Client Stories
Sustaining and Innovating in Public Schools
Building an Ambidextrous Leadership Team
The Challenge
Maya inherited a senior leadership team who believed they faced an impossible tradeoff: either focus on hitting state mandated performance goals or invest in innovative school redesign. Not both.
This either/or thinking was deeply ingrained—and rooted in subconscious patterns developed over decades. Many leaders had spent their careers playing the “hero,” swooping in during crises and solving problems themselves. This kept them busy, reactive, and seemingly indispensable—but also trapped in short-term thinking. They weren’t developing principals; they were disempowering them.
The Approach
We brought these hidden patterns into the light. In a retreat I designed and facilitated, we named the long-term costs of the hero mindset: burned-out senior leaders, stagnant innovation, underdeveloped school-level leadership. For many, this was the first time they saw how their instinctive responses—once praised—were now limiting systemic progress.
Seeing these patterns was powerful, and opened the team to making significant changes in how they worked. Together, we…
- Redesigned principal coaching sessions to put school leaders in the driver’s seat.
- Facilitated team structures to reflect weekly on what leadership patterns were showing up—and how to shift them.
- Used 1:1 coaching to help individual leaders unpack their subconscious commitments and find new ways of leading.
The Results
In just one year, they put the organization on a whole new level of performance and impact:
- Exceeded State Performance Goals: More students started getting the education they deserve, no matter their school assignment.
- Launched Two New School Programs: Educators tapped into passion and entrepreneurship, and enrollment soared as families saw a concrete commitment to change.
- Built a Leadership Team for the Future: They had a foundation for even more ambitious outcomes, and launched a staff re-org and two more disruptive school models in year two.
Turning Startup Friction into Profit
From Hesitation to Sales Strategy Success
The Challenge
Elena (CEO) and Jeremy (Head of Product) were caught in a cycle of mutual hesitation—and headed toward a financial cliff.
- Elena held back on sales because she didn’t trust the product could be delivered on time.
- Jeremy would only commit to delivery timelines when he had 100% certainty, which was near impossible in a fast-moving startup.
Their best efforts to break the logjam only yielded more frustration and resentment. Their coordination devolved into fragments—hallway chats, texts, and circular meetings—while the root issues festered.
The Approach
In conversations with both co-founders, it became clear the issue wasn’t tactical but structural: they lacked a reliable container for honest, productive dialogue.
- I facilitated a direct conversation where each named their underlying fears and behaviors.
- Jeremy admitted he wasn’t confident his team could deliver with 100% certainty.
- Elena realized her judgment of Jeremy’s hesitation was a defense against her own fear of failure.
With these patterns surfaced, they stopped blaming each other and acknowledged that risk is inherent to business. They agreed to a new standard: 75% confidence was enough to move forward with any sales.
The Results
- A bold new sales strategy launched with clear risk tolerance.
- A weekly meeting rhythm created space for proactive planning and collaboration.
- Sales accelerated sharply, and the company turned a profit for the first time since launch..
Reinventing the Teach For America Experience
Building a new leadership development paradigm
The Challenge
When I took over leadership development programming for Teach For America in North Carolina, it was clear our approach wasn’t working.
- Our team had tremendous potential, but a culture of urgency often slipped into using guilt and shame as tools for motivation.
- Participants weren’t thriving, weren’t staying, and the program wasn’t building the long-term leadership force we desperately needed in rural communities.
The Approach
I assembled a small innovation team to design a new leadership journey from day one. Instead of pushing people through with pressure, we treated participants as powerful change agents capable of radical ownership for their own growth.
- We prioritized deep personal insight, honest reflection, and the courage to face challenges without blame or defensiveness.
- The design emphasized community and collective support, creating space for leaders to practice new ways of thinking and working together.
The Results
- Highest Satisfaction Rates in the Country: Participants in our program reported among the strongest ratings nationwide
- Exponential Local Leadership Force: We grew an alumni force in a small rural community from 1 teacher to over 40 educators, school leaders, and social entrepreneurs.
- Lifetime Impact: Nearly a decade later, the networks formed in our cohorts remain active – fueling collaboration and collective impact across North Carolina and beyond