TYPICAL PHASES OF WORK

   

Phase 1: Discover Common Ground to Build From 

Listen, agree about guiding principles, and co-design the process

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Cultivating curiosity, possibilities, and connections. Structured listening, beyond simplistic surveys or focus groups, gives us context and conviction about what people truly need. When possible, I train interested participants to conduct interviews to invest in their own relationships and understanding, and facilitate them to make sense of (anonymous) results. Participants co-own results and shape next steps. 

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Whether it’s an internal team, diverse community members, or a network of cross-sector organizations, when participants develop their own shared sense of shared interests and priorities and a clear, collective answer about "to what end" they are on this journey together, a solid foundation emerges for actionable, adaptive pursuit of change -- shared values, a common purpose, and a co-generated set of decision-making criteria. Often, these simple tools are never made clear, even for groups who have been working together a long time.

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Phase 2: Co-Design Strategy 

Use common ground to co-create strategy and action plans while strengthening leadership capabilities, relationships, and partnerships 

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Where the magic happens. Whether for organizations, networks, or communities. From discovery results, teams collaborate for intensive half- or ¾-day design sessions to go beyond planning to actually practicing desired changes. Real-time experiments with clear learning objectives can often be rolled out immediately. With visual thinking tools and structured dialogue processes, teams develop both strategic direction AND adaptive ways of leading and working together in sync. The way Jen approaches public engagement simplifies (and de-stresses) planners’ and decision-makers’ jobs while growing and strengthening partnerships and increasing faith in governance.

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A diverse cross-section of participants: 

• Co-own the results, creating political/organizational resilience; 

• Form diverse partnerships in support of pilot efforts; and/or 

• Can lead emerging related efforts within or outside the client's purview. 

   

Phase 3: Experiment With Action, Learning & Evolution 

Go beyond planning for change to living, co-owning, and evolving it together

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Change takes root and sprouts wings. Explore, practice, and build group expectations and feedback loops and learning systems into regular operations. This includes coaching key team members, designing decision-making frameworks for ongoing use, and creating "learning experiments" that let you try out, test, toss-or-keep, and adapt your approach based on real-world results. ​​​​

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This participant in a public planning process — co-owner of a multi-generation family ranch — was so inspired by steps of discovery-to-strategy in a remote rural region, including a packed public workshop, she shared that: 

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The process allows people to derive meaning together, leading to priorities and solutions that emerge organically rather than being imposed from the outside. That's where the magic happens. 

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Whether in interviews or large-scale public engagements, Jen translates complex, sometimes conflicting viewpoints into shared, visible narratives — literally putting words on walls — to establish common ground.  

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Jen doesn't just facilitate dialogue; her work transforms how people engage with one another. Her ability to surface and honor different perspectives fosters trust, creating the conditions for productive action. I am impressed by how Jen can turn division into direction, skepticism into ownership, empowering overlooked voices to become driving forces for change. Jen is truly a skilled, thoughtful, and impactful leader and facilitator.