As experienced organizational leaders we've been exactly where you're sitting. We get it and we know what kind of help to offer. The type that leaves you more confident and at ease and leaves your organization stronger and prepared for the future.
You are on the road from successful project to sustainable organization and have hit a pothole.
Expectations have exploded and you are grappling with your existing organizational structure, the need to increase revenue, expanding governance requirements, and a disengaging community. Your project's success is feeling more like a threat than a celebration.
A strategic plan exists, but it doesn't drive anything.
Goals were set without community evidence, nobody agreed on how success would be measured, and the document now sits apart from the budget and the year's workplans. Staff can't say what the organization is trying to achieve this year, and the board can't tell whether it is working.
You and the team have taken the courses and attended the institutes, yet something is still missing in how you work together.
Leadership styles have become rigid rather than situational, ideas are shot down rather than grown, trust is absent, and no one wants to say what needs to be said. When things are said, they are unwise, unhealthy, and unhelpful.
The project slips quietly until a deadline forces attention.
Work is assigned without a sponsor, a plan, or an agreed definition of success. When it finally lands, nothing is learned from it, because no one goes back to ask what happened.
Our work is rooted in deep respect for what your organization does and the impact that it has in the communities you serve. We approach all that we do with care and attention to confidentiality, detail, information, and people.
We help you solve problems, mitigate risks, and avert crises. We design processes and facilitate conversations rooted in our deep experience and expertise, that are spot-on to the situation, evidence-based, transparent, and accountable.
We prioritize strengthening your leadership and organizational capacity and take pride in offering more than the typical transactional consultant-client experience.
When you work with us, you are working with colleagues you can know and trust.
Respect, kindness, and friendliness
Openness, clarity, transparency, and accountability
Evidence, information, sense-making, and answering the “so what?”
Book a no-obligation call (we don't have a sales script) to find out more about who we are, how we work, and how we can help you.
Book a callBabs has energy and calmness, knows how to read and manage the room, and expertly facilitates ideas, participation, and respect. In my experience, this is a rare combination and Babs is a rare being.
I attended a conference session that they were facilitating a few years ago, that was different than anything I had ever experienced at a library conference. Another library director who had dragged me to the session, just said ‘told you’. Since then I have kept them close and so should you.
Kevin has a unique open way of collaborating and a rare ability to create a welcoming, calm, and supportive space where everyone contributes and feels trusted. He helped us to shape our growth, from a start-up project to a successful operation, and has inspired us to show up for each other and our community with a positive and generous attitude, a belief in what is possible, and better planning. His approach has enriched our work culture and has had an immeasurable impact on our project and how we work with our global community. His care and thoughtfulness has been a pleasure to work with and we look forward to working with him again.
Babs is extraordinarily skilled. My coaching sessions with her are the best investment in my career and in my self-care.
Many of our board members were familiar with strategic planning at their own organizations and were feeling a little jaded and uncertain about being part of a planning process that felt empty or performative. As well, our staff and community members were hesitant and nervous about how they might participate and if they would feel out of place. Working with, by, and for community is critical to how we do our work. They immediately understood what that would mean for our strategic planning and worked with us on designing an inclusive and relaxed process. Their way of holding space and connecting people and ideas resulted in a freaking awesome gathering and strategic plan. They're freaking awesome.
Babs (MLIS, MBA) has been a coach and facilitator for over 30 years along with a career in library management and as a non-profit executive director. For the past 10 years she has been a much sought after and trusted consultant with a focus on organizational strategy, governance, and leadership development. She listens to understand, sets the space for big and meaningful discussions, ideas, and action, and holds herself and others to a high bar of ethical behaviour and accountability.
Kevin (MLIS, MAEd) has been a librarian, educator, community manager, and administrator in academia, public libraries, and open source technology and open access publishing projects. He brings his enthusiasm for human flourishing, experimentation, and organizational excellence to every project at RenewalWorks.