Tailored organizational tools
We offer customized consulting, facilitation, and group process design to groups seeking to increase their impact, clarify their purpose, values, and strategy, and cultivate thriving and equitable culture.
Clarity about structure, decision-making, and roles. Alignment on values and purpose. Trust in one another. Skills to work together.
Clarity about structure, decision-making, and roles. Alignment on values and purpose. Trust in one another. Skills to work together.
BOARD DEVELOPMENT
We help new and evolving boards to clarify their purpose, strengthen their effectiveness, and become the bold, supportive, and visionary structures their organizations need. Board development services include:
Board development plans
Skill- and relationship-building retreats for boards
Board clarity, direction, and alignment sessions
Results:
Clearer board structures and roles
Stronger relationships amongst board members and between boards and staff
A plan for board growth and development
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE (DEIJ) WORK
Our diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) work builds organizations where folks of color, queer and trans people, disabled folks, working-class people, and people of other marginalized identities can thrive. We identify and uproot organizational practices, policies, and work cultures rooted in white supremacy culture, and seed new structures aligned to a group’s vision and values. DEIJ services include:
DEIJ landscape assessments and roadmaps
Anti-oppression workshops and trainings
DEIJ organizational capacity-building
Affinity cohort and caucus facilitation
Results:
A roadmap of tailored, concrete recommendations to strengthen key areas of a group’s diversity, equity, inclusion and justice work
Increased collective capacity and skills in navigating DEIJ work in the workplace
Refined equity-based organizational structures and practices
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND VISIONING
We offer strategic planning and visioning support for to sharpen their vision, adapt to their current conditions, and choose goals that align with their core values. Our strategic planning processes kick off with an initial assessment of the organization’s needs and landscape. From there, we will build actionable plans to move an organization’s work forward, choose strategic priorities that are rooted in the group’s mission and vision, and set measurable and feasible goals to support implementation. Services include:
Annual planning facilitation
Strategic planning processes
Theory of Change development
Workplanning templates and support
Results:
Deeper understanding of a group or organization’s identity, purpose, and strategy for reaching its goals
Shared vision for the future a group is working towards
A plan, timeline, and structure for how to achieve organizational goals and work well together in the process
Workplans that translate strategic and annual plans into action
TEAM-BUILDING AND RELATIONAL-TENDING
We design facilitated opportunities for teams and organizations to slow down, repair if needed, and tend to their relationships. Services include:
Relationship- and team-building workshops and retreats
Conflict processes and repair work
Conflict mediation (See ‘Conflict mediation’ page for more).
Results:
Stronger working relationships and deeper understanding of one another
Improved 1-1 and team culture
Repair and relational tending
Accompaniment in transforming harm
SKILLBUILDING WORKSHOPS
Through one-off workshops and tailored learning series, we support individuals to learn new skills to use in their day-to-day work. Our workshops share cross-pollinated frameworks, fresh usable tools, and opportunities for participants to practice and apply learnings to their work. We offer 3 workshop series:
Leadership Series
Skill-building Series
Grassroots Series
See ‘Workshops’ for more!
Results:
More skilled managers and leaders
Shared language and tools across teams to facilitate collaboration
Increased team capacity to navigate conflict, feedback, and decision-making well with each other!
INTERNAL STRUCTURE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
We create equitable, creative and usable internal structures for key areas of an organization, including its decision-making, feedback, and conflict protocols. Drawing upon proven models, we design values-centered structures that improve internal operations and strengthen group culture. Services include:
Decision-making processes and matrices
Feedback practices and systems
Peer evaluation processes
Harm and conflict protocol
Role and responsibilities clarification
Internal communications
Accompaniment through organizational structure transitions
Results:
Clearer decision-making protocols that create collective buy-in and effective implementation
A feedback-friendly culture that supports team growth and direct communication
Robust protocols that build collective resilience for navigating and responding to tension, disagreement, and harm
New or refined role descriptions, team scopes, and governance structures that clarify responsibilities and streamline collaboration
Deeper understanding of different governance options and a shared plan for governance transitions
Who we work with:
Nonprofit organizations
Foundations and funders
Grassroots organizations
Mutual aid groups and non-hierarchical collectives
Volunteer groups and boards
Base building organizations
Worker-owned cooperatives
Coalitions and cooperative networks
Arts organizations
Schools
…and more!
What it’s like to work with us…
Phase 1: We listen and learn: While our Phase 1’s vary depending on an organization’s unique needs, generally, we like to gather information before we jump in so that we are folding in to the culture of your group and picking up the work where you have left off! In Phase 1, we usually offer an intro session, hold listening sessions and focus groups, disseminate surveys, conduct document reviews, or some combination of all of these!
Phase 2: We get to work! Phase 2 is the bulk of our work together. Whether we are running workshops, designing tailored facilitated processes, offering coaching sessions, mediating team members or some combination of all of these things, we work closely with our working group to ensure we are meeting your group’s goals. We gather frequent feedback throughout Phase 2, and assess our impact at the close of our projects.
Phase 3: We set you up to continue the work we’ve started! In Phase 3, we focus on implementation. Sometimes this means setting up working groups and timelines to carry the work forward. Other times, we draft recommendations reports to leave groups with. In all cases, we are leaving you with clear pathways to continue the work we’ve started together.
We stay in touch! We have multi-year relationships with many of our clients. We are always ready to jump back in to support you when you need us in the future.
I came to Guiding Threads Collective with a community need and basket of ideas, they attentively listened and produced a thoughtful series of trainings to support us. I’m so grateful for their approach, values and generous spirit. I hope to work with them again!
- Brenda Hernandez
DIRECTOR NETWORK RESOURCES, ALLIED MEDIA PROJECTS
More Questions?
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We build customized scopes of work, based on a group’s specific needs. We offer all potential clients a free, 45-minute intake call so that we can learn more about your organization’s needs and develop a proposal that addresses your goals.
To schedule your intake with us, please reach out at info@guidingthreads.coop or through our ‘Contact Us’ page!
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We charge for our services along a deep sliding scale in order to support organizations with varying budgets. We also offer packages for bundled services, and at our intake call we will discuss with you your group’s budget so that we can design a scope of work that meets your goals and stays within your budget!
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We approach our work with a strong work ethic and genuine commitment to helping organizations through periods of growth, turmoil, and/or transformation. Our years of facilitation and organizational consulting mean we offer groups seasoned advice, perspective, and support. Many of our clients describe us as warm, thoughtful, and creative.
One client recently said, “Y’all have really human, caring vibes.”
Interested in how our services might support your organization?
Fill out our inquiry form and we will follow up to schedule a free 45-minute intake call to learn more about your group’s needs.