We Help Organizations Create Structures & Systems That Support Your Humanity

Leveraging Human Intelligence

in the Age of AI

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What We Do

The intersection of values-aligned systems and Human-Centered Practices is what builds and sustains a healthy culture, day in and day out. Human-Centered Practices are how we practice the behaviors that support your values.  

No one does this perfectly. That’s why the structures we build support humans: so you can stay aligned to values, return to the working relationships that serve you best, and make decisions with clarity.

In practice, this looks like:

 

Strategy

We help leaders build plans and priorities that hold up under real pressure, not just on paper. Culture and profitability don’t have to compete. We help you find where they line up.

HR

Compensation analysis, performance review systems, hiring practices, policy and compliance work. The infrastructure of a healthy organization, built with the same human-centered care as everything else we do.

Advisement

Strategic advisement and sound counsel for leaders navigating change, growth, or a harder moment than they expected. We help leaders understand how systems are functioning in their culture and distinguish between interpersonal challenges and system failures.

Team Building

Workshops, retreats, and facilitated sessions that help teams build trust and work through friction together. We help you move through challenging dynamics, understanding that innovation and creativity are born in tension.

Professional Development

Structured programs that build human-centered leaders at every stage, including ANCHOR, our foundational program in Human-Centered Practices; WAYPOINT, our advanced program for leaders building resilient, values-aligned organizations; and The Leadership Journey, the five-stage coaching arc that helps leaders become trustworthy stewards.

Links to our programs below

ANCHOR

A four-session professional development program grounded in Human-Centered Practices, a framework we’ve spent fifteen years researching, developing, piloting, and refining with leaders across more than twenty industries.

WAYPOINT

Our advanced leadership development program for leaders who want to create resilient, human-centered organizations. Waypoint offers a structured, experiential path to developing the internal clarity, relational depth, and aligned execution that organizational health requires.

The Leadership Journey

The five-stage coaching arc that helps leaders become trustworthy stewards of their purpose. As opposed to a small group program, this one-on-one strategy and advisement is a month-to-month engagement that allows for individualized programming, thought-partnership and support.

Why Organizations Seek Our Help

These are the most common challenges we hear from leaders.

“Our leaders need training, coaching, and professional development.”

“I feel stuck between choosing profitability or a healthy culture.”

“Our turnover is high. We need to retain talent.”

“We need to hire and create a culture that will retain employees.”

“We’ve been so blessed to be able to partner with Leverage to Lead. They’ve been vital to our organization’s stability and future. Our work together came at a time when we needed help driving alignment with our values. Leverage to Lead brought the level of training and a path forward we needed, and in a way that included different perspectives and experiences.” 

Alison Brunner

CEO, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley

Our Clients

We’ve worked across many industries, including:

  • Law Firms
  • Education Technology
  • Independent Schools
  • Environmental Justice
  • Renewable Energy
  • Software
  • Medical Technology
  • Retail
  • National Parks
  • Community Housing
  • Boards
  • Strategic Planning
  • Nonprofits
  • Religious Institutions
  • Arts

“As a remote team, it was a gift that Leverage to Lead helped us truly be able to listen to each other and put ourselves in our colleague’s shoes for the first time in a long time. I’ve noticed more empathy and active listening in meetings. There’s more openness and sharing. My hope for the future is that the groundwork we laid continues to grow. Leverage to Lead opened up a new world of collaboration possibilities for our team.”

Bridget Schultz

Development Associate, Eden I&R

Let’s talk about how human-centered structures can transform your organization.

Read Our Blog

Coalition Building: The Work Between Self and System

by: MJ Mathis What does it take to change a system? We've been sitting with this question a lot lately. Not in an abstract, theoretical way, but in the very practical sense of: how do organizations that care about humanity actually shift the larger systems we're all...

When Throwing Money at It Isn’t an Option: The Case for Internal Coalition Building

by: Jennifer McClanahan, CEO Early in my career at a large corporate law firm, I watched a pattern repeat itself with remarkable consistency. A big deal would heat up, the pressure would mount, and the answer was always the same: throw more people at it. Partners...

Human Intelligence in the Age of AI: What Leaders Need To Know

Throughout time, shifts in technology have sparked questions. Will I be left behind? Shouldn't I be all in? Is the threat real? What do I trust when the rules are changing this fast? Yes, these are questions about evolving technology. But they're also questions rooted...

The Leadership Journey: Becoming a Trustworthy Steward of Power

At Leverage to Lead, we believe leadership isn't a destination, but a practice. And like any meaningful practice, it unfolds over time, through experience, reflection, and a growing willingness to see yourself and your systems more clearly. That's the heart of what we...

Expansion & Power: When Leadership Stops Being Personal and Starts Becoming Shared

by: Jennifer McClanahan Imagine this moment. As the norms of work, leadership, business, and our society are undergoing seismic shifts, you are promoted into the second-highest role in your organization. Suddenly, your vantage point widens. You can see the hopes...

Integration & Embodiment: When Your Leadership Voice Begins to Say, “I trust myself.”

by: MJ Mathis There’s a moment in leadership that’s hard to describe unless you’ve lived it. It doesn’t look louder or more impressive. It doesn’t come with a title change or a big announcement. It feels steadier. We’re reminded of this every time we reconnect with...

Tyranny, Terror, and the Values I’m Returning To

by: Jennifer McClanahan, CEO I'm writing this on a flight to Washington, DC. Before I left, my ex-husband said something that stopped me cold: "You should bring your passport." Do I need papers to travel to DC? The question landed in my body before my mind could...

When Leadership Becomes Alignment: A Story of Agency, Values, and Practice

by: Jennifer McClanahan, CEO In our bi-monthly newsletter, we often share what’s inspiring us, stories of former clients, work that moves us, and moments that remind us why we do what we do. It’s one of my favorite sections, because it’s where the impact of leadership...

The Invitation to Look Within: The Intrapersonal Turn in Leadership

by: MJ Mathis, Managing Director of L&D In her last post, Jennifer wrote about awareness as the first act of leadership: the moment when we begin to see clearly the systems we’re a part of and the patterns we’ve internalized. But awareness alone doesn’t change us....

Awareness is the First Act of Leadership

by: Jennifer McClanahan, CEO People often come to us in an organizational crisis. The way they’re working is creating recurring challenges, and they can’t see a way out of the cycle. Whether they’re leading as individuals or managing departments, they reach a moment...