Our approach
We work with mission‑driven organizations under real constraints and uncertainty. Our approach helps people see what is actually happening, work with the tensions they are experiencing, and experiment to find viable ways forward together.
We take a non‑heroic, distributed view of leadership where leaders share responsibility with their people and together they move from business as usual to creating pathways to a new future.
How pathways get built
New pathways are built collaboratively and based in practice. Our approach integrates inquiry, culture, and behavior change.
It reflects six Pathway Principles (Community, Diversity, Curiosity, Individual Agency, Shared Power, and a Future Distinct from the Past) that support engagement and the development of entrusting leadership.
We utilize proprietary tools, including a readiness compass and polarity and alignment activities—at the individual and team levels—to assess and develop culture. Here’s more on how we work.
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We start by building a shared picture of how things really work now using the six Pathway Principles.
We talk with leaders and teams about where pressure is showing up, where trust feels thin, how decisions actually get made, and which routines feel exhausted or protective. We look at patterns in behavior, experience, and stories.
From these, we develop a picture of your organization and team. We include how:
key tensions are shaping culture
constraints are impacting the mission
habits and cultural patterns are influencing group performance.
This becomes a common reference point for growth and moving forward together.
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Next, we teach people our Pathway Conversations™ framework that gives leaders and teams a way to:
create common ground
surface action-shaping assumptions
turn assumptions into new questions
answer new questions by formulating new actions.
These conversations engage the obvious and hidden talents of your people. They become an adaptable model for people to discover new possibilities through conversation, not discussion. The next step is taking new action steps.
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To get beyond business as usual we need to create new directions. These come from taking actions that can answer their new questions by finding or trying out something new—small research or experiments.
Small experiments are designed to leverage the power of tensions, focus on the mission, re-shape culture and habit, and move teams towards agency.
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Pathway Conversations™ give your people a framework for creating new pathways and for developing sustainable structures for their everyday work.
Over time, these structural shifts replace “business as usual” and offer new ways of working that are aligned with your mission, tensions, and constraints, and more inclusive of your people and their agency, integrity, and creativity.
What grounds our work
Commitment to your mission
In the context of your tensions, constraints, and culture, our framework supports your organization and your people in day‑to‑day operations and planning to further your mission-focused work.
Years of practice
This work has evolved over many years with nonprofits, healthcare organizations, colleges and universities, and small businesses facing real pressures and change. Our ongoing research and publications continue to inform, shape, and strengthen our unique practice.
Applied neuroscience
We pay attention to how brains and bodies respond to threat, overload, curiosity, and possibility. We design conversations and practices to reduce unnecessary threat, support learning, and make it easier for people to stay engaged.
Non‑heroic, distributed leadership
The smartest person in the room is the group. By design, our approach supports people closest to the work to co-create pathways forward. Leadership is exercised across levels because people can do together what no person can do alone.
in the field: Pathway Conversations™
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When a university’s strategy stalled, Pathway Conversations™ sparked a turnaround—energizing faculty and paving the way for bold, innovative solutions.
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A group of global change leaders shifted from rigid planning to energized collaboration, equipping themselves and their peers to guide complex initiatives with confidence and fresh insight.
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Rather than dictating the path forward, a foundation fostered open dialogue among key stakeholders in family medicine. Through Pathway Conversations™, participants shaped a bold, long-range vision that reflected everyone’s priorities.
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When a sustainability coalition wanted progress, a leader opened new avenues for participation. The network quickly moved from ideas to action, launching diverse, member-driven projects that made a real difference.
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Amid uncertainty, program managers moved beyond passive engagement to spark lively involvement across teams—building momentum and trust even in challenging times.
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Facing competitive pressures, this company’s leadership encouraged candid conversations and creative problem-solving. By inviting contributions from every corner, the firm jumpstarted a wave of breakthrough innovations.
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Leadership brought key voices together for scenario planning, aligning once-siloed teams around a clear and unified direction. Strong relationships and open communication carried the strategy well beyond typical planning outcomes.
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Instead of a top-down rollout, a new medical practice engaged staff and providers in shaping their own goals and strategies. The result: a thriving operation that exceeded expectations in its very first year.
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During an important transition, faith leaders invited a rich diversity of perspectives into the discernment process. With Pathway Conversations™, the community found common purpose and made thoughtful, inclusive decisions about its future.
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After years of bureaucratic, top-down planning, Board members followed the Pathway Conversations™ Framework to engage their community—from students to seniors, educators to employers—to create a shared future for education in their region.
We are ready to partner with you and your team to transform your work. We offer:
tailored on-site delivery of our framework to suit your specific needs
self-paced and live courses so you can learn our framework
24/7 coaching through our bespoke coaching app, Everyday Jack.