Tea Time for the Soul
If you'd like to gather in an atmosphere of reflection with diverse women of many backgrounds and ages to discuss spiritual topics such as gratitude, forgiveness, finding calm in a chaotic world, come join Johanna and others at her bi-weekly gatherings. Contact Johanna to learn more.
Diversity Round Table
A Lafayette Indiana based organization that works to promote diversity and understanding is a wonderful way to connect with other like-minded people and meets the first Thursday of the month at 11:30am at the Lafayette YWCA. For more information, visit www.diversitytippecanoe.org
Youth Group Focused on Spirituality and Leadership
A group of high school and college-aged students gather on Fridays with Johanna to talk about the meaning of life, their own hopes and goals, and how to be of more service to the world at large. If you know of someone who might like to attend, contact Johanna.
Indiana Voices of Women
Johanna is an executive member of the circle of directors for Indiana Voices of Women, a group of women who work to increase understanding of leadership, spirituality, and feminism -- however that is defined for each person. Regular gatherings are held at the West Lafayette Public Library to hear about different "Women of Wisdom" and how their histories can inform our own lives. If you would like to be involved, email: [email protected] or check out their pages at: www.facebook.com/indianavoicesofwomen.org and www.indianavoicesofwomen.org.
Open Source Mental Illness
As a member of the executive board of Open Source Mental Illness, Johanna is eager for everyone to know about and avail themselves and others of this non-profit corporation dedicated to raising awareness, educating, and providing resources to support mental wellness in the tech and open source communities: osmihelp.org. OSMI is working directly to reduce the stigma against mental illness and help people find support.
Purdue Baha'i Club and West Lafayette Baha'i Community
For anyone interested in connecting with the Baha'is at Purdue University or in West Lafayette, Indiana, text or call them at 765-233-6233 or look them up at www.facebook.com/bahaisofwestlafayette. For general information, visit www.bahai.org.
Spirituality Study Discussion Group
Regular discussion groups regarding how to understand our spiritual nature and learn to act from it in daily life are held regularly in the area. For more information, please contact Johanna.
Purdue University Religious Leaders
Purdue University supports a large number of religious organizations for the student body. Johanna is a member of the executive board of this organization. If you'd like to know more contact Johanna or visit https://boilerlink.purdue.edu/organization/universityreligiousleaders.
Children's Classes on Developing Spiritual Qualities
Classes to help children understand their inherent nobility and spiritual character are offered regularly in the area, offered by people of multiple faiths. For more information, contact Johanna.
If you'd like to gather in an atmosphere of reflection with diverse women of many backgrounds and ages to discuss spiritual topics such as gratitude, forgiveness, finding calm in a chaotic world, come join Johanna and others at her bi-weekly gatherings. Contact Johanna to learn more.
Diversity Round Table
A Lafayette Indiana based organization that works to promote diversity and understanding is a wonderful way to connect with other like-minded people and meets the first Thursday of the month at 11:30am at the Lafayette YWCA. For more information, visit www.diversitytippecanoe.org
Youth Group Focused on Spirituality and Leadership
A group of high school and college-aged students gather on Fridays with Johanna to talk about the meaning of life, their own hopes and goals, and how to be of more service to the world at large. If you know of someone who might like to attend, contact Johanna.
Indiana Voices of Women
Johanna is an executive member of the circle of directors for Indiana Voices of Women, a group of women who work to increase understanding of leadership, spirituality, and feminism -- however that is defined for each person. Regular gatherings are held at the West Lafayette Public Library to hear about different "Women of Wisdom" and how their histories can inform our own lives. If you would like to be involved, email: [email protected] or check out their pages at: www.facebook.com/indianavoicesofwomen.org and www.indianavoicesofwomen.org.
Open Source Mental Illness
As a member of the executive board of Open Source Mental Illness, Johanna is eager for everyone to know about and avail themselves and others of this non-profit corporation dedicated to raising awareness, educating, and providing resources to support mental wellness in the tech and open source communities: osmihelp.org. OSMI is working directly to reduce the stigma against mental illness and help people find support.
Purdue Baha'i Club and West Lafayette Baha'i Community
For anyone interested in connecting with the Baha'is at Purdue University or in West Lafayette, Indiana, text or call them at 765-233-6233 or look them up at www.facebook.com/bahaisofwestlafayette. For general information, visit www.bahai.org.
Spirituality Study Discussion Group
Regular discussion groups regarding how to understand our spiritual nature and learn to act from it in daily life are held regularly in the area. For more information, please contact Johanna.
Purdue University Religious Leaders
Purdue University supports a large number of religious organizations for the student body. Johanna is a member of the executive board of this organization. If you'd like to know more contact Johanna or visit https://boilerlink.purdue.edu/organization/universityreligiousleaders.
Children's Classes on Developing Spiritual Qualities
Classes to help children understand their inherent nobility and spiritual character are offered regularly in the area, offered by people of multiple faiths. For more information, contact Johanna.
360 Feedback
Individual and team assessments to ensure complete and honest feedback from multiple perspectives, based on data from quantitative results of electronic surveys as well as in-depth face-to-face interviews. Debriefs to participants include action planning and coaching on next steps.
Life Coaching
Individual coaching sessions over a set course of time, centered on addressing personal and professional difficulties and enhancing effectiveness in relationships, self-awareness, and uncovering one’s skills and abilities for increased growth and contributions.
Team-Building
Working from a data-driven perspective to help teams increase functioning and address problem areas that are inhibiting their desired performance and outcomes. Team improvement will be driven by an understanding of the roadblocks currently in place, drawing from data from the team and its customers, and as a result improve effectiveness around the team’s goals, roles, processes, and interpersonal relationships.
Cultural Assessments and Interventions
Identifying problematic cultures is an elusive target, but doing so allows an entire organization to move from stagnancy or dysfunction into higher performance, cohesion, and delivery to its customer base. By gathering data about the existing culture and where it needs to be changed, Johanna will work with your organization to identify the current state as well as desired future state, and create a plan to move toward the desired goal and outcomes.
Large Group and Small Group Facilitation
Trying to come to decisions in a group setting can be very cumbersome and often ineffective. Johanna will employ a number of different facilitation techniques to help your group — large or small, permanent or ad hoc — create and execute action plans, centered around shared goals and processes.
Individual and team assessments to ensure complete and honest feedback from multiple perspectives, based on data from quantitative results of electronic surveys as well as in-depth face-to-face interviews. Debriefs to participants include action planning and coaching on next steps.
Life Coaching
Individual coaching sessions over a set course of time, centered on addressing personal and professional difficulties and enhancing effectiveness in relationships, self-awareness, and uncovering one’s skills and abilities for increased growth and contributions.
Team-Building
Working from a data-driven perspective to help teams increase functioning and address problem areas that are inhibiting their desired performance and outcomes. Team improvement will be driven by an understanding of the roadblocks currently in place, drawing from data from the team and its customers, and as a result improve effectiveness around the team’s goals, roles, processes, and interpersonal relationships.
Cultural Assessments and Interventions
Identifying problematic cultures is an elusive target, but doing so allows an entire organization to move from stagnancy or dysfunction into higher performance, cohesion, and delivery to its customer base. By gathering data about the existing culture and where it needs to be changed, Johanna will work with your organization to identify the current state as well as desired future state, and create a plan to move toward the desired goal and outcomes.
Large Group and Small Group Facilitation
Trying to come to decisions in a group setting can be very cumbersome and often ineffective. Johanna will employ a number of different facilitation techniques to help your group — large or small, permanent or ad hoc — create and execute action plans, centered around shared goals and processes.
Leadership Training
Johanna can help your organization identify your leadership and management needs, design a curriculum, and offer training in the area of executive effectiveness for multiple levels of your organization.
Process Improvement
Assessing your organization’s ability to efficiently deliver on desired results is essential. However, getting under the processes and systems and determining how each can be maximized can be tedious and often does not get the attention it deserves. Johanna can help you identify problematic areas within your organization and introduce some relatively simple but extremely helpful methods of finding process points that can be improved upon by reducing duplication, errors, and unnecessary effort.
Career Planning
Helping employees identify their dream jobs and ideal careers is one means of developing your workforce and enhancing the performance of all. Johanna has created a 4 step online process by which an employee can reflect on their successes, strengths, and desired future state in order to build skills and abilities to reach that future. Over 35 tools are available to assist any individual to take a tailor-made approach to designing their own desired career path.
Johanna can help your organization identify your leadership and management needs, design a curriculum, and offer training in the area of executive effectiveness for multiple levels of your organization.
Process Improvement
Assessing your organization’s ability to efficiently deliver on desired results is essential. However, getting under the processes and systems and determining how each can be maximized can be tedious and often does not get the attention it deserves. Johanna can help you identify problematic areas within your organization and introduce some relatively simple but extremely helpful methods of finding process points that can be improved upon by reducing duplication, errors, and unnecessary effort.
Career Planning
Helping employees identify their dream jobs and ideal careers is one means of developing your workforce and enhancing the performance of all. Johanna has created a 4 step online process by which an employee can reflect on their successes, strengths, and desired future state in order to build skills and abilities to reach that future. Over 35 tools are available to assist any individual to take a tailor-made approach to designing their own desired career path.
Ready to talk? Contact Johanna.
Chandra Lovejoy, Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Sierra Oncology
"Johanna has been a thoughtful and trusted advisor for many years. She consistently provides an insightful and compassionate perspective in the assessment of complex and critical issues related to leadership and team dynamics that are often encountered in the workplace. Johanna’s advice takes into consideration not only the points that are shared in the discussion, but also the nuances of the individual involved, and she always presents a compassionate view. Johanna’s extensive experience with both large and small organizations, and her deep sense of humanity are intertwined to provide a uniquely meaningful analysis of any leadership puzzle.
In situations where I have found particular challenges daunting, her advice has not only resulted in a solid understanding of a path forward, but also the comforting satisfaction that comes with the certainty that the path is the right one for the individual and the organization overall. I hold her in the highest regard."
About
Johanna Merritt Wu, Ph.D. has focused her consulting efforts and broader career on organization development and human resources management in large corporations such as GE, Microsoft, TED Talks, Newell-Rubbermaid, and Western Union as well as many non-profits and educational organizations. Prior to moving into consulting, she served as the department chair of the Human Resources Management program at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. Wu served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources in a GE Capital company, as well as Master Black Belt and Quality Leader, Manager of Organizational Development, and Cultural Integration Manager at General Electric. She facilitates meetings, conducts training, and has given business presentations in a number of countries including Italy, Japan, Portugal, England, and the United States. Johanna also has extensive work experience in career development, leadership development, executive coaching, human resource process improvement, team building and decision-making, meeting facilitation, training and development, and online curriculum and tool development.
Dr. Wu served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources in a GE Capital company, as well as Master Black Belt and Quality Leader, Manager of Organizational Development, and Cultural Integration Manager at General Electric. She facilitates meetings, conducts training, and has given business presentations in a number of countries including Italy, Japan, Portugal, England, and the United States. Johanna also has extensive work experience in career development, leadership development, executive coaching, human resource process improvement, team building and decision-making, meeting facilitation, training and development, and online curriculum and tool development.
Johanna worked at the Bahá’í World Center in Haifa, Israel in the 1990s – where she met her husband Steve Wu as scuds flew overhead, during the first Gulf War. She also has lived and worked in Ireland, as well as shorter term work in England, Barbados, and Romania. She is co-author of "Starting with Me: Knowing Myself before Finding a Partner" and “Marriage Can Be Forever—Preparation Counts!”, books that have been used across the globe to help individuals and couples know the character and compatibility of a future marriage partner as well as their own.
Dr. Wu earned her doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a masters degree in Psychology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, along with completing some of her doctoral training at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds a summa cum laude bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Johanna, her husband, and their daughter currently live in West Lafayette, Indiana, where Steve is a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.
Dr. Wu earned her doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a masters degree in Psychology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, along with completing some of her doctoral training at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds a summa cum laude bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Johanna, her husband, and their daughter currently live in West Lafayette, Indiana, where Steve is a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.
Testimonial from Paula Larson, Organizational Effectiveness Consultant; Former FORTUNE 500 Chief Human Resources Officer
"Johanna is an outstanding Organization Effectiveness professional who can help at the individual, team, or organization levels. She comes with an excellent array of tools including her deep organizational psychology background as well as an intuitive nature that leads her to adjust as needed to meet or exceed clients’ expectations. Johanna gains credibility quickly in meetings or training interventions given her diverse array of clients and work experience globally. She differentiates herself in the midst of numerous organization consultants with her strong research background, her PhD, and her background as a Master Black Belt (Six Sigma’s highest accreditation) along with her relentless bias for action."