We offer clarity, improved relationships, and momentum to move forward.
Faced with competing priorities, leaders lack the time to unpack systemic issues stunting organizational and community growth–let alone the bandwidth to resolve them. Some tough questions that leaders currently face can be framed as:
How might we generate greater awareness of climate change amongst community members and equip them with the tools to support environmental initiatives?
How might we heal intergenerational divides to align the young and senior generations on key governmental policies?
Our team of professionals trained in Human-Centered Design and stakeholder engagement, partners with individuals across their ecosystem to investigate and unearth challenges hidden beneath the surface. Going beyond the symptomatic pains allows us to deliver on our promise to provide solutions that are relevant, fresh, and responsive to stakeholder needs.
Design thinking isn’t just for business. It’s a powerful tool for shaping your life.
Leadership is the buzzword of our time. Everyone is looking for that next credential that will enhance their professional profile and make them more marketable in their current or future field. It is a lifelong pursuit that is worthy of the chase because it strengthens both craft and character.
For the student struggling to identify their unique voice and skills.
For the mid-career professional who is wondering how their career experiences and personal background can position them for the job of their dreams.
For the creative who is searching for the precise words to illuminate their personal brand.
Roots + Rivers can help you find and tell your story. The Human-Centered Design methodology is not only used for solving organizational and global challenges; it can transform the way you view and live your life. Our facilitators can help you build the life you have always imagined by applying the design thinking process to your goals, motivations, and that wild idea that has always felt seemingly beyond reach. Trained by the Designing Your Life coaching program, we employ tools such as “Wayfinding” and “Mind Mapping” to empower students and professionals to overcome mental and emotional blockages that often frustrate personal and professional development.
Getting stuck is part of the process, but staying stuck doesn’t have to be.
Facilitation is both an art and science. There are specific skills and structures that you can implement to increase the probability of a successful outcome. However, no group is the same. Both the dynamic of a group and topic of conversation largely impact the flow of a session. From leading creative workshop activities to team building and conflict resolution, our facilitators are experienced in conducting needs assessments, setting the right tone, selecting purposeful exercises, and enabling generative dialogues.
According to the Myers-Briggs Company, 85% of employees experience some kind of conflict – 26% of which result from a lack of honesty and openness. A 2024 study on workplace civility by SHRM reveals that U.S. workers believe that workplace conflict will increase over the next 12 months. To maintain peace and civility, many employees engage in conflict-avoidant behavior, which exacerbates interpersonal friction. As The Art of Gathering author, Priya Parker, states “Unhealthy peace can be as threatening to human connection as unhealthy conflict.”
While the desire to resolve workplace conflict or organizational uncertainty remains present, the path to realizing this goal is not easy. Navigating difficult conversations and sensitive topics requires skills in active listening, suspending judgment, and refocusing the dialogue on the core issues when distractions arise. With a discerning ear, our practiced facilitators can guide your team through ambiguous and complex conversations that lead to honest reflection, clarified perceptions, and healthier relationships.
On the other hand, maybe your team dynamic is great, but you are stuck. Your staff needs a creative strategy for a company project, but they lack inspiration and insight. They feel frustrated and stagnant in their process. Our facilitators are also agitators. We sit with you in the problem until we understand it as well as our own. We build confidence around your ability to get unstuck - to uncover the creative roadblocks and work through them. Through play and probing, we design and facilitate workshops that inspire your team to believe, imagine, and create again.
We connect, educate, and inspire through the art and power of storytelling.
“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
At R+R, we believe in the power of stories to awaken greatness, connect people across differences, and expand the borders of the human imagination. Through our varied lived experiences and authentic storytelling techniques, our team of social innovation experts are prepared to speak at a wide variety of venues on topics ranging from education to the intersection of the art and the analytical.
If you are a university professional seeking to demonstrate to your students how HCD is applied within diverse industries, you can invite a member of our team as a guest lecturer.
If you are hosting an event and would like to motivate your attendees to take professional risks, live daringly, and pursue passions that make them feel alive, we can enthusiastically speak to each of these areas.
Collaboration across differences. Curious how your team or colleagues can connect and create across cultural and disciplinary backgrounds? R+R has direct experience in this arena and can provide specific examples that can be customized to improve cross-collaboration among your group.
