Our average client partners with us for 1.95 years... and counting!
Client Testimonials
Below, you will find testimonials from current and past clients who partnered with us for DEI expertise and completed our client feedback survey.
We spoke to many consultants before deciding on IFL. Many of them had a tremendous amount of passion and interest, but what set IFL apart was their ability to listen to our nuanced issues and offer next steps based on our resources, time, and budget.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Director
"Our DEI Committee is more structured and has increased in perceived legitimacy with Staff/Board members; the completion and approval of our DEI Action Plan is one of the most comprehensive I have ever had the privilege of being a part of (and I have been a part of many DEI organizational efforts)!
Board Member & DEI Committee Chair
"The collaboration with IFL allowed us to identify challenges and create lasting deliverables from a strategic standpoint, and also created interpersonal opportunities for necessary courageous conversations that may have never taken place otherwise."
DEI Partnership Lead | Strategic Partnership Client
Strategic, Measurable, Sustainable Action & Results
Comprehensive Roadmap Partnership Quotes
Below, you will find testimonials from clients who partnered with us for strategic consultation through our-long term engagement option. The responses are separated by question and listed in alphabetical order; the feedback comes from multiple organizations.
Why did you choose to work with I Follow the Leader?
- "Our organization felt I Follow the Leader best positioned us to improve on and continue our DEI approach within the organization." -DEI Project Lead
- "We were seeking outside consultants with an eye for developing strategic and actionable goals for our organization. We spoke to many consultants before deciding on IFL. Many of them had a tremendous amount of passion and interest, but what set IFL apart was their ability to listen to our nuanced issues and offer next steps based on our resources, time, and budget." -DEI Director
What made you happiest about working with our firm?
What made you happiest about working with our firm?
- "[DEI Lead] reassurance and confidence." - Amy Smith, Director of Philanthropy
- "I appreciated the honest communication about what could be better." - DEI Project Lead
- "IFL efforts to create/assist with dialogue on the committee was top notch." - DEI Project Lead
- "Openness of board and staff to engage in courageous conversation." - DEI Project Lead
- "Openness of IFL staff." - DEI Project Lead
- "The high level of responsiveness and transparency regarding data gathered from staff/board; the high attention to every detail; and the willingness to be flexible throughout the process, based on the needs of our organization." - DEI Project Lead
- "The IFL team worked with us to provide a detail oriented framework that allowed us to identify specific facets of our work to enhance DEI principles in a lasting way. The whole team was well organized, and challenged us in necessary and thoughtful ways. Everyone at IFL was a joy to work with!" - DEI Project Lead
- "The knowledge and advise you shared with the committee and staff." - DEI Project Lead, Meals on Wheels - Wake County
- "The positive approach to helping to establish a DEI program. The process never felt forced or as if our organization was pushed to go any certain direction in their journey." - DEI Project Lead
- "The thoughtful structure and training sessions." - DEI Project Lead
- "Without bypassing difficult conversations, indeed through them, IFL helped us lower the temperature of conflict between and among board and staff and raise our trust and mutual expectations." - Chris Canfield, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina
What results did you achieve by partnering with us?
- "A new commitment to DEI with a workable action plan to continue our journey of improvement." - DEI Project Lead
- "A solid foundation was laid for [us] to begin." - DEI Project Lead
- "DEI Statement and defined activities." - DEI Project Lead
- "Direction for the DEI Committee and a plan to work through with the Committee and entire organization." - Amy Smith, Director of Philanthropy
- "Getting to a policy statement was quite an achievement." - DEI Project Lead
- "I think we have a great plan to move forward with DEI work in the future." - DEI Project Lead
- "Opportunity to review where we are with DEI and areas to address for improvement or enhance areas we are addressing." - DEI Project Lead
- "The collaboration with IFL allowed us to identify challenges and create lasting deliverables from a strategic standpoint, and also created interpersonal opportunities for necessary courageous conversations that may have never taken place otherwise." - DEI Project Lead
- "The Staff and Board members interact with each other on a more personal level now as a result of getting to know one another's stories; our DEI Committee is more structured and has increased in perceived legitimacy with Staff/Board members; the completion and approval of our DEI Action Plan is one of the most comprehensive I have ever had the privilege of being a part of (and I have been a part of many DEI organizational efforts)! The best part is that IFL will continue to be engaged with us during this first year of plan execution." - DEI Project Lead
- "[We] gained valuable knowledge that will allow us to move forward with DEI and become a better organization." - DEI Project Lead, Meals on Wheels - Wake County
- "We solved some entrenched and even hidden problems by better defining our relationships, the shared goals related to DEI, and our collective vision of the organizations role in this arena." - Chris Canfield, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina
Share your experience partnering with your Co-Leads
Please share experience partnering with your Co-Leaders.
- "Again, I really appreciated the honesty from [DEI Lead] and all the other people we worked with from IFL." - DEI Project Lead
- "Appreciated their knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm of DEI and that which kept me engaged." - DEI Project Lead
- "[DEI Lead] consistently goes above and beyond and makes themselves available to clients. This helped a lot and presented a chance to learn more intimately from [DEI Lead]." - Amy Smith, Director of Philanthropy
- "[DEI Lead] created a thorough process and strategy for how to audit and address DEI in our organization, without ever making the process automatic or thoughtless for the stakeholder. I appreciate that [they] collaborated with us in a way that still puts the stakeholder in the drivers seat for a more tailored creation and implementation of strategies that was organization specific. [They] were an effective facilitator, a pleasure to work with, and had an apparent investment in our DEI success." - DEI Project Lead
- "[DEI Lead] has been a trusted partner throughout. As Executive Director, I need to have a confidant who also challenges me. I got that. [They] are highly organized and persistent." - Chris Canfield, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina
- "[DEI Lead] is highly knowledgeable in DEI strategies and best practices, and [their] style was very effective in leading our efforts." - DEI Project Lead
- "[DEI Lead] is very responsive and knowledgeable about DEI. They were always professional and on time for our sessions." DEI Project Lead, Meals on Wheels - Wake County
- "[DEI Lead] provided great insights and leadership on DEI initiatives." - DEI Project Lead
- "[DEI Lead] was always present to advise the committee and staff of helpful ideas and suggestions." - DEI Project Lead, Meals on Wheels - Wake County
- "[DEI Lead] was great! Again with the honesty and providing such a good perspective and insightfulness to the conversation." - DEI Project Lead
- "Great attitude, very knowledgeable, prompt communication, a true pleasure to work with." - DEI Project Lead
- "Her knowledge of and commitment to DEI work is evident, and she showed that she understood our organization's specific needs by not presenting us with a 'cookie-cutter' approach." - DEI Project Lead
- "I appreciated the enthusiasm and positivity [they] radiated, even when dealing with uncomfortable topics." - DEI Project Lead
- "I enjoyed her insights and attention to the details." - DEI Project Lead
- "I found [DEI Lead] to always be [their] authentic self when engaging with the DEI Leads, the DEI Committee Members and the Staff/Board Members. [They] are very knowledgeable and competent on the subject matter of DEI and has worked with a wide variety of organization types, which allowed [them] to make real-world assessments and suggested solutions when dealing with our specific organization. [They] are an extremely attentive listener and lets you know that [they] have heard you by giving a summary and check-in; even when there are multiple people providing varying perspectives during discussion. [DEI Lead] is very adept at keeping confidences of people who have provided survey/interview input. [DEI Lead] provides all perspectives, even if there is only one disparate viewpoint. Every voice is heard and counted!" - DEI Project Lead
- "I had a great experience with [IFL Co Lead]: [They] have a wealth of knowledge and was very approachable no matter when I contacted [them.] On a personal level, I found [them] to be courageous and passionate. (I also love [their] writing!)" -DEI Director
- "[IFL Co Lead] was an amazing person to have by our side: I loved how [they] didn't mince words, shared truths even when they were difficult to share, and showed tremendous compassion." - DEI Director
- "In our Courageous Conversation as a staff, [their] facilitation and input was thoughtful, honest, and really propelled the momentum of the conversation. I appreciated [their] vulnerability, and I feel [their] example encouraged others to be vulnerable as well, which was critical to the exercise. In other meetings, [they] provided helpful feedback about specific strategies that helped develop conversations around our scope of work (such as a FAQ for Board recruitment materials)." - DEI Project Lead
- "They provided a comfortable space to share deeply our feelings on our organizations goals and strategies around DEI." - DEI Project Lead
- "Very good at getting conversations started." - DEI Project Lead
Share your experience partnering with Admin Team Member(s)
Please share your experience partnering with DEI Coordinator
- "[Admin Team Member] provided an excellent administrative experience for the MANY! meetings, surveys, Trello boards, documents, etc. [They] were integral to making sure that these processes were distributed to the right people, at the right times, with attention to the fact that folks need reminders (at least, I do!). I appreciate that [they] kept these items so organized, as it helped us to stay organized as well." - DEI Project Lead
- "[Admin Team Member] provided dependable scheduling and back up for our many interactions." - Chris Canfield, Executive Director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina
- "[Admin Team Member] was really good about summarizing input from discussions and promptly getting information into TRELLO so everyone could review." - DEI Project Lead
- "[Admin Team Member] was super organized which helped keep everything on track. You certainly have an all-star team!" - DEI Project Lead
- "[Admin Team Member] was very organized and easy to work with." - Amy Smith, Director of Philanthropy
Please share any additional feedback
Please share any additional feedback you have about your overall partnership experience.
- "I found value in the sessions I was included in and only wish I could have been there from the start as I do think I would have learned a lot more about myself and my organization." - DEI Project Lead
- "I have enjoyed working with you all!" - DEI Project Lead
- "It was a great experience to push [our] staff and board to move forward and understand the process of infusing DEI into our organization and conservation work." - DEI Project Lead
- "Our organization was facing several DEI issues and the structured and engaging process provided by IFL really helped [us] push through difficult conversations to move the organization towards a path of resolution. We're not where we want to be but definitely further along that we would have been without the adept facilitation of IFL." - Kathy Hamilton Gore, Teaching Associate Professor
- "You all were a lifeboat, offering support and advice all through the journey." - DEI Director
Strategic, Measurable, Sustainable Action & Results
Discussion & Training Quotes
Below, you will find testimonials from clients who participated in a discussion or training with our team. Most are also long-term partners of ours! The responses are separated by question and listed in alphabetical order; the feedback comes from multiple organizations.
[The] presentation was part of a weekend itinerary, and unanimously rated the highest and most valuable.
Director, United States Tennis Association Southern
2021 Data
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