Your best people aren't broken. The fit is.
The sharp hire who's struggling. The reliable one who burned out. The team that fights every change. These are usually fit problems... a mismatch between people and how their work is set up.
We redesign the setup, together.
Sound familiar?
If any of these are happening in your organization, you're in the right place.
"They interviewed great. Six months in, they're drowning."
The talent was real. The setup is fighting how they work best.
"My most reliable person just quit... or quietly gave up."
Burnout builds when coping with the environment costs more energy than the job itself.
"Every change initiative dies in the middle."
Adaptability shows up when people feel capable and trusted... and vanishes when they don't.
"We hired for 'diverse thinking' but nothing else changed."
Hiring different minds without changing anything around them has a name... we coined it: Neurotokenism.
The usual playbook fixes the person: more training, more feedback, a performance plan. We fix the fit... and most fit fixes cost less than one resignation.
What we do about it
The belief underneath all of it: talent is everywhere... the setup decides if you can see it.
What is poor fit costing you right now?
Run your own numbers.
Your organization
The math
Assumes only half of turnover is fit-related.
See it work: same employee, different outcomes
One talented (hypothetical) employee. Only the setup changes.
Things you control
Four levers. None change the person.
What happens to your employee
Recognized someone on your team? That's the conversation to have.
The talent is already on your team.
A free 15-minute call. You'll leave with one thing to try next week.
Questions first? Email solutions@wikstroo.com... you'll hear back from Mike, not a sales team.
Three ways in. One measured method.
We don't do this work to your organization... we do it with you.
Leadership & Team Performance
For leadership teams that are early in their working dynamics, or deeply integrated. For preventative work, and for last-chance options.
- Coaching for executives, one-on-one and in small groups
- Finding what's holding your team back... and coaching through it
- Leadership offsites that end in real decisions
Culture & Change Transformation
For organizations facing a change their current culture can't carry.
- A clear read on your culture... and a plan to shift it
- Getting your people ready for change, including AI rollouts
- Plans to keep good people from leaving
Neuroinclusive Workplace Design
Our research specialty. We design work with you so every kind of mind on your payroll can do its best.
- Reshaping jobs and workspaces around how people work best
- Training your managers to lead every kind of mind
- Stopping burnout at its causes, not with perks
Every engagement, four moves
Assess
We look at where fit, motivation, and performance are leaking... with you, not behind your back.
Design
Together we pick changes that fit your budget and your real world. Most fit fixes are simple.
Embed
We teach your managers to run the changes themselves, so the work lasts after we leave.
Measure
We measure before and after, together. You'll know what changed, and by how much.
What an engagement looks like in the room: a board retreat in session, Seacoast, New Hampshire.
Not sure which door is yours?
That's literally what the free fit call is for. Fifteen minutes, no pitch, and we'll tell you honestly if we're not the right fit.
Questions first? Email solutions@wikstroo.com.
What it looks like when the fit gets fixed.
What changed, then the kind words.
From a divided retreat agenda to collaborative agreements in one day
Situation
A board and staff retreat with decades of history and an uncertain future during significant internal and external change.
What we did
We prepared with them before the meeting, built the right questions, and ran the room so every voice got heard.
Result
Their most successful meeting to date. It ended with agreements everyone helped build.
"His incredible pre-meeting organization, insightful questions, and thoughtful summaries along with a calm, assured presence allowed everyone to feel heard and brought us to collaborative agreements."— G., nonprofit board leader
A canceled facilitator, a few days' notice, and a board that left aligned
Situation
A new nonprofit lost its retreat leader just days before the session.
What we did
We prepared fast and ran a half-day working session with the board on their vision and pitch.
Result
The board left clear and aligned on its vision and pitch... on very short notice.
"[Dr. Mike] helped our board gain real clarity and alignment on our vision and pitch... thoughtful, engaging, well-run."— E., nonprofit board leader and executive director
Change work that clients rank against everyone else they've hired
"You have been one of the most capable consultants for change I have worked with in any capacity... Any organization in need of your expertise will find deep value in what you do."— A., organizational leader
Your organization could be the next case study.
Every story above started the same way: a short talk about fit.
The science under the consulting.
Not recycled HR advice... real research on how the fit between a person and their job shapes their drive and results.
Our working model, in one picture
Neurotokenism
Hiring people who think differently without changing anything around them first. The job, the management habits, and the workspace stay built for one kind of mind. The hire gets celebrated. The setup stays hostile. And when it fails, the person gets the blame.
Our consulting exists to make this term unnecessary.
Selected work
Want this rigor pointed at your organization?
We measure every engagement with the same care as the research... and we do it with you.
One consultant. Both sides of the problem.
Dr. Mike Neilio, PsyD — Founder & Principal Consultant. I've spent over twenty years inside workplaces, and the last several inside the research on them. I run studies on how the fit between people and their jobs shapes drive and results. I teach leadership and management at Harvard Extension School and William James College. And I work directly with organizations facing the exact problems this site describes.
My experience is not just academic. Before the doctorate, I spent years inside administration and management... matrixed teams, and budgets and assets in the tens to hundreds of millions. So I understand more than the science behind our suggestions. I know what it takes to make them work inside a real operation.
Fifteen minutes tells us both whether this fits.
In person across New England, remote globally.
What exactly does Wikstroo do?
Wikstroo is a personnel management consulting practice. We help you solve people problems by fixing the fit between how your people work best and how their jobs are set up. That covers leadership and team development, culture change, and designing work for every kind of mind.
All of it rests on real research about how brains work at work. And we measure before and after, with you... so you know whether it worked.
Is this therapy, clinical treatment, or diagnosis?
No... and this line matters to us. Wikstroo's services are developmental and non-clinical. We never diagnose, treat, or clinically assess anyone. We work on jobs, teams, environments, and management practices... the setup around people, not the people themselves.
If someone on your team needs clinical support, we'll say so plainly and encourage them toward the right licensed professional.
Will you use assessments to help us decide who to hire, promote, or let go?
Never. Our assessments and tools are used for development only... understanding how a team works and how to set people up to succeed. They are never used for personnel selection decisions: hiring, firing, promotion, or discipline. This is a firm commitment, not a preference, and it's stated in every engagement agreement.
Who do you work with?
Founders and small business teams. CEOs, COOs, and their leadership teams. HR managers. Municipal and nonprofit leadership. Workforce development programs. If you lead people, the door is open... whether we're the right fit gets settled on the free call, not by a dropdown menu.
Where do you work? Do we need to be in New Hampshire?
Home base is the Seacoast of New Hampshire. We work in person across New England and remotely anywhere in the world... most engagements blend both.
What does an engagement cost?
Every engagement is shaped around your situation, so honest numbers need a short talk first. As an anchor: first engagements usually begin near $5,000–$7,500. Bigger programs cost more. We put a number on the problem before we put a number on the work... so you can weigh the cost against what poor fit is already costing you.
How do I know it worked?
Because we measure it... together. Before the work starts, we agree with you on how success will be measured. If we can't agree on that, we won't start. You'll see what changed and by how much, in plain numbers.
What is "Neurotokenism"?
A term we coined. It means hiring people who think differently without changing anything around them first. The hire gets celebrated. The setup stays hostile. And when it fails, the person gets the blame. Our design work exists to make the term unnecessary... see the Research page for more.
Do you run one-off workshops or trainings?
We can... offsites, alignment sessions, and working workshops are all on the menu. But single events rarely stick. A great workshop with no follow-through changes very little. Our best results come from measured work over time. On the fit call, we'll tell you honestly which one your situation calls for.
What happens on the free fit call?
Fifteen to twenty minutes. No pressure. You describe the problem as you see it, and we'll ask some questions... maybe the hard ones. We'll tell you honestly whether it looks like a fit problem, what we'd try first, and whether we're right for it... including if we're not. You'll leave with one concrete thing to try next week, whether or not we work together.
Book directly here, or email solutions@wikstroo.com.
Who actually does the work?
Every engagement is principal-led. Dr. Mike Neilio plans the work with you, designs the approach, leads it, and stands behind the results... start to finish. As the practice grows, hand-picked senior colleagues may join the delivery. But the person who plans your work stays the person accountable for it. No bait-and-switch, ever.
Do you work with AI (artificial intelligence)?
Yes... as a fit problem. AI changes how work is set up: new tools, new roles, new habits. We help leaders bring in artificial intelligence, including generative AI (GenAI) tools, without burning people out or losing their trust. An A.I. rollout is a change like any other. It works when the setup around people changes with it.
Inside our own practice, we use AI tools carefully for drafting and admin. Judgment calls about people are always human.
What happens to our data?
The tools on this site run entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is collected or sent anywhere. Inside an engagement, we agree on data rules in writing before anything begins. Individual answers stay confidential, and we report findings only at the level we agreed with you.
Still have a question?
Ask it live... that's what the free call is for.
Or email solutions@wikstroo.com.
Let's find out if we fit.
No pressure. You talk, we listen, and we'll ask some questions... maybe the hard ones.
Prefer email? solutions@wikstroo.com · In person across New England, remote globally.