The day I witnessed magic ...while at work

Once upon a time, a decade ago, I witnessed the power that a management consultant has as a facilitator of dialogue among client team members.

There she was.

My petite and powerful female manager, Sonymarie Socarrás, dealing with two tall and strong Unit Directors in a client organization. Two men in an eternal bullfight.

For years, these men would blame each other’s teams for operational and execution problems. They also dreaded having to co-create or co-lead any initiative jointly.

And there she was, my super chill supervisor.

Sonymarie (right) and me

As management consultants for this company, we designed a set of solutions that required alignment of these two Directors for successful implementation.

And I, a then Business Analyst just turned Associate, saw how my sweet and purposeful Engagement Manager inspired these men to action and convinced them of how great it would be for them to align and work together.

I especially remember an informal meeting in a hallway, where she was giving amazing talking points to one of the Directors for a meeting that week. She also playfully used coaching questions to prepare him and turn his guard down for the meeting.

It was magic happening before my eyes. And it worked!

That project became the most beautiful implementation I have witnessed in my consulting career, with full engagement of both leaders.

Surprising operational improvements were achieved, new technologies were developed and implemented that impacted hundreds of thousands of clients, and customer satisfaction scores went off the roof.

Of course, there were other success factors. But it was watching her in that hallway, when I realized that the most important skill to master in my consulting career would be the ability to bring people together as a facilitator of dialogue and alignment for our clients.

A decade later, Access Point was born; dedicated to providing, especially remote teams, with Access for strategic dialogue, connection, and co-creation in organizations, through corporate retreats and strategic offsites.

Access has been granted!

Let's remove roadblocks and open doors!

Keren E. Acevedo

Access Point Founder

PS. I have kept Sonymarie very close over the years as mentor and friend, possibly against her will. She has continuously inspired and pushed me to leave the uncomfortable comfort zones and fly (while also building stuff together, like, ehem... bathroom furniture). So, here is to you, my dear Sony! Thank you.