How I work with owners and their teams
When people ask why they should work with me, I come back to one thing: being heard.
"It is astonishing how elements which seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens."— Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person
At heart I'm a listener. That's where my training started, as a therapist, and it's still the first thing I do in any room. But being heard isn't enough. To move forward and make a change takes tools, practice, and somebody who will stick with you all the way to action.
I've done this work for twenty years with founders, CEOs, and leadership teams in the trades, manufacturing, family business, and professional services. The conversations are different every single time (I never get bored), but the pattern underneath them rarely is. That's the part I'm good at seeing.
Work with me directly.
Some leaders want a standing partner, somebody in their corner between the big moments. You text me when something comes up (a conversation that went sideways, a hire you're on the fence about, a family issue that is bleeding into the business), and we either work it in real time or hold it for our next session. We work on the thing that matters right now.
Single Session
$750For when something is pressing and you need to think it through with somebody who gets it. One 90-minute session, a written summary with your next steps, and no commitment beyond that.
Good for: a stuck decision, a hard conversation you're dreading, or simply finding out what it's like to work with me.
Trusted Advisor
$1,500/ monthA standing partner for leaders who want somebody to think with and a straight answer when they need one.
- Two 90-minute sessions a month
- Text me between sessions
- Business, leadership, and the whole person, because for you they're not separate
- Month-to-month, easy to pause or resume
Good for: leaders who are driving a change and living through it at the same time, and want a steady sounding board and someone to keep them honest.
On-Call Advisor
$3,000/ monthFor leaders in the thick of it who need real access, fast: sessions as often as you need them, short-notice scheduling, extended hours, and hands-on help in the moment.
Good for: a succession, a sale, a reorganization, or a season where the calls can't wait two weeks.
Hiring me for someone on your team or in your family? We'll scope that together on the first call. And if that someone is you, reading this because the owner sent you, welcome. This is what the work looks like, and nobody here is going to talk down to you.
"Dr. J is the right fit if you built your leadership through doing, not through an MBA. She never talked down to me or assumed I didn't know things. Spearheading a startup business is difficult — Dr. J helped me develop a thought process that effectively and accurately rectifies situations before they become larger issues. I came away with tools that changed how I show up and strengthened my communication style with my partners and team."
Josh DeMeulenaereVP Electrical Services, K2 Power Solutions"She listens — really listens — and then, like a hammer to a nail, she says her piece. Her greatest strength is building trust without ever taking sides. She sees the end goal clearly and doesn't get distracted by feelings or emotions. That's what gets people to open up and say the things that actually need to be said."
Chase MeeksSenior Accounts Manager, G & G Hauling & Excavating"Dr. J provided me with much needed clarity on family business related issues. She was able to look at the problem objectively and gave me numerous resources to be better able to solve the problem. I'd recommend her counsel to anyone dealing with family and/or business related problems."
Jay GroningerCivil Engineer, G & G Hauling & ExcavatingWhat this is: advising focused on leadership, decision-making, communication, and how your company runs. What this isn't: psychotherapy or crisis care. If you're in acute distress or need clinical treatment, I'll help you find the right support.
Bring me in for your team.
When a leadership team stops being honest with each other, it costs you in ways that never show up on a report: decisions that stall, good people who go quiet, the same meeting over and over again. Facilitation is my favorite part of this work, and it's a simple, straightforward place to start. You provide the room and the snacks. I bring a session I've run many, many times, your people leave with something they can use on Monday, and you get a real feel for how I work before anybody commits to anything bigger.
A Team Session
from $1,500A 90-minute session on leadership: communication, blind spots, assumptions, working better together, and the conversations that don't happen in your regular meetings.
Good for: a leadership team that's gone quiet, a new management layer, or a first look at whether I'm the right fit.
From there, it grows into whatever your team needs.
- WorkshopsTraining for your managers, built around your company, not a generic audience.
- RetreatsWhere the conversations that have been circling for months finally land, and the group leaves with tools instead of just a nice experience.
- Strategy sessionsWhere the team stops talking about a problem and builds the answer together.
What that's looked like:
- A skilled trades company that put an annual strategy in place and has grown every quarter since.
- Owners who saw they were the bottleneck and changed how they lead.
- A leadership team that learned what growth does to a company and stopped blaming each other for it.
- A nonprofit board that moved from working in the organization to governing it.
- A manufacturer's supervisor-development pilot that started as one session and grew into a company-wide rollout.
"Working with Dr. J is enlightening. She helps us experience a practical situation from different vantages, which aids in seeing reactions occur naturally. She helps us reach a deeper understanding of cause and effect, and how to move forward collectively and collaboratively."
Jen SailorChief Financial and Operations Officer, Indiana Trust Wealth Management"I feel the most empowered I have in five years in this role."
A participantAfter a team sessionLet's talk.
Let's sit down, coffee if you're local or a call if you're not, and figure out what you need, whether that's a session for your team, a standing partnership, or something in between. We'll go from there.
Or email me a few times that work and we'll find a spot.