What Makes Us Different
Our team, our tools, and our array of experiences as changemakers make us different.
Our clients appreciate the lens we bring to the work. According to client surveys, our clients unanimously say they would recommend us to peer organizations. They confirm that we are different because we embrace the tensions inherent in realizing deep change, and help them attain tangible results.
Most consulting firms bring binary, black-and-white approaches. Here’s what makes us different:
TOOLS & TAILORING
We employ field-tested and research-tested tools AND implement contextual listening and tailored approaches.
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Our approach is sharp and transformative. We’ve worked with clients on over 50 projects, leveraging decades of leadership experience across sectors. Our detailed frameworks and tools help our partners quickly diagnose areas of strength and things that need to change.
AND we support the work of making and sequencing plans that carefully align with the local and/or sector context. We do not believe in off-the-shelf checklists, stock presentations, or one-size-fits-all.
TECHNICAL & ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
We bring technical mastery to our engagements AND catalyze adaptive shifts for our clients.
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We know that sometimes transformation requires rewriting job descriptions, changing core business processes and reinventing policies. We are detail-oriented, and we sweat the small stuff.
AND we believe deep equity work requires shifting values, mindsets and beliefs. This only happens through experiential learning and deep culture work over time.
CLEAR PLANS & FLEXIBILITY
We progress according to focused plans AND we adapt to become part of your team.
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Our projects and engagements always include well-defined phases with clear deliverables for each phase, based on the goals we co-construct with our clients.
AND we know from client surveys that our clients view us as elbow partners and coaches, and they trust us as key advisors when values come into tension with current events and company decisions.
CANDOR & COMPASSION
We are comfortable with discomfort AND we know that shame-based learning helps no one.
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We live by the quote from James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed unless it is faced.” We recognize this changemaking practice requires discomfort and confrontation with sometimes brutal facts.
AND we facilitate spaces, learning and frank dialogue that makes space for discomfort and confrontation while guarding against more gridlock and polarization.
MODELING & TEACHING
We provide focused leadership AND we teach leadership teams “how to fish” to sustain progress.
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We enter into engagements with CEOs, superintendents, commissioners, and founders, as well as with their teams.
AND we create systems that identify and resolve tension points to sustain organizational progress. Our team is small and agile because we are committed to partnering with and building the capacity of leaders within our partner organizations.