A recent member of the Digital Services Coalition and of the newly formed Digital WOSB Alliance, Elev8 GovCon Honoree WOSB All Women Leadership (AWL) shares its unusual backstory, what shared leadership means and how this group intends to help shake up lead times in government contracting.
Unusual Backstory
AWL has a unique origin story. Its founders met in 2016 in a broom closet at VA that was being used as an office for a team of eight. Shortly thereafter, Holly (AWL COO) asked to hitch a ride with Sara (AWL CEO) to NYC where they were asked to support an SES offsite. “We didn’t know each other well, so that ask was a *little* unconventional. It became an epic road-trip that we are still on to this day, laying the groundwork for launching AWL in 2019, and how we approach our business: embracing the unconventional ask, going above and beyond to get the job done, and meeting our clients where they are to help them succeed.”
Shared Leadership
The most important aspect of AWL’s culture is shared leadership. The company was founded on the belief that shared leadership creates strength. “We actively fight against what we call the “highlander principle” of there can only be one, and have demonstrated that on our team as well as with our clients and partners we are truly stronger together.”
Shared leadership means that everyone has a clear understanding of the role they play, empathy for the role others on the team play, and supporting one another to drive toward the best solution.
“This is the backbone of our business, true in-this-together partnership, and what drives us to do things differently in government consulting to achieve better outcomes. It also strengthens our team and connects people working in a remote and hybrid environment more closely. Since shared leadership is so foundational to how we operate and engage with clients and partners it truly is the most important aspect of our culture and one we will never compromise on.”
Women Focus
AWL believes that supporting women leaders and investing in women feeds families, strengthens communities, and fuels business success. As women leaders who have benefited from the mentorship, sponsorship and expertise of formidable women throughout our careers, “we believe our success must be shared with women coming up. We provide pro bono mentorship to individuals and teams, and donate 5% of all profits to organizations helping women ascend to leadership positions.”
“We involve our whole team in identifying the organizations that we give to, and how we allocate funds. Giving back was the first thing that we established, even before we signed our partnership agreements and officially registered our business, and that is incorporated into our culture as we encourage our team to look for ways to give back, mentor and coach in every engagement.”
Culture through Growth
AWL seeks teammates and partners who embody its corporate values and believe strongly in the culture of shared leadership it has created. “We live by our values. Honesty. Service. Inclusion. Tenacity. Goodness. Humor. We look for ways to help businesses thrive by leaving every team better than we found it. We nurture the skills and experience that boost morale and create strong cultures. While everyone may take a different road to the outcome, those core aspects of our culture are non-negotiable.”
Partnership
“Shared leadership is our business model, how we approach the world, and how we help our clients tackle every problem they face. True, in-this-together-partnership. It’s how we operate, how we evaluate opportunities, and how we find strong partners. We bring a stack of chairs with us to every table. We lift as we lead. The team, and their ability to succeed, grow, lead and gain recognition for their work is important to us. We look for partners who share these values, and clients who want an integrated team and are ready to roll up their sleeves and work side by side with us.”
Planning for the Future
AWL says it plans to shake up the long lead times in government contracting and has developed a streamlined approach to acquisitions that enables both clients and primes to have easier access to its services that we tailor to fit the culture of the organization. “The world is changing faster than ever before, and we need to innovate to keep up. To help our clients move at the speed of change, we provide quick, easy, and direct access to our services through our streamlined acquisition options. Our Micro-purchase Accelerator Sprints and Commercial Service Catalog Subscriptions offer easy, FAR-compliant access to the strategic communications, change, marketing, and branding services they need, right now.”
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