My work is rooted in the discipline of organizational development and industrial psychology. I believe tension is a natural and integral part of the work of transformation. My job is to help leaders gain insight into and navigate these tensions. As such, my work is rooted in the following principles.
MY PRINCIPLES
Authenticity and Compassion: Knowing and understanding oneself, our strengths as well as our weaknesses, is a key leadership attribute. It is also key to forming connection and building trust. I am committed to bringing my full self to this work and engaging my clients with honesty and transparency. I have enormous respect and regard for my clients who are committed to making the world a better place. I know first-hand the challenges of running a business and building a sustainable organization. I expect flaws and imperfection, and recognize that transformational work is hard and often messy. I am committed to giving honest and constructive feedback in a loving and nonjudgmental manner.
Creativity and Rigor: Transformation is hard work. In order to succeed leaders must bring passion, creativity and inspire an ‘esprit de corps.’ They must also make thoughtful choices, informed decisions, and be accountable. As your partner, I bring those same attributes to the work of organizational transformation. There is not one approach or solution that works for all organizations. As such, I design and custom-craft unique strategies that take into account an organization’s context, capacity and resources. These interventions are rooted in research and evolving practices in the organizational development discipline. Creative solutions are animated by the partnership between me and the client.
Equity and Participatory Practices: My work is grounded in systems theory. As such, I am intentional about lifting up the internal and external beliefs, structures and practices that make up and influence the organization’s culture. I am committed to helping leaders and organizations examine and address the practices and norms that undermine equity and limit organizations from advancing their mission. My approach to transformation requires input and buy-in from the stakeholders that will be directly impacted by the change you are seeking to achieve.
Experimentation and Risk Taking: Change requires tolerating risk and the muscle to effectively adapt to challenges. Today leaders must be willing to take risks, experiment and fail. They must also create work environments where everyone can experiment and learn from their mistakes. Until we reimagine how we resource nonprofit organizations, we handcuff them. As an organizational development practitioner, I support experimentation and risk taking as a key pathway to unlocking the leaders’ and organizations’ potential.