Hello! I'm Shannon Patterson, MS, MSOD, Founder & President of Connection Works.
I'm passionate about helping leaders, teams, and employees navigate today's complex work world in ways that deepen our connections - to ourselves, to each other, and to the practices and paradigms that foster our well-being.
After earning my Master’s in Organizational Development (OD) in 2008, I left my career in transportation planning to follow a deeper calling: helping people connect better—with themselves, with each other, and with their work. My passion for this kind of work started young. My mom, an OD consultant for companies like Esprit and Levi Strauss, always had a book or framework ready to help me navigate life’s challenges. While I loved the systemic and civic work of transportation planning, I realized I wanted to move hearts and minds, not vehicles. In 2013, I took the leap and started Connection Works.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with leaders and teams across a range of industries—from architecture and construction to government, healthcare, fintech, and software. No matter the field, my goal has been the same: to help people and organizations grow through stronger relationships, better teams, and healthier cultures.
My unique background combines psychology, civil engineering, and organizational development. I hold a B.A. in Psychology and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington and a M.S. in Organizational Development from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. This interdisciplinary education, coupled with 25+ years of professional experience across a variety of fields equips me with a holistic perspective on the challenges faced by today's organizations.
My Expertise and Approach
I believe in the power of conversation to foster connection within people and among people — as well as to the insights and ideas that create new possibilities and pathways. My approach is characterized by a blend of analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, and presence. I have deep expertise in group dynamics, facilitation, and adult learning and development.
I leverage my personal and professional experience and expertise to help leaders and teams build various skills and capacities, including:
Understanding organizational culture by clarifying what it is and isn’t, how to co-create it, and how to continually (re)shape it
Creating safer spaces and navigating difficult conversations by practicing the inner work and collective work that is needed
Strengthening team effectiveness and dynamics by learning to SNOW together (See, Name, Own, Work) on what matters
Facilitating more generative and efficient collaboration by shaking up your in-person and online meetings with new practices
Developing conflict resilience and relationship repair skills by untangling misunderstandings through generative listening
Navigating change and transition by making space for confusion, new voices, and collective sense-making
Having conversations about race and oppression by slowly feeling and listening our way through questions and reactions
My approach is grounded in the knowledge that humans and their work environments are complex. I draw from a variety of models & methodologies, including:
Brave New Work and the work of The Ready
Liberating Structures
Team Elements®
Bridges' Transition Management
Galbraith's Star Model and The Ready’s OS Canvas
Larry Ackerman’s Identity-based Management
Non-Violent Communication
Donna Hicks' work on Dignity
Decentering whiteness
adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy and Holding Change
Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty in Your Organization by Glenda H. Eoyang and Royce J. Holladay
everything by Peter Block but especially Community, The Answer to How is Yes, and Confronting Our Freedom
and more…!!!
My certifications include:
Master Team Elements® Coach
EQ in Action®
Identity Mapping®
Benchmarks® 360 Leadership Assessments Suite
Beyond Work
When I'm not immersed in awesome projects, you will find me in my kayak (where some good workshop designs often emerge!), on urban hikes, attempting to master the pottery wheel, geeking out with fellow facilitators, or being an enthusiastic Auntie to my nephew and niece. I'm an avid reader and traveler, always eager to explore new perspectives and cultures.