Clients, Collaborators & Co-Creators

Open Circles has been an integral part of WE Africa’s journey for the past five years, collaborating with us to design and deliver WE Lead, a transformational leadership program aimed at African women environmental leaders. This program is built on the pillars of personal leadership, collaborative relationships, visibility, well-being, and radical imagination.

One of the most crucial aspects of this work has been our ability to embrace uncertainty and allow each cohort to co-create the program while integrating shared learnings along the way. This process requires focus, deep listening, sensitivity, and a careful approach to relationships, all of which Open Circles consistently provides. They have been instrumental in building our internal capacity for dialogue and facilitation, fostering a community of practice among facilitators across our network.

Facilitated dialogues have played a key role as a tool for transformation and social change. Jana and Vicky excel in this area both online and in person, demonstrating an exceptional ability to create dialogue spaces that are grounded in care, allowing fellows to engage with vulnerability, courage, and honesty. For many of us, this has been the first time experiencing such expertly and thoughtfully held spaces. Their facilitation manages to be almost invisible while simultaneously maintaining a productive and safe environment. Their skills are both highly professional and deeply human, leaving a lasting impact on our organization, our leaders, and our movement.

The work that Open Circles as a team does in peacebuilding, diversity and inclusion, understanding the systems we live in, exploring intersectionality, and fostering radical imagination has been critical to the success of the WE lead program. Most impressively, they center the lived experiences of our fellows, which has enabled us to co-create a leadership experience that is deeply relevant and personal for our realities as African Women Environmental leaders. We could not recommend them highly enough.

Dr Colleen Begg, Co-Founder, Women for the Environment Africa

Working with Open Circles has been a genuinely powerful experience for us at Mawazo Institute. What you create in your circle spaces is rare – a depth of psychological safety that allows people to be honest and vulnerable, while still giving them real agency over how they participate. At our retreat and during the Fellows’ personal leadership training, I saw our team connect in ways that went beyond roles and outputs, and I watched our fellows feel seen not just as PhD scholars, but as whole human beings navigating the complexities of leadership, identity, and purpose.

What I particularly value is the care and intentionality you bring. The pre-conversations, the effort to really understand our dynamics, and the way you design specifically for the people in the room. It never feels generic. Your facilitation is grounded, relational, and power-aware, but also beautifully structured. It creates a space where time seems to slow down and people can do the deeper work that so often gets crowded out. We are still seeing the impact in how we show up with one another – with more courage, reflection, and care.

Dr ⁠⁠Fiona Moejes, CEO, Mawazo Institute

At RCL FOODS, our experience of the circle-based dialogue spaces facilitated in conjunction with Open Circles has been consistently powerful and intentional. The methodology for facilitation within the circle conversation spaces [was] thoughtfully designed and carefully held, creating the conditions for openness, psychological safety, and genuine connection. Participants conversations feel able to lean in, speak honestly, and listen deeply to one another, often across difference, hierarchy, and complexity. Over time, the circles became trusted spaces where difficult conversations could be held with care rather than avoided.

What sets Open Circles apart is their facilitation approach. It is deeply relational, diversity centric, and grounded in listening and reflective practice. Facilitators demonstrate a strong awareness of power dynamics and organisational context, and they engage participants with humility and presence rather than prescription. The facilitation is responsive and adaptive, meeting our organisation where we are rather than imposing a fixed model. This approach has enabled richer dialogue and supported leaders and participants to remain engaged even when conversations became uncomfortable or emotionally charged.

The work with Open Circles has contributed meaningfully to building capability across RCL FOODS to lead diversity and inclusivity. Beyond developing facilitation skills, the methodology has strengthened our leaders’ and facilitators’ ability to listen, reflect, and engage more consciously in conversations that matter. Participants have grown more confident in holding complexity, navigating tension, and engaging with difference. These capabilities are critical in our operating context and have been developed in ways that traditional culture change approaches would not have achieved on their own.

Over time, we have observed important shifts in culture and leadership behaviour. Conversations have become more intentional, thoughtful, and human. Leaders are showing up with greater curiosity, empathy, and awareness of their impact in dialogue. There is increased willingness to name what is difficult or unclear, and a stronger sense of shared responsibility for the quality of conversations across the organisation. The practices introduced through the circles have begun to influence how people engage beyond the formal sessions, embedding more reflective ways of working into everyday interactions.

What has felt distinctly different about working with Open Circles is the depth of partnership and integrity they bring to work. Rather than offering a transactional or off-the-shelf solution, they have worked alongside us with care, patience, and responsiveness. Their willingness to adapt, clarify, and support us through planning, co-creating and sense-making has built trust and enabled sustained impact over time. The work prioritises long-term relational and cultural change, making Open Circles a valued partner rather than a conventional service provider.

Charmaine Boshoff, Group HR Executive: Learning & Development, BBBEE Transformation, RCL FOODS

Working with Vicky came at a really important moment for Lion Guardians. She came to facilitate a senior management retreat, on the Kenya coast, that we had carefully planned around culture, connection, and how we work together as a team.

Before the retreat even began, circumstances shifted and we were suddenly dealing with difficult, urgent news as an organization. What stood out was Vicky’s ability to adapt immediately, to let go of any fixed plan and instead hold a grounded, steady space for what the team actually needed in that moment.

Through dialogue, she helped everyone feel heard, across roles, personalities, and languages. People were able to speak honestly, listen to one another, and move toward a shared decision about how to move forward without things becoming polarized or hierarchical.

What felt different about working with Vicky was how fully she showed up. She brought her whole self, blended easily into the team, and held both the hard moments and the lighter ones with equal care. Even in a challenging time, she helped us stay connected, human, and able to move forward together.

Dr ⁠⁠Leela Hazzah, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Lion Guardians