Karen Kirkwood
Karen’s strategic focus and her leadership in the evolution of our strategic planning process resulted in the first-class strategic plan it is today and brought our resources to bear on our organization’s priorities in a way that had never been done before. The results have been incredible.
Our experience with Karen really impressed me. She identified needs and goals in advance, and then skillfully led the session with a high level of emotional intelligence and honesty, including relevant real-world examples that our whole board appreciated and engaged with. Karen followed through on every expectation, definitely a 10/10.
'Alignment artist’ is a term that has been used to describe Karen. With over 15 years of experience leading people and organizations, she is adept at creating strategic alignment throughout organizations and building exceptional, healthy, and sustainable organizational cultures. Developing people, guiding boards, and leading the implementation of strategic plans with measurable outcomes are central to her experience and success in leadership, be it in the corporate, public service, and non-profit sectors.
Karen is a Certified Executive Coach and is designated by the Institute of Corporate Directors for her lifelong commitment to governance excellence in the boardroom. Karen has lived and understands the challenges leaders face—each one’s success matters to her. She approaches life and learning with playful curiosity and is deeply committed to empowering others to align their lives with their values, strengths, and goals. Compassionately and tenaciously, she guides clients with thought provoking questions to uncover the truths and answers within and to make conscious decisions that lead to the kind of change that is seen, felt, and lasting.
Karen is also a certified Yoga instructor and meditation coach and proponent of wellness practices and mindful leadership. She lives with her husband and young twin children in Edmonton, Alberta, and enjoys travelling and spending time in nature.
Our experience with Karen really impressed me. She identified needs and goals in advance, and then skillfully led the session with a high level of emotional intelligence and honesty, including relevant real-world examples that our whole board appreciated and engaged with. Karen followed through on every expectation, definitely a 10/10.
Karen Kirkwood is an experienced facilitator with an extensive background in governance, strategic planning and agricultural sectors. She guided the Egg Farmers of Canada Board of Directors in their annual strategic planning exercise, which included a comprehensive review of our vision, mission and values statements and a highly interactive governance training session. Her approach allowed for a constructive consultation process with core stakeholders as well as in-depth discussions across our Directors on priority issues. Her multifaceted knowledge of our sector, governance best practices and measurement mechanisms allowed for a collaborative process and the delivery of a framework that reflects our future ambitions. Throughout our engagement, Karen consistently delivered high-quality material and offered strong support to both myself and our team. We are very pleased with the outcome and look forward to continuing to work with Karen in the years to come.
The comprehensive and detailed analysis OrgHealth provided us has been invaluable in informing our strategic decisions as we look forward to a season of stronger fiscal health. Karen’s dedication, professionalism, and thoroughness has made a significant impact on how we see our organization and the context we are currently in. Thank you once again for your outstanding contribution.
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