Tapestry Consulting provides organizational solutions in the following specialized areas:

Diversity Training

• Most institutions have statements on diversity and officially embrace the ideals of a multicultural organization. Few institutions, however, take the necessary steps to realize and instill among their workforce, the true meaning of diversity. Tapestry Consulting explores ways to empower our clients to become leaders and change agents in a diverse workplace and a diverse world. Unlike most diversity trainers or consulting firms, our focus is not on either educating members of majority/dominant groups about non-dominant groups or developing strategies to manage diversity. Instead, we focus on assisting organizations and individuals in identifying and modifying the barriers that prevent ways to actualize their beliefs and ideals when dealing with diversity.
  
  

Philanthropic Leadership

• How do philanthropists and influencers in our society understand and embrace the issues they are interested in supporting by doing more than writing checks? Tapestry Consulting brings into focus the issues these change agents desire to support, helping them develop their vision and become fully engaged in the process.
  
  

Athletes & Emotional Intelligence

• Most athletes—whether in college, at the top of their game in professional sports or preparing for retirement—are never trained in the matters of emotional literacy and emotional intelligence. Tapestry Consulting develops training programs for athletes that focus on:
  
  
  • Performance on and off the field
  • Challenges and pressures associated with sports at all levels
  • Maximizing leadership potential in a holistic way

We cannot say it enough…Tapestry believes wholeheartedly in delivering outcome-based services and training in an experiential, creative way. Our programs are designed to increase learning opportunities that empower people to develop effective solutions for themselves and those in their sphere of influence. We work with our clients to maximize their potential as conscious leaders of integrity. We provide the intellectual, emotional, and motivational resources to facilitate respect and understanding among diverse groups in the classroom, the boardroom and even in the locker room.

 

In working to achieve this goal, Tapestry Consulting typically proposes an intensive collaboration that involves the following initiatives:

• Conduct a strategic planning session with the appropriate group to address immediate needs and concerns. The strategic planning session can take the form of a one-day session or retreat of 6-8 hours, or two separate sessions for 3-4 hours each day, depending upon the client’s needs and desired timeframe.
  
  
• Conduct a strength and needs assessment to develop a better understanding of our client’s organizational structure, institutional strengths and the needs of the staff related to changing their worldview. The strength and needs assessment includes, but is not limited to, carefully constructed online and written questionnaires, interviews with key personnel and focus groups with executive administrators, managers and agents (when applicable). This critical exercise allows Tapestry Consulting to focus on individual as well as organizational strengths and challenges while serving as a baseline measurement for process and outcome evaluations of any consultative interventions that we recommend.
  
  
• Develop a strategic plan for training that may include a combination of workshops, individual and group coaching, study groups, and/or implementation work groups, depending on the institution’s needs. Tapestry workshops provide an introduction to our approach and a foundation for understanding challenges within the institution. The workshops integrate cognitive and academic components with experiential and affective components to develop the intellectual, emotional, and motivational resources at individual and organizational levels.
  

• Examples of content areas for workshops include:
  
  
  • Traditional versus contemporary “isms”
  • Understanding prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination
  • Using cultural and historical information to adjust and modify organizational planning to meet the needs of internal staff and end clients
    
    

Develop a “train the trainers” model to teach the institution’s management how individual strength can benefit the entire organization and how to become in-house “experts” and true leaders.

Conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the consultative intervention. Data from this evaluation could be used to develop articles for publication.

Tapestry Consulting Curriculum

Tapestry clients are taught life skills around interpersonal and inter-cultural communication, personal and group accountability, and personal integrity with an emphasis on bringing out true strengths instead of simply focusing on challenges. The large group experience focuses on trust building, personal integrity, accountability, effective emotional expression and communication.

Individuals within the group are encouraged to clearly identify the obstacles that exist in their environment. Some of these obstacles exist around issues of difference or diversity and substantial time is given to those issues.

Individuals are encouraged to re-focus their attention with a new awareness of who they are in relation to others and how they choose to live in the world. This phase of the curriculum is an invitation to re-examine and improve their relationships and remove distractions that adversely impact their personal and professional lives.

• The topics covered in the curriculum include but are not limited to:
  
  
  • Emotional intelligence and emotional literacy
  • Managing interpersonal conflict
  • Assertiveness training
  • Diversity training on issues of race, ethnicity and origin
  • Gender and sexual harassment
  • Socio-economic class
  • Sexual orientation
  • Inter-cultural communication