So did this company.
Founded in 2013. Thirty people. A full roster of clients. Case studies. Award nominations. Press mentions. Landing pages for everything.
It was impressive.
And then — like a lot of the leaders we work with — we burned out building something that looked right from the outside but stopped feeling good on the inside.
So we burned it down. On purpose.
What's here now is intentional. Small. Focused. High-impact.
A culture change agency for the leaders who are done performing — and ready to lead from something real.
This site used to be bigger.
Gretchen Fox Palmer, CEO & Founder
I didn't start here.
I started with thirty people, a full-service agency, and a client roster I was proud of.
I was writing about conscious capitalism for Forbes while quietly running until I was nearly unconscious myself. Pushing through. White-knuckling it. Performing competence at scale.
Until I couldn't anymore.
The pivot wasn't a rebrand. It was a reckoning.
And what came out of it is the most honest, most effective version of this work I've ever done.
About
The Work
For nearly twenty years, I've been inside companies at the moments that matter most — culture crises, mergers, leadership transitions, rapid growth, painful contraction.
What I've learned is this:
Every company problem is a people problem. Every people problem is a leadership problem. And every leadership problem has an inner dimension that most leaders never examine.
This work lives at that intersection.
Background
Creator of EQ @Work — a proprietary methodology for emotional intelligence, culture transformation, and conscious leadership.
Nearly two decades working with Fortune 250 executives, fast-growing startups, purpose-driven companies, and organizations navigating high-stakes change.
Forbes Contributor · FastCompany Executive Board Member · ICF-trained Coach · Certified TIRS™ Trauma-Informed Reflective Supervisor · Equine-Facilitated Learning Coach · Certified Somatic Movement Teacher · Reiki Master
7-figure founder. Fortune 500 executive. And someone who has done the inner work — not just the outer credentials.
The companies that perform ten times better than their peers aren't doing it with better strategy.
They're doing it with better consciousness.
I'm here to help you build that.
— Gretchen
EQ @WORKCulture transformation for organizations that are ready to lead differently.
85% of people who have jobs hate their jobs.
That statistic hasn't changed much since Gallup first published it.
And yet most organizations are still trying to solve a human problem with operational solutions — better processes, better systems, better org charts.
The problem isn't the org chart.
It's the quality of consciousness inside the leadership team — and how it moves through the organization.
What EQ @Work Does
EQ @Work is a turnkey culture transformation program grounded in emotional intelligence, leadership development, and conscious business practices.
It's not a one-day training. It's not a workshop you forget by Friday.
It's a systematic process for aligning your values, brand, and culture — and building a company healthy enough to sustain real growth.
The work includes: Culture Transformation · EQ Skills Training · Leadership Development · Peer Conversations for Leaders · Burnout Management · Conflict Resolution · Conscious Leadership Coaching · Wellbeing at Work
What Changes
When the inner life of leadership is brought into alignment with the external expression of the company —
Employees engage. Not because they're managed to. Because they mean it.
Clients notice. The quality of the relationship deepens.
Retention improves. Culture becomes a recruiting advantage.
For the Skeptical
Companies that practice conscious capitalism outperform their peers by 10x (Harvard Business Review, 2013).
Firms of Endearment have outperformed the S&P 500 by 14 times over 15 years (Raj Sisodia).
The ROI of culture is not theoretical. It shows up in retention, in revenue, in the quality of decisions made under pressure.
MTO Agency works with a small number of organizations at a time.
The Conscious Leadership Collective
A private peer group for executives and founders who are done going it alone.
Leadership is isolating.
Not because other leaders aren't around — but because most rooms require you to perform.
To have the answer. To project confidence. To keep the uncertainty to yourself.
The Collective is a different kind of room.
What It Is
A small, facilitated peer group for conscious leaders — executives, founders, and senior leaders who want structured reflection, real accountability, and honest conversation with people operating at the same level.
Each month includes: A 90-minute facilitated session · Emotional intelligence training · Real-time peer coaching · Tools and frameworks you can use immediately
The format moves from grounding → reflection → insight → integration.
You arrive as you are. You leave with clarity and one concrete next step.
Who This Is For
Leaders who are already successful — and quietly asking whether the way they're leading is actually working.
Leaders who want to grow without burning out building the next version of themselves alone.
Leaders who know that the quality of their inner life is directly connected to the quality of their leadership — and are ready to do something about it.
Facilitated by Gretchen Fox Palmer — nearly two decades inside organizations at their most critical moments, trained in emotional intelligence, trauma-informed practice, and conscious leadership.
The Collective is intentionally small.
Let’s talk.
MTO Agency works with a small number of clients and organizations.
The right fit matters — for both of us.
Use the form to introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you're navigating. We'll be in touch within 48 hours.