Lapis Partners works with mid-market organizations and cooperatives that want executive teams that tell the truth, boards that govern well, leaders who keep growing, and honest thinking on the decisions that matter.
Start a ConversationCEOs usually carry the clearest view of where the organization is losing traction — and the hardest seat from which to address it. Some conversations the CEO can't run, because the CEO is in them. Some tensions won't surface while the boss is the one asking.
Lapis Partners gives CEOs a trusted outside partner: someone who can say what others in the room won't, run the conversations the CEO can't, and help spread ownership wide enough that the organization doesn't depend on a handful of people to carry it.
This is often useful when: the executive team is capable but not fully aligned; the board isn't contributing as it could; a key leader needs real development; the CEO needs an honest sounding board with no stake in the org chart.
HR leaders are often the ones naming what isn't working, supporting the leaders who need to grow, and building interventions that actually help. The hard part is finding outside support that's credible with senior leaders, grounded in real organizational life, and practical enough to produce change that lasts.
Lapis Partners works alongside HR leaders who want leadership development and executive team work with real substance, matched to the actual situation rather than pulled off a shelf.
This is often useful when: a senior team needs an offsite or intervention that goes beyond the usual; a leader needs coaching tied to real behaviors and outcomes; development efforts need more traction; the organization needs stronger alignment at the top.
Executive teams carry unusual weight. Even strong leaders lose traction when assumptions differ, tensions go unaddressed, or too much rests on too few people. In those moments, working harder isn't the answer.
Lapis Partners helps executive teams build the trust to be candid, get honest about priorities, and operate in a way that creates traction the rest of the organization can feel.
This is often useful when: the team isn't operating with enough cohesion; difficult issues stay unresolved; meetings don't create clarity or momentum; trust is there but candor is limited; too much rests on too few leaders.
Boards do their best work when they're clear about their role, disciplined in their focus, and healthy in how they deliberate. Plenty of boards are full of capable, committed directors and still drift into operations, rubber-stamp, or lose the thread of how they actually add value.
Lapis Partners helps boards govern with more discipline, deliberate better, and contribute to the long-term health of the organization rather than the day-to-day running of it.
This is often useful when: the board feels too operational or reactive; governance and management roles are blurred; debate is weak, tense, or unproductive; a chair wants healthier engagement; the board wants to mature in how it works.
Mid-market organizations carry a demanding mix of complexity, interdependence, and real constraint. They need leaders and boards who can think clearly, work well together, and make hard decisions without losing trust, momentum, or the thing that made the organization worth building in the first place. That includes investor-owned companies, family-influenced businesses, and mission-driven organizations across sectors.
Within that range, cooperatives hold a particular place in our work — electric, agricultural, and beyond, from small distribution co-ops to large multi-state enterprises. Member-elected boards, community proximity, and mission alongside margin change how leadership and governance actually work. A co-op is not a corporation with a different logo, and we've never treated it like one.
How we work with co-op boards →The people in the room are ready to engage honestly.
Leaders want a real partner in the work, not a packaged program.
The work needs to be shaped to the actual situation.
There's genuine interest in building ownership, not just a cleaner presentation.