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The OCL Group was instrumental in helping Public Education Network launch a national forum of scholars who are exploring the relationship between public engagement and public school reform. The OCL Group helped to plan and facilitate the first two-day retreat of these nationally-recognized scholars and provided a critical perspective that moved this group from vision and strategy to a work plan and products. PEN continues to rely on The OCL Group for guidance and direction as we create a new scholarly field.

OCL's facilitators helped our board make some difficult decisions, moving members into and through conversations that, because of their difficult nature, might never have been had. As a result of tackling the hard questions head on, the organization was able to focus on what mattered and take action to move our work and the organization in the direction we needed to go.

Mikaela's approach to adaptive leadership has resulted in a transformational experience for the policy fellows. To a number, they cite the leadership case studies as the most memorable aspect of their program year. It really makes our program unique, and most of all, is a powerful learning experience for the fellows.

Mikaela Seligman works with diverse people and creates a safe space that promotes open and honest discussions. She uses both her head and her heart in her work helping organizations address tough challenges.

Women's Link began to work with Mikaela Seligman and the OCL principals just over one year ago. Her ability to understand and analyze the needs of the executive director and the organization as a whole made our work with her on organizational building and strategic planning a learning and growing experience for all involved. Furthermore, we were able to go beyond the expectations we had for what could be accomplished in relatively short period of time.

Women's Link has transitioned into a more solid, sustainable organization in the past 12 months. Importantly. Mikaela's coaching work with the executive director at critical times for the organization helped to define the direction of the organization and provided ideas and solutions in a way that allows for thinking and growth.

ACCION contracted The OCL Group to help one of its functional units redefine its strategy and develop an action plan aligned therein. The approach was non-traditional - which left us skeptical going in as to its applicability, but the results were dramatic. Starting with an honest assessment of what motivates us individually helped our team deepen our understanding of how we relate to each other and develop a shared vision of how to work together going forward. Practically speaking, the retreat helped clarify roles and responsibilities, as well as expectations going forward regarding the actions needed to realize our vision. We were so happy with the retreat facilitation, that we invited OCL to develop a proposal for a coaching program for our staff internationally, to assist in our global expansion.

OCL Principal Mikaela Seligman has been working with our aspiring principals, school achievement coaches and staff for two years. I see the difference in not only how we work, but how we see, talk and think about what is "the work." With partners from The Meristem Group, they do far more than training or skill-building - they build our capacity to lead in communities all over Washington, DC - in some of the most challenging and underresourced conditions. I can honestly say that our leaders are learning to lead with more awareness and greater capacity the next time. The case study method they use has made a huge difference - and is now a central part of how our aspiring principals support each other.

AWS Corporation has worked with Raj Chawla and the OCL Group over the course of many years. They have continually and consistently provided significant insights and thoughts into critical corporate activities and processes - both internally and externally. These insights have allowed us to see our organization and our business in a new light and have been instrumental in allowing our company and its people to move to a new level of understanding and focus. Mr. Chawla's integrity and empathy have made him a welcome addition to our corporate family.

From his original proposal to the final report, Mark Addleson represented the core values of the OCL Group and remained a consummate professional. He provided a careful assessment of Christian Communities Group Home's management structure and made researched suggestions that will undoubtedly strengthen the organization's programs. Not only did his keen insight and probing questions illuminate working solutions, but Dr. Addleson paid careful attention to the needs of a small organization such as ours. CCGH staff has and will continue to reference his work as it looks toward the future.

The OCL Group supported the State Education Office at a critical time in its development. We had come out of a period in which our staff was unsure of their roles and, for some, why it mattered. Our morale was low. I knew we needed to move a powerful new vision and an important educational mission forward and knew I couldn't do it alone We invited The OCL Group to help us cohere around a shared vision and to determine how to move forward expeditiously and thoughtfully. The OCL Group was able to facilitate the right conversations with our staff so they could see the critical stumbling blocks as well as the openings for action. With this awareness, we could move forward strategically with new skills and tools and lead in this complex political environment. The result was a new way forward -- both in how we worked together and in what we could then get accomplished.

The OCL Group's "Adaptive Leadership" presentation should be a required opening session for any leadership seminar. Having held senior executive positions in both the for-profit and non-profit arenas, I thought I knew every management technique in the book. OCL captured my attention, immediately forcing me to step out of my comfort zone and take a hard look at my leadership style. As a result of this one session, I took away more from the Americans for the Arts Conference than any other prior to this and, as I become more "user friendly," have noticed a dramatic increase in dialogue from my constituency.

OCL principal Raj Chawla provided coaching for my senior staff person and me. We were in a difficult situation. At that time, our previous close relationship had been compromised by a serious lack of trust on both our parts, and each of us was profoundly disappointed by both the actions and attitudes of the other. OCL established a neutral environment for our meeting, away from either of our offices. More importantly, they created a "safe" environment for us by clearly explaining their methodology, providing their assessment of our situation.

They helped us get beyond our present problems by learning new ways of working together to reduce the likelihood of the problems from recurring. They helped us to establish a set of processes that are helping us rebuild our lost trust.

The OCL group principals understand that it is the affective issues that must be addressed for substantive progress to take place. They quickly assess interactions and get to the heart of organizational issues which often and invariably have to do more with interpersonal relationships, styles, cultures and attitudes than they do with structure, work plans or strategies. The group combines a rare combination of organizational development skill with interpersonal insight and enlightenment. They meet people where they are. They don't pretend to have all the answers (they do have some of them!), but clearly convey the message that they will work with all involved to discover the best approach that creates synergy, community and ultimately quality.

Mikaela Seligman partnered with The Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (BayCES) to facilitate the completion of a critical piece of work for our organization last spring. She quickly immersed herself in our work, asked great questions to help us clarify our priorities, and facilitated an inclusive process that allowed us to distill and expand our thinking. As a result, we have a set of Coach Performance Metrics that articulates the values, beliefs, skills, and knowledge that we believe effective coaches for educational equity must be striving for. The tools that we created with Mikaela have been immediately useful and will no doubt continue to inform our coaching practice going forward.