Renee Rookwood, Ed.D.

Researcher · Strategist · Facilitator

When complexity increases, alignment matters more.

Exploring how teams and networks of teams build the relationships, shared understanding, and adaptability needed to perform when conditions change.

Watch the film 2:45 About Renee
Renee Rookwood
Renee Rookwood, Ed.D. — Ashburn, Virginia
Focus
Teams and networks of teams
Doctorate
Ed.D., The George Washington University
Featured
Multi-team System Resilience 2:45
01The Challenge

Strong teams don't automatically make a strong system.

Organizations invest heavily in building capable teams, developing talent, and improving processes. But even when individual teams are performing well, working effectively across teams can be a different challenge.

Whether it's departments working across functional boundaries, organizations coming together through a merger, or partners collaborating on a shared mission, success depends on more than individual team performance.

It depends on how well teams connect, coordinate, and adapt together.
01 / 03 Capable teams, working apart 02 / 03 Connections across boundaries 03 / 03 One connected system
02Featured Film

Why resilience across teams matters

A short introduction to the challenge of building resilience across networks of teams, and what my research shows about alignment, adaptation, and collective performance.

Multi-team System Resilience02:45
03From Research to Practice

See. Align. Sustain.

A practical framework from my research to help teams, and networks of teams, perform together in complex environments.

  1. 01

    See Understand the system

    Identify the teams involved, their interdependencies, and where gaps or friction may affect collective performance.

  2. 02

    Align Build the conditions for coordination

    Strengthen shared purpose, role clarity, trust, and the relationships and authorities needed to act together.

  3. 03

    Sustain Adapt, learn, and improve

    Reinforce coordination through practice, feedback, and learning as conditions evolve.

These activities reinforce one another. As conditions change, teams must continually reassess the system, realign their efforts, and adapt how they work together.

04Research & InsightsAll research
05About
Renee Rookwood, smiling, seated outdoors

Research. People. Real-world impact.

I'm a researcher, strategist, and facilitator fascinated by what helps people work well together, especially when challenges are complex and the path forward isn't clear.

My career has taken me across healthcare, defense acquisition, federal programs, organizational strategy, and applied research. Across these different environments, I've kept coming back to the same question: how do we help capable teams work better together, adapt when circumstances change, and accomplish things they couldn't achieve alone?

Today, my work focuses on understanding what makes teams and networks of teams effective and resilient, and translating that research into practical approaches that help leaders strengthen alignment, coordination, and collective performance.

Areas of focus

  • a. Team Resilience
  • b. Multi-Team Systems
  • c. Operational Alignment
  • d. Organizational Effectiveness
06Contact

Let's connect.

Interested in a conversation about research, a role, or a collaboration? I'd be glad to hear from you.