Welcome.
I help leaders and changemakers make sense of our transforming world, see what's emerging, and know what to do next.
When the old ways are going through profound change the question isn't simply, "What's happening?"
It's, "What is this moment asking me to become?"
A 60-minute context-setting session to explore where to nextYou're here because something’s changed.
You may be:
Creating under new conditions
Leading through uncertainty
Adapting to a world that has fundamentally shifted
Many of the people I work with have spent years investing in their own growth. They know themselves well.
They're looking for something they haven't found yet.
A thinking partner. A challenger. A witness. A guide who can help them see things differently.
What we work on
The direction of your organization
A project that fits outside the box
A body of work
A challenge without an obvious solution
Questions about your role or identity
What we do together
You bring a real challenge you're navigating.
I bring macro understanding, a capacity to see possibilities others don’t see, experience with the highs and lows of leadership, equity-outcome processes, empathy and a lot of curiosity.
Together, we look at what's happening and what's emerging. We:
Examine the dynamics, systems and forces shaping the situation
Question perspectives that may be limiting your view
Explore your role, values, identity, responsibilities and beliefs
Imagine new ways of approaching the problem
Develop practical experiments and next steps
“You ask questions. You hold me accountable. You challenge my assumptions.”
Sarah Colcord, CEOWe look at the whole picture.
Leadership doesn't happen in isolation.
Challenges are often moments when strategy no longer fits the story that came before. And currently, the world you're operating in is becoming something different.
We don't separate what's happening inside you from what's happening around you. I’ll reflect what I'm seeing and offer perspectives you may not have considered.
This isn't consulting, mentoring, conventional coaching, or therapy. It's a collaborative practice.
We bring evidence, intuition and imagination into the same room as strategy, systems and action. The work happens together, and the approach adapts to what’s needed.
“You mirror back to me when I’m most potent. It has real precision.”
Julia Pahina, CEO and Co-FounderWhat you leave with
See what isn't obvious yet
Notice the forces and possibilities that aren't immediately visible.
Know what's possible
Imagine what could exist beyond the way things have always been done.
Make clearer decisions
Bring your values, vision and validation of the situation into your decisions.
Move before the path is clear
Develop the steadiness and courage to act without needing certainty.
Change how you lead
Develop ways of knowing that stay with you long after our work ends.
“I find you to be incredibly insightful and astute in your analysis of people and situations.”
Sonya Renee Taylor, NYT bestselling Author and FounderWho I work with
This work is for leaders and changemakers who sense there is more to their challenge, and more that's possible, than they can currently see.
You're not looking for another framework, motivational pep talk or list of things to improve.
You're curious. You take your work seriously. You're willing to question your assumptions, sit with uncertainty, lead with integrity and consider that the answer may not be the one you started with.
You want someone who will think alongside you, challenge you when necessary, and help you get to the heart of what's really going on.
How others experience me
“You are open and refreshing, but ask hard questions and cut through limiting beliefs with accuracy. Often it’s lonely work being a CEO, but you’ve built both my confidence and capability. 5 stars. Big tip.”
Dan Russell, CEO“Hearing things from you doesn’t make me go, ‘oh thank you.’ It's more like, ‘oh wow, this is the way she sees me.’ I'm inspired to be more accountable to myself and to the world to keep showing up this way.”
Elina Ashimbayeva, Executive and Founder“I've often come to you, not because you know the answer, but because I know you will help me find my answer.“
Sarah Colcord, CEO
I see the macro and support the micro.
We're living through a period of profound systemic change. I work at the intersection of what's happening in the world and what's happening in the person managing the challenge in front of me. I'm looking at what's emerging, connecting threads across seemingly unrelated places, and asking what might be possible before it becomes obvious.
Most recently, I resigned as Co-CEO of the company I co-founded, Narrative Muse. I left it in good hands. Knowing when to loosen your grip is part of leadership too.
I've spent 25 years moving between entrepreneurship, social impact and filmmaking in New Zealand, the US, the UK and Australia.
I've built organizations, led people, worked in governance, professionally mentored founders, navigated complex conflict, been trained in and act with cultural responsiveness, edited film and TV, and sat inside the paradoxes that emerge when ideals meet reality.
I’m proud that our company was recognized by IRCAI Global Top 100 for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through AI. I’m also an editor of the Emmy-winning series Rūrangi, and worked on over 40 productions, including Disney, Nickelodeon, and All3Media (South Pacific Pictures) content.
I'm an idealist and a realist. A dreamer and a pragmatist.
I've come to understand that every act of leadership is, at its heart, an act of relationship, with ourselves, with one another, and with the wider world.
I create community wherever I go and move between Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay, my family's California home and Aotearoa New Zealand, my most beloved place on Earth.
Why I do this work
The world is changing faster than many of our systems, institutions and ways of leading can adapt.
I believe the people with the greatest authority also have the greatest opportunity to shape what comes next.
That's why I work with leaders and changemakers.
I care about what happens to the people and communities affected by their decisions. My role is to help leaders understand the larger forces they're operating within, reconnect with what matters, and act with integrity in the conditions that are unfolding.
The invitation
None of us can predict what comes next. But we can choose how we meet it.
If you're finding that the old answers aren't working, I'd love to hear what you're facing. We'll know if we're the right match.