About Us

We are the

Blueprint Group

The Blueprint Group was founded to help people and organizations thrive. We recognize that the work world is changing rapidly and there is a sense of urgency that is present. In our work, we cultivate a mindset that is people-focused, process and results-oriented. With this in mind, the Blueprint Group works in partnership and collaboration with clients to develop approaches and shared solutions that incorporate:

Full-scope organizational development process consulting
Insight building - thoroughly exploring the complexity of systems (self, team, and organization) with you to focus on knowing what is already working and moving towards the desired future
Customized leadership, learning, and facilitation
Individual, team, group and organizational systems coaching

Get in touch with us

Meet the Founder

Maureen Clarke

Maureen’s purpose is to help people transform themselves and thus individuals, teams, organizations, and communities into great places beyond what one thought was possible. For the past 19 years, she has partnered with individuals across the organizational spectrum from the bottom to the middle and the top. She challenges those in organizational systems to consider new and different ways of working and being in the new evolving working world. Maureen works with subject matter experts and associates where needed.

Maureen is a:

Learner, leader, scholar-practitioner
Systems thinker
Changemaker
Seasoned facilitator
ICF professional certified coach. Group, team and organizational systems coach

“When leaders create the space to awaken, explore new perspectives, develop an understanding of the science of complex living systems, and recognize the generative capacity of nature, a deeper presence and awareness can be cultivated. In fact, Indigenous culture has long known that Mother Nature is the greatest teacher.”

— Maureen Clarke

Maureen worked in the private sector in a national role with Johnson & Johnson early in her career. Throughout her leadership and learning journey, she became in tune with thought leaders who examined organizational culture and change. Building on the work of scholars, practitioners and change leaders Maureen and her team of associates work as process consultants. Their work includes:

Conducting research and engagement to support the co-creation of change interventions
Developing and implementing organizational culture assessments and associated change approaches
Designing and facilitating large group processes (systems coaching, world cafes, open space, deep democracy, roundtables, focus groups, liberating structures and others)
Developing and delivering leadership learning programs
Facilitating the development of strategic plans
Supporting governance with boards and non-profits
Teaching in academia

Maureen and the Blueprint Group associates are scholar-practitioners. What this means is that through scholarship, new and innovative approaches to change are uncovered and applied in their work. Maureen’s greatest passion continues to be working closely with students of leadership for the past nine years as an Associate Faculty member at Royal Roads University. Here she works collaboratively to foster leadership learning for those who wish to change and transform themselves, teams, organizations and beyond. Nature and the natural world fuel her.

A partner, mother, daughter, friend, sister, aunt, and dog-mom of Slalom the Wonder Dog, Maureen is a skier, mountain and road bike rider, reader, beginner yoga lover, and world traveller. You will find Maureen outdoors most of the time connecting to nature as a source of both grounding and inspiration.

Meet Our Associates

We work with seasoned scholar-practitioners, leaders, facilitators coaches and like-minded individuals who are brought in to support our projects based on the specialized needs of our clients.

With over 28 years of experience in the organizational development field and certifications from Royal Roads University, the ICC, and numerous assessment tools, Penny focuses on helping people develop their strengths as leaders.
Learn More About Penny

Assessments

We use a variety of evidence-based relevant individual, team and organizational assessments to support our work. These tools used in collaboration with our clients help us together to assess the current situation whether it be personal, team or organizational and provide insight with information and data to help align individual, team and organizational purpose..

What Others Are Saying

“One hundred percent of participants agreed or strongly agreed on the coach/facilitator subject matter expertise & facilitation”

“Strength in championing an effective group coaching process, creating a safe environment for learning, demonstrating integrity, sincerity, good listening and powerful questioning skills and acknowledging and championing participants. It was also noted that the coaches/facilitators supported participants in their stretch goals.”

-Participant Feedback, Developing Extraordinary Leaders, AstraZeneca Canada Inc.

“Coaching with the Blueprint Group provided me with directed opportunities to make contact with others and increased my reflection time.”

“Coaching caused me to evaluate my priorities and to consider personal core values. Coaching taught me to take time to think, listen and evaluate my self-talk. My shame and anxiety & fear are controlled and it allowed more time to be a better coach.”

-Anonymous, Coaching Participant Feedback

"Coaching with Maureen has given me the freedom to be as great as I was intended to be.”

“[Coaching] has impacted all aspects of my work. It has increased my productivity, reduced my frustrations, enhanced my ability to be strategic, and improved my communication with all levels of the organization. Given the opportunity to have personal coaching, I would seize it”!

-N. Martin, Supervisor, Technical Service, LifeScan Canada Ltd. (a Johnson & Johnson Company)

“[Maureen] was encouraging yet firm and helped us to embrace the discomfort so that optimal growth could happen.”

“I really enjoyed Maureen’s Team Coaching style. She had great industry experiences to draw from. She showed respect to the whole advisee group.”

–Student, Fundamentals of Personal Leadership, Communication and Leadership in Groups and Teams, Royal Roads University

“As a faculty instructor, Maureen was very engaged and approachable.”

“She challenged me appropriately to think beyond my current comfort and way of operating and to think beyond the box. She provided thoughtful feedback and was very supportive”.

- Student, Fundamentals of Personal Leadership, Communication & Leadership in Groups & Teams, Leadership in Systems, Royal Roads University

“This is a much more constructive planning process than in other places I have worked.”

“I like the way [Maureen] kept the work going forward and created interesting and thought-provoking discussions. You include all voices and ideas and use a fresh approach”.

-Sr. Manager, Operationalizing the Strategic Plan, Salmon Arm Savings & Credit Union

“I have a better goal in mind of the kind of leader I aspire to be and what style might be the most effective for me.”

“The most valuable aspect of this program was the triad coaching calls because you rarely in life get to talk about leadership experiences/opportunities and what they FELT like.”

-Participant Feedback, Developing Extraordinary Leaders, AstraZeneca Canada Inc.

“This leadership course had been the most enjoyable one I have participated in.”

“I felt engaged throughout all phases of this course. My goal is to apply what I have learned in my day to day activities. I need to be curious, ask questions and understand that my role as a leader can impact others. Asking the right questions and looking for the perspective of the other person has helped in my daily interactions. It will enable me to allow my staff more opportunities to take more responsibility and ownership. It was very timely and I learned a lot. Thank you Maureen!”

-Participant Feedback - Leading the Way, Salmon Arm Savings & Credit Union

“She is a true asset to the program.”

“Maureen is a seasoned facilitator. Her ability to ask questions leaves me in awe. Knowing what to ask and how to ask it in the way she does makes people think more deeply about everything we are learning. She is a true asset to the program”

–Masters Student, Fundamentals of Personal Leadership, Communication & Leadership in Groups & Teams, Leadership in Systems, Royal Roads University

“Maureen was a really dedicated and encouraging instructor.”

“I'm so grateful for her dedication to my success even with a million things on her plate during the pandemic.”

- Masters Student, Engaged Leadership Project, Royal Roads University

“Maureen was able to push me to deliver a better-quality report“

“When I was feeling very defeated, she took the time to show me empathy and cheered me along to get back on track.

- Masters Student, Engaged Leadership Project, Royal Roads University

“The best help Maureen gave me is coaching me to trust myself and the process.”

“She gave me tips to take all of my doubts and throw them away, so by the end of the process, I was depending upon her less and less, and trusting myself more and more. I highly recommend future students work with Maureen throughout their OLP journey. She was a great support, a wonderful guide, and most importantly, a fantastic coach.”

- Carolyn Stern, Emotional Intelligence Expert, Author, Professor, and CEO of EI Experience, Masters Student, Royal Roads University

“With Maureen's support I was able to achieve my goals and I highly recommend her as a Faculty Supervisor.”

“Maureen challenged me to explore different perspectives, encouraged me to be more reflective, and prompted me when I hit a roadblock. Maureen was very responsive to my questions and concerns, supportive, and when needed advocated on my behalf in navigating university protocols.”

-Enid Mitchell, Manager Membership Education & Events Team, and Ontario Nurses' Association, Masters Student, Royal Roads University

“Maureen as my academic supervisor held me accountable, pushed me gently, helped me keep an appreciative stance through the process, and encouraged me to really go deep with my academic thinking.”

“She really helped me figure out how to say things clearly, using my voice, through academic writing.”

–Masters Student, Engaged Leadership Project, Royal Roads University

“Working with Maureen helped me to clarify what is important to me and has enabled me to live my life more authentically."

“Before working with Maureen, I was caught up in the day to day activities of working and caring for a busy family. I was feeling tired, trapped and overwhelmed. Even worse, I had stopped dreaming and seeing possibilities for fulfillment. Working with Maureen helped me to clarify what is important to me and has enabled me to live my life more authentically.”

—C. Parker, Breast Health Nurse, Vancouver Island Health Authority

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“One-the-job teaming and learning requires leaders who have the imagination and courage to figure out how to proceed without answers - leaders who offer clear direction, a tolerance for risk and failure, and an explicit invitation to work closely with others.” - Amy Edmondson

“A hard but hopeful look at the troubling saste of health amongst Canada’s Indigenous peoples and an examination of it’s casues. Not just the Indian Act, the residential schools and the segregated and under-funded Indian hospitals, but the also the systemic racism that is still a driving force.” - Gary Geddes

“To those who want sustainable organizations and communities, my advice is: begin by being humble. Go back to school. Learn awareness. Learn about rank. You will save yourself and your community a lot of pain.” - Arnold Mindell

“Proficient teaming often requires integrating perspectives from a range of disciplines, communicating despite the different mental models that accompany different areas of expertise, and being able to manage the inevitable conflicts that arise when people work together.” - Amy Edmondson

“Power has two sides, one generative and one degenerative. Our power is generative and amplifying when we realize ourselves while loving and uniting with others. Our power is degenrative and constraining - reckless and abusive or worse - when we overlook or deny or cut off our love and unity.” - Adam Kahane

“Teachings come from everywhere when you open yourself up to them. That’s the trick of it, really. Open yourself to everything, and everything opens itself to you.” - Richard Wagamese

Holding Space: A practice of love, liberation and leadership

“What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they're on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome.” - Heather Plett

Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change

"Presence"--a concept borrowed from the natural world that the whole is entirely present in any of its parts--to the worlds of business, education, government, and leadership. Too often, we remain stuck in old patterns of seeing and acting.” Senge et al.

“Systems thinking for social change affects people not only cognitively but also emotionally, spiritually, and behaviorally. As you build your capacity to think systemically, you will discover that the tools both enable and require you to develop a new way of being, not just doing—a set of character traits to cultivate (such as curiosity, compassion, and courage) that complement and deepen your new skills.” - David Stroh

Theory U. Leading from the Future as It Emerges

“Isn’t there a way to break the patterns of the past and tune into our highest future possibility—and to begin to operate from that place?” - Otto Scharmer

“Humble Inquiry is the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person. It’s an essential art to collaboration, culture, change and leadership.” - Edgar Schein