Organizational diagnosis & advisory
A deep look at what’s happening, where it started, and what needs to change.
People Strategy · Leadership Advisory · California
When something is off, we tell you what’s actually happening.
FGT Solutions helps founders, CEOs, and senior leaders understand what’s really going on inside their organizations, before the cracks spread, or after they already have.
When leaders call us
Leaders usually call us for one of two reasons.
Either something is already off, or something big is about to change and they want to get ahead of it.
The reactive call
“Something is off, and I can’t name it.”
A struggling team. A leadership gap. Tension that keeps getting managed but never resolved. Engagement is low, trust is thin, and the usual fixes haven’t worked. You need someone who will find what’s actually happening, not what the org chart says should be happening.
The proactive call
“We’re about to grow fast. I want to get this right.”
New funding. Rapid growth. A strategic shift that will change how everyone works. You want the people foundation strong enough to support the vision before the cracks appear, not after.
Who this is for
This is for you if…
- You know something is off, but you can’t name it.
- Engagement is low, tension is high, and the usual fixes haven’t worked.
- You want someone who will tell you the truth clearly, even when it’s uncomfortable.
- You’re growing fast and want the people foundation right before the cracks show.
How we help
Four kinds of work, shaped to the organization in front of us.
No canned framework. No generic people strategy deck. Just the work your organization needs.
Leadership coaching & advisory
One-on-one partnership with leaders who are ready to look honestly at how they lead and what the moment requires now.
Team & manager work
The hard conversations, facilitation, and realignment work that helps teams and managers get unstuck.
Fractional people leadership
Senior-level people strategy and HR partnership without adding a full-time executive.
We will tell you the truth. Clearly and without apology. What happens next is yours to decide.
The FGT commitment
What it’s like to work with us
Here’s what happens in the first 30 days.
No black box. No jargon.
01
We listen
At every level: leadership, managers, and the people doing the work. Not a survey. Real conversations, in confidence.
02
We read the pattern
What’s happening, where it started, and what it’s costing you, separated from what the org chart says should be happening.
03
We say it plainly
The truth, clearly and without apology. What’s working, what’s broken, and what’s behind it, in language everyone understands.
04
You decide
A clear picture and a practical path. Whether we implement it together or you take it from here, that call is always yours.
25+years in human resources
15+years leading HR teams
Nonprofit → Fortune 50range of organizations shaped
2022founded · full-time since 2025
In good company
Trusted by organizations that wanted the truth.
A cross-industry selection of organizations that brought FGT in because something important needed to be seen clearly.
Best Cheer Stone
God Can Supply Co.
Bixby Castle Holdings
Jimenez Bros. 901
Relevent Content Media
Action Factory
Misty Copeland Foundation
Consumer Care, Inc.
The Diagnostic · Question 1 of 5
Not sure what’s really going on? Start here.
Five questions. Two minutes. No email required. A quick read on how issues tend to surface in your organization, and what that may be telling you.
When something goes wrong in your organization, how do you usually find out?
Answer to continue.
From Cheryl’s desk
The thinking behind the work.
Cheryl writes candidly about work, leadership, and what organizations get wrong about both. If you want the clearest sense of how FGT thinks, start here.
“Strong leadership and sound people decisions transcend industry.”
June 22, 2026
HR Has Become a Bad Word. And We Did That to Ourselves.
Some of the reputation is deserved, and honesty matters more than defensiveness. On the professionals who held the line, and what the work was actually supposed to be.
June 15, 2026We Don’t Hate Our Jobs. We Hate What Our Jobs Have Become.
The best people aren’t burning out. They’re grieving what the work was supposed to be. On the pattern nobody is naming out loud.
Behind the firm
Led by Cheryl Baptiste
A grassroots, nontraditional HR and people strategy leader with more than 25 years of experience across nonprofits, public and private companies, and global organizations.
She has spent her career helping organizations make better people decisions under pressure, from leadership transitions and team breakdowns to growth, change, and the systems that have to hold up underneath it all. She founded FGT Solutions in 2022 and has run it full time since 2025.
She also writes candidly about work, leadership, and the journey from employee to entrepreneur. Meet Cheryl, personally
Fair questions
Asked before, answered plainly.
How is this different from an engagement survey?
A survey averages people into charts and tells you engagement is ‘down 4%.’ We sit with your people at every level and find out why, then say it plainly. Surveys measure the temperature; we find the source of the fever.
Do you replace our HR team?
No. We work alongside the team you have. When you don’t have senior people leadership, fractional support fills that seat without adding headcount. If your HR team is part of what we find, we’ll say that too: to them, respectfully, and to you, plainly.
What does an engagement actually look like?
It starts with an honest conversation about what you’re seeing, with no pitch deck. From there, the work is scoped to what your organization actually needs: a diagnostic, leadership coaching, team and manager work, or fractional people leadership. No prepackaged methodology.
How do you handle confidentiality?
People tell us the truth because it’s safe to. What individuals share is never attributed. We synthesize the pattern, protect the sources, and report what the organization needs to hear, not who said it.
What size organizations do you work with?
Cheryl has shaped people strategy everywhere from small nonprofits to Fortune 50 corporations. Strong leadership and sound people decisions transcend industry, and size too.
What if you find something we don’t want to hear?
Then the engagement is working. We will tell you the truth, clearly and without apology. What happens next is yours to decide. Leaders don’t hire us to be comfortable; they hire us to be right.
Start the conversation
Tell us what you’re seeing.
No pitch deck on the first call. Just an honest conversation about what’s happening and whether FGT is the right team to help. If we’re not, we’ll say that plainly too.