our team / Barbara Grant

Barbara has been actively involved in leadership roles and building and developing communities and organizations in Washington state since 1986. Barbara's experience reflects the diversity of the Puget Sound area, as her work has spanned the private and the non-profit sectors. She gained ten years of experience with strategic business planning and senior management for several departments at Microsoft. Before she joined the high-tech industry, she worked for Catholic Community Services and the Archdiocese of Seattle for several years, building up a statewide program of community-based awareness and advocacy for children in Washington state detention centers.

Barbara has a BA in International Relations from the University of Notre Dame, and spent several years managing international business issues for Microsoft corporation. She most recently served as Microsoft's Director for the worldwide Management and Employee Development organizations. Barbara also supervised customer support and product development businesses, including the Accessibility and Disability group, which is responsible for making sure that Microsoft's software is accessible and useful for people with disabilities. She has managed employees in several countries, traveled and negotiated business partnerships, and speaks Spanish fluently.

Barbara's work has always included a community focus. She was a founding member and/or Board member of several Diversity groups during her tenure at Microsoft. She is currently an active committee member of Seattle's Social Venture Partners organization, an entrepreneurial foundation, dedicated to addressing social and environmental issues in the King County region of Washington. Barbara is on the faculty for the University of Washington's Organizational Communication certificate program and is a society member and conference presenter for the International Society for Performance Improvement and the International Association of Facilitators. MGS is a member business of the GSBA, the Greater Seattle Business Association.

Barbara's clients appreciate that she has faced many of the same challenges they face -having accountability for today's bottom line results while attempting to anticipate and capitalize on tomorrows emerging opportunities. Her Masters Degree in Applied Behavioral Science was focused on Leadership and Organizational Development. She is certified to facilitate Power & Systems workshops based on the work of Barry Oshry, and is also fluent in several other employee development instruments such as Situational Leadership and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Her current work includes corporations, non-profit organizations, and individual management/leadership coaching.