Service
Executive Leadership & Counsel
Practical counsel for leaders navigating priorities, board relationships, transition, and consequential decisions.
Who this helps
Leaders responsible for a consequential organizational decision.
- Executive directors and CEOs in nature, conservation, health, and human services
- Board chairs and executive committee members across mission-driven nonprofits
- Senior leadership teams navigating change
- Founders and long-tenured leaders considering what comes next
What we will accomplish
Practical leadership counsel and focused organizational assignments for executive directors, presidents, board chairs, and senior teams navigating priorities, board working routines, transition, and consequential decisions.
- A 90-day priority set with named owners and dates, drawn from the plan you already have
- A simple dashboard and review rhythm the board and staff can sustain
- Accountability that survives the first busy season
- A confidential place to think clearly before deciding
- Better-prepared board meetings and more productive board–executive conversations
- Practical judgment on staffing, finance, program, and reputational questions
- Sustainable leadership habits and reduced isolation
- Faster, more confident onboarding for new executives
How we work
Understand. Reveal. Choose. Build. Learn.
The same plain, five-stage method guides every service. The depth of evidence and participation is sized to your assignment.
- 01
Understand
Gather the evidence and perspectives needed to see the situation accurately.
- 02
Reveal
Make strengths, constraints, differing perspectives, and underlying causes clear.
- 03
Choose
Frame the real options, tradeoffs, priorities, and decisions.
- 04
Build
Create the substantial working document or roadmap, with responsibilities, resources, measures, and first actions.
- 05
Learn
Review implementation, test assumptions, and adjust while staying grounded in the mission.
Depending on your priorities, your engagement may include
The written proposal specifies the exact deliverables, timing, participation, and fixed fee for your assignment.
- Leadership priority and decision framework
- 90-day action plan with owners, sequence, and dates
- Board–executive working routines and meeting practices
- Transition or onboarding roadmap
- Scheduled confidential working sessions
- Leadership team role and structure review
One focused assignment example
A focused leadership assignment might clarify leadership priorities, strengthen board working routines, or prepare an organization for transition.
Timing and your participation
Choose the fixed Independent Leadership Counsel offer for structured sessions and recommendations on a specific question. More extensive organizational work—such as leadership priorities, board working routines, or transition support—is scoped as a Focused Consulting Engagement.
Participation is agreed at the outset. It may include the executive director, board chair, senior staff, trustees, and selected stakeholders whose perspective can materially improve the work.
Organizations often reach out when
- A newly appointed executive director is finding footing
- A board chair is preparing to lead the board for the first time
- A significant decision carries reputational or financial risk
- Board–executive tension is affecting the organization's work
- A long-tenured leader is planning their own transition
Investment and payment
Independent Leadership Counsel: $2,500 · Focused Consulting Engagement: beginning at $12,500
Two ways to engage
Every service can begin as a Focused Consulting Engagement at $12,500, with a defined assignment, deliverables, timing, and fixed fee established in the written proposal. Broader work may be structured as an Organizational Strength Review or Integrated Strategic Direction when the need spans multiple areas.
Every assignment considers connections across the whole organization. Detailed work stays focused on the areas agreed in scope. Range drivers include interviews, board participation, sites, and specialist responsibilities. Travel or specialist expenses are included only when agreed in the proposal.
For larger engagements, the standard schedule is 40% on booking, 30% after the evidence and listening stage, and 30% on delivery. The final schedule is stated in the written proposal.
Major fixed-fee engagements include eight hours of implementation counsel during the 90 days following delivery.
Independent Leadership Counsel is a fixed $2,500 offer with the approved sessions, written recommendations, and follow-up. A Focused Consulting Engagement begins at $12,500 for more extensive organizational work such as leadership priorities, board working routines, or transition support.
Questions
Before you decide
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Start a conversation
Bring the decision in front of you.
A complimentary 30-minute conversation helps establish the situation, fit, and a sensible next step. Detailed analysis and written recommendations begin with a paid engagement. Every engagement is principal-led; appropriate collaborators are added when the scope calls for specialist expertise.
Related: Governance & Board Effectiveness, Executive Search & Leadership Transition, Strategic Planning & Implementation
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