Our Approach

Our clients regularly tell us, “You’re not what I thought consultants would be like.” And we’re not. We don’t write reports, speak in jargon, or maintain a polite distance. Instead, we are:

• Hands-on (even virtually!). We get in our clients’ business. We watch them delegate and conduct job interviews and run meetings. We look at their email so we can see real examples of how they’re interacting with colleagues. We watch them in action to see what’s really going on and what it would take to move things forward.
• Grounded in our clients’ worlds. We’ve been in our clients’ shoes, and we understand firsthand the difficulties and complexities they face. We hear over and over that we “get” their realities in a way they didn’t expect.
• Concrete. We help clients learn by doing, and we help them “do” by giving very specific, actionable recommendations. We won’t simply tell them to have a difficult conversation; we’ll draft talking points and rehearse the conversation with them. And instead of preaching about the importance of new practices, we’ll model the practices, give samples, and jointly create drafts.
• Results-driven. Every day, managers grapple with the work of getting teams aligned on goals, getting results, and building teams where all staff can thrive. Whatever the challenge, we look at everything through the lens of how it will impact our client’s ability to achieve their mission and results (without compromising on their values!).
• Committed to equity and inclusion. We help our clients apply an equity lens to their work, whether that means developing and testing for racial equity and inclusion competencies in hiring, setting goals that account for equity and inclusion, or giving high-stakes feedback across lines of difference.

Read about the mission and the core values that guide our work.