Sue Larson, MSOD

Experience

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  Great Plains Software

  Jan 1987 - Jan 2000

  Acquisition Integration, OD, Training and Development

  ADDITIONAL RELEVANT EXPERIENCESOrganization Integration FacilitatorDirected organizational due diligence and “people” integration strategies for ten acquisitions, in the US and internationally, over a two year timeframe. Strategic Planning and Leadership ConsultantProvided external consulting services to Great Plains channel organizations while designing effective processes to build a successful consulting practice.Learning and Development ManagerLed a team to determine the needs, design programs and deliver professional skill training for all employees. Show less

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  Microsoft

  Jan 2000 - Jan 2014

  3,000 person client organization, directly supporting 2 corporate vice presidents focused on:Organization effectiveness: Diagnose and identify scope of change. Influence executive client to engage in proposed interventions. Design and facilitate interventions.Talent Management: Identify future capability needs and surface gaps. Assess talent pipeline and oversee execution of talent development.People and Organization Plan: Organize, develop and oversee the execution of the People & Org plan with the executive client, leveraging the aligned HR team.Team Leadership: Provide leadership and guidance to enhance the effectiveness of the HR team.KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:Facilitated organization design approach that merged three engineering organizations (Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox) - Touched over 3,000 employees in my client organization. These changes led to enhanced integration of engineering processes to create a seamless customer experience across devices.Influenced shift in Windows product planning process – Engaged with my executive client to explore and define changes. Partnered with other senior leaders to create a planning framework and execute against that framework. Monitored execution and identified opportunities for additional change. This required a mind-set shift in senior leaders to plan for products differently than they have in the past and led to an increase in outside-in perspective and customer focus in the planning of Windows products.Established Talent/Org Management rhythm – Created an approach for my client leadership teams to discuss organization and talent data, decide on future talent needs, and create plans for recruiting and building needed capabilities. Show less Responsible for needs analysis, design and implementation of leadership development programs along with organization development initiatives. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:Worked with Xbox executives to engage with their extended leadership team to explore and agree on strategic direction. Resulted in commitment to deliver Xbox One in an 18 month timeframe, which was a significant reduction in time to market for a next generation. Engaged with leaders in Xbox Music and Video to drive fundamental change - shifting from waterfall to agile engineering, building effectiveness of leader and leadership team, restructuring of advertising business to drive efficiency. Partnered with external consultants to achieve scale of change initiatives. Facilitated significant organizational restructuring within Xbox Studios and Engineering organizations. Changes led to increased clarity of ownership and decision making in Engineering which directly supported the launch of Xbox One. Xbox Studios realignment optimized for geography, audience expansion, technical innovation and operational excellence. Designed, managed execution and facilitated Xbox High Potential Program. Touched 185 participants through a variety of leadership development offerings. Personally coached a number of Xbox senior leaders over an extended timeframe which positively impacted their leadership abilities and improved their effectiveness. Show less Senior member of a central leadership development group responsible for design, development and delivery of impactful development experiences and coaching to executives and senior level leaders. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:Lead the development and delivery of a highly impactful approach to helping senior leadership teams improve their effectiveness. Consulted directly with numerous senior leadership teams across Microsoft including international subsidiary teams. Developed a unique approach to partnering with line-HR in the engagement of this framework and consulting methodology. Created and actively managed a vibrant consulting community. This resulted in over 100 senior leadership teams engaging in facilitated interventions and improved employee satisfaction results. Lead the research to deepen the understanding of the challenge of collaborating across divisions for Microsoft’s senior leaders and drove the creation of a capability framework and comprehensive development program which included individual assessment, intensive workshop, and application coaching. Feedback showed participants increased their effectiveness and directly impacted their ability to get things done across teams. Lead the articulation of the philosophy and practices of how we develop senior leaders at Microsoft. Managed the engagement of numerous stakeholders for input and perspective. Result was a Senior Leadership Development Framework that was shared across HR to deepen understanding and ensure consistency. Program managed and delivered multiple Leadership Development Programs: Leading for Agility and Performance Executive Program; Building Organization Capability; Leading Senior Teams; Trio Workshop Show less Member of a central consulting group providing change management, OD consulting, leadership development and coaching to mid-level and senior leaders across Microsoft. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:Initial engagement focused on the successful integration of a new vice president into the World Wide Licensing and Pricing organization. Subsequent work focused on building a sustainable organization through development of the leadership team, definition of a unified business strategy and design of a management system to create a business rhythm and discipline within the organization. Engaged with Microsoft CFO to redesign organizational structure of finance organization and shift role of finance to provide business insight and business excellence. Worked with divisional CFOs to implement changes locally. Partnered with Microsoft Business Solution VP, R&D to develop and align the extended leadership team around the product and development strategy of the business. Developed, designed and delivered numerous training sessions on the Microsoft System Model and the Change Management/OD methodology across global HR organization and key business groups. Show less Provided change management, OD consulting, leadership development and coaching to mid-level and senior leaders within the Office/Information Worker business. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:High Potential/Bench Program – Program managed, designed and delivered a 2-year leadership development experience for high-potential leaders in the Information Worker business. Included development plan, training sessions, 360-degree assessments, learning groups, executive leadership dialogues, coaching, and skip-level 1:1 meetings.Office Marketing - Engaged with vice president, focused on improving overall organization effectiveness through up-leveling leadership roles, up-skilling key functions and re-architecting processes. Significant accomplishments included development of business strategy, integration of new vice president, and alignment of roles and responsibilities within the organization. Office User Assistance – Partnered with leader to shift strategic focus of business from product launch to 24/7 service organization. Facilitated leadership team through strategy development and work on group dynamics. Aligned organization structure to clearly defined strategy. Show less

  • HR/OD Director, Windows & Xbox Engineering

    Jan 2012 - Jan 2014

  • Leadership Development/OD Consultant, Xbox Division

    Jan 2010 - Jan 2012

  • Leadership Development Consultant, Central Leadership Development Group

    Jan 2006 - Jan 2010

  • Organization Development Consultant, Central OD Group

    Jan 2004 - Jan 2006

  • Organization Development Consultant, Office/Productivity & Business Services

    Jan 2000 - Jan 2004
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  Unify Consulting, LLC

  Jan 2015 - Aug 2015

  Founder and Principal Consultant

  Enhanced the capability of leaders and organizations to continuously navigate the white waters of change. Services included: Leadership – Executive Coaching, Leadership Development Programs, Leadership Assessments; Teamwork – Team Assessments, Team Facilitation, Offsite/retreat meeting design and facilitation; Change – Comprehensive human-centered approach to change. Clients included: Microsoft Corporation – Redmond, WA; Citrix – Santa Clara, CA; Concur – Bellevue, WA; College Success Foundation – Issaquah, WA; Big Fish Games – Seattle, WA Show less

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  Providence Health & Services

  Aug 2015 - Mar 2021

  Regional Director, Integrated Talent Management for Swedish Health Services

  • Lead team of consultants to manage end-to-end talent management process to create a virtuous cycle of reviewing leadership talent, determining development needs, identifying successors and high potentials and implementing leadership development programs. • Partner with executives to drive cultural and organizational change to improve the caregiver and patient experience.

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  Microsoft

  Mar 2021 - May 2023

  Director, OD and Culture Activation

  Led the development of an enterprise-wide team effectiveness framework, practices and assessment tool to activate and drive impact in teams across Microsoft. Utilized strong collaboration and partnership skills to engage external consultants, various Centers of Expertise and HR teams. Built capability with early adopter leaders and HR partners to utilize the framework and tools.

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  CoachSource LLC

  May 2023 - now

  CoachSource Qualified Coach

  I help leaders become conscious leaders. I work with leaders who may not be content with the results they are getting and aren't sure where to start. They just know they need a change, and they realize it needs to start with them. I help them step above the fray, see the way they are leading, the impact it's having and then make conscious choices to change 1-2 behaviors that will unlock their most effective leadership.

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  Sue Larson Consulting

  May 2023 - now

  Consultant/Facilitator/Coach

  I am excited to announce my return to independent organizational consulting and coaching, with a renewed enthusiasm to partner with forward-thinking leaders committed to enhancing their leadership and organizations' capabilities for achieving exceptional results, while nurturing a dynamic culture where every team thrives.

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  DOOR International

  Dec 2023 - now

  Senior Facilitator

  Facilitate leadership development programs and workshops. Companies include Microsoft.