We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Colomé recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve spent nearly fifteen years working for social change as a survivor advocate, capacity builder, trainer, researcher, and educator that centers the needs and experiences of marginalized populations while empowering healthy communities. And throughout my career, I kept noticing how misaligned people and organizations were between their values and behaviors. Worse, I saw firsthand how people – particularly leaders – weaponize values to cause harm, sometimes even in the name of ending oppression. I was frustrated because we were selling something we weren’t buying ourselves, and the relationships I had built with colleagues and communities confirmed that I wasn’t the only one being affected by poor leadership. Others were frustrated, experiencing toxicity, institutional betrayal, and losing faith in their movements, while companies and organizations were losing some of the best minds I’d encountered. And when we lose people – particularly people from marginalized communities – our work is delayed, diminished, and less effective.
I founded Collective Futures LLC in 2021 because I believe it’s possible to be effective and equitable. In fact, I believe truly being effective inherently requires equity. Now, making substantive change in how we do our work requires deep introspection, unlearning, accountability, and community. But I’ve been privileged to learn from these kinds of spaces, and partner with those interested in creating similar spaces to transform how they show up in the world and how they share their gifts. Because ultimately, the work is worth it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Collective Futures helps people, workplaces and communities get out of their own way in achieving their mission. Building on a history of cross-sector experience, I consult through skill building (trainings and workshops), strategy mapping, action planning, facilitation, and coaching. Essentially, my business bridges the gap between intention and practice. People often have a sense of their values, or what they should value, but how to enact those values in all aspects of a company (design, operations, evaluation, culture, hiring, etc.) can be challenging for many, as is the accountability to assess values-driven work. I help those that are stuck, frustrated, or hungry to stretch when they know they are missing the mark and that they can’t go it alone. My business creates spaces where people can enter authentically and messy with the shared goal of growth and alignment to each other, and their values.
Are you struggling with building or repairing trust internally? High turnover? Having issues getting community partners to come to (or stay at) the table? Are your methods for creating change causing harm to your team or community in other ways? Maybe you’re ready to build a new chapter driven by company values, but you’re in need of a strategy with tangible steps. Or perhaps you’re earlier in this process and hungry to (re)define the values at the core of your organization. This is where I help clients identify and take necessary steps. In turn, they can more strategically problem solve, cultivate stronger partnerships, improve internal culture and wellbeing, and strengthen organizational effectiveness. When you work with me you get an invitation for individual (un)learning and organizational transformation.
My work is rooted in a trauma-informed and anti-oppression approach, so I get excited by every chance to facilitate a lightbulb moment. Sometimes those come from seeing a new connection between behavior and outcomes, sometimes it’s in co-creating strategy that is deeply rooted in organizational values, and sometimes it’s as simple as understanding how to create stronger relationships across differences. Mission achievement requires being open to possibility, and through both practice and strategy, I support my clients to do just that.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Perfectionism! Oh… perfectionism. This is a lifelong struggle because for so long, I based my worth on being the best, in not making mistakes, and the value I brought to others. It wasn’t until I was well into my career that I learned how much perfectionism was robbing me of.
Perfectionism suggests there’s only one right way of being, knowing, or doing something. Imagine how much is lost when that’s the framework we use! Can you imagine a world where art was limited to a certain process or paint stroke? Or the inventions we’d never have benefited from?
I realized that being perfect was not synonymous with quality, and that I can still do highly effective, intentional, and meaningful work without holding myself to an impossible standard of perfection. That my worth and the worth of what I created wasn’t tied to whether things worked out on the first try. For so long I robbed myself of what were likely key learning moments by not allowing an iterative process to my work. I like to say that failure isn’t a fault if you know what to do with it. Failure is necessary so long as we look (assess), learn (analyze), and pivot (apply). Failure moves us forward.
For example, had I waited to launch CF until I felt like everything was perfect, I wouldn’t be having this conversation. The company would still be an idea on a piece of paper. And because I took an action step informed by research and chose to withstand some risk (including my own ego), I’ve learned an immeasurable amount in just the first few years of my company’s existence. We know that without risk there’s rarely reward, and I’ve seen that firsthand in my own learning, growth, and business successes. But I can confidently say that the work of releasing perfectionism is an incredibly freeing – and necessary – experience. Particularly for entrepreneurs and artists.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Authenticity and relationship drives every aspect of my business because that is how I believe we can be our best selves for ourselves, our team(s), and the people we’re trying to serve. For me, that means putting the person before the business, and standing firm in the core values of the company. Collective Futures is about community-centered possibility so I need to make sure that those values are present in all aspects of the company’s work from person to project to policy.
One way I build relationships, which translates to my market reputation, is by listening to understand, not to respond. For example, I like to start meetings not with the first item on an agenda but by genuinely checking in with the other person. Knowing how they are, and what is top of mind can tell me a lot about how to best approach our partnership at that point in time. We’re people, not machines, and the individuals I work with know this is at the core of how I work. Having a personal relationship can also be helpful when it’s time to ask challenging questions or deliver difficult truths. When I challenge clients to stretch themselves, they understand my coaching is based on my belief in their capacity to grow, rather than a judgment of their growth edges.
Furthermore, when I’m onsite with a client I’m going to maximize my time, whether that be dinner or coffee with the client, or leaving flexible space for a new opportunity that may emerge. An organic spur of the moment “want to grab a coffee while we’re both here?” can often result in a new connection, referral, or future client. Dedicated time also provides people with the space to see if and how you practice what you preach. Nothing hurts your reputation like hypocrisy. But most importantly, it’s through these conversations that I can get the informal scoop on needs, strengths, desires, and dreams. I get to know the people behind the project, meaning I can hold a deeper appreciation for what they’ve been through, and where they want to go. This in turn, informs how I design and facilitate my role in the partnership. Also, and not unrelated: be willing to laugh. At yourself as well as the moments that call for it. Particularly in social change spaces (though I’ve worked with a variety of clients) it’s important to remember that we are unapologetically deserving of joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ourcollectivefutures.com
- Instagram: @ourcollectivefutures
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-colom%C3%A9/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/collectivefuturesllc