Executive & People Ops Advisory

The numbers were telling one story. The organization was telling another.

Within six months, 12% of the organization had left. Previous inclusion efforts had not created the change leadership hoped for, and concerns about workplace practices continued to surface. The CEO knew another program was not going to solve what was happening underneath the surface.

So we started by listening. Culture Circle assessed three interconnected parts of the organization: leadership, culture, and People Operations. What emerged wasn't a collection of disconnected issues. It was a picture of how leadership decisions, employee experience, systems, communication, and trust were interacting with one another.

The work included executive advisory, leadership alignment, communication guidance, workshops, culture repair, and practical changes to the way employee concerns were surfaced and addressed. We also revisited company values to make them usable in real decisions rather than something that simply lived on a page.

And when leaders became overwhelmed by the weight of the work, we made room for the human behind the title. Reflection, self-care practices, and deeper personal exploration helped leaders understand how they were showing up before asking the organization to follow them somewhere new.

Over time, leadership moved from reacting to individual problems toward working from a shared understanding of what the organization needed. Communication became more intentional. Concerns had clearer places to go. Leaders developed more confidence navigating difficult conversations. The company began rebuilding trust not through another initiative, but through a different way of leading.

The work wasn't to launch something new. It was to understand what needed repair, what needed rebuilding, and what leadership needed to become capable of holding next.

Navigating something similar? →

What if HR wasn't the whole answer?

The work happened everywhere. Corporate offices. Rehearsal rooms. Hotels. Theaters. Tour buses. Cities across the country. Employees could be part of the same organization while experiencing completely different versions of it. At the same time, leaders were responsible for keeping both the business and the show moving.

Traditional People Operations could handle policies and processes. But that wasn't the whole need. Culture Circle worked alongside executive leadership to bring humanity into how the organization hired, onboarded, developed managers, responded to employee concerns, communicated through change, and navigated difficult people decisions.

We advised the CEO and senior leaders through sensitive decisions, leadership changes, conflict, and organizational transitions. We built and facilitated manager training, created stronger support pathways for employees, and developed more intentional hiring and onboarding experiences. We helped leaders prepare for difficult conversations and think through the human impact of the decisions they were making. Over time, that work became something distinct inside the organization: a Humanity Department.

Humanity became more than a value. It became part of how employees were talked about, how managers were developed, how concerns were handled, and how leadership made decisions. And when the operational People leadership chapter ended, the organization asked Charisse to remain as an advisor. The role changed. The relationship did not.

"Charisse has been instrumental in transforming our organization over the past three years. She has helped change the narrative of how we talk about and treat our employees, and each other."CEO

Sometimes the most valuable thing isn't having someone own the function. It's having someone beside you who understands what you're carrying.

Need a trusted perspective beside you? →

Five people can carry a culture in conversation. Fifteen need something more.

As the company grew, the things that had once happened naturally started becoming harder to maintain. How people communicated. What leadership expected. How new employees understood the company. What exactly made the place feel like this place.

Culture Circle began meeting regularly with the CEO and COO. Not simply to build HR processes, but to understand what they were trying to preserve while the company changed.

Together, we created a culture roadmap and helped leadership put language around something that had previously lived mostly in instinct. That work became a culture playbook, guidelines, and a model the team could use as the company grew. We introduced Hiring with Humanity practices, redesigned onboarding, created workshops and opportunities for connection, and replaced traditional performance reviews with more reflective conversations. Culture Circle also extended support beyond leadership, creating space for employees to be heard and supported as the company evolved.

The culture stopped living only in the founders' heads. Employees had clearer language for how the company worked, what leadership expected, and what they were collectively trying to protect. The company did not need Culture Circle to invent who they were. They needed help recognizing it, articulating it, and building systems strong enough to carry it forward.

"Your wisdom, care, and insight have made a real difference. Because of our work together, we now have a playbook, guidelines, and a model that give our team real alignment and something clear to follow when we bring the brand to life."Company Leader

"Having you as part of our team truly has been a game changer."Team Member

Growth doesn't always require reinvention. Sometimes it requires getting clearer about what should never be lost.

Growing into your next version? →