High-Stakes Decision Support
One consequential people decision. A clearer path before you act.
Some people decisions cannot be resolved by quoting a policy, following instinct, or gathering one more opinion.
The facts may be incomplete. Leadership accounts may conflict. The visible problem may not be the primary problem. And every available option may carry consequences for the person, the organization, and the leaders responsible for what happens next.
The High-Stakes People Decision Intensive provides focused, independent diagnosis and executive decision support for one consequential employee, manager, or leadership matter.
The objective is not to delay the decision. It is to improve the quality of the decision before the organization acts.
A focused 7–10 business-day engagement beginning at $3,500.
The decision cannot be avoided. But it should not be rushed past the diagnosis.
This Intensive may be appropriate when:
Internal HR or leadership is too close to the matter to provide sufficient independence.
The organization has tried coaching, conversation, policy reminders, or structural changes without resolving the pattern.
The immediate decision carries significant operational, cultural, relational, or reputational consequences.
Leadership needs a disciplined assessment of what is known, what is assumed, what is missing, and what each available path will require.
You are considering discipline, termination, reassignment, removal from leadership, or another consequential action.
A key employee is underperforming, but leaders disagree about what is producing the problem.
A manager’s conduct or judgment is affecting their team, trust, or organizational performance.
Senior leaders or board members hold materially different views about what should happen next.
You do not need another opinion layered onto the existing disagreement.
You need a more accurate diagnosis of the decision in front of you.
WHAT THE INTENSIVE DOES
Diagnose the decision before prescribing the action.
The matter gets examined through The Third Perspective™ and the Person–Leader–System Framework™.
The analysis considers:
Person
What does the evidence show about individual capability, conduct, performance, judgment, responsibility, and opportunity to meet the expectation?
Leader
How have leadership decisions, communication, consistency, feedback, authority, behavior, or delayed action shaped the situation?
System
What policies, processes, structures, incentives, information flows, technologies, workloads, or organizational norms may be producing or reinforcing the outcome?
The purpose is not to distribute responsibility evenly.
It is to locate responsibility accurately, identify the primary driver, and match the response to the problem the evidence actually supports.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
Focused support for one defined decision
The core Intensive includes:
Confidential executive intake and clarification of the decision that must be made
Targeted review of relevant organizational context and agreed materials
Focused consultation with the appropriate leaders or stakeholders
Identification of known facts, competing interpretations, assumptions, and missing information
Assessment of organizational, leadership, operational, cultural, and reputational considerations
Examination of the available decision paths and what each would require
Written executive decision brief
Executive decision session to review the diagnosis, options, and required next actions
One defined follow-up consultation
Clarity that can carry into action.
At the conclusion of the Intensive, the client should be able to state:
The decision we are making is ______.
The primary driver of the problem is ______.
It is being reinforced by ______.
The evidence supports ______.
The path we are choosing is ______.
Before acting, we must address ______.
We will know the decision is producing the intended result when ______.
Depending on the matter, the written decision brief may also identify:
Information that must be obtained before action
Leadership or system conditions that must be addressed alongside individual accountability
Documentation or internal coordination needs
Communication and implementation considerations
Matters that require qualified legal, investigative, clinical, financial, or other specialized review
Kimberly does not make the decision for the organization. She helps leaders understand what they are deciding, what is producing the situation, and what responsible execution will require.
I. Frame the Decision
Clarify the decision, stakes, relevant parties, existing information, urgency, and authority to act..
A defined process for a decision that cannot remain open indefinitely.
II. Examine the Evidence
Review the agreed context, identify missing information, and test the assumptions and competing accounts shaping leadership’s current view.
III. Diagnose the Drivers
Apply the Person–Leader–System Framework™ to identify the primary driver, reinforcing conditions, and risks of an incomplete diagnosis.
IV. Prepare to Act
Evaluate the available paths, determine what each requires, and establish the immediate decision, coordination, communication, and implementation steps.
Timeline statement: Most Intensives are completed within 7–10 business days after the engagement begins and the agreed information is available. Matters requiring a formal investigation, extensive fact-finding, or legal analysis must be separately referred or scoped.
A serious decision deserves defined support.
Core Intensive
Engagements begin at $3,500.
Appropriate for one clearly defined people decision requiring focused intake, targeted context review, diagnostic analysis, a written executive decision brief, and an executive decision session.
Expanded Intensive
Engagements begin at $7,500.
Appropriate when the decision requires broader leadership alignment, additional stakeholder perspective, more substantial organizational context, or expanded communication and implementation support.
Final scope and investment are confirmed after the initial fit conversation. Work begins after a written agreement and required payment are received.
“Kimberly brings a rare combination of clarity, composure, and sound judgment to difficult employee situations. Her ability to navigate challenging conversations with professionalism, empathy, and accountability helps organizations move forward when the stakes are high.”
What this engagement is—and what it is not
The High-Stakes People Decision Intensive is executive decision support.
It is not:
Legal advice or legal representation
A formal workplace investigation
Therapy, clinical assessment, or crisis intervention
A substitute for required board, union, regulatory, or internal approval processes
An open-ended consulting engagement
Daily HR administration
A guarantee that every stakeholder will agree with the final decision
When the matter requires employment counsel, an independent investigator, a clinician, a security professional, or another specialized resource, Kimberly will identify that need rather than offer conclusions outside the engagement’s scope. Initial inquiries should not include employee names, medical information, privileged communications, detailed allegations, or confidential records.
Choose the level of support the situation requires.
High-Stakes People Decision Intensive
Best for: One consequential employee, manager, or leadership decision.
Structure: A focused 7–10 business-day engagement beginning at $3,500.
Private Executive Advisory
Best for: A senior leader who needs continuing access to confidential, independent People and organizational counsel across multiple matters.
Structure: An ongoing advisory relationship without embedded responsibility for leading the organization’s People function.
EXPLORE PRIVATE EXECUTIVE ADVISORY
Fractional Chief People Officer
Best for: An organization that needs embedded senior People leadership, executive-team participation, strategic ownership, and implementation guidance.
Structure: A defined fractional or interim executive engagement with an agreed mandate, capacity, authority, and term.
Before your organization acts, make sure it is solving the right problem.
Share a brief overview of the decision, the organizational context, and why the matter requires attention now. Kimberly will review the inquiry for alignment, scope, timing, and capacity.
Inquiries are reviewed for fit before a confidential conversation is scheduled. Do not submit sensitive employee information through the initial form.
Need continuing counsel across multiple decisions? Explore Private Executive Advisory.