2023 Working Life Recap

The Metrics

Ongoing design strategy/CX/UX consulting projects with 3 organizations; workshops with 4 organizations and 3 collectives; coached 145 people; lead 111 people in financial literacy workshops.

The Wins

I so enjoy coaching and got to do a lot of it this year; but since I like it best in moderation, I am so happy I got to work with a few organizations this year, servicing federal digital transformation, conservation innovation, and voting protections, via a few thoughtful small agencies. I lead workshops on money, enabling 34 small business owners to get more stable! I also facilitated groups who needed to envision their field, adapt to internal salary shifts, and decide about money in their collectives. I got to do HECKA COOL work this year!

The Learnings & Insights -

Working as an internal change agent/intrapreneur versus as an external consultant allow different levers of power and change: external consultants can say things, introduce concepts, and deliver in formats/speeds that are culturally discouraged or disparaged. Internal change agents can create trust and see a project through from concept through to impact, which requires years of investment. I realize that I miss the big impact of the latter — it makes me curious about opportunities to get back in those kinds of roles.

So what?

Was it perfectly balanced? Not always — but it was better than years past.

Was it impactful? I saw needles move, defined metrics, and got them baselined.

Was it joyful, for me? YES. What a wonderful crew and goals they all have.