The Anxious Organization

No man or woman is an island. All human problems arise within a social context and are best addressed by understanding that context. Because we are interconnected, any change we make reverberates throughout the social system we are a part of. Thus, widespread positive change can often result when any individual in the system becomes more conscious of the group dynamic and their own contribution to it. This focus on the social context is the common element in my work with everyone from individual therapy clients to large corporations.

Executive Coaching

If you are a leader, I can help you to understand the emotional system of your organization, your own role in that system, and its effect on the bottom line. I can show you how to separate yourself from the emotional dynamics that may be impacting some of your business decisions, so that your choices become more consistent, clear and well-reasoned.

Family Business Consulting

In family-owned enterprises, emotional considerations often compete with the clear and principled thinking that leads to sound business decisions. I help such companies to resolve questions of ownership, leadership and succession planning, and move beyond the emotional impasses that are draining energy and negatively affecting business outcomes.

Financial Futuring

Like family businesses, families of means often face a thicket of emotional complications when planning for the distribution of assets. An outside facilitator can be a great help in combing out the interpersonal tangles and guiding the family to sound--and satisfying--financial decisions.

Support for other consultants

I invite attorneys, CPAs, financial planners and other family advisors who are perplexed by the emotional dynamics of a family or family-owned business to give me a call. I can help you sort out the interpersonal complications and work with the anxiety you yourself might be feeling in the situation.

Family & Personal Counseling

The family is the basic unit of human well-being. Whether you approach me individually or as a family, I can help you to resolve difficulties by understanding them in the context of your closest relationships. When addressed from a systems perspective, even longstanding and seemingly intractable issues often resolve after 6-8 sessions.

Speeches & Presentations

I welcome the opportunity to present at conventions, conferences and company retreats. The two presentations listed below can be delivered as speeches or as brief interactive workshops.

Why SMART COMPANIES DO DUMB THINGS

A humorous look at how unmanaged anxiety ripples through an organization to reach the bottom line, wreaking confusion, conflict and boneheaded decisions along the way. Examines the role of anxiety in such common workplace ills as "groupthink," micromanaging, blaming and scapegoating, excessive turnover, and the formation of coalitions and cliques. Encourages the audience to view workplace politics from a systems perspective--and to take these conflicts and stresses less personally.

The Power of ONe

Anyone who understands the system they are a part of has the power to change it. This presentation encourages participants to take a more objective look at their own anxiety reactions, identify what triggers them, and recognize how those reactions trigger spin-off reactions in others. It goes on to explain how to break the anxiety chain by taking a calm, clear and well-considered position.