ASTRACS ASSESSMENT,

TRAINING, AND

COACHING SERVICES

Dr. Christine Leclerc-Sherling

International Psychologist

General Process ............................................................................................................................................. 2

Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Assessment (OPVA-A) ............................................................ 3

Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Training (OPVA-T) .................................................................. 4

Organizational Peace and Violence Attitudes Coaching services (OPVA-CS) ................................................ 5

What Level of Intervention Does your Organization Need? ............................................................................ 6

Meet your Expert: .......................................................................................................................................... 7

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GENERAL PROCESS

A face-to-face meeting is first arranged to lay out the presenting problem. A series of emails and phone

calls follow to finalize a one-page contract with the mission, objectives, time, and cost of the intervention.

The next phase is an in-depth analysis of the organizational documents (strategic plans, visions, values,

objectives, publications, news releases, policies, rules and regulations, etc.) pertaining to the mission and to

the presenting problem of the organization. A brief review with the organization may be organized to clarify

certain relevant and essential points. When the unit of analysis is a group with a specific work sub-culture,

focus groups are organized to agree on a common definition of stressors, challenges, and defining

moments. Short individual interviews (20-45 minutes) follow. A series of focus groups conclude the data

collection phase and serve as debriefing with the groups. The data collection phase can be done face-to-face

or via GoToMeetings (online interface). The next phase consists of data analysis and modelling, where the

mission, the presenting problem, the documentations, and the data collection are aligned and organized as

to back up the recommendations. The last phase of the assessment (OPVA-A) is a condensed or detailed

report. Presentations to leadership, to unit of analysis, or to a specific audience may be arranged. New

contracts can be established at that time for training (OPVA-T) or coaching services (OPVA-C).

Presenting Problem

Contract

Framework of Analysis

Review Unit of Analysis

Focus Group(s)

Interviews

Focus Group(s) /Debriefing

Model

Assessment and Recomendations

Presentation(s)

Training and/or

Coaching

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE AND

VIOLENCE ATTITUDES

ASSESSMENT (OPVA-A)

Assumptions:

The challenge for any organizational endeavor is to reach a top-down, bottom-up, and middle-out

compliance. An organization is as firm as its mission statement and as vulnerable as its misalignment.

Organizations, groups, and individuals require different leadership strategies to converge towards

common goals. Too much tension can be as detrimental to the organizational objectives as can too much

complaisance. Finding the balance between organizational success and employees’ growth is the purpose of

an organizational peace and violence attitudes assessment.

Process:

The assessment is a three- to six-week assessment of organizations, departments, and/or teams (unit of

analysis). It provides a clear description of the individual and social resources deployed toward the

organizational mission. It assesses the unit of analysis’ unique sets of resistance to stressors, resilience to

crises, and posttraumatic growth after critical events. It looks for potential organizational trauma, defenses,

and side missions that are not the result from an individual’sbehaviors or isolated events, but that are

reactions to dysfunctions – they are normal reactions from abnormal environments and can create obstacles

in the completion of the organizational mission. The report ends with specific and tailored

recommendations for interventions.

Method:

Focus groups and short individual interviews. The strength of the method is in the combination of the

collective narrative collected through focus groups and the projective and nonjudgmental interview

protocol. The process is non-threatening and non-intrusive yet it allows an in-depth analysis of the

organizational dynamics. The assessment is centered on the organizational mission and it is only the

organization’s mission that gives value to the organizational behaviors, group thoughts, and collective

emotions. What is constructive in one organization may not be in another one and vice versa.

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE

AND VIOLENCE

ATTITUDES TRAINING

(OPVA-T)

Assumptions:

Based on the principle established during the assessment phase that it is the organizational mission that

gives value to organizational behaviors, group thoughts, and collective emotions, the training phase is based

on recognizing the strength and the limitations of those dynamics. It frames the organizational mission as

the starting point and as the expected outcome. It reorganizes emerging resistances, dysfunctions, and

possible episodes as they relate to the organizational mission and it provides to individuals a safe

environment to address their own attitudes and beliefs. Finally, the training creates a conducive and culture-

specific environment for growth for the employees while directly contributing to the organizational mission.

Process:

The organizational leaders and the outside expert decide on a design and a timeline that is realistic and

sensible. Different delivery styles are available: online, hybrid, and face-to-face. The training contract may

also include training material and handouts.

Method:

Large group presentations and small group sessions. The large group presentations aim at creating a

common definition of issues to be addressed and how they may be impacting the organizational mission.

The small group sessions allow reflections, problem-solving, and creative conflict resolution.

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ORGANIZATIONAL PEACE AND

VIOLENCE ATTITUDES

COACHING SERVICES

(OPVA-CS)

Assumptions:

Aligning organizational mission, group dynamics, and individual growth can sometimes create some

tensions. If mission and objectives are defined by the top strategic organizational level, it is only as powerful

and efficient as it is implemented by employees at all levels. Even if the momentum is created through top-

down communication, spread middle-out through departments, team, and task-forces, it is eventually up to

individuals to carry out the mission and report on any issues. If organizations, departments, and teams can

be considered as having their own identities, drive for sustainability, growth, and resistance to change, it is

eventually the employees who will display the symptoms of any organizational dysfunction. The coaching

services are therefore intended to address the tensions between employees, teams, departments, and

eventually the organization – as it relates to the mission and objectives of the organization.

Process:

Individual sessions, confidential and non-judgmental. The expert will separate personal symptoms from

organizational symptoms and refer individuals for personal symptoms to outside services, while addressing

the organizational symptoms. The service can be offered to the employees and be selected individually and

voluntarily; or can be strongly suggested to employees notably within the frame of positive discipline or as

an opportunity for growth.

Method:

Following the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of

Conduct (2010), the sessions respect the five principles of: (A) Beneficence and Nonmaleficence, (B) Fidelity

and Responsibility, (C) Integrity, (D) Justice, and (E) Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. No personal

information will be shared outside the sessions unless the employee chooses to address issues through

mediation. The nation-specific psychological guidelines will be recognized as well. The expert declines all

responsibility in initiatives that individuals may take following sessions. If the coaching sessions address

tensions between individuals and the organizational mission and objectives, the sessions are not persuasive

and forceful. Employees will not be told what to do to resolve those tensions, but rather be provided a safe

and constructive environment to use personal creativity, initiative, and growth to resolve those identified

tensions.

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WHAT LEVEL OF

INTERVENTION DOES YOUR

ORGANIZATION NEED?

Very true

Somewhat true

Not relevant

Somewhat false

Very false

The mission of my organization is clear:

The objectives for each employee, team, department, and leaders are well communicated:

The objectives are met on time:

The objectives are met with quality:

The objectives motivate and challenge each employee.

Skilled and experienced employees are hired to complete the mission of the organization.

Employees are sufficiently trained on how their individual work contribute to the objectives and mission of the organization.

Employees stay at their jobs.

Employees grow in knowledge and authority within the company.

Total

If most of your answers are “very true” and “somewhat true,” your organization is well aligned. You may

want to ask those questions throughout your organization to confirm that it is the case at every level.

If most of your answers are “very false” and “somewhat false,” your needs may be beyond our scope. You

want to check with our expert for suggestions.

If you have more than one “not relevant” and if your answers are often on different spectrum of the

qualifiers, your organization could benefit from our assessment services. If you believe that you have already

identified the sources of the gaps, consider scheduling an appointment to discuss tailored training and/or

specific training.

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MEET YOUR EXPERT:

Americano-Franco-Swiss psychologist, I have spent the past four years (PhD) and over 10 years of

graduate work in psychology (MS), humanitarian assistance (MS) and communication (MA) aligning

macro and micro peace initiatives.

In my dissertation, I chose to study South African social workers providing diversion services to young

offenders because they were on the edge between peace and violence on every level. They were living

in a young democracy with a heavy heritage of segregation and discrimination. Their organization was

providing restorative services within a retributive justice system. Finally, their work involved therapeutic

interventions to foster forgiveness and civic duty in a population with a history of crime and trauma. In

studying the social workers’ positive peace attitudes and the possible health and social benefits of

those attitudes, two significant conclusions emerged: if peace and violence attitudes can be observed in

individuals, they are not indicative of the nature of the organizational outcome. The mission of the

organization creates a culture that, in turns, normalizes and encourages behaviors. Moreover, the most

powerful protective factor for the participants was vicarious posttraumatic growth. The social workers

found purpose and motivation in the fact that their work had a systemic impact that would eventually

contribute to making their community safer.

I am committed to putting your organization’s mission in the center of my work. I specifically gather,

organize, and report on data that are relevant to the mission of the organization. Success is measured by

objectives well aligned with the mission and effectively communicated with the employees. Moreover, it is

measured by the engagement and growth of employees.

Christine Leclerc-Sherling, PhD, MA, MS, MS

For contact: