Example engagement · Sample for the City of Lake Forest
What working together looks like
A past engagement in three days, and a sample of how the same approach would run for a city's Management Team and staff.
Dr. Nathan Iverson, PhDOrganizational Psychologist Founder, Momentum Coaching + Consulting
40+leaders in the retailer program
3 daysfrom mindset to commitments
Pre + postpulse survey, anonymous
No namesin any summary you receive
Client feedback on Dr. Iverson's facilitation
“You clearly connected with the participants and made them feel safe and seen!”
Kevin Hoist, Founder and CEO, Mile Twenty Consulting
01 · Past engagement · 2019
Leadership development for a national retailer's customer care team
A leadership development program for more than 40 leaders. Two days on empowerment for managers and customer care agents together, then a third day with the team's leadership on making the change stick. Dr. Nathan Iverson delivered the program together with other consultants.
01
Day 1 · Friday
Mindset of Empowerment
Victim versus agent: changing first from within
Conditions for success, drawn from the agents' own stories
SMART goals for an empowered leadership mindset
02
Day 2 · Monday
Equipped for Action
Experience-driven practice on real customer situations
Communicating with other teams, feedback that is positive, specific and constructive, managing up
Time management matrix
03
Day 3 · Tuesday · leadership
Leadership Summit
Kotter's change model, small wins, identity and measuring success
Coaching up and coaching out, practiced in role plays
A written "one thing" commitment for today and for the next month
The Lake Forest design below follows the same order: a shared mindset first, then a plan the leaders can sustain.
02 · Sample for illustration
How it would run for a city
Sample only. The panels below use a fictional city and made-up numbers to show the format. They are not City of Lake Forest data and not results from any client.
Timeline proposed in our Statement of Qualifications
Within a week of selection
Planning call with the City project manager to confirm goals, participants and logistics.
Wednesday, December 2 or January 6
Management Team workshop, at the City's choice. A written summary follows within five business days.
Before the workshop
Half day on site getting to know the Management Team (November 30 or December 8): a short pulse survey, small-group conversations, and a one-page summary of the themes Dr. Iverson heard (no names attached).
Week of January 11
City staff lunch and learn for about 80 employees.
January to February optional
30-minute interviews with Management Team and Council members, then a written synthesis of priorities, threats and blind spots.
Six to eight weeks after the workshop
The same pulse survey again, with a pre and post comparison.
February 23 and March 23 optional
Joint Commissioners Workshop and Council Strategic Planning Workshop, 6:30 pm.
Sample pre and post pulse survey
Short and anonymous, asked before the workshop and again six to eight weeks later. Each theme pairs a condition with something the respondent does, so the survey measures real barriers and invites action. Items come from the three research groups below. Average rating on a 1 to 5 scale, fictional city, 14 respondents.
Before the workshopSix to eight weeks after
MeaningMy work connects to the City's goals. I can explain how.
VoiceDecisions are explained to staff. I ask when I want to understand one.
LearningI have access to training. I look for what I need and use it.
ConnectionDepartments share information. I reach out when my work depends on others.
Open itemOne thing I will do in the next 30 days, and one thing I need from someone else.
Open itemWhat is working well here that we should keep?
Sample one-page summary after team discovery
What a Management Team would receive a few days after the half day on site.
What is workingDirect, respectful communication inside each department.
What people want to changeA shared view of priorities across departments, and a way to help build it.
Most common themeA wish for one clear list of what matters this year.
Focus for the workshopAgree the top priorities, then who takes the lead on each one.
A change model leaders can follow
Day 3 above used Kotter's change model. These are the eight steps in that model.
1Create urgency
2Build a guiding coalition
3Form a strategic vision
4Enlist a volunteer army
5Remove barriers
6Generate short-term wins
7Sustain acceleration
8Institute change
03 · Evidence base
Why these questions
The pulse survey asks about conditions that research links to engagement and performance. Each group below names the research it draws on. Items are written so people think about what they can do themselves. They are our own wording, to be reviewed with the City before use.
01
Empowerment
Meaning, autonomy, impact
I can see how my work connects to the City's goals.
I decide how to do my job well.
I know how my work makes a difference.
Seibert, Wang and Courtright (2011), Journal of Applied Psychology, a meta-analytic review. Psychological empowerment is tied to job satisfaction, commitment and performance, and to lower strain and turnover intentions. Leadership, work design and managerial practices are among its antecedents.
02
Engagement
Resources and recognition
I know what is expected of me, and I ask for feedback.
I recognize good work around me.
I look for the training I need and use it.
Christian and Slaughter (2007), Academy of Management meeting paper, a meta-analytic review. Engagement relates more strongly to job resources than to job demands. In a 2017 national poll of 1,946 employees (CPS HR Institute for Public Sector Employee Engagement), leadership and change management, supervisor, development and recognition were named as drivers.
03
Healthy teams
Safe to speak up
I raise concerns when I see them.
I ask when I do not understand why a decision was made.
I reach across departments when my work depends on them.
Frazier and colleagues (2017), Personnel Psychology, a meta-analytic review of psychological safety across 136 samples. Leadership is an antecedent; learning, performance and engagement are outcomes.
What research says about strategic plans in local government
A 2026 ICMA practitioner survey of 59 municipalities and counties reported implementation success of 71% (small), 81% (mid-sized) and 88% (large). Community engagement, measurable goals, tying the plan to the budget, and staff and elected-official buy-in were the themes respondents named. About a quarter found adequate internal employee engagement beneficial, and 28% said they would increase staff involvement. This is a small practitioner survey, so we use it to shape the design and make no promise of results.
Source: "Strategic Plan Implementation: Off The Shelf And Into Action," PM Magazine, ICMA, June 2026. An earlier dissertation on local government strategic planning (Edwards, 2011, Georgia Tech) found mixed effects on department performance, which is why the plan is tied to a follow-up measure here.
04 · Who leads the work
Dr. Nathan Iverson leads the work
Public-sector background: Dr. Iverson served on the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Commission from 2021 to 2022, including as chair, and earlier was a research and evaluation consultant for Seattle Parks and Recreation, where he designed the department's first employee engagement survey. He also served in the Office of the Mayor of Riverside as International Relations Advisor (September 2022 to August 2023). During that time he helped the Dosan Foundation of the Americas secure a memorandum of understanding with the City for a planned $50 million Korean cultural center. In November 2025 the City signed a separate memorandum of understanding with the Korean EV company Chaevi, whose U.S. entry and Riverside expansion the City cites at $100 million. These are reported figures with no causal link claimed.
164alumni survey responses
84%response rate
$63K to $90Kmedian alumni pay, first job to now
90%of those who answered would recommend the program
Source: alumni survey of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Program at California Baptist University, which Dr. Iverson directs. Pay figures are self-reported.
