We have devoted ourselves solely to the study and practice of leadership, team development and providing key resources to executives and/or their teams since 2003. Our Founder and CEO, Dr. Merlin Switzer has had a passion for leadership for more than 46 years. Executive coaching, leadership development programs, and team building workshops are an integral part of the services we offer.Our calling is to come alongside executive leaders who are serious about transforming their leadership and their teams. We serve as a catalyst to help facilitate that change through customized executive coaching, engaging training and facilitation, tailored team building, and assistance with an array of strategic processes which moves leaders and teams toward achieving their goals. Our experience tells us that a blend of these approaches works the best and may involve other leaders in their company.We focus on long-term relationships where we have the opportunity to understand each unique leader, their business culture and teams, as well as the roadblocks they may be facing on the path to achieving great success. Change rarely happens overnight though we have witnessed significant impact from just one coaching session or team building session.
“Our staff had its first-ever team building and it was amazing how much we learned about each other and how much it brought us together. The pre-session assessments really highlighted some issues I didn't even realize we were having…I would recommend Switzer Associates to any organization trying to build a better team.”
“Merle Switzer has led our firm retreats to build teamwork in our firm. I would definitely recommend Switzer Associates for anyone in business who is working on developing strategies that provide for growth, better opportunities for employees, and who is looking for overall balance in both their business and personal lives.”
“The experience my Department had with Dr. Switzer was a real game-changer for our organization. Our Team Building Workshop was a fantastic experience, and we still have members of the leadership team raving about our team’s growth. Great stuff. I cannot thank Dr. Switzer enough for the leadership and mentoring..."
“Dr. Merle Switzer is an Executive Coach for the whole business and the whole leader. He is insightful, wise, energetic, highly experienced and supremely organized. Equally capable in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Merle brings a combination of street smarts, organizational leadership experience, and academic rigor to the table."
“Dr. Switzer was referred to me by some colleagues who raved about his workshops and skills. Merle didn’t disappoint. From our introductory phone call, the planning coordination prior to the TBW to the final moments of the TBW, Merle was fully engaged and highly responsive to our teams’ specific needs."
SALS specializes in working with leadership teams. We have the personal experience, academic training, and years of experience in helping leadership teams get better! We believe each team has unique needs. We want to understand what those needs are. Our process begins with an interview to identify the chief executive’s desired outcomes, followed by a proprietary Team Building Assessment to engage the team and obtain additional input. Based on information, we prepare a solutions-based agenda. Often, we will recommend using a tool, like The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. We administer the assessment and facilitate the workshop. This approach has consistently resulted in meaningful, team-growing experiences.
SALS specializes in working with leadership teams and we’ve worked with some dysfunctional teams. They don’t like each other. Competition abounds. Team satisfaction is low. Performance is poor and they’re stuck! These teams require a more extensive intervention. We use a proprietary Team Building Assessment to identify the team’s status in 10 categories, like Decision Making, Performance, Managing Conflict, Trust, and Team Satisfaction. We may conduct an organization health assessment to identify how the team’s dysfunction is impacting the organization.Based on our analysis, we recommend an approach to turn the team around. Such an effort may start with a multi-day offside, followed by monthly or quarterly team off-site sessions. We have also engaged individual team members in coaching. At the off-sites, we facilitate interactive sessions, involving tools like The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.Other learning sessions include: Managing Team Conflict and Improving Communicat