Designing Our Best Work

Written By Katie Goar

Before racing into what’s next, I recently paused with my team to creatively vision cast and brainstorm.

Not - what are our goals?
Not - what is the stretch growth target?

As a leadership team, we did a simple exercise where we listed:
• 5 moments we’ll never forget
• 5 moments we’d never want to relive
And identified the patterns behind both!

That’s where our "ah-ha" moment showed up.

The wins weren’t accidents.
They came from strategy, connections, clear expectations, and when people felt trusted to do great work.

The hard moments weren’t random either.
They shared themes: misalignment, distractions from our core strengths, or saying yes when we should’ve said no.

So we asked the questions that actually moved the needle:

➡️ How do we create more top 10% moments - the ones that raise the bar for our team and our clients?

➡️ What belongs on our “never again” list - decisions, behaviors, and work that pull us away from who we want to be?

Then we zoomed out.

To focus on what we do exceptionally well, invest even more in our people, and protect our standards as fiercely as our growth.

And that's how we are showing up this year.

Katie Goar

Katie Goar started with Quadel in 2007 and began leading the company as president in 2015. She leads Quadel with a special focus on customer service and has shifted the company’s corporate culture, resulting in excellent client service. Katie brings decades of affordable housing experience, having held a mayor-appointed position in city government, a top-level management role within a public housing authority and provided portfolio oversight for 60,000 multifamily units before leading Quadel, a nationwide affordable housing consulting and training organization.

https://www.katiegoar.com/
Next

Progress Rarely Looks Big