those populations unable to easily gain access to vaccines, information, and care. She routinely considered quitting to return to “just being a doctor.”

  • Through executive coaching sessions, (both scheduled and by request), Libby provided perspective, guidance, practical solutions, and options for managing her workload, priorities, and self-care. The Director got clear on her priorities, her strengths, her challenges, and her goals: create the best residency program, be seen as a thought leader in her field, and be present for her children’s soccer and family activities. We assessed her workload, her schedule, her ability to delegate, and her need for rest and stress management.

  • The Medical Residency Director requested and was granted a first-ever 3-month sabbatical. During that time, her team learned new skills and gained experience to provide support and leadership on behalf of the director, which was beneficial for everyone involved. The Director took time to rest, reflect, and reorganize her work life and priorities so that she could return to work renewed. Her new schedule includes time blocked for strategy, creative thinking, and more spaciousness. She also improved her ability to delegate and develop others to lessen her own workload and prepare her successors. In addition, she now has time to volunteer for her children’s school, which had been a desire unfulfilled.

Case Study 03

Business Owner Celebrates Sale

  • An entrepreneurial business owner of a small boutique corporate branding company (20 employees) built a 30+ year successful business competing with much larger companies by differentiating their creative ideas and incredible service. After surviving more than one economic down-turn (a major client lost was Washington Mutual Bank post-2008), the company was still struggling to retain good salespeople and support staff, constantly dealing with turnover and retraining, and suffering the backlash of former employee lawsuits.

  • We dove into a comprehensive culture change project, including clarification of mission/vision/values, creation of a marketing/sales strategy, implemented an annual employee engagement survey, and built a comprehensive performance management program. All these activities were supported by ongoing executive coaching for both the CEO/owner and the CFO/COO leadership.

  • Overall revenues increased by 30% in less than two years. The company received a “Best Places to Work” designation in their industry. During the pandemic, when their events-based business could’ve simply vanished, they were able to create an innovative program helping companies provide “work-from-home” boxes to support their employees. They had their best revenue year ever, and finally attracted the attention of a larger company who made an offer to purchase and acquire the business. The new company CEO noted, “we bought this business because of their culture and their unique business proposition.” The owner worked to foster the transition and support her employees’ new roles. She now enjoys a new relationship and philanthropic pursuits.

Case Study 04

Global Business Aligns Leaders

  • In early 2019, two large beverage companies (Keurig/Green Mountain Coffee and Dr. Pepper) merged to form a beverage powerhouse. They reached out to Libby to request “some kind of change management training” to help leaders navigate the cultures and businesses merging in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

    Following a late 2019 launch of programs, the company realized the change they thought they were navigating had been completely upended by the pandemic and they needed to have leaders respond to multiple, ongoing, and unpredictable change for the business.

  • Through a series of interviews, instructional design, and preparation of internal trainers, Libby created customized, scenario-based practical solutions for helping leaders navigate change at the conversational level, aligned with corporate vision/mission/goals.

    Libby also quickly adapted and responded to the situation by designing virtual classes, coaching sessions, and support for leaders facing high stress and waning confidence. She provided ad hoc group and individual coaching to support leaders in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

    Coursework and materials were translated into French and Spanish to support employees across the organization. Libby worked both onsite and virtually in all three countries.

  • The Influencing Options model for communication and leading is now embedded into the leadership programs for thousands of leaders inside KDP, who now have not only a shared language but also practical, immediately useable skills that align with company values. These can be measured behaviorally and tied to performance outcomes and measures. Managers and supervisors report greater engagement, less turnover, and more resilience. KDP was recently honored as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune.

Photo: Images from a recent management training program with Libby and the Keurig Dr. Pepper, Mexico team.

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