Management In Uncertain Times:
An inaugural small group program
For managers who long for more ease, sustainability and effectiveness.
Apply by February DATE. Begin on March, DATE.
6–12 Participants / Sliding Scale
Does any of this sound familiar?
You’re dealing with conflict, hard feedback and tough decisions.
You feel like you’re doing it alone. And people seem to think you should have all the answers and skills you never learned. The frustration, fears, and uncertainties of leading your team often feel overwhelming.
You may have attended management training, but you’re still feeling underwater.
A new to-do list or time off hasn’t solved all your problems either.
Tools and training help, and to really navigate the demands of managing change work, you also need:
🆘 Support on emergent issues when you need it
☎️ A community of peers who get what you’re going through
📋 A plan specific to your challenges and support implementing it.
You don’t have to go it alone.
That’s where we come in.
Hi! We’re management coaches, and we are ready to support you.
Who We Are
We each have over 20 years of experience as organizers, political strategists, and managers. We’ve worked at local, state, and national levels in movement work. As managers, we’ve been where you are. Trying to do so much with so little support is all too familiar to us.
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Annie Dobbs Kramer
Annie Dobbs-Kramer is founder and principal at Gioia Strategies Consulting, LLC. Annie brings 20 years of experience as an organizer, trainer, facilitator and strategist. She finds deep joy in coaching leaders, nurturing teams, and developing winning campaigns. She has worked with communities across the globe to build deep democracy and community resilience. Annie lives in Northern California with her partner and toddler, and when she’s not organizing you’ll find her working on the farm.
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Mary Alice Crim
Mary Alice Crim is a coach and consultant for organizers and changemakers. She is also the Practice Manager for Embodying Racial Justice. She was the Distributed Organizing Director at the Sierra Club and Field Director at Free Press. Often, you can find her in a garden, playing with her dog, swimming, singing or baking allergy-friendly food.
We want to help you solve your problems, get real-time support and build community with peers. That way, you and your team can focus on the mission-driven work you're passionate about, without burning out.
Strong teams are an essential component of organizing toward liberation. As coaches, we are eager to build on what you already know and share what we’ve learned with you.
Management In Uncertain Times is a 6-month group coaching program for middle and new managers and seasoned executives facing tough choices.
If you are overwhelmed by this political moment or stuck managing conflict or crisis, we can help.
We designed this specifically for managers who work with changemakers in community groups, local government, nonprofits, or political campaigns.
Manage Without Burnout
Bring more confidence, ease, and sustainability to your role.
At the end of six months, you’ll be able to:
✅ Work more effectively with lots of different people.
✅ Develop and sustain effective teams.
✅ Handle feedback constructively.
✅ Make hard decisions with incomplete information.
And you’ll learn and practice in a supportive environment — in the company of other managers who face similar challenges and three coaches who have been through it themselves and with clients. And here’s the thing — you’re all dealing with similar challenges in unique circumstances. Your support in the program will fit you, your organization, and your specific concerns.
How It Works
Your program will include the following.
The Timeline
*This group requires a minimum of six participants. If six people do not enroll, we will notify you.
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December
Prepare your application. Secure your tuition. Recruit colleagues to join you.
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January
Complete your application and have a discovery session. Once you’re invited to enroll, submit your deposit to secure your spot.
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February
Ensure your application and discovery session are complete before DATE. That’s when enrollment closes.
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March
The group begins
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May
We’ll do a mid-point check-in.
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August
You’ll check out and complete the group.
Rates & Payment
We offer a sliding scale to make coaching more accessible.
Sliding scale rates include six-month contracts ranging from $2,250 to $10,200 per person.
Organizational Sliding Scale:
This applies to participants from organizations like nonprofits, schools, government bodies, political campaigns, philanthropic groups, and similar institutions. Please choose the rate that best matches your annual budget.
Supporter: $10,200
Please select this rate if your organization’s annual budget and assets are $10–20+ million.
Standard: $7,650
Please select this rate if your organization’s annual budget and assets are $2–10 million.
Equity: $5,100
Please select this rate if your organization’s annual budget and assets are less than $2 million.
Individuals
This includes those not linked to an organization, such as movement workers and volunteers. They manage community campaigns, teams, or other groups outside formal organizations.
Supporter: $5,100
Please select this option if your household income is above $125K per year and you have inherited assets or wealth.
Standard: $3,825
Please choose this rate if your household income is above $125K per year and you have privileged identities (like whiteness).
Equity: $2,550
Please choose this rate if your household income is under $125K per year.
If you want to join but have financial concerns about the tuition rates, please get in touch. We’re happy to talk with you. Contact us
Application & Enrollment
It’s tough out there, and you don’t have to navigate it alone. We’re here for you — and your fellow managers in the program are ready to meet you.
We look forward to hearing from you, learning what you need and welcoming you to the small group program.
We have room for six to twelve participants. We invite participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you’re not sure if this is right for you, reach out. We look forward to saying hello. Contact us here.
To get started, we invite you to take the following actions. We look forward to saying hello.
Apply.
Your application, due by February DATE, helps us understand what you need from coaching.
Schedule a discovery session.
A free phone call with one of the coaches, completed by February DATE, will help determine if this program is a good fit for you.
Send your deposit to enroll.
Once we receive your deposit, you are enrolled.
Set up your payment plan.
You can pay in one lump sum or in monthly installments.
FAQ
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Annie Dobbs-Kramer adobbskramer@gmail.com
Mary Alice Crim maryalicecrim@gmail.com
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We’ll have 90-minute sessions twice a month — one group session and one 1-1 session with your coach. We also highly recommend one hour a month with your peer buddy.
In addition, the journal reflection and response will take about an hour a week.
That’s about 8 hours a month of support in the moment and to develop the skills to bring more ease going forward.
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Exact scheduling is TBD, but the group sessions will occur once a month on Thursday, likely the first week of the month, between 9-1 PT / 11-3 CT / 12-4 ET.
You’ll schedule your 1-1 session with your coach at a mutually agreeable time, usually in the third week of the month.
You’ll self-schedule peer practice buddy meetings with your buddy.
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Collectively, the roles we have held include:
Executive Director
Field Director
Organizing Director
Campaign Director
Campaign Manager
Coalition Manager
Team Manager
Volunteer Manager
Equity Leader
Trainer
Coach
Consultant
Some of the management responsibilities we have navigated include:
Co-leading and co-supervising a diverse, 100-person national department.
Welcoming an influx of nearly 500,000 volunteers overnight.
Closing departments, teams, campaigns and layoffs.
Building highly effective, purpose-driven teams.
Managing crisis and conflict response.
Running equitable hiring processes.
Winning campaigns.
Our teachers include the Center for Callings and Courage, Embodying Racial Justice, Equity in the Center, Leading Change Network, the Management Center, Midwest Academy, Momentum, Movement Generation, Partners for Collaborative Change, PowerLabs, Race Forward, Rockwood Leadership Institute, Sarah Peyton, and the Strozzi Institute for Somatics.
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We’ll be in real real-time conversation about how you’re doing. Plus, you’ll complete a midpoint check-in. This helps us have a conversation about how you’re doing and what you need.
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Hopefully, the specific guidelines will help you choose your rate. If you’re new to sliding scale rates or need help with your rate, check out the Green Bottle image and metaphor by Alexis J Cunningfolk. It’s a helpful resource.
Connect with Us
Please reach out with any questions we didn’t answer.