Advisory
When the same problem keeps coming back
I help leaders see problems more clearly so they can make better decisions about what to do next.
You don't need to have it figured out before we talk. Figuring out what's actually happening is the work.
Sound familiar?
Signs you may be facing a system problem
- You've changed the people, and the problem stayed.
- Everyone agrees in the meeting, and nothing changes after it.
- You learn what people really think after the decision is already made.
- Your team is working hard, and the results keep landing in the same place.
- Your organization says it values people, and its people are exhausted.
If you or your organization keep running into the same problem, the issue may not be effort or people. It may be the system. Every system produces results, the ones you intend and the ones you don't. I help leaders see the system they're operating inside and identify the conditions producing the problem, not merely respond to its predictable results.
My approach
How I work
I look for the system, not someone to blame
We look at how decisions get made, what gets rewarded, how people communicate, and how they're cared for. Most recurring problems live there.
I'll tell you what I see
The more authority you have, the less likely people are to tell you they see things differently. I will, with care and without flattery.
You leave with something to act on
A clearer reading of the problem, the conditions producing it, and the next decision in front of you.
A room can't see what no one in it has learned to recognize. It also can't see what somebody recognized and didn't feel safe to say.
For individual leaders
A clearer view of the decision in front of you
For executives, founders, and leaders carrying decisions that affect other people's lives and work, and who want an honest outside reading before they act.
90 minutes · $950
Strategic Session
One focused conversation about a recurring problem, a hard decision, or a situation you can't quite see clearly. We look at the system around it, including who decides, what gets rewarded, and what people may not be saying, so you leave with a clearer understanding of the problem and of your next decision.
3 months · $3,000/month
Ongoing Advisory
A steady thinking partner while you lead through something difficult. We meet twice a month, with limited support between sessions, so you can test your reading of a situation before you act on it.
For organizations
Understand the system before you change it
For mission-driven companies, nonprofits, and philanthropies whose problems keep returning no matter who is in the role or how hard people work.
2–3 weeks
Systems Diagnostic
We name the pattern, map the system producing it, and identify where change will matter most. You leave with a written diagnosis and a clear recommendation.
3 months
Systems Advisory Engagement
We examine what is producing the recurring problem, clarify the decisions it requires, and support your team as those decisions are put into practice. Over three months, we move from understanding the system, to deciding what should change, to observing and adjusting what happens next.
From the work
What it is like to work together
“Jo has an extraordinary ability to get to the heart of a challenge, cut through complexity, and accomplish in ten minutes what might take others hours. Every time I meet with her, I leave feeling more empowered, more confident, and more capable of taking on what lies ahead. She challenges you, believes in you, and helps you find a way forward.”
“Having worked closely with Jo, I can confirm that she is an extraordinarily thoughtful and perceptive partner. She has a rare ability to listen deeply, understand the larger picture, and bring intellectual rigor and practical clarity to complicated questions. She is also patient, kind, empathetic, deeply collaborative, and fun—just the kind of person you want beside you when the path forward is not obvious.”
Experience
Where this comes from
For nearly two decades, I've built the infrastructure organizations lacked—in communications, strategy, marketing, development, governance, and organizational culture. I've done that work as a staff member, an executive leader, a nonprofit board member, an advisor, inside churches, and as a volunteer across institutions. Most recently, I served as Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where I led work that culminated in a fundraising event that raised nearly $1 million and drew about 400 people.
My thinking is shaped by formal training in systems engineering, literature, and theology, and by years of interdisciplinary study across power, psychology, history, organizational life, and human formation. I write about how power, belief, and institutions shape what people are able to see. My advisory work comes from the same question as my writing.
Begin here
Tell me about the problem you keep running into and the decision you're facing. It doesn't need to be polished. I'll follow up to talk about whether this work is a good fit.