Charged leadership for a brighter future
We are…
Forward Thinking
We promote organizational and leadership development grounded in what is realistic and “real.”
Research-Driven
We don’t mistake fads or popularity for credibility. Our methods and advice are informed by legitimate training, education and research relevant to our fields of expertise.
Problem Solvers
We engage the whole system to liberate and harness experience-based wisdom to find contextually-meaningful solutions to your most important priorities.
Our core promises:
We honour what is “real”
Organizations are human systems, and in human systems, perception defines reality. We each have an important viewpoint, but like a hologram, the whole isn’t complete until we can each see and accept what is real for ourselves and for others. Thus, the work of every one of us is to expand our perspectives – only then can we know our true identity as a collective. For this reason, at ION we believe that the collective identity – the one that is real, not the one that is espoused – is the only one that truly matters in an organization’s capacity for strategic alignment with organizational performance.
We take leadership seriously
There are many ways to think about leadership – a position, a state of being, or an act, for example. Regardless of how you slice and dice it, we work with the innate ability in everyone to take charge of their own destiny and lead others, organizations, and beyond with vision, integrity and meaning. What sets us apart is our determination to help you set and sustain proper boundaries, bring about new levels of consciousness, and integrate the interconnected dimensions of an organization that desperately need your best leadership effort.
We think that your energy matters more than almost anything else
We’ve all heard that managing your energy, not your time, is the most sustainable way to be productive. We agree. Few things things are more powerful than the energy you give or receive. And forget the “woo woo” images the word “energy” might evoke. Energy simultaneously gives rise to, and results in, attention, intention and action. It could be the make or break between a day that is good or crummy; a meeting that is productive or destructive; a connection that is positive or negative. It’s also what spills over into our personal lives and thus, our communities. So in a way, every aspect of our lives is connected to the energy we generate (or deplete) at work. It is for these powerful reasons that we have developed our whole brand concept around ions as charged (energized) atoms or molecules.
We continually scrutinize leadership research
Simply put, what works should stand up to scrutiny, so we subject everything we do to “the sniff test!” We don’t want to work from a false base, so we must satisfied ourselves that any leadership research claims have merit before we will work with them. We don’t mean to imply that we have some sort of special power; we don’t – and you shouldn’t believe anyone who says they do. But we care about discernment and the contextual value of so-called leadership formulas. To be sure, there is excellent work happening in the field of leadership, but it is also an industry so we must question what we are being “sold.” We applaud those who have the insight and courage to publish their opinions, but we must not accept surface research claims, method popularity or business book sales as proof of concept. Our experience tells us that the most effective solutions are contextually based and internally generated, and our experience and yours counts every bit as much.
Janna Jorgensen, MA, BSc
Organizational Leadership Consultant
Curiosity, creativity and wonder are my driving forces in life, but nothing inspires me like a worthy challenge: A nasty, gnarly puzzle that can only be solved when people work together.
Janna’s calling in life is to help awesome people linked to worthy causes do amazing things. In founding Ion Leadership Consulting, she has assembled some of the best talent out there to do just that.
Janna is an organizational development consultant and facilitator with over fifteen years of experience working nationally and internationally with individuals, teams and organizations in the public, private, not-for-profit and governmental sectors. Janna specializes in leadership development, shared visioning, strategic planning, multi-agency collaboration, governance and action research. She is especially well known for her capacity to liberate and harnesses knowledge and expertise that is collectively held by building goodwill and trust within organizations and on boards.
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Janna is a fifth generation Vancouver Islander and lives in Shawnigan Lake, BC with her husband. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Victoria. She is MBTI™ Certified and a current member of the International Association of Facilitators and BoardSource. Janna’s community service includes serving on several not-for-profit boards, serving as a volunteer member of a commission, and helping local communities establish grassroots volunteer programs. In her spare time she enjoys outdoor activities, boating, reading and doing jig saw puzzles.
Our Affiliates
Linda Wood Edwards, BAdmin, CAE, FCIS
Governance Consultant
About Linda
Linda owns LUE-42 Enterprises, an Edmonton-based consultancy focused on board governance in the third sector. She has worked with over a hundred associations on their governance issues, including creating great governing documents like bylaws and policies. Linda is a Certified Association Executive and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. She holds a Bachelor of Administration degree and certificates in human resources management and program evaluation. A long time board volunteer, Linda is on the board of Alberta Playwrights’ Network and serves as a public member on Council for two regulated professions. Linda is the author of two books (board-related) and 7 plays (not at all board-related), and is also a funeral celebrant and a devoted fan of the CFL.
Wynna Jorgensen, MA, BA
Team Development and Performance Consultant
About Wynna
Wynna is a Myers-Briggs Personality-Type (MBTI®) trainer and consultant with 20 years of experience working with individuals and teams in the private, post-secondary, non-profit, union and governmental sectors. Wynna’s practice focuses on leadership and team development, with a specialization in helping leaders face difficult challenges such as bullying and harassment in the workplace, performance management, and associated issues related to trust and respect in the workplace. Her appreciative, strengths-based approach along with deep expertise in adult learning and curriculum design makes her sessions fun, engaging and highly customized so that diverse teams can thrive.
Wynna is a Level II certified MBTI® trainer, and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Administration and Supervision from Gonzaga University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria. In her spare time, Wynna can be found smothering her grandchildren with love, working on her land at her cabin at Salmon Beach, and exploring the West Coast of Vancouver Island with her family and friends. And yes, Wynna is also Janna’s proud mother!
Jaime Mackenzie, BPE, MBA, CHRP
Management Consultant
About Jaime
Jaime is a Management Consultant in Calgary, Alberta, specializing in providing human resources services to public and private sector organizations in both generalist and specialist roles including job evaluation and classification; total compensation; policy and procedure development and implementation; labour relations; performance management; and staffing and recruitment. Jaime has a wide range of industry experience including projects conducted within healthcare, government, private and not-for-profit sectors. Jaime is presently the Director of Jaime M. MacKenzie Consulting Inc., but earned her consulting chops at Western Management Consultants in both Edmonton and Calgary.
Jaime completed her Masters in Business Administration at the University of Alberta, studying for one semester in Aarhus, Denmark. Her undergraduate degree is in Physical Education for Special Populations – which she puts to good use coaching her 5 year old son with special needs in soccer, skating and swimming. Her younger son doesn’t seem to mind the extra activity!
Maarten van Wamel, LLM
Executive Coach
About Maarten
Maarten is driven by a deep believe in people’s potential to cooperate and live successful, exciting and fulfilling lives. Born curious, he is inspired by looking at human interaction and communication from different angles and helping people find effective approaches to what seemed to be unsolvable challenges. Using a system called Dynamic Leadership Development, Maarten helps organizations and individuals translate mission and vision into the leadership behaviour needed for real organizational and personal change.
Maarten is a critical listener who has had a profound and measurable impact on over 2000 (Executive) Managers and Project Managers. He has a track record in Personal Effectiveness, Systemic Leadership Development, Team Coaching and Executive Coaching. Maarten has worked with a variety of organizations, from First Nations, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations and local government to multi nationals and federal government in Europe and North America.
Maarten holds a Master of Business Law Degree from Utrecht University and was trained in the Systems Approach by some of the top European System Thinkers. Maarten is a Certified Rational Effectiveness Trainer, Core Qualities© trainer and facilitator and Dynamic Balanced Leadership Scorecard© facilitator.
Maarten emigrated from the Netherlands in 2011 and lives in Nanaimo BC, with Manon and their three sons. Maarten served on the Board of the South Cowichan Rotary Club for four years and served as the club 2015/16 president. Maarten’s current community service includes serving as Vice Chair of the Curriculum Committee of Leadership Vancouver Island and school volunteer. In his spare time Maarten is an avid biker (mountain and road) and home chef.
Elizabeth Robinow
Lawyer
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth practices in the areas of wills and estate planning, family law, and civil litigation. After graduating from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University Class of 2013 and articling with Legal Aid in The Pas, Manitoba, Elizabeth was thrilled to given the opportunity to practice in the beautiful Cowichan Valley at the firm of Ridgway & Company. She was called to the Bar in 2014, in both Manitoba and British Columbia. Elizabeth also holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree from Queen’s University and a Master of Sciences from the University of Edinburgh.
Originally from the west coast, she is very happy to be back on Vancouver Island where she belongs. Elizabeth is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and the Canadian Bar Association, and is currently co-President of the Cowichan Valley Bar Association. Elizabeth serves on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Cowichan Valley.
Caroll Taiji
Brand and Communications Consultant
About Caroll
Caroll Taiji is the co-owner and creative director of Taiji Brand Group, a hybrid branding, communications and digital design company that has helping clients achieve clarity and focus for over 25 years. Caroll’s strategic thinking, innovative ideas and strong aesthetic sense contribute to a smart, creative product that breaks through the clutter. With 25+ years of experience, including as a Vice President of one of BC’s largest forest services providers and an Associate Creative Director at DDB, her work has been awarded with Lotus, Summit, Graphex and Graphic Designers of Canada “Best of Show” awards.
Jennifer Barnes Van Elk, MA, BA
Professional Writer and Editor
About Jennifer
After receiving a Masters in Professional Communications from Royal Roads University, Jennifer worked for a few years in “corporate Canada” before turning her attention to the social profit sector. Over recent years, Jennifer’s grant writing skills have brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into local charities, dramatically improving the financial positions of the organizations she has worked with. In addition to working part-time as the Development Officer at the Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association, she operates independently under Inkwell Grant Seeking and Professional Writing Services.
Jennifer has lived on Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley since 2003. Home is a small hobby farm where she spends most of her free time riding her horse or adventuring with her husband and dog. She loves creative writing and occasionally gathers the nerve to share her poetry with the public.
“Oak Transit hired Ms. Jorgensen to help us develop our corporate strategic plan. Janna provided thorough research into the issues that confronted us and her facilitation skills were impressive. I was deeply impressed with her strong sense of professionalism and dedication. “
– Ken Cossey, President of Oak Transit
What defines our approach:
We take the time to understand your situation
The best solutions in the world don’t mean a thing unless they are right for your organization. They need to be relevant to your current state and future goals, realistically achievable, and properly implemented. Our first order of business is always to listen deeply to understand your true needs, so we can collaborate with you to put the best ideas into practice.
We use approaches that are backed by science but validated by experience
Just because a particular theory, model or tool is popular doesn’t mean it’s the right one to use. We have no problem sticking with what works, but what works should stand up to scrutiny, and popularity is not proof of concept. We use a critical eye informed by the latest research and customer feedback to continually refine our methods and approaches so that we can do right by you. It’s not enough for it to work in theory, it must also work in practice, and you get a say in that.
We think you should only have to pay for the value we provide, not our overhead costs
We are an “affiliate model” consulting group. Janna Jorgensen is the company’s principal and lead, but if she doesn’t have the gears to do the work, she pulls in affiliated experts with proven talent to complete projects to the level of excellence you deserve and expect. That means you pay for the value you receive, not the overhead costs that some firms simply hide in their consulting fees.
We offer flexible payment plans
In a perfect world your cash flow and budget cycle would align with your organization’s need, interest, or capacity to launch a project. But we know that’s not always the case. We want to work with you when the time is right, not when the budget management cycle catches up. Talk to us about setting up a flexible payment plan.
We build predictability into our contracting cycle
Some contracts are straight-forward and easily delivered without much fuss. For larger projects, check out our consulting cycle to see what you can expect.
ION’s current affiliate model evolved around a shared vision among associates where having an awesome day at work is the norm. We want that for ourselves, and we want that for our clients. Our contribution to that future is to bring elevated leadership practices to the fold through consulting, research and facilitation.
The concept behind ION is that ions are charged atoms or molecules. This charge is what gives them the ability to bond with other atoms or molecules. Humans also carry a charge – we use different descriptors such as energy levels, feelings, mental states – but it is basically the same thing. Furthermore, this charge impacts our sense of wellbeing which carries over to into the social realm. Neuroscientists have confirmed that social connection is primary for humans. But the quality of our connections suffer when we cannot sense or regulate our charge.
How many times have you left work feeling diminished, depleted or even defeated? Have you ever had trouble decompressing from work stress? Or perhaps you have found yourself just feeling numb? What has been the impact on you, personally, and on the lives of those around you? What happens to us at work inevitably spills over into our personal lives, and not always in a good way. At ION we want our communities to be strong, for children to grow up safe and healthy, and for all people feel connected, happy, and well. We think that our best shot at achieving that is by “making work better, and making better, work.” That’s ION’s motto, and we hope you want that too.
“Janna demonstrates professionalism and integrity. She is passionate about what she does and puts her client at ease, making their needs the focus of her work. Janna is a true leader and visionary.“
– Diane Bergeron, Past Chair, National Association of Disabled Students
Public
- Post-Secondary Institutions
- Regulated Health Professions
- Crown Corporations
Private
- Small to large businesses
- Social Enterprises
- Corporate boards
Governmental
- Local Governments (“Regional Districts,” in BC)
Not-for-Profit
- “Social Purpose” Organizations
- Title Protection Agencies
- Student Governments
- Member Associations
Other
- Collective Impact Collaboratives
- Interagency Consortia
- Community Contribution Companies
- P3s
*Out of respect for client confidentiality we do not list our specific clients on this website. If you would like more information on our clients please contact us directly.
