Approach
Our roots in Human Systems Architecture
Vision:
A world where everyone matters and belongs.
Mission:
To build high-performing inclusive organizations for complex times.
We are a boutique hands-on, heart-led, and expert-driven progressive change agency started in 2007 by Annahid Dashtgard and Shakil Choudhury. Anima means “soul” or “life force” in Latin, and this is how we perceive leadership— as an inside-out process. Meaning, the better we are managing ourselves, the more effective we can be in leading others.
Where most organizations excel at technical knowledge and structural change, they often struggle with the human side of organizational life– team conflict, ineffective decision-making, low transparency, poor feedback and performance processes, silos, absenteeism or work-life imbalances. These factors contribute to low productivity and unhealthy workplace cultures.
This is where Anima comes in.
Our work is grounded in a distinctive combination of evidence-informed practices, a commitment to fairness, and a compassionate understanding of human behaviour. We help organizations nurture high performing, inclusive leaders and teams that navigate complexity, transform conflict and build healthier, more resilient workplace cultures.
From executive coaching and leadership development to strategic planning, conflict transformation and organization-wide assessment, we work alongside leaders and teams to turn complex human challenges into opportunities for meaningful, lasting change.
At the heart of our approach is a simple belief: organizations are only as strong as the people systems that sustain them.
In an era of growing uncertainty and polarization, Anima helps organizations strengthen their human systems architecture—the relationships, trust, leadership practices and workplace cultures upon which everything else depends.
Our approach draws from the following areas:
- Human systems architecture and change management processes
- Equity, anti-racism and Indigenous reconciliation principles
- Data collection and analysis of workplace policies, structures and practices
- Adult education and training best practices
- Participatory planning processes and strategic plan frameworks
- Neuroscience and emotional intelligence research
- Compassion-based mindfulness practices
- Trauma-informed approaches
- Group conflict and public dialogue frameworks
- Workplace Restoration processes
Our services are based on the following core beliefs:
Everyone has leadership potential
Each of us has something we are meant to contribute to the world. Finding out what this is and how to best offer it is a large part of what leadership development is about.
Leadership is a practice of opening the heart
Many of us in Euro-western societies rely solely on our intellectual capacities. Current neuroscience and emotional intelligence research show that our feelings– the information residing in our bodies– is as important, if not more so, for decision-making roles. Learning to notice and manage our own and others emotions is a foundational aspect of effective leadership.
We live in an interdependent world
Quantum physics and the new sciences provide evidence that we are connected at far more subtle and energetic levels than previously believed. What we do in part one part of a team or organization affects all other parts of the system. Leadership is a practice of making decisions about the parts based on seeing as much of the whole as possible.
Diversity is foundational for long-term success
Organizations, at all levels, need to represent the diversity in the broader population to be relevant in the future. Leadership in the face of increasingly complex issues and situations will require diverse perspectives and application of a deeply collective intelligence.
Inclusion is not part of the work, it IS the work
The quality of relationships among people is part of an organization’s DNA, dictating long-term success. Leadership for inclusive environments requires centering equity at the heart of strategic planning, coaching conflict competency and recognizing process as important as destination.
Meaningful change takes time
Many people and organizations working for systems change operate from a sense of urgency. Over time, this takes a toll on personal health, relationships and ability to be effective in the work. We lose connection with purpose. Truly transformative leadership stems from the ability to be deeply present– to listen to our own inner voice and that of others– so the best decisions can be made for our collective future.
