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Critical Team-Building Tools In Philanthropy, Ali Webb, Michael F. Bell

The Foundation Review

Using the experience of a team at a large, U.S.-based foundation over a four-year period, this article examines four essential tools for cultivating high-performing teams in the philanthropic sector.

The tools are giving and receiving feedback, the art of appreciations, organizing meetings to produce accountability, and assessing team communication styles, all applied with a racial equity lens. Use of these tools resulted in a more cohesive team that performed well when buffeted by changing priorities and substantial global problems.

The tools are likely applicable in every sector. But when used by foundations where large-scale social issues are the crux of …