Monika Jensen

Ms Jensen is an executive development consultant with over 25 years of experience. She specializes in executive level competency modeling and development, executive orientations and succession planning. She is particularly effective in creating rapid prototypes of competency models and tools. Ms. Jensen helps companies set up executive coaching systems, along with sourcing, qualifying and brokering executive coaches.

Ms Jensen has an extensive background both in the public and private sector. As the former Manager of Employment Equity and the Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Coordinator for the Ministry of Solicitor General and Correctional Services, she has a working knowledge of the government’s policies and procedures on harassment prevention and human resources. She was responsible for implementation of the Employment Equity Program as well as the Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Program. She was also instrumental in introducing the first Dispute Resolution Program to the Ontario Public Service. 

Ms Jensen coaches high potential managers, newly appointed leaders and front line managers who need to expand their influence repertoire. She is especially interested in helping people reach their potential so that organizations can realize the full contribution of executives whose social background, educational experience or cultural heritage varies from their peers.

Ms Jensen has worked in the area of equity and diversity since 1984. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in Criminology and Sociology, she began her career in a non-traditional male correctional facility working with maximum-security male inmates. She continued in a counselling role with inmates in the community for about five years after spending several years working in a maximum security correctional facility.

She then began to speak across Canada and the United States of American on the topic of women in Corrections. Her career in 1984 took her into the area of affirmative action, employment equity/diversity and harassment prevention for a paramilitary organization of 12,000 employees. She was president of the Employment Equity Council for three consecutive years (1986-90) for the Ontario Government.  

In her current position, as Principal of the Aviary Group, she works with many different clients as a mediator resolving intercultural and employment conflict; a trainer in a diverse area of subjects and an advocate of equality in the workplace and a management consultant assisting organizations in compliance work and maintaining policies and procedures. She has held an appointment to a provincial committee advising the minister of Community and Social Services on issues pertaining to persons with disabilities. In addition, she was appointed to the Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Equity for the City of Pickering. She is on the UN rooster for international human rights and conflict resolution issues.

Ms Jensen as an independent consultant offers advice, training and program and policy development and review services to organizations interested in supporting their employees to achieve success. She has subject matter expertise that may not be available or necessary on a full time basis in many organizations. She offers practical, easy to understand coaching and training for employees and managers, empowering them with the knowledge and tools necessary to manage their workplace effectively. Her primary focus is on collaboration – working together to build ownership and self-reliance. She has an exemplary working relationship with bargaining agents and management, having worked in partnerships to design, deliver and evaluate programs on a variety of contentious issues for both large and small organizations.

She has a broad background in training of a diverse client base. She has extensive experience in the development and delivery of experiential courses on many diverse subject matters. She combines management reviews with obtaining needs and assessments and providing the client with customized training, coaching, counselling and action plans. She has authored several publications in areas of conflict resolution handbooks for managers and managing change. She publishes a quarterly newsletter “Keep In Touch.” She has recently co-authored a book with Stephen Covey, entitled “Success Simplified”.

Ms Jensen has assisted in the development and achievement of organizational goals by:

·        Providing on site coaching with executives and managers dealing with specific issues of conflict management.

·        Reviewing current human resources policies and practices and providing recommendations for implementation;

·        Providing communication strategies to assist in understanding the operation of new workplace human resources policies

·        Consulting with bargaining agents and associations to ensure compliance and cooperation with policies and procedures; and

·        Developing policies and guidelines in compliance with Human Rights legislation and central agency requirements.