“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller

At the Bush School, tools like CliftonStrengths and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) help us understand our leadership styles and work more effectively in teams. These tools proved invaluable during my year-long capstone project, where our cohort partnered with Philanthropy Southwest to produce a deliverable for real-world philanthropic leaders.

Philanthropy Southwest connects funding foundations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Arkansas. Their request was ambitious: develop a method for measuring the social return on investment (SROI) of philanthropic initiatives.

Our team divided into two sub-groups—one focused on foster care outcomes, and the other on employment for people with disabilities. The Bush School attracts natural leaders, and most of us are accustomed to carrying projects independently. Collaborating on a complex, client-directed project required self-awareness, adaptability, and careful role alignment.

This is where my leadership assessments became essential.
I used CliftonStrengths to interpret my teammates’ work styles, anticipate potential friction, and assign roles that aligned with each person’s natural tendencies. Instead of letting differences slow us down, we transformed them into momentum. Understanding how each team member operated turned potential conflict into productivity.

The scale of the work demanded both vision and discipline. Across the year, our team:

• created a detailed project timeline

• conducted an extensive literature review

• reached out to more than 170 experts

• coordinated four demanding student schedules

• completed more than a dozen interviews

• analyzed qualitative and quantitative data

• and ultimately produced a comprehensive funder’s guide for Philanthropy Southwest

I served as the project manager for my sub-team, which meant delegating tasks, tracking progress, facilitating communication, and serving as the bridge between my teammates, our faculty advisor, and the overall project manager. The role required flexibility—knowing when to step back and trust my peers, and when to step forward to redirect our path.

One of the most powerful lessons I learned was about trust:
trusting the process, trusting my team, and trusting myself. Many of us enter graduate school used to carrying large loads alone. This project required the vulnerability of interdependence—a skill as essential to public service as analysis or writing. That vulnerability strengthened both our teamwork and our final product.

This experience deepened my technical skills in evaluation, data analysis, and project management. More importantly, it reinforced the value of adaptive leadership, collaboration, and the belief that collective effort can produce impact far greater than what any of us could accomplish alone.