My clients are leaders of small to mid-sized businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. 

They spend a lot of their time in meetings that don’t accomplish what is needed. They are tired of wasting time and money on meetings that don’t produce desired outcomes. Many of them have a critical meeting scheduled and want someone outside the group to facilitate it.

What they have in common is

the need to collaborate with others to do their job successfully,

the desire to have meetings to be less stressful, more productive and enjoyable, and

the frustration of not having that happen.

And no wonder!

Collaboration isn’t easy.

Often turf issues, hidden agendas and power plays take up valuable planning time in meetings and you don’t get the outcomes you want. Leaders are often overwhelmed with the effort it takes to get agreement, build consensus, or get energized commitment.

 Are any of these situations familiar to you?

• You’ve been a successful leader for years but what has worked in the past – telling people what to do and they do it – just doesn’t work well anymore. You get arguments or capitulation instead of energetic follow-through. You know the solution to the critical issues facing your organization requires collaboration.  You don’t know how to make the change. 
• An important business meeting is coming up. You want to participate fully and get your ideas considered as part of the team without having to be “up front in the power position”. But you also need to push on through to get agreements on several important issues. 
• You are mandated to collaborate by government directives or your funding agency. Meetings with the other agencies or community groups aren’t getting anywhere. One or two people do all the talking; too many don’t speak at all. Everyone protects their turf. You’re discouraged.
• You are the director of a community service agency and your Board is bored!  Robert’s Rules of Order is too formal and doesn’t work well in meetings with the Board or with your volunteers.  You worry about how to keep them engaged and enthusiastic about their involvement in the mission.
• You are a school principal. You know the solution to the critical issues facing the school requires collaboration between faculty, staff and parent groups, all with different agendas and little time to meet. You’ve called a meeting. If it doesn’t go well, you may not get them back together again. Then what?

My clients are

• business leaders – executives, managers, department heads and team leads
• educators – teachers, principals, administrators who work within school settings or school districts, and faculty and department heads in higher education.
• administrators and boards of art and cultural organizations
• executive directors of government agencies, associations and community based organizations.

If you are experiencing chaos, confusion and conflict in your meetings, I can create a different kind of experience for your group. 

As an outside facilitator I have facilitated hundreds of meetings in the past thirty years. I can help you achieve the clarity, creativity and confidence needed to achieve outstanding results.  I make collaboration not just possible, but enjoyable!

 ”Thank you so much for facilitating our meeting to map out our fundraising strategies. You led us in a logical sequence of carefully planned activities enabling us to walk away with a month by month chart and assigned responsibilities.” Sue Jacox, Great Basin Outdoor School

 I’ve trained hundreds of group leaders and consultants to facilitate meetings that get results. I’ve helped them develop a more facilitative style and learn how to lead a participative meeting that creates results in a short time frame.

“These are the most useful tools I’ve found, especially in discovering consensus in multicultural groups…transferable for both well trained and novice group leaders.” Dan Groves, Partnership for Rural Improvement, Yakima, WA

Will my approach work for every group, every leader? No, it won’t.

Philip Horn, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and a long time client, says:

“If you are willing to take the risk of giving up some control (in your meeting)  in favor of genuinely engaging your colleagues and constituents in an authentic dialogue, you may be rewarded with a rich and diverse set of information and a highly motivated and effective group effort.”

Another client speaks about the risk and rewards of involving his staff in particpative strategic planning:

“I was apprehensive about the outcome and the risk I was taking at involving this level of staff in such an intensive program.  The process enabled each person to participate to the extent of his or her ability because he was contributing his own self and experience. It allowed me to participate fully without dominating. The outcome of this workshhop then is not just the planning, but also the unity of purpose acheived by each person participating to achieve a common goal. On all counts I regard our workshop as a success and I have no hesitation in recommending it as an extremely valuable management tool.”    Keith McPaul, VP & General Manager, PEX.

Here’s what it takes to work with me:

Groups & organizations:

1. Your group has a real business need that it must work together to meet. 
2. The leadership is committed to transforming the way they work to meet the need. 
3. There is a willingness and energy for change from others within the organization.

For individuals who want the ToP Training and ToP Methods Coaching I look for a:

1.  strong desire to maximize group participation in discussions, decision-making, and planning
2. an open mind about what it takes to lead a participative group
3. a willingness to learn something new

For those who want Strategic Action Coaching I look for:

1. a desire to move to the next level of excellence in their business
2. a need to step back from their day to day tasks and get a fresh perspective on their work
3. a willingness to put wheels under their dreams

We will work together well if you . . .

• expect that you and your organization or the groups you work with will benefit by working collaboratively.
• truly value the wisdom and expertise of your colleagues and want to involve them in planning how to improve the organization.
• delight in the quality of the service or product you provide, in your employees or members, and the customers or constituents you serve.
• you look for possibilities more than you look for problems.
• want to develop a facilitative leadership style.
• you are willing to do the work required to make the change you desire.
• you realize that the change you want to make is your change and that I can’t do it for you, only guide you on the way.
• you are able to tolerate a certain level of ambiguity while we explore what is needed and how to achieve it.
• it helps a lot if you have a sense of humor.

If you want to know the kind of results my clients get when we work together, read some Case Studies and Testamonials from my clients.