José Dominguez

Executive coach, Consultant

José has extensive experience as a leader working in operations, employee engagement and culture building in racially and generationally diverse communities and organizations. He specializes in coaching (both individual and organizational), fundraising, and taking leaders into trusting deeper levels of engagement with those that they serve in order to forge stronger connections that will assist in securing success.

Through collaboration, José contributes to his clients’ ecosystems the uncanny ability to identify connections between disparate groups and create essential, inclusive, cross issue coalitions. His gentle intuition, blended with his ability to equitably shift perspective, creates space to brainstorm, shape and bring creative ideas and approaches into the light.

José believes that when leaders discover their purpose they create meaning, not only for their own lives, but their staff, organizations and communities in which they work. His coaching philosophy begins with establishing a foundation for personal and professional values, which clients can then use as the filter for their most critical decision making.

José has taken his mission—to help create meaning in people’s work by bringing them into a deeper connection with themselves—into his work as an internal executive and as a coach in service to organizations including the Obama Foundation, Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, Participatory Budgeting Project, Wealth Reclamation Academy of Practitioners, Father Uplift Inc, Zeal.com.

The Science Behind Our Practice

Our work is grounded in established methodologies and models of human and organizational behavior, including, but not limited to the following:

Emotional Intelligence

The competencies of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management) account for an individual’s ability to understand their own and others’ emotions and use that information to guide decision-making and action. Research has shown that leaders who master the competencies of emotional intelligence have a distinct advantage.

Positivity & Resilience

The incredible developments in neuroscience research over the last several decades have enabled a greater understanding of how practices that promote positivity and resilience—both individually and organizationally—have a significant and lasting impact on our capacity for creative thinking, productivity, efficiency, empathy, focus and more.

Intentional Change

​Developed by Richard Boyatzis, the Intentional Change Model underpins successful leadership development programs by supporting an individual or group in intentionally moving through five stages of change that close the gap between a current “real” self and a clearly articulated “ideal” self.

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry, developed by David Cooper Rider, is a strengths-based model of analysis, decision-making and strategic change that clarifies the assets and motivations that are an organization’s strengths in order to build or rebuild an organization based on what is working rather than trying to fix what doesn’t.

Resistance and Cycle of Change

People are at their most creative in their resistance. The Gestalt cycle of change maps the critical stages of change that all members of a group must experience in order to optimize success and minimize resistance. Disruption of the cycle manifests in very specific levels of resistance that can be effectively mitigated through intentional responses. 

​​Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the awareness that one develops through ​paying attention to the present moment through your five senses without judgment. In addition to relieving stress and building resilience, even a simple mindfulness practice can significantly expand your range of options in any given moment. Incorporating mindfulness into any process of change or development supports an individual or group by rewiring the brain for more intentional responses and behaviors.

Dynamic Inquiry

Dynamic Inquiry, developed by Annie McKee and the Teleos Leadership Institute, is a method of discovery that uncovers an organization’s emotional reality–what people care about, what is working well, and what’s getting in the way. The purpose of the inquiry is twofold: 1) to identify underlying issues related to culture and leadership that are helping or hindering implementation of a strategy; and 2) to build ownership and commitment to the mission, vision, strategy, ideal culture and leadership framework among key stakeholders.