Joel Kampf
EXECUTIVE COACH and LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Everything's Connected: Work grounded in Systems Thinking and Vertical Development
Many organizations struggle with working in silos, and siloed thinking, leading to linear problem-solving resulting in symptomatic fixes. And all leaders - all people, will benefit from the ongoing development of their emotional intelligence, agility, resilience, empathy, humility, and strategic thinking. Which is why my work is grounded in Systems Thinking and Vertical Development.
Seeing the System
When you learn to see the systems you engage in and understand how the role each of us unwittingly play affects yours and everyone’s performance, you’ll discover new ways of thinking and working with others.
It only makes sense to learn how each part of the system engages with and affects each other. Because people working in different capacities on seemingly unconnected projects all seek similar solutions and face similar challenges. Approaching a challenge with systems thinking leads to the discovery of root cause solutions to previously unknown, system-wide challenges.
Developing a more effective system begins with more effective individuals… beginning at the top. When leaders better recognize the unintended consequences of their well-intentioned actions on others and themselves, they can change the part of the system that they have the most control over: themselves. The most effective leaders consistently work on their own development.
Evolving Perspectives
Vertical Development is our ability to continually evolve as strategic, complex, interdependent and systemic thinkers. It refers to our awareness of the challenges we humans face from living in our subjective minds, and having our opinions, assumptions and stories guide decision making.
New perspectives and approaches require stepping outside of what we think we know and meeting the world with a curious, blank slate… where we seek to understand versus seek to be understood.
As a coach and a consultant, I seek to understand where my clients are, where they want to go and how to get there. And that begins with better understanding of their leadership style, emotional intelligence skill level, and how they communicate.
Whether coaching individual leaders or teams, my social justice work equips me to approach everyone with an inclusive, equity-based lens. I assist clients to think more objectively and increase the number of perspectives they can hold simultaneously, without letting go of their own, and without judging any of them.
Cultural Assessments
I adhere to the proven knowledge that becoming a more effective organization begins with gathering data. I assess and develop strategic analyses for a wide-ranging array of organizations using: Focus Groups, SWOT/SOAR Analyses, online surveys, one-on-one interviews and onsite intercepts.
The surveys result in concise, actionable data. Assessment reports are designed to work as a roadmap to achieving your cultural goals. It includes implementable strategies to overcome the challenges facing individuals, teams and the system... with individual and group coaching along the way.
For individuals and teams, we* offer these assessment tools:
The Leadership Circle 360 for individuals, teams and organizations (How behaviors and mindset enable or constrain intended leadership impact), The Enneagram Assessment (Personality Type Driven), The EQ (Emotional Intelligence Test), and The Hogan Assessment (Strategic self-awareness).
Workshop Facilitation
Along with individual and team coaching sessions, our team* has assisted many organizations with our purposefully designed interactive workshops.
Examples of some of our interactive workshops:
- Change Management - Improving Organizational Culture/Systems
- Self-Awareness Skills
- VMCL (Systems Thinking approach to Vision, Mission, Capacity, Learning)
- Emotionally Intelligent Communication
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Crucial Conversations
- Relationship Building: The Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic)
- Board of Director Development and Governance
- Strategic Planning and Visioning (We work with multiple models including but not limited to, La Piana’s, “ Real-Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid-Response World,” and Kahane’s, “Transformative Scenario Planning”.)
- Building Equitable, Inclusive Cultures
*Joel Kampf/The Inclusive Leadership Project has a strategic partnership with LaVonne Dorsey and Associates.
Everything's Connected: Work grounded in Systems Thinking and Vertical Development
Executive and Leadership Coaching
Whether coaching individual leaders or teams, my social justice work equips me to approach everyone with an inclusive, equity-based lens. I assist clients to think more objectively and increase the number of perspectives they can hold simultaneously, without letting go of their own, and without judging any of them.
I seek to understand where my clients are, where they want to go and what might stand in their way. I determine their leadership style, emotional intelligence skill level, and individual communication practices, to help assess what learning, tools and tactics they need to implement change.
My approach is grounded in Vertical Development and Systems Thinking, aimed at helping clients to understand the role they play in their challenges, however unwittingly... a necessary step toward discovering root-cause solutions.
Leadership Development
The most effective leaders are those that work to develop themselves so that they may help to develop others. Assisting others to grow their abilities and think in more complex, strategic, interdependent and systemic ways, results in a more effective, self-organizing culture where your reports bring more solutions then problems to the table.
A proactive self-organizing workforce empowers managers and staff to develop and implement their own strategic initiatives, with little or no top-down direction, creating greater engagement for some employees and more freedom for leaders to lead versus manage.
Creating this culture begins with the leader and leadership team member’s willingness to grant the autonomy and empowerment each employee needs, and develop a positive feedback-driven culture where making a mistake or trying an initiative that fails is more than okay; it’s regarded as a positive step toward a solution.
Creating a self-organizing culture begins with leaders and team members learning to develop an asking vs. telling, “coaching culture,” consistent self-awareness growth and systems thinking learning, enabling them to see past trying to solve all the individual challenges (symptoms), and instead, understand how everything is connected.
Cultural and DEI Organizational Assessments
I adhere to the proven knowledge that becoming a more effective organization begins with gathering data. I assess and develop strategic analyses for a wide-ranging array of organizations using: Focus Groups, SWOT/SOAR Analyses, online surveys, one-on-one interviews and onsite intercepts.
The surveys result in concise, actionable data. Assessment reports are designed to work as a roadmap to achieving your cultural goals. It includes implementable strategies to overcome the challenges facing individuals, teams and the system... with individual and group coaching along the way.
For individuals and teams, we* offer these assessment tools:
The Leadership Circle 360 for individuals, teams and organizations (How behaviors and mindset enable or constrain intended leadership impact), The Enneagram Assessment (Personality Type Driven), The EQ (Emotional Intelligence Test), and The Hogan Assessment (Strategic self-awareness).
Communication Strategy and Plans
I build on my background as a brand strategist and communications consultant to create organizational communication plans, policies and practices that lead to greater transparency and trust.
I design and help implement standardized processes and protocols covering preferred methods of communication tied to messaging vehicles (when to email, call, message, face to face, video, etc.), timing and frequency of communications, and develop internal and external messaging matrices ensuring cohesive, consistent messaging.
Our workshops on, “Intentional Communication,” a self-awareness based, asking vs. telling, inclusive communication style (oral and written) give participants the skills to determine how the impact of what they say (in real-time) will potentially instill defensiveness in others. These skills will help all of us avoid emotionally charged interactions by gaining the ability to stay focused on a challenge or topic versus competing with each other.
Lastly, in our, “How to give and receive feedback,” workshops, participants will learn what feedback really is and isn’t, how to create a culture of feedback, why we’re resistant to it, awareness of how our minds work with and against us whether giving and receiving, the skills and processes for giving, our individual feedback styles... and more.
*The inclusive Leadership Project has a strategic partnership with LaVonne Dorsey and Associates.
Visit Joel’s Healthy Aging, Anti-Ageism Coaching site:
© 2023. Joel Kampf/Inclusive Leadership Project