ABOUT

Ochre Way provides executive coaching and people-centered strategic consulting to help organizations align talent, clarify roles, and operationalize strategy during times of change. The work brings together neuroscience, narrative, and the time-honored instinct to write our way into understanding, a sense-making tool rooted deep in our earliest wiring.

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CONSULTING

We help organizations prepare for what’s next, whether that means clarifying roles, strengthening leadership, or adjusting how teams are structured. Our work is grounded, practical, and focused on helping you move forward with clarity.

Using tools like assessments, leadership alignment sessions, and role design, we identify what’s working, where the friction is, and how to focus your efforts. From succession planning to team development, we turn insight into clear actions that build momentum and readiness for change.

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COACHING

Coaching is structured, insight-driven, and focused on unlocking each leader’s best thinking. Over a twelve-session journey, aspirational goals are set, strategies are built to achieve them, and actions are paced and aligned. Regular sessions create space to navigate challenges and maintain momentum.

The process is grounded in positive feedback, stretch goals, and practical tools that support real-time progress. Confidential 360s, offered as an optional add-on, can bring added depth and direction.

MEETING FACILITATION

Facilitation is a core part of our work. We help groups navigate complexity, name what’s not being said, and reach shared understanding. This approach is grounded in a deep understanding of how people think, communicate, and make decisions under pressure.

Whether leading a high-stakes strategy session or working through tension in a team, we create the structure and conditions for clarity, alignment, and forward movement. Participants leave with insight, a sense of ownership, and a clear next step.

CLARIFYING DOCUMENTS

Our use of clarifying documents sets us apart. In fast-moving, high-stakes environments, we help leaders step back, make sense of complexity, and focus on what matters most. These tools surface insight, align teams, and accelerate progress where it counts.

We co-create a range of written tools to support alignment and execution: transition plans, role profiles, benchmarking reports, communications strategies, decision frameworks, strategic plans, implementation roadmaps, and more. Each one is designed to clarify thinking, align teams, and move strategy into action.

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NEUROSCIENCE

Neuroscience is a foundational lens in our work. We draw on research about how the brain responds to uncertainty, processes information, and forms new habits to design strategies that lead to real, sustained change.

This approach helps pace transitions thoughtfully, engage people at the right level, and create the conditions for clarity, trust, and momentum. It also helps us assess whether change is sticking, by noticing where people are engaged, where resistance is showing up, and what’s needed to keep progress moving forward.

NARRATIVE STRATEGY

Narrative is a powerful tool for alignment and change. In moments of uncertainty or transition, people look for a story, something that helps them understand what’s happening, why it matters, and how they fit in. We help leaders get clear on the story they’re sharing, and just as importantly, the ones their people are already telling themselves.

Before building any messaging, we work with leaders to surface the informal narratives, assumptions, and beliefs that may be shaping culture or fueling resistance. From there, we co-develop language that resonates, aligns, and reflects where the organization is headed.

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Kate Carman

MANAGING DIRECTOR & EXECUTIVE COACH

Overview
Kate Carman is a strategy and change leader with two decades of experience guiding executives, teams, and organizations through pivotal transitions. Her work spans leadership development, organizational design, and enterprise-level transformation, with a focus on aligning strategy, talent, and culture in high-stakes environments. She has worked across sectors, from Fortune 500s and federal agencies to startups and social impact organizations, helping clients navigate complexity, sharpen focus, and move forward with intention.

Approach
Kate is known for combining structured frameworks with deep contextual awareness. She integrates neuroscience, systems thinking, and narrative tools to surface patterns, clarify priorities, and enable strategic decisions. Her coaching and advisory work has supported CEOs, senior leaders, and emerging talent alike. She has helped scale consultancies, prepare founders for succession, and design coaching programs that improve leadership performance by 20 to 30 percent. Whether guiding a national strategy for a major federal infrastructure initiative or modernizing COVID protocols for a 700-person utility, Kate brings a grounded, forward-looking approach.

Experience
Prior to founding Ochre Way, Kate held senior roles at Korn Ferry and Sapere Consulting. She led multimillion dollar leadership initiatives, developed global programs for senior executives, and launched new service areas to expand market reach. Earlier in her career, she directed sustainability campaigns and helped transition her family ranch into one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading grass-fed beef operations. She began her career at Human Rights Watch, working alongside Nobel Peace Prize recipients, where she gained early exposure to the complexity and impact of large-scale change initiatives.

Education
Kate holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of the Environment, where she focused on green business and innovation, and an undergraduate degree in English and Political Science from Oregon State University. She is certified in Brain-Based Coaching through the NeuroLeadership Institute, Prosci Change Management, and Korn Ferry Leadership Architecture.