Systems Thinking · Strategic Action
What is stopping change?
Important transformations rarely get stuck because organisations lack plans. They become stuck because people, incentives, assumptions, dependencies and competing priorities interact in ways that are difficult to see from inside the system.
Bring us one challenge that matters.
In five days, we help your leadership team see the system differently, uncover what is really keeping change stuck, identify where movement is possible, and leave with concrete moves to make next.
The problem
The visible obstacle is rarely the real obstacle.
When an important change is not moving, the instinct is to point at something visible — a hesitant team, a missed decision, a deadline that slipped. And that something usually exists. It is just rarely the reason.
Underneath almost every stuck transformation sits a system of interactions: incentives that quietly point in different directions, assumptions nobody has tested out loud, dependencies between teams, priorities that compete for the same people. From inside, the system is hard to see — everyone is looking at their own piece of it.
That is the work we do: step outside the system with you, and look at the whole of it together.
The offer
The Challenge Week
One challenge.
One leadership team.
Five intensive days.
The Challenge Week is not a course and not a consulting engagement with a report at the end. It is five working days alongside your leadership team, entirely devoted to the one change you bring us — structured around four perspectives that turn a stuck situation into a moveable one.
We work the way senior teams actually decide: together, out loud, against reality. The week ends when there is clarity on what is happening, what can move, and who does what next.
The outcome is movement — not a deck.
By the end of the week
A shared understanding of the challenge
The leadership team sees the system the same way — often for the first time.
Identified leverage points
Clear views on where movement is actually possible, and where it is not.
Prioritised interventions
Agreement on what matters most, and what to deliberately leave alone.
Concrete next moves
Specific actions, owners and timing — ready to act on on Monday morning.
The method
Four perspectives. One whole picture.
Each piece on its own is partial. Together they form the whole.
- 01
See the system
Map the situation as it actually is — the people, incentives, assumptions, dependencies and priorities at play.
- 02
Understand what is keeping it stuck
Find the interactions that hold the problem in place, beneath the visible obstacle.
- 03
Identify where movement is possible
Locate the leverage points where a senior team can genuinely change the outcome.
- 04
Turn insight into concrete action
Prioritise interventions and agree the moves to make next — specific, owned, dated.
About
Four people, four perspectives, one table.
Tessara4 was founded by four senior professionals who bring complementary perspectives to the same problem.
Our work draws on systems thinking, governance, leadership, organisational change and international practice — held together by a simple conviction: that the four of us, looking at one challenge from four different angles, will see more than any adviser can see alone.
Ana F. Martinez Arrua
MScAna Florencia brings extensive experience in sustainability transitions, transformative governance and cross-sector collaboration, helping organisations navigate complex challenges and create lasting change. Drawing on an international career spanning Europe and Latin America, including work with the European Union, United Nations and Inter-American Development Bank, she connects diverse stakeholders to advance systemic transformation. As coordinator of the Master's Programme in Sustainability Transitions at Rotterdam Business School and a PhD researcher at DRIFT, Erasmus University Rotterdam, she combines research with practical experience to help leaders rethink governance, build meaningful partnerships and turn shared ambitions into collective action.
Isabel Solé Subirats
MA/MEdIsabel brings a deep understanding of leadership development, systems thinking and collaborative facilitation, helping individuals and teams navigate complexity and unlock their collective potential. Drawing on more than 25 years of international experience, she combines coaching, experiential learning and systems mapping to make hidden patterns visible, build trust and transform differences into opportunities for collaboration. As a coach and facilitator at Rotterdam Business School, she designs transformative learning experiences that help leaders challenge assumptions, develop new perspectives and turn collective understanding into meaningful action.
Katina Gikas
MSc/MBAKatina brings extensive international experience in business strategy, innovation and sustainability, helping organisations navigate complexity and turn strategic ambitions into practical action. Drawing on a career spanning corporate leadership, entrepreneurship and education, she combines commercial insight with systems thinking to identify opportunities for meaningful transformation. Having held senior roles at organisations including Unilever, L'Oréal and Coca-Cola, and co-founded a social enterprise focused on sustainable solutions, she brings a strong understanding of business realities. As co-developer of the Master's Programme in Sustainability Transitions at Rotterdam Business School, Katina connects systemic perspectives with strategic decision-making and real-world organisational challenges.
Renata Simoes
PhDRenata brings a deep understanding of how organisations work, why change encounters resistance, and how leaders can create the conditions for meaningful progress. As coordinator of the Master's Programme in Consultancy & Entrepreneurship and a researcher at the Research Centre Business Innovation at Rotterdam Business School, she combines academic insight with practical experience to help leaders challenge assumptions, navigate the human dynamics of complex challenges, and identify actionable, evidence-based ways forward.
Start the conversation
What challenge would you bring us?
Tell us about the change that is not moving. One of the four of us will read it and reply personally — with an honest view on whether the Challenge Week is the right instrument.