Paul Horton – The Athena Group
The Athena Group
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
I help groups of people achieve clarity, strategic alignment, and coherence so that they can get good work done together. I am committed to fostering shared responsibility and working across boundaries to implement collaborative approaches to organizational change. I specialize in using dialogue-based, participatory approaches to engage the collective intelligence of diverse groups of people, leading to wiser actions. Skilled at facilitating meetings where a high degree
of conflict is present.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE/RESULTS
- Design and facilitate meetings, summits & community conversations
- Transform conflict by using it as a generative tool
- Support team alignment & performance
- Participatory & adaptive leadership consulting & training
- Strategic visioning, planning & goal setting
- Foster collaboration, alignment & positive communication
EXPERIENCE / SELECTED PROJECTS
- Expertise in helping executives, managers, and affinity groups understand and navigate complex challenges
and develop a more adaptive approach to their work. - Help diverse groups of individuals (or stakeholder networks) get “unstuck”, improve communication and
collaboration, and achieve collective impact. - Highly trained in the Art of Participatory Leadership (otherwise known as the Art of Hosting Conversations
that Matter). Have conducted multiple ½-day, 1-day, and 3-day trainings for hundreds of individuals. - Design and facilitate retreats, summits, and community conversations on a range of topics, including
homelessness, race, racial relations and law enforcement, community resilience, and youth educational outcomes. - Teach the Art of Participatory Leadership and adaptive capacity for the Masters in Public Administration
Program at The Evergreen State College. - Support individuals and groups at the level of strategic direction and thinking. Have developed strategic plans
for universities, state agencies, tribes, transit agencies, airports, and for-profit businesses.
CREDENTIALS
- Masters in Leadership in Complexity and Strategic Sustainable Development, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona Sweden
- Bachelor of Arts, The Evergreen State College
- Certificate in Sustainable Business, Pinchot University, Seattle, WA
- Level 4 Deep Democracy (working with conflict as a generative tool) process facilitator
SELECTED CLIENTS
- The Evergreen State College, South Puget Sound Community College, Tuskegee University
- WA State Dept of Transportation, WA State Dept of Social and Health Services, WA State Healthcare Authority
- City of Olympia, Thurston County, Pierce County
- Pierce County Coordinated Transportation Coalition, Tigard-Tualatin School District, Cowlitz on the Move, Thurston Thrives, Good Food Coalition
- Association of Washington Cities, WA Community and Technical Colleges Leadership Development Association, Master Builders of King & Snohomish Counties