Welcome to Follow the Knowing
The world feels more divided and uncertain than it has in a long time. Most of us sense that something must change, in our systems and structures, but also in how we relate to each other. What if the path forward begins with our humanity?
Follow the Knowing was built on the belief that the challenges we face are not primarily systems problems. They are human ones.
Becoming We
We are trying to solve collective problems with individual minds. It isn't working.
The Becoming We framework is built on a simple but profound idea: that the shift from "I" to "We" is both the most human and necessary thing we can do right now. It begins inside each of us, in the patterns we run on autopilot, the stories we tell, and the deeper capacities we haven't yet discovered. From there it moves outward, into our relationships, our teams, our organizations, and our communities.
This is not a leadership model or a team building exercise. It is a different way of being, practiced together, in the places where it matters most.
Where Do You Want to Begin?
Everyone comes to this work differently. Here are the pathways in.
I want to bring this work to a group I'm part of.
Maybe it's your team, your board, your staff, or a circle of people in your life. You see an opportunity to grow together and you're the kind of person who wants to be the one to open that door.
You might be ready to become a Host.
I want to transform how my organization operates.
You're sensing that something deeper than a process fix is needed. The patterns are embedded in the culture, the structure, and the way decisions get made. You're ready to look at the whole system.
Let's talk about what's possible.
I'm looking for individual support.
Maybe you're navigating something specific, a pattern you keep repeating, a relationship that feels stuck, or a situation at work that needs attention. You want support, but in a more private setting.
Coaching might be the right place to start.
A Different Kind of Expertise
Susan Barbeau
Founder and CEO
I came to this work from two directions at once.
For nearly a decade I served as the CEO of a multi-million dollar organization dedicated to bringing together leaders, communities, and systems around shared goals. I hold a Master's degree in Public and Non-Profit Administration and have spent over twenty years learning what it actually takes to move people from conversation to action.
In 2022, my husband Satish passed away unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 38. I started writing to process my grief out loud. What I didn't expect was how many people it would reach, or what it would teach me about the power of honest, curious, unguarded human expression.
Follow the Knowing grew from both of those experiences. The professional and the personal. The systems thinker and the griever. The executive and the human, just trying to learn from all the unexpected challenges life throws our way.
That intersection is where this work lives.
The Writing
Writing is how I think. Sharing it is how I learn.
Every week I write a new essay. It began as a way to process grief out loud. It has become something else entirely, a weekly practice of following curiosity into the questions that matter most. About what it means to be human. About how we find our way to each other. About the patterns that hold us back and the capacities that set us free.
This year the theme is Becoming We.
If you want to think alongside someone who is genuinely trying to figure this out, not just teach it, this is where that happens.
