Hi! Hola! Hallo! I’m Jonathan Stephens.

I’m a neurodivergent design & tech leader, strategist, facilitator, manager, speaker, coach, consultant, and entrepreneur dedicated to building a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable web. I co-founded Poet & Scribe, a coaching & consulting company.

I've been crafting websites & products for over 15 years, from small businesses to global, industry-leading companies. After 10 years of living & working in Amsterdam, I'm now based in Raleigh, North Carolina with my partner—Sandra; and border collie, Freyja.

I sometimes write on my blog, Medium, or LinkedIn. I'm a travel & nature photographer and sell my photos, and I read & catalog books read.

Portrait photograph of Jonathan, with a top-to-bottom magenta to yellow gradient screen

Expertise

Where I Thrive

I thrive when developing people, improving processes, and delivering quality products through iterative creativity. With empathy and integrity, I nurture & support teams, recognizing their skills, while striving to lead by example. By choosing compassion over apathy and collaboration over rank, we make things better, together.

A 3-circle Venn Diagram of People, Processes, and Product
  • People

    Connecting people & fostering community is a consistent theme throughout my professional practice. My leadership style is grounded in collaboration, guidance, and empowerment. I reflect on myself, ask questions, and facilitate connections to unlock people's creativity. The world needs more generous, empathetic leaders who lead not by force but by unlocking the potential in their people.

  • Processes

    Defining collaborative processes that empower teams is essential to my work. This includes mapping workflows, facilitating effective meetings, setting priorities, and simplifying data so we make informed decisions. My leadership is based on respect, active listening, and embracing diverse perspectives. I lead by connecting people's strengths to organizing effectively around tasks.

  • Product

    While people and process are crucial, we ultimately come together to make something. Whether an organization, product, experience, feature, or content: we unite to make & multiply our efforts. Alone we are limited, together we can make something greater and more impactful. My role is to facilitate this creation, through: removing obstacles, creating accountability, and enabling people. I take individual "ingredients" and multiply them into accessible, innovative products that deliver value. When people collaborate, we can create & improve things one step at a time.

A circular image, positioned equidistant around the circle is an ordered list of my Principals, as a flywheel.

Purpose

What Guides Me

My professional career centers bringing people together to create momentum for change. I build inclusive, curiosity-driven organizations, rooted in design thinking to shape vision & strategy. These principles act as my flywheel, generating energy for collective growth.
My goal is doing things differently to create positive impact and value. By uniting complementary skills I aim to catalyze transformative change through creative collaboration.

Approach

Working together

The what of my job varies, but the how remains constant. Regardless of the role or task, I aim to lead inclusively, listen deeply, and organize collaboratively. I look forward to discovering how we might partner to drive impact.

Contact

Network; Meet; Write

I'm actively open to new opportunities & collaborations that align with my background, values, and principles.

Apart from employment, I'm also available to:

  • help your team, company, or organization as you try something different;
  • serve as an advisor, mentor, coach, consultant, and/or fractional support;
  • speak at events, on your podcast, or with your team;
  • create practical leadership & strategy workshops;
  • contribute to publications through articles, columns, and essays; and/or,
  • I'm always excited to meet new people, learn about you, and see how I can help, support, or collaborate!

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