Clarity
See what you have been too close to notice.
A sounding board for business leaders
It's lonely at the top.
Business leaders can feel isolated even when surrounded by a skilled team. A SITKA Board bridges the gap between being stuck and thriving. We make leader-visionaries better.
Introducing SITKA
Who we are
Mission · The CAPO™ Method
Bringing Clarity, Accountability, Perspective and Opportunity to Leaders
A SITKA Board of Advisors ignites growth through other-centered mentoring and active listening. We offer bold strategies. We empower leadership. And we crystallize clear vision. Our clients turn ambition into lasting success for their organizations and their families.
Accountability
Turn vision into owned, measurable action.
Perspective
Invite the outside view that ends isolation.
Opportunity
Align the business with the life you are building.
The core problem
What we solve
Isolation
It's lonely at the top. How do I thrive?
Confusion
Where am I blind? What am I not seeing?
Growth
How can I inspire my team to execute my vision better?
Firefighting
How can I let go? I'm stuck in the day-to-day.
Vision murkiness
Where is the end of the tunnel?
Family & business
What is our lasting legacy?
Approach
A non-fiduciary advisory board
We match you to trusted, experienced SITKA Guides who serve as a strategic expert advisory board. We partner with leadership and their family offices to close the divide between where the business is today and where it could be — and should be.
Outside perspective
Revealing blind spots and gaining strategic clarity.
Tailored execution
Turning vision into reality with a curated, action-minded team.
Trusted unbiased guides
Confidants who are experts focused solely on your success.
Personal & business alignment
The next phase of the business harmonizes with your life's purpose.
Our service offering
An executable advisory model
SITKA is not just discussion. It is actionable insight and transformation — with key touchpoints that make vision reverberate through the organization.
01
Intake & matching
An assessment, then the right SITKA Guides for your stage of growth.
02
Offsite kickoff
Hands-on, immersive leadership sessions that set the board in motion.
03
Quarterly board
High-impact facilitated discussions, four times a year, in person.
04
On-demand access
Private channels with your board so counsel is never a calendar away.
05
Leadership pulse
Quantitative and qualitative feedback on team and organizational maturity.
06
Vision & identity
A deep-dive workshop for business and personal alignment.
Our name
Why “SITKA”?
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka spruce, is the gold standard for instrument soundboards — lightweight, strong, and unmatched in resonance. Like that wood amplifying an exquisite guitar, SITKA strengthens businesses so they can resonate at full potential.
Our differentiator
What makes SITKA unique
You are the hero of your story — we support the journey and augment the vision. Multi-disciplinary Guides. Embedded execution. Not advice from a distance.
Team
Executives and entrepreneurs who have led through the ups and downs
SITKA Guides are operators who have led through the ups and the downs.
Stephen Barnes
Co-Founder
Co-Founder of SITKA Advisory Group. He sits with leader-visionaries at the intersection of the business and the family. He also founded Barnes+Law, a boutique firm for expansion, succession, and protection.
LinkedIn
Jonathan Barnes
Co-Founder
Co-Founder of SITKA Advisory Group. Twenty years building and running high-growth teams. Founder of Work Heartily, a fractional executive leadership firm. He also founded Staffing as a Mission (2019 Inc. 500).
LinkedInVoices
What it sounds like in the room
From SITKA client boards and Real Talk with Nashville Business Leaders — founder Chad Christenson of Watermark Pools, SITKA Guide Dave Patterson, and founder Tom Broughton. Watch: Chad Christenson · Listen: Dave Patterson · Listen: Tom Broughton
“As a business owner, you feel like you're on top of the mountain and have no one to talk to — but I had all this support all of a sudden on numerous issues that just keep you up at night.”
“I learned a long time ago that I couldn't accomplish very much by myself. It needed to involve other people.”
“Pack your bags, get ready. It's uphill, but there's plenty of guides to help you along the way.”
Questions
What leaders ask
- What is a SITKA Board of Advisors?
- A SITKA Board is a curated group of trusted, unbiased Guides for a business leader. It is not a board of directors. We do not take a fiduciary seat. We exist to make leader-visionaries better — with Clarity, Accountability, Perspective and Opportunity.
- Who is a SITKA Board for?
- Owners, founders, and CEOs who can feel isolated even when surrounded by a skilled team. If you are stuck between vision and execution — or between the business and the life you are building — a SITKA Board is built for that gap.
- What is the CAPO™ Method?
- CAPO™ is SITKA’s way of working: Clarity (see what you have been too close to notice), Accountability (turn vision into owned action), Perspective (the outside view that ends isolation), and Opportunity (align the business with the life you are building).
- How is SITKA different from a consultant or a coach?
- Consultants often deliver a plan and leave. Coaching is usually one-to-one. A SITKA Board stays with you — quarterly in person, on-demand in between — as a small team of Guides focused solely on your success. We are action-minded, not a report factory.
- How do we start?
- Begin with the short readiness assessment. If we are a fit, we match you with SITKA Guides and hold an offsite kickoff that sets the board in motion.
Contact
Let’s talk
Complete this short note. If we’re a fit, we’ll be in touch. Prefer the full assessment? Start there.