Working Together
Every situation is different.
The work begins with the problem you're trying to solve, not a predetermined solution.
The work may take different forms, from understanding what's creating a problem to developing strategy, changing how the organization operates, or advising executives as they navigate difficult decisions.
How I Can Help
Organizational Diagnosis - Understand what's actually happening and why.
Build a clearer picture of how the organization is actually operating, where progress is getting stuck, and what may be creating the problems leaders are experiencing.
May include: Interviews • Focus groups • Document review • Capacity assessment • Organizational Conditions Diagnostic
Strategy Development - Make consequential choices about what to pursue, what not to pursue, and what those choices require.
Help leadership respond to changing circumstances by making clear choices about where to focus, what not to pursue, and what those choices require of the organization.
May include: Strategic choices • Scenario exploration • Strategic planning • Strategy measures
Operating Design - Shape how the organization works so it can deliver what is required.
Identify and change the conditions making execution harder than it needs to be, particularly where roles, decisions, workflow, management systems, or capacity are getting in the way.
May include: Decision rights • Roles and responsibilities • Workflow • Management systems • Capacity analysis • Operating Cadence • Performance measures and dashboards
Executive Advisory - Ongoing thought partner as circumstances change.
Some situations do not fit neatly into a project. Executive advisory provides an ongoing relationship for leaders who need a trusted outside perspective as they navigate changing circumstances, make consequential choices, and shape the organization around them.
May include: Regular executive advisory sessions • Decision support • Organizational problem solving • Strategy review • Facilitation at critical moments
How I Work
Align, Engage, and Enable guide how I work across different kinds of engagements.
ALIGN
Create Clarity Around
Direction and Choices
Organizations can expend enormous effort without being clear about what they are actually trying to accomplish, what they have chosen to pursue, or what they have chosen not to pursue.
This often involves:
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clarifying the direction the organization is trying to pursue
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distinguishing true obligations from choices
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making priorities and tradeoffs explicit
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identifying what the organization will not pursue
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ensuring those choices are understood across the organization
Clear choices give people a basis for making decisions without continually looking upward for direction.
ENGAGE
See How the Organization Is Actually Operating
Understanding what is getting in the way requires looking beyond how the organization is supposed to work to see how it actually works.
This often involves:
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listening to people closest to the work
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surfacing different perspectives and assumptions
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identifying what is already working and should be preserved
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identifying where decisions, work, or information are getting stuck
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looking for workarounds and other ways people are compensating
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making visible gaps between expectations and experience
The goal is to give leadership a richer understanding of the organization before deciding what needs to change.
ENABLE
Shape the Conditions for Progress
Once we understand how the organization is working, we can preserve what is helping and change the conditions creating unnecessary effort and consuming capacity.
This often involves:
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preserving and strengthening what is already working
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removing constraints that make work unnecessarily difficult
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strengthening management systems and decision processes
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building capability where it is needed
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reallocating resources to support the choices that have been made
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simplifying work and reducing unnecessary demands
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reducing dependence on workarounds, individual heroics, and constant intervention
The goal is to strengthen how the organization works so it can carry what is being asked of it with less unnecessary effort and greater capacity for what comes next.
