The Foundation of Our Work

At Dalar International, everything we do – from how we design consulting engagements to how we structure learning experiences – is grounded in a set of core beliefs and values that have guided our work for decades. The practical foundation that shapes how we work with organizations and leaders and why our approach creates lasting transformation.

Understanding these beliefs and values helps you understand why we work the way we do, and whether our approach resonates with what you’re seeking for your organization or your own leadership development.

The Genuine Contact Five Beliefs

The Genuine Contact Way of Working is rooted in five beliefs. These beliefs, when applied, assist our clients in understanding and working with new solution-focused methods that have proven to be highly effective and easily replicated within their organizations. By expanding the perspectives of our clients as to how to approach problem-solving founded in these truths, their capacity to work in a performance environment of constant change is strengthened.

The Five Beliefs

1. We believe that every organism (including the organization) has within it the blueprint for its own optimal health and balance. We trust the people in the organization to know what is needed for optimal effectiveness. Building on the strengths within the organization is a key to optimal effectiveness.
2. We believe that focusing on genuine contact enables individuals and organizations to achieve the individual and organizational health and balance that is needed for optimal effectiveness. Positive change in the organization is directly linked to positive change in individuals. Both are required for sustainable new ways of working.
3. We believe that Spirit or spirit matters (conscious energy), that through spirit or Spirit all of creation is connected, and that people are precious. Our experience is that strategies based on these values have exciting, tangible results.
4. We believe that change with its accompanying loss, grief work, and conflict is constant. Individuals and organizations that develop mastery in working with change can sustain optimal effectiveness. These leaders and organizations recognize that change cannot be managed, that energy spent trying to manage change is wasted energy, and that productive use of individual and organizational energy is achieved by working with change rather than against it.
5. We believe in keeping it simple. Simple frameworks and processes enable success with complex situations. In keeping it simple, we recognize that any sustainable change must begin from the inside and cannot be externally initiated or driven.

By working explicitly with these beliefs, we support organizations and the people within them to tap into the collective wisdom of the whole, to uncover solutions to organizational challenges that are unique and designed specifically for each context, and to build capacity and deepened ongoing participation throughout the organization while our work together is being done.

These core concepts, foundational to the Genuine Contact Way of working, are explored deeply in the book The Genuine Contact Way: Nourishing a Culture of Leadership.

Our Values

Values form the basis of an organization’s assumptions and actions. For organizations to thrive in constantly changing environments, these values must align with their underlying purpose. Our values aren’t just words on a page – they’re commitments that shape every aspect of how we work with our clients that have been developed through decades of experience working with organizations around the world.

What We Value

1. We Value Simplicity. We keep it simple. We understand that simple frameworks, tools, and processes are required to assist our clients to sort their way through complexity. We recognize that if the consultancy processes are complex, unnecessary confusion gets created.
2. We Value Participation by All Stakeholders. We use highly effective participative meetings that enable the organization to draw upon the wisdom and experience already present in the organization. Meeting processes must engage the people who are involved in fulfilling the purpose of the organization and who must strive to accomplish the vision. Resistance to change is decreased using this approach. Conflict is also decreased.
3. We Value Developing Capacity. In all of our work, while guiding and assisting leadership, we simultaneously build capacity in the organization so that it can sustain the gains made by involving us. The capacity building that we do involves skill, competency, and capability development to support positive change and growth. We believe that change must be led from inside of the organization so our role is one of assistance, guidance, and capacity development towards improved performance. Our philosophy and methods support internal direction rather than external direction to bring about change.
4. We Value Mentoring. We mentor leaders to guide their organization for sustained success building on the gains created during our involvement with the organization. We support the development of peer to peer mentoring circles to support ongoing learning, development, and success.

By working explicitly with these values, we support organizations and the people within them to tap into the collective wisdom of the whole, to uncover solutions to organizational challenges that are unique and designed specifically for each context, and to build capacity and deepened ongoing participation throughout the organization while our work together is being done.

What This Means for You

You don’t need to share all these beliefs and values with us to work together. We share them so you can understand what underpins our approach to organizational development and leadership development – whether you’re considering our consulting services or exploring our learning programs.

What matters most is whether our approach resonates with what you’re seeking. If you value:

• Building on existing strengths rather than fixing what’s broken
• Creating sustainable change from within rather than imposing external solutions
• Engaging people’s wisdom rather than dictating answers
• Simple, practical frameworks over complex systems
• Developing internal capacity rather than creating dependency

Then our way of working might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Explore How We Can Work Together

Our beliefs and values come alive in the work we do with organizations and leaders and the learning we offer consultants, facilitators, coaches, and leaders. Whether you’re facing organizational challenges that require expert mentoring or seeking to develop your own leadership capacity, we invite you to explore how the Genuine Contact Way of Working can support your goals.