A good idea can come from anywhere.
Make your team feel empowered.

Facilitation Services

  • Discovery Sessions

    Kicking off a new project? Starting with a new client? Learn all you need to know to get the party started with time-tested methodologies for uncovering the why, how, and how of any new endeavor.

  • Get Unstuck

    Work that matters gets thorny from time to time. When your team is in the weeds or the messy middle, there are several techniques to help folks get unstuck, aligned and moving forward again.

  • Strategic Planning

    Every team should have a natural cadence for reflecting the recent past and creating a shared vision for the future. It is nearly impossible to lead these sessions while being an active participant. Let me craft this process with you.

  • Innovation Sprints

    Move from inkling to prototype in a jiffy. Leverage the talents of your team in a quick and dirty process that converts conceptual possibilities into something tangible that can be evaluated or even tested with customers.

  • Journey Mapping

    Turn a process or customer experience into a hero’s journey by cultivating empathy and insights that will culminate in developing exceptional opportunities for improvement.

  • Custom Workshop Planning

    No matter your challenge, we can figure out a workshop together. Whether or not I facilitate, we can collaborate and build an agenda to meet the specific goals in mind.

FAQs

  • Because roundtabling ideas rarely works. If you have more than a small handful of people, or you need to get traction on an idea quickly - a well-facilitated workshop provides a team with a structure that builds momentum, enthusiasm, and alignment. It can also allow people a safe space to share ideas freely.

  • You can, but it is incredibly difficult to be an impartial facilitator if you have a stake in the outcome of the workshop.

    Your thoughts, ideas, and questions as a leader are often best expressed as a member of the broader team. Let someone else focus on the logistics, time keeping, and cat herding, so that you can actively listen and participate.

    But, if you want to lead your own workshop but want help planning, I’m here for that too!

  • Success is when you set out with an explicit goal, and take participants on engaging journey to reach a destination. We do this by optimizing for humans-being-humans. Mental breaks, building rapport amongst the team, and culminating insights over the course of the day all build a sense of momentum and tangible results

  • One of my favorite things about facilitation is that I work with all sorts.

    I’ve worked with huge corporations and tiny, local non-profits. I love design and engineering teams, but I’ve been thrilled to help teams like HR, Finance, and Customer Service. I’ve helped diplomats, investors, and community organizations solve a myriad of challenges. I’ve partnered with agencies for client work, and partnered with executives for in-house initiatives.

  • Heck yes. While in-person workshops have some serious advantages, it is completely possible to run a fun and productive workshop via zoom and online collaboration tools such as FigJam or Miro.

  • This work lights me up. I nerd out when learning about a new business / team / challenge. I am energized by partnering with smart people to work out the explicit goals of the whole group, as well as identify opportunities to bring stakeholders along, address sensitivities within the group, etc

    I empathize with my clients. I’ve been an in-house executive. A manager of big cross-functional teams. An agency strategist who needs to prove value. I get it. And my job is to get you the information you need to be successful.

    I’m a strong partner. Semio PDX is just me, so there is no overhead, and we can right-size an engagement to meet your needs. I have 20+ years of experience. I’m an energetic optimist with a deep pragmatism.

    And lastly, I get happy when I get results.