Consulting and Advisory
Rebuilding our world
High-level, bespoke consulting and advisory for business, government and civil society leaders leading the future of their people
Are you looking for bold new ideas to deliver value to your customers, clients or constituents? Tired of ‘top down’ consulting that isn’t grounded in the real world? Are you engaged in a large-scale transformation project and need help in creating a new corporate culture, perhaps one across different countries, cultures and time zones? Keen to integrate more sustainable policies and practices into your organisation? Or perhaps you are a government undergoing a massive transformation and need new ways of thinking about policy innovation or leadership development?
As a bold and visionary innovator, with a track-record in building award-winning companies and projects across the world, Caroline can add rocket fuel to your corporate or organisational transformation initiatives.
Not afraid to ask the big questions, and to push for excellence across all areas of an organisation’s performance, Caroline’s warm and encouraging leadership and facilitation style, puts you and your team at the heart of transformation, ensuring that change comes from within and is lasting and sustainable.
Ways Caroline can help your organisation
Disruptive thinking for new product development
Understanding and working in emerging markets
Large-scale national, international, organisational and cultural transformation
Leadership development for top teams
Intergration of sustainable and ethical business practices
Strategy and business development
Storytelling and Communications
Inspiring passion, purpose, innovation and well-being
Facilitating dialogue and interaction within organisations, at events and through social media
Women’s Leadership
Caroline’s particular passions lie in helping and supporting leaders in transition, whether that’s moving ‘up’ in the chain of hierarchy, or in supporting junior leaders to understand what it means to lead, not just manage, others. Her background in the developing world positions her well to support emerging markets, but also more developed markets in bringing fresh thinking and innovative processes to tired old problems that need to be looked at differently.
Consulting typically works across 2 main vectors:
First, identification of issues that need to be solved, rooted and grounded in the lived experience of the team and stakeholders, in a way that is human-centered, compassionate and outcome-oriented. No dry and dull surveys conducted by a computer, absolutely NO powerpoint (!), nor lengthy reports that sit on a shelf gathering dust, but human-to-human interaction in groups, to listen, learn and shape a vision, shoulder-to-shoulder with those whose lives are most affected by the project.
Then, a plan of action that doesn’t shy away from bold thinking about how to bring about the needed transformations. Big, courageous thinking that brings about lasting and meaningful change, with a sense of excitement, vision and purpose that unites and galvanises the whole team.
The opportunity to also partner with The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership for life-changing leadership development programmes that build the human resource capacity to execute on the bold and strategic vision.
Corporate Consultancy
Do you regularly need to work with people from all over the world, with countries and cultures with whom you seem to have little in common? Are you struggling to understand how to deliver products and services to both local and global communities? Do you need new thinking about how to manage large scale cultural change or the integration of sustainable business practices? Or does your company need to be made ‘fit for purpose’ to build resilience at the shocks we are facing in the world today?
Ways we might work together
· Following a merger and acquisition, you need to redefine your company culture and manage that transition for all levels of a company
· Starting and supporting internal education and learning initiatives to support the well-being and productivity of your people and the organisation as a whole
· Development of new products and services for both existing and frontier markets, taking into account a more human-centered and sustainable approach to doing business
· Redefining your company’s vision, mission, purpose and values, ensuring alignment across all stakeholders and keeping you accountable to your triple bottom line
Case Study
A large beauty multinational, headquartered in Paris, sought our support to help their global teams understand the tensions and opportunities inherent in a more ‘glocal’ approach to new product development and operations. Our intervention focused on helping the team itself to identify the blocks to progress within the internal company structure, as well as open their thought to how empowering local teams could enhance and add value to overall company profitability. It was recognised that there had been a historical focus on the French values of beauty and refinement and that a more inclusive approach that also harnessed the hidden value of local solutions across the world could increase profitability as well as a more harmonious company culture. Our background in emerging markets, coupled with our leadership development competencies and facilitation skills, made us an ideal partner to help them shape a renewed view on what ‘glocal’ would mean to them.
Government
Are you a government leader keen to excel in your new position? Finding it hard to navigate the differences between government and corporate leadership? Looking to future-proof your career to ensure you can lead comfortably across different sectors? Or are you looking for breakthrough innovations that will solve some of the biggest challenges for citizens in your countries? Or perhaps you need to enroll those ‘above’ you to create a new industry, invest in a citizen initiative, or even think entrepreneurially about winning back voters?
It is an exciting time for government leaders in emerging markets or those in developed markets undergoing transformation, with the opportunities to bypass the mistakes made by previous leaders, whilst also managing the challenges of stepping up to a new level of leadership. This is true of emerging markets but it is also increasingly necessary in more established markets that are losing legitimacy and trust from ordinary people. It is not only ‘the right thing to do’ to build more inclusive and equitable cultures, but it is fast becoming a necessity to avoid risk and build resilience in volatile global situations.
How we can work together
· Training and supporting government officials and civil society leaders to ‘think big’ about what is possible and redefine the capabilities of the public sector to be in service to it’s people
· Consider what it means to support the ‘human flourishing’ of the people in your country and how government services can innovate to best meet the needs of the population
· Open your mind to your own leadership capabilities as a government leader and commit to bold and radical thinking about implementing ‘10X’ projects that position you and your country as world leaders
· Interrogate the ‘social contract’ that exists between government and those that are governed in your society and ensure that it is underpinned by trust, integrity and accountability, no matter its political structure
· Education and skills development for the 21st century to meet the challenges of today’s world
Case study
We were asked to coach senior ministers in a Middle East country to develop the leadership skills necessary to be agile, future-focused leaders, capable of stretching their thinking to develop big and bold new ideas for their country. Over a period of 18 months, we worked with the leaders in individual coaching sessions that focused on both their own individual leadership development, as well as group coaching and ‘moonshot’ intensive workshops, to develop the creative thinking to support bold new innovations and ‘10X’ thinking for new government projects. One of the outcomes of the programme was the development of an entire new industry for that country, one that would enable them to transition from a purely oil-producing economy to a more diversified portfolio
“You’ve helped us not just as leaders, but as creative thinkers, on a personal level and on so many other levels. These sessions create the kind of 10X thinking that we need. The ideas I’ve generated through this, for example, the idea of creating a new cinema industry, is such a big idea, and it came directly through the coaching sessions. I can’t really put it into words what the coaching has done for me. It has been life-changing.”
Civil Society and Non-Profit Consultancy
Are you looking for new ways of thinking about community empowerment? Keen to hone your leadership skills and learn new ways to galvanise your followers and build a movement? Perhaps you are rolling out a large-scale education or learning initiative, for volunteers or community partners, and need to ensure quick and efficient uptake on key messages needed to overcome social problems?
Caroline’s background as a social entrepreneur has given her more than 20 years experience of what it means to work at the coal face of some of the world’s most intractable problems. Her deep respect for leaders of enterprises and those that work with and for them shapes her desire to support and nurture the capabilities of these workers and help them expand their awareness of what is possible.
Through coaching, facilitation, retreats and workshops, Caroline works alongside your teams, in a respectful way that honours their own lived experience of the issues, whilst encouraging and supporting them to ‘aim higher’ in the achievement of their goals.
How we could work together
· Coaching and mentoring of senior leaders
· Development of course and programme content, grassroots empowerment techniques and implementation of large-scale change initiatives
· Leadership development of team members, volunteers and all those affected by the mission of your organisation, through innovative courses and retreat programmes that empower potential
Case study
We were asked by a large development aid organisation in Afghanistan to design a programme to stamp out corruption in rural areas, through producing small-scale community theatre plays that communicated key messages to village officials, encouraging them to take ownership over the development of infrastructure projects designed to improve economic benefits. The idea was for communities to take their own leadership over identifying corrupt officials and to be exemplary leaders and custodians of public finances. In an intervention over several months, we delivered training to senior members of the organisation to go out and implement the programme, as well as mentored and coached individuals on their own work scope and goals for the programme. The leaders we worked with were some of the shining lights of Afghan civil society and, even after the takeover by the Taliban, have gone on to develop their own leadership programmes across the world, as well as internally in Afghanistan.
Education and Academia
The pressures on students and educational institutions is enormous today, with organistions needing to adapt to more student-centered approaches to manage the demand for rapid change, human-to-human interaction, and an understanding of how to develop 21st century skills in response to the growth of AI.
Caroline brings to these challenges over 20 years of experience of designing workshops, programmes, education and learning initiatives, all over the world, that focus on human-centered design, whether through in-person learning or digital initiatives. She has developed curriculum for her own programmes in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East, as well as consulted to organisations across the world in how to integrate innovate learning techniques into their own initiatives.
How we could work together:
· Curriculum development, especially using creative and experiential learning techniques to make learning come alive
· Inspirational talks (see speaking) and workshops to inspire the next generation to think about how they design their life and step into leadership
· 21st century skill development and understanding it’s importance as a component of lifelong learning
· Opportunities for internships and volunteering through Caroline’s multiple global initiatives
Case study
Caroline was invited to teach a course at a small liberal arts college in the United States mid-west, who were interested in developing a more creative and internationally-focused programme for their theatre students. There was a recognition that teaching and learning were based on very ‘old school’ ideas of what the arts could do and, especially considering Caroline’s background in social justice programmes using the arts, she was invited to design, teach and lead a course at degree level, that also included a community learning component. The programme served to also introduce students to multiple ways of thinking about their arts degree and the opportunities and doors it could open, and inspired them into applying their skills and talents into multiple and diverse ways. Additionally, the involvement of high school students from a deprived area in the project was an effective way of weaving in action-based learning and community leadership to this academic focus. The high school students gained a lot from their participation and the university students were able to gain practical experience of the theoretical concepts and their practical application explored in the curriculum programme.
“This class has not only changed my mind about the theatre but also enriched my experience as an educator. When I look back, it is almost like magic how amazing the final product turned out. This reaffirmed my belief in true learning, which is not dependent on accummulation, but is an unfoldment of existing ideas.”
Technology and social media
Looking for more human-centered ways to develop content for social media initiatives? Keen to drive more users to your technology? Want to know how to use technology for more interactive learning experiences? Or perhaps integrate both online and offline learning into your programmes? Or perhaps you have an innovative new app that can help tourists navigate your city?
For over 20 years, Caroline has been using her expertise in human-centered learning to integrate experiential techniques into both online and offline learning and brings unique perspectives in what works….and what doesn’t. A firm believer that technology can never work in and of itself, unless driven by an understanding of the human, Caroline can work with scientists, researchers, technology executives and social media managers to drive engagement, improve learning outcomes and help you think out of the box with how your technology can better serve humanity.
Case study
In an initiative for the World Economic Forum, Caroline worked on a year-long project to drive traffic to the Forum’s technology platform, Toplink, through innovative storytelling, interviews and integration with Forum events. Seeking to ensure technology could be seamlessly blended with their reputation for in-person networking, the goal was to bring those same serendipitous synergies and connections to the online interactions too. Over several months, there was a massive increase in interaction with Toplink, to the point that the application gained a solid reputation as an extension of the Forum’s work and positioned it as an early-stage innovator in hybrid online and offline networking spaces.
Caroline has herself further taken these lessons into her own work with leadership development through her work with The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership and can also integrate similar programmes in your organisation, through the creative use of interactive technology and micro-learning. See more about her ‘Leadership Masterclasses’ here.
Culturally sensitive, rooted in the needs of those at the grassroots
Our consultancy is rooted in lived experience. We believe that leadership is best understood at the coal face of the issues that ordinary people experience, in order to better understand their needs and ensure we are delivering what they need.
We don’t believe consultancy is about report writing, with expertise delivered from ‘on high’ but by first listening to people, building trust, learning and then implementing WITH them to ensure change is deeply-rooted, impactful and sustainable.
