My Approach to People & Culture and Facilitation
“We’ve come to believe that the core capacity needed to access the field of the future is presence. We first thought of presence as being fully conscious and aware in the present moment. Then we began to appreciate presence as deep listening, of being open beyond one’s preconceptions and historical ways of making sense. We came to see the importance of letting go of old identities and the need to control, and making choices to serve the evolution of life.”
~ Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future, Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, Flowers
I hold a background in organizational development, education, and facilitation, including experience working inside non-hierarchal environments. I thrive in serving as an anchor for individuals, teams, and communities, and bring my professional experience as a strength in providing foresight to meet the needs of this team, deep curiosity and care for the approach, process, and outcomes.
My work is designed to engage individuals on a physical, mental, emotional, and creative level. And they help individuals to identify how their actions are in alignment with their own or their company or team’s values and how this is impacted by the broader oppressive systems and structures that we live in (and unconsciously replicate), providing a springboard for exploration of how to move forward individually and collectively. It is the expertise and wisdom of the individual and the group that guides the process and the outcome. I serve as a steward, an anchor, a deep listener, and a reflection of confidence in their ability to do the work and find their way through to the next steps.
Services
Building Cultures of Positive Feedback and Healthy Communication
I offer coaching, resources, and skill-building for conflict management, healthy communication, and building cultures of positive feedback. I work within departments and with individual employees to enhance skills, and support their work in resolving questions, concerns, and complaints as they relate to systems, policies, and colleague/supervisor relationships in a neutral and confidential environment; this establishes clear avenues of communication and opportunities for professional growth for individuals while also creating organizational awareness of areas within the culture that need more attention.
Skillful conversations that lead to deeper understanding and long-lasting change require strengthening the muscles for self-reflection as well as practical skill-building. Our work together in this area may include:
- Building capacity for multiple truths
- Languaging – say what you mean, mean what you say
- Exploring intention vs. impact
- Uncovering implicit bias
- Development of active listening skills
- The foundational elements to manage difficult conversations
- Exploration of conflict management models to support small or large group dialogues
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Hiring
I support the growth and development in building the foundation for a more equitable and inclusive hiring process that works well in a virtual and in-person environment. This happens through research, recommendations, reflection, mentoring, and implementation of new practices which result in changes regarding the types of questions asked, the structure of interviews, employee participation in the interview process, how feedback regarding candidates is discussed, an expansion of the sources from which candidates were drawn from, the development of resources to support a diverse candidate base, and the use of social-emotional competency framework as part of the language and questions.
Facilitation
I facilitate strategic planning and annual retreats, long-term processes with multiple stakeholders that explore new initiatives, refine everyday operations, and work through immediate crises or forecasted challenges. These processes establish space for questions and concerns, encourage creative thinking, utilize the strengths of teams to forecast obstacles, cultivate nuanced and responsive solutions, build flexibility in thinking patterns, strengthen social-emotional muscles in relationship to each other, increase trust and transparency, empower a diverse cross-section of stakeholders to explore key questions and provide feedback that shapes the final outcomes.
Social Emotional Intelligence
I analyze and coach social-emotional intelligence skills to provide successful outcomes through stronger communication skills, development of key leadership skills, enhancement of organizational culture, support of employee improvement plans, positive and caring interoffice relationship building, increased problem-solving capacity, and shared language and skills that aid diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives.
Strategic Planning
I offer the opportunity to explore the ‘both/and’ inside of places of tension, creating facilitated structures and space that give freedom to step into and imagine what currently feels impossible. This allows for the intersection of one’s (or a team’s) vision to meet and merge into the pragmatics of strategic planning for success that aligns with their ultimate purpose. These processes are sprinkled with opportunities to learn and practice tools that allow for more thoughtful, mindful, and reflective approaches to enhancing their professional lives, curated specifically to their needs. This work supports productively navigating time sensitive dialogues, thoughtfully managing confidential dialogues, enacting complex or long-term decision-making processes, and crafting/revising short and long-term strategic plans.
Training & Professional Development
I provide training that strengthens communication in active listening, bias awareness, values assessment, identity mapping, and exploration of worldviews. My current work develops nuanced communication skills to support difficult conversations, unpacks white privilege, cultivates an anti-racist approach to communication and solutions, and allows for values-based actions.
Additionally, I can work with your leadership and team to synthesize a calendar of professional development offerings across your organization into focused series and themes for a recursive learning experience. This will support the growth and development of employees increased, and develop a shared language that infiltrates within and across departments.