WORKING WITH ME

From building foundations to co-creating pathways and navigating complexity, I help leaders and visionaries collaborate well throughout the whole relationship lifecycle.  

Most of my clients come through referrals. They reach out when they're navigating a specific partnership or community challenge, or when they're preparing to embark on something ambitious and want the right support from the start.

Choose the path that feels right to you below and explore what working with me can look like. 

If you don't see yourself in these descriptions but think we might work well together, reach out anyway. I'm always open to conversation.
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Choose your path...

I'm a leader navigating collaboration and change

You're an executive, board member, or change leader in government, corporate or not-for-profit sectors. You're pursuing change that requires collaboration across boundaries - within different parts of an organisation, across sectors, or with diverse stakeholders.
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Explore this path

I'm a visionary* building a purposeful community

You've identified something that needs to exist in the world and you're gathering people around it. You're bringing something novel and necessary, and you care deeply about creating the conditions for others to see its value and join the movement

*I know you wouldn't normally call yourself this, but let's just roll with visionary for now.
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Explore this path

Ok leaders, let's navigate your collaboration together...

A hand drawn illustration showing the cycle of a butterfly from egg to caterpillar to cocoon and butterfly. The eggs are highlighted with a yellow background.
1. Preparing for collaboration
You're facing a complex program of work and need to build strategic collaborations but perhaps aren't sure who to involve or how to scope the work appropriately.

What I do: Work alongside you to map prospective partners and collaborators, gathering and analysing evidence to build a robust relationship strategy.

What you get: A clear purpose for collaborating and the value you bring, a comprehensive map of potential partnerships and collaborators, and the next steps in your journey laid out.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, strategy session(s) and documentation.‍‍
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2. Creating strong foundations
You're embarking on a new partnership or collaboration and need to define the terms of engagement and articulate how benefits and risks will be shared.

What I do: Facilitate the co-creation of your partnership or collaboration foundations, setting you up with the tools to navigate common dynamics and challenges.

What you get: A playbook with a clear shared motivation, principles to guide decision-making, articulated roles and responsibilities, and ways of working that leverage everyone's strengths.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with partners / collaborators, foundation setting session(s) and documentation.‍‍
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3. Co-creating pathways to change
You're forging a pathway to change with a broad group of stakeholders and you want to take a relationship-centred approach.

What I do: Design and facilitate inclusive engagement experiences that result in highly-actionable outcomes, not just artefacts that sit on shelves gathering dust.

What you get: A detailed engagement plan, expert facilitation and collaboratively designed outputs that create genuine buy-in and momentum.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with key stakeholders, planning session(s), engagement delivery and documentation.‍‍
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4. Navigating challenges
You're navigating conflict, loss of momentum or a change of direction in your collaboration and you need independent assessment and advice on how to work through it.

What I do: Provide independent insight on the dynamics at play by speaking to everyone involved and understanding the different perspectives. Broker a way forward that everyone can buy-in to.

What you get: Strategic advice, assessment report and practical recommendations for moving through the challenge and/or sustaining your efforts.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with partners / collaborators, facilitated group session(s) and documentation (where necessary).‍‍
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5. Closing out
You're coming to end of a partnership or initiative and need help to navigate a good ending together, or to explore what comes next.

What I do: Facilitate difficult conversations using structured processes. Help you articulate a clear end narrative and strategy for what comes after your partnership or initiative.

What you get: Engagement design, expert faciliation and collaboratively designed outputs so you can tell your story and honour what you've built together, capture lessons learned and communicate clearly about what's next to your stakeholders.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with partners / collaborators and stakeholders, facilitated group session(s) and communication products.‍

Ready to work together?

Let's get started

Ok visionary, let's talk about purposeful community building...

A hand drawn illustration showing the cycle of a butterfly from egg to caterpillar to cocoon and butterfly. The eggs are highlighted with a yellow background.
1. Bringing your vision to life
You want to build a community but don't know where to begin. You have a sense of purpose but need clarity on who you're serving and what value you're creating.

What I do: Help you define your purpose and indentify your humans. Shift you beyond your purpose and toward an articulated value to others.

What you get: Community building strategy. Clarity to progress with confidence.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 90-min to half day strategy session.
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2. Building foundations together
Your want to formalise your emerging community with principles, clear roles and shared agreements about how you'll be together.

What I do: Design and (if needed) facilitate inclusive processes for creating your community foundations together.

What you get: A playbook with a clear shared purpose, principles to guide descisions, articulated roles and responsibilities, and ways of working that everyone has helped shape.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with community members, planning session, engagement delivery and  documentation.‍‍
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3. Creating conditions for action
Your community is established but you want to engage members more actively or faciliate meaningful collaborative action together.

What I do: Help you create a strategy for activating your community by engaging with you and community members to determine what conditions are needed.

What you get: A collaboratively designed strategy that deepens connection and re-establishes momentum.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with community members, planning session(s), engagement delivery (if needed) and documentation.‍
The same image as above repeated, but this time the butterfly is highlighted with a pink background.
4. Navigating challenges
You can sense that something isn't working in your community dynamic and you need an independent perspective and advice on how to work through it.

What I do: Sit with you as a critical friend and take you through a structured assessment process. I may talk to community members to learn more and work with you to identify blockers and opportunities.

What you get: Strategic advice and recommendations for re-energising your community or addressing what is getting in the way of action.

Typical engagement: this could be as simple as a 90-min lunchtime strategy session. For more complex challenges an initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with community members, facilitated group session(s) and documentation may be needed.‍‍
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5. Closing out
You have achieved what you came here to do and/or you're ready to close out and want to do it in a way that honours what you've built together.

What I do: Help you end well, whether through celebration, storytelling or other meaningful closure. I can facilitate this collaboratively with your community.

What you get: Engagement design, expert faciliation and collaboratively designed outputs so you can tell your story and honour what you've built together, capture lessons learned and communicate clearly about what's next to your stakeholders.

Typical engagement: initial briefing session, 1:1 conversations with community members and stakeholders, facilitated group session(s) and communication products.‍

Ready to work together?

Let's get started
Michelle is standing smiling at the camera. She' has short blond hair and is wearing a dark green blazer. In the background there is a beautiful sandy rock.
“Sarah helped us reinvigorate our business strategy in a way that centered community and positive impact without losing sight of commercial realities. She pushed us beyond traditional partnerships to imagine a community of collaborators who could build a bigger, stronger marketplace alongside us.

Her thought-provoking questions reignited our momentum, and the possibilities she helped us unearth gave us renewed energy and confidence for the next stage of our development.”
Dr Michelle McQuaid
Good Girl Game Changers

Ready for a conversation?

If you're navigating a collaboration challenge, preparing to embark on an ambitious program of change or interested in professional mentoring let's talk.

You can schedule a 30 minute call or send me a message and I'll get back to you shortly.
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Strategic Designer and Partnership Broker in Naarm/Melbourne working with leaders and visionaries with complex collaboration challenges.
Trading as The Good Cartel Consulting
ABN: 33 628 372 151
PO Box 3026, Ripponlea VIC 3184
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I acknowledge the Bunurong/Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the land, water, and sky of the Country I live on. This beautiful place I get to call home always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I pay my respects to the Elders who have cared for this Country since time immemorial. I commit to understanding, listening and learning from the stories, culture and traditions of all First Peoples, and to contributing to caring for Country too.
© 2025 SARAH PATTERSON
TEDx CANBERRA PHOTOS BY THOMAS LUCRAFT AND SAM COULTER