Client Testimonials
See what our Clients say about us and about the outcomes of our work with them
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Lauren Roberts, President and CEO, cfm Distributors, Inc.
I learned so many new things about our team members that I hadn’t previously known which will allow us to connect on deeper levels in the future. My favorite part of the workshops was all the interactive group modules – we learned so much from each other. Other benefits of the workshops: 1) learning from others – what they need from me and vice versa – is something we’ll continue to have, 2) learning from others what I do well, and 3) learning about everyone’s backgrounds helped us get more comfortable with all people on our teams.
M.L., cfm Distributors, Inc.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn things about my coworkers and myself. My favorite aspect of the workshops were the team exercises where we had to become vulnerable and have tough discussions with our teammates. I also learned that it’s ok to talk about tough things, everyone has tough things that have happened in their life, and that it is ok and preferable to be vulnerable.
Ben McCollum, Director of Store Operations, cfm Distributors, Inc.
I learned that we could create a framework to work within after setting up our team’s expectations. We were all in the same room in an environment where clear expectations were set and committed to. My favorite feature of the learning experience was understanding that I liked these workshops and realized we need more of these sessions. I also learned that 1) I actually know things! 😊, 2) I got to be more comfortable in my own skin and in my own voice, and 3) we improved communication throughout the workshops.
Kevin Favio, Warehouse Manager, cfm Distributors, Inc.
I found that I learned more techniques on how to be a better listener and leader. Having input from the whole team instead of from just a few people was my favorite part of the workshops. Things that will help me in my life with work or family and friends are 1) learning how to listen better and have empathy for others, 2) thinking through a process before creating a process, and 3) learning how to minimize conflict, but to have good conflict anyway.
Pat Thomas, Director of Refrigeration, cfm Distributors, Inc.
From the workshops, I learned how to have a view from the other side of the fence and how the people we work with everyday view communication, professionalism, and integrity in relation to our teams and our goals. My favorite part of the workshops were the personal interactions we had with others on our team. I also learned how to communicate clearly, how to understand if we all row in the same direction, we’ll get to where we’re going, and that conflict can be constructively done without being personal or demeaning.
J.S., cfm Distributors, Inc.
From our workshops, I learned that true communication is needful and that we were beginning to build trust. The thing I learned most about was that learning more about my fellow teammates and leadership is the best way to start to build trust. I also learned more about myself, more about communication tools, and started to value vulnerability more than I had before.
T.F., cfm Distributors, Inc.
As a result of our workshops, I had a much better understanding of team dynamics. What I liked most in the workshops were the chats we had within our specific groups that we all took part in. I also learned more about my own personal growth and the growth of others, how we improved our interpersonal skills during our time together, and how the deeper understanding of everyone really impacted our work teams.
TeamingAcumen™ Framework, GALLUP® BP10™, and Pretotyping
Donna Jean Wilgocki Duncan, Sales Manager/Marketing Development Specialist at Hometa
“We were very fortunate that our company invested in their employees. Not only did I learn about my talents but I became aware of talents that I needed to focus on to become a better team member. I learned how to embrace all the different personalities within our company to become a more effective/valuable team member. You cannot put a price tag on that! For anyone questioning if this type of learning is of value, I say yes, without a doubt!“
Michelle McCabe, BSN, RN at Hometa
“The impact of the BP10 program on the team and each individual on it, could only be remembered as a pivotal time for a growing company and a personally and professionally enlightening phase of my life. As with everything else in life, you get out what you put in. It is also true for the BP10 program. Thank you for bringing it to us/me.“
Jeff Hover, Senior Executive at PiSA Ventures
“We were fortunate to collaborate with Margaret and Cultural Strategies as we embarked on the launch of several product lines for our medical device company, Hometa. Her unique perspective and confident, interactive approach to team building led to substantial growth and understanding of our team’s dynamics which fueled engagement at all levels. Margaret’s keen ability to an atmosphere that establishes psychological safety so that even the most reluctant team member can engage in dialogue and frank discussion is outstanding and led to some eye-opening realizations about the stages of team performance. Her thorough knowledge of the 34 individual Gallup strengths coupled with her mastery of the Gallup Builder’s program created a strong foundation for our organization where all of us couldn’t wait to apply our role as either Rainmaker, Conductor or Expert. If you are not familiar with these roles or believe that they are represented by your org chart – you have much to learn and need Cultural Strategies to help you understand how leadership can arise at all levels in your organization!
Whether your company faces a challenging goal, is struggling through “team storming”, or celebrating exceptional performance and victory, the value that your organization will gain from collaborating with Margaret and Cultural Strategies is exceptional.”
Gallup's CliftonStrengths
Anya, Individual Development
“The only obstacle would be a cost, but I like that payments were flexible and incremental. I learned more about my personal strengths, the style I work with, the ways on how I relate to people and how people relate to me. My favorite thing from our learning sessions was the personal and very individual approach from scheduling, to discussions, and addressing specific needs I had at that time.
I would definitely recommend these services for personal and professional purposes to build on the concepts of self-awareness and strengths which are totally unique to each individual. These are completely unmatched for any two individuals. I can use these concepts in the most productive and successful ways possible for use in my workplace and with my family and friends.
I would recommend Margaret as a very successful coach; her style, knowledge, and expertise in leading sessions are truly powerful, effective and fluid with many ideas and resources. It was a great experience to have individual training with Margaret.”
K.S., C-Suite Executive in the Banking Industry
“I was very pleased with the time my coach spent working with me – not just during our sessions but through preparation and recapping our sessions. I gained valuable insight into myself, which helped me understand differences between coworkers, leaders, and people in my personal circle. I doubted that it would change my life, but it definitely has. Like many things in life, you get as much out of it as you put in. You have to do your homework and invest your time in the process to truly learn and grow. It was worth it.”
Debi Mager, Director of Mission Advancement, Christian Community Home
“Using CliftonStrengths Coaching, I learned ways to work with others in my department – by seeing their strengths and learning how to work WITH them. I am learning that even though I don’t have particular Strengths high up on my ranked list of talents, I can still get the same results by using other strengths. Margaret was passionate about helping me to see the good qualities I have and in helping me to learn how to make the most of my strengths.”
F.S., C-Suite Executive in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction Industry
“Margaret Ricci is an excellent coach who gets to the essence of who you are and inspires you to use your strengths to excel.”
W.S., Ramsey County
“Thank you for helping me through a very difficult time at work. I appreciated an objective listening ear and the hope that you’ve given me that already existed in my Strengths. Hope is a beautiful thing. I feel like I have some tools to forge ahead. Through CliftonStrengths, I found that I was a natural leader and can bring many good things into my work environment. Margaret, you are truly passionate about your work with Strengths Coaching!”
Zach McCabe, President – McCabe Chiropractic and Wellness Center
“Margaret Ricci from Cultural Strategies facilitated three CliftonStrengths workshops at our offices and it was a tremendous success. We went into this program with little knowledge of what ‘Strengths’ were or how to best utilize our individual talents. By the workshop date, we had completed online material and questionnaires to help us understand where our individual strengths were, but it was the workshops themselves where the information came alive. Margaret helped us not only unlock the potential of our own strengths for best use, but also helped us understand what our co-workers strengths were and how we could best help the entire team by working with each other’s strengths in mind as well.
In all, this experience was profoundly helpful in taking our working environment from good to great. I would highly recommend Margaret and Cultural Strategies for a team-building workshop to boost productivity and job satisfaction or as a method of troubleshooting to root out causes of workplace inadequacy.”
Carol Kaemmerer, Executive Branding Coach, Speaker and Author, CEO of CarolKaemmerer.com
“I wholeheartedly recommend Margaret Ricci, MBA, CEO of Cultural Strategies, as an awesome Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. Margaret’s enthusiasm for the CliftonStrenghts system is well-founded. It is a powerful tool that is helping me to capitalize on my strengths and be more effective in achieving my personal and professional goals. In addition to her thorough knowledge of the system, what I appreciated most about Margaret was her excitement over my growing understanding. Her affirmation of my personal insights set up a positive feedback loop, encouraging me to dig even deeper and to drive my effectiveness through application of the Strengths methodology.
During my Strengths coaching sessions, I loved the process of naming and claiming my personal strengths. I was surprised to find that who I am can be expressed in terms of specific strengths. Finding that because my dominant themes are clustered in one area, I am said to have “super powers” was quite empowering. Around the same time period as my coaching sessions, I had an extremely challenging task fall to me by virtue of my position on a Board. At first, I cast about for reasons that I should not have to accomplish the task at all. But when I analyzed it from a Strengths perspective, I realized that I was the very best person to face that challenge because I possess all the skills needed to accomplish it.
CliftonStrengths Coach Margaret Ricci is knowledgeable, creative in her teaching approaches and assignments for me, and an awesome cheerleader. She made each session and homework assignment an opportunity to delve deeper and to claim new learning. She is truly a gifted teacher and coach.”
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team and GALLUP® CliftonStrengths®
Dick Hanson, Chair – Committee on Trustees, Woodbury Community Foundation
“Beautifully done, Margaret! It was a pleasure meeting you and benefiting from your style, knowledge, and experience. It was a very inspiring and timely refresher for this old Maximizer still stretching for his Maximum…but getting close! But more importantly, it was an essential experience for our WCF leadership team as it transitions from the remaining seniors to the next generation. I believe it’s on the cusp of really establishing what we’ve all worked so hard for, and I appreciate your important contribution to that achievement!”
D.E., Director and Founder of the Woodbury Community Foundation
“Margaret really puts herself into her job to make learners see, understand, and use our strengths, and recognize our weaknesses. We learned how to put the team strengths together for the good of our organization.”
R.J., Board of Directors with a Minnesota Nonprofit
“I feel the knowledge we gained from the Workshops will help us not only meet our goals but exceed them – it will help strengthen us. I think Margaret was extremely knowledgeable and did an excellent job! I would highly recommend her to other teams or organizations.”
Roger Green, Chair, Woodbury Community Foundation Board
“Margaret Ricci crafted three sessions that carried our team through both CliftonStrengths and the Five Dysfunctions of a Team in a way that made it meaningful and useful for our future performance. The sessions gave us renewed confidence in our team and tools to deal with challenges in our interactions.”
GALLUP® BP10™
D.J., Senior Executive Career Changer during Covid-19
“I was a bit hesitant to engage in the coaching sessions on account of time and resources. But taking time to focus and invest in myself was a force multiplier and brought both tangible and intangible ROIs to me! The individual quantifiable results to my specific skills and strengths, synthesizing the power of how they work together to generate flow was the best feature I experienced during our coaching sessions. My coaching sessions also had three other benefits that I hadn’t anticipated: 1) I started thinking in a different perspective of what I could bring to an organization, 2) I wanted to start with a clean slate of building the foundation of what I can contribute to an organization on my strengths, and 3) the coaching gave me a strategic overview of myself. The assessment, the concepts, and the coaching process had a breadth and depth I’ve not seen before in other assessments and the personalized attention of Margaret was very welcome – she asks great questions! She has great passion and her knowledge of the assessment and studies that lay behind it was always in evidence. Her enthusiasm for BP10 is so evident, welcome and fun.”
Juli Lassow, Owner and Principal in JHL Solutions, LLC
“I wasn’t sure that there was something unique in BP10 that I wouldn’t have uncovered in prior personality assessments. The assessment was still new and not yet well-known. Margaret reviewed my results in the context of the substantial data that has already been gathered in support of the BP10 framework. The BP10 format clearly outlines where I shine and possibly struggle as the leader of my own business. The tools available help me understand these areas of growth and opportunity while building strategic approaches to maximize my potential and that of my business. I can better articulate my business and entrepreneurial strengths and needs for support. Using them, I can build a growth plan for my business with confidence and know what resources to work with to validate.
Three other benefits that I found were: 1) I have greater confidence in my business-building abilities, 2) I have a better sense of how to partner with peers, mentors, and associates on how to grow my business and skillsets, and 3) I have the knowledge of a great resource to recommend to fellow entrepreneur peers to support their own business growth and their business journeys. For anyone in the process of or considering launching a business enterprise, BP10 coaching is a “must-do” activity to laser-focus you in on the unique combination of skills you must rely upon to build and grow a successful business. You’ll leave your assessment and coaching sessions with a clear understanding of the roles you are best suited to take on in your business, and what partnerships you must build. Both practical and confidence-inspiring, BP10 is a phenomenal tool supporting you to create the roadmap for your business’ future. This was an essential early exercise for me in identifying my entrepreneurial instincts and potential gaps. Hire Margaret now!”