Joanna Logan and Erin Hall-Westfall, the brains behind the international talent management consultancy Constellate, take a holistic approach to the field, focusing not only on executive search but also on the continuum—helping colleges, universities, and other organisations develop and retain the people they find. Before starting the firm in 2023, both worked in development at the University of Cambridge in England. There, Logan, the university’s Talent and Recruitment Adviser, built the institution’s in-house search programme, while Hall-Westfall served as Director of Talent Management for Development and Alumni Relations.

Here is advice Constellate shares with their advancement clients whose aim is to strengthen their teams by maintaining cohesiveness, managing workloads, and avoiding burnout when circumstances won’t allow for new hires. 

Joanna Logan (left) and Erin Hall-Westfall (right)

If an advancement leader finds they can’t hire new team members, what’s their first move?

Hall-Westfall: It’s incredibly important for advancement leaders [and] institutional leaders to really take a step back and prioritise ... and look at the organisational goals and where to best—if they’re on a hiring freeze or not able to bring in new staff—focus their time and efforts as an organisation. Certainly, the need to think creatively about what your existing staff can do and how you can be creative with resourcing [is important]. 

This concept of stretch assignments—giving people opportunities to step outside of their day-to-day work, using their strengths to take on additional responsibilities that are left open by somebody not coming on board—is really important and it’s something organisations have to look at. 

Logan: I think it can be very different in a small shop as opposed to a large shop. For a small shop, losing a post or not backfilling is really a significant challenge—there’s no slack. It’s being clear, I think, with leadership about what is a priority and what might be put temporarily on the back burner. For a larger organisation, you can look at redistributing or possibly restructuring for a period of time, because a larger organisation has a little bit more capacity and resources.
 

“Do more with less”—that’s what advancement teams hear all the time. What is your advice to your clients or leaders who may be feeling that pressure now?

Logan: It’s more about “doing differently with less” rather than “doing more with less.” Or being smarter with less—I think you can’t really ask fewer people to do more. It’s about doing an audit, prioritising, and looking at what’s urgent or critical, what may be medium-term, and what can be put on hold or put on the back burner temporarily.  … Consider making better use of technology—maybe artificial intelligence for data analysis or other tools—so that people can make the best use of their time. 
 

How can an advancement team maintain a cohesive, positive work environment, even with an increased workload? 

Hall-Westfall: Leaders cannot communicate enough. Regular communication from leaders, from managers to their teams [is key to cohesion], and not being afraid to be honest if you don’t have the answer. It’s OK. Leaders think they need to have it figured out but, actually, leaders who are OK with being vulnerable bring a lot of respect from their staff members in those situations.

And, of course, they’re not going to be able to share everything, but I’ve worked with leaders who’ve said, “I know this feels unsettling, but I’m going to share with you what I can share with you. That doesn’t mean everything, but I’m going to be as open and honest as I can with you.” 

The other thing is just—and I know this can be a little bit tricky in hybrid environments—bringing people together as much as possible, whether that’s virtually or in person. You know, celebrating successes. What are we focusing on that we’re doing really well? What feels really positive?
 

What’s your best advice for leaders who need to rethink their team members’ roles or help colleagues stretch with new responsibilities? 

Logan: Going into a stretch assignment or having a slight change in role is really an opportunity for growth. So, make the most of the learning and development budget and whatever else is available to support colleagues with new responsibilities. And, fundamentally, if you have a learning culture in your team, that will help.

Hall-Westfall: With people taking on stretch assignments, look at colleagues’ strengths: What do they do well? Where do they want to continue to grow? For managers who do have teams taking on stretch assignments [the key] is just staying close to them to avoid overwork and overload. And recognising, too, that a lot of times, these will be people who haven’t done this work before or haven’t done it to the degree that you’re looking for, so they will need regular coaching and mentoring.
 

Do you encourage leaders to also rethink and reassess their own roles? If so, how?

Hall-Westfall: Short answer, yes. This might be a challenge. I don’t think all leaders go there naturally, but yes, [I] absolutely would encourage that. During these times, it is important for leaders to be more present with their teams and with their people. And so that will potentially adjust where their focus is, as they continue to be external with donors and volunteers as well.
 

How have you seen institutions work with volunteers, students, and interns as another way to build capacity?

Logan: I think institutions don’t do this enough, actually.

Hall-Westfall: No, they don’t. At [the University of] Michigan and Cambridge, we built internship programs at a time where there were not as many budget constraints. You can create internship opportunities, try things out as a pilot. The programmes that we built were teaching undergraduate students about the profession and trying to create a pipeline of talent into that, but it doesn’t have to be at that level; it can truly be work experience for students or interns. You can start small. Tapping into your own existing workforce at institutions is smart. 

Logan: I think charities are much better about the use of volunteers than other institutions and [for higher education] it’s a real missed opportunity … it might be an alumnus, but it might also be someone who has some spare time, or they’re retired, whatever it might be, and they bring a huge wealth of experience. A lot of people feel passionate about an institution because it’s a civic institution that represents their city or their area. They want to be involved but they don’t know how.