Building a Culture of Enhanced Employee Engagement Through Leadership and Team Development.

Organizations today are at a crossroads.

Today’s workplace faces significant challenges — leadership retirements, critical staffing shortages, a scarcity of quality applicants, and the loss of top talent to competing opportunities. In this shifting landscape, building a culture that retains and attracts talent is more crucial than ever.

The Athena Institute can Help

At the Athena Institute, we believe that the key to overcoming these challenges lies in empowering supervisors with leadership skills and nurturing a strong team culture. By transforming leadership from within and building a supportive, engaging work environment, organizations can not only retain their best talent but also create a thriving, dynamic workplace ready to meet the demands of the future.

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Meet
Dr. Therese Lask

Owner/Facilitator

Meet
Dr. Therese Lask

Owner/Facilitator

Dr. Therese Lask has a distinguished 30-year career in higher education and consulting, with a focus on enhancing the employee experience by prioritizing the growth and development of individuals, teams, and organizations. At Colorado State University, she was instrumental in designing, implementing, and facilitating the Supervisor Development Program, which trained over 2000 supervisors across campus. Additionally, Therese worked extensively in consulting, where she customized programs and retreats tailored to the specific needs of various teams.

Beyond her work in academia, Dr. Lask served as a consultant to the Gallup Organization. In this role, she developed and facilitated online courses and webinars aimed at integrating strengths-based development into different programs and services. She also authored a workbook published by Gallup.

Her consulting experience spans multiple industries, including higher education, local and state government, healthcare, engineering, and information technology.

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our clients

The Team Development Program has been a great opportunity for the growth of the School of Liberal Arts, Communication & Design leadership group. More importantly, it has allowed each of the members of the group to grow as leaders and mentors. I appreciate the structured approach of the training, which includes flexibility to address the needs of the individuals in the training. The program develops leadership for all the members of the group, which includes leaders at all levels of the school.”

Hector Garza, Dean, School of Liberal Arts, Communication and Design at Front Range Community College.

Dr. Therese Lask is an exceptional presenter who brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to our professional development workshops and conferences. Her focus on wellness and successful teaching approaches resonates deeply with our faculty and staff, providing them with valuable tools to enhance their professional lives. Time and again, Dr. Lask delivers content that is not only relevant but transformative, inspiring our educators to implement positive changes in their classrooms and personal routines. Her presentations are consistently interactive, thought-provoking, and tailored to meet the evolving needs of our educational community. We are grateful for Dr. Lask’s contributions, which have significantly elevated the quality and impact of our professional development programming.”

Carole Brown, PhD, Chair of Natural and Physical Sciences, Aims Community College

Through a series of leadership discussions Dr. Lask helped us to identify what we naturally do best, taught us how to develop these strengths, and identify potential weaknesses as we grow as leaders. Learning the strengths of each of our LED leaders provided a unique paradigm in which we can draw on the strengths of one another as we build a more robust, well-rounded leadership team.

Dr. Lask provided this comprehensive management and supervisor training program to enhance our supervisory skills through team building, communication, performance and conflict management, and leadership abilities. Dr. Lask’s content was well organized, and she provided valuable insights and tools for situations supervisors were currently facing with their employees. The training was tailored to our divisional needs with one-on-one sessions with all management and first-line supervisors. The training was well structured and allowed time for questions, feedback, and hands-on practice. I heard nothing but praise and excitement from our team members who attended The Athena Institute training. I highly recommend Dr. Lask’s program as it was beneficial for experienced and new supervisors to provide them with the necessary skills to lead their teams confidently and efficiently and the willingness to face difficult conversations or challenges with the tools provided.”

Michelle Stone-Principato, Director of Liquor, Tobacco Enforcement Division, Colorado Department of Revenue.

Working with Therese has been such an excellent experience for our teams at Front Range Community College. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in team and leadership development and our participants have gained valuable tools and strategies for effective communication, collaboration and resolving conflict through a growth mindset. I would recommend Therese to any organization looking to elevate their team and leadership development efforts.”

JoAnne Wilkinson Miller, Associate Vice President, Human Resources, Regis University