Author | Lightnews

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 5d

"I’m not a world changer, I’m a people changer. Sometimes a team and organization changer."

Some reflection on ambition, being in awe, and finding my own place...

#healthyleaders #healthyorganizations

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/my-...

My (lack of) Ambition — Lead With Catalyst

I work with leaders and organizations often as they define their Vision, Mission, and Values (or Dream/Path/Promise) and set their strategic priorities for years to come. I help them clarify their cau...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 13d

"Recently I saw a LinkedIn post from Allison Alley, the newly appointed President and CEO of World Vision Canada with a picture of their whole team from a recent staff event. Finding Allison in the shot was a little like playing Where’s Waldo."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/pic...

Pics Or It Didn’t Happen — Lead With Catalyst

I’m not saying leaders shouldn’t pose for pictures. I place a higher value on the representative aspects of leaderships roles than many people do because of how crucial I believe organizational cultur...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 16d

"Saying “I’m the Executive Director of a charity” doesn’t give much clarity. What cause are you addressing? How big is the organization? What does an Executive Director actually do?"

Some thoughts on evolving identity and the value of labels...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/who...

Who Are You? — Lead With Catalyst

As leaders we often have several relevant labels we can choose to reveal, or not. Part of the challenge is that none of these descriptors capture the wholeness of our identities. None of them are tot...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 17d

There are ways that leading a huge charity is very different from a small one; but some things are pretty much the same.

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/500...

$500M or $150K — Lead With Catalyst

I’ve known both of these leaders for some time and I look forward to each time we meet. Both of them are in roles they love and feel deeply connected to. And both have days when the work is hard. Tha...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 19d

“Dealing with the “bad apple” is a time to use authority.

Winning over a difficult person can be one of the most satisfying experiences a leader can have. But if that fails, to protect the synchronicity of the rest of the team.”

#healthyleaders

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/app...

Apples and Authority — Lead With Catalyst

The healthiest leaders have worked on their own understanding of power and authority. They understand that it is a responsibility that comes with benefits and obligations. And they accept that using a...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · 26d

Charity boards tend to move slowly; here's why that's a good thing (and a bad thing).

"While the board steps away until their next meeting, the staff live in tension, conflict, or uncertainty. Some situations require an emergency meeting and rapid decision."
www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/boa...

Board Speed and Staff Speed — Lead With Catalyst

If the board only meets monthly, or quarterly, it’s hard to fully process complex matters in those few hours. Sometimes that serves the organization well as the board is logistically forced to slow th...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Sep 24

"That’s a hard thing to explain to someone who has sincerely been trying their best.
Like so many things in life, the final straw isn’t the biggest."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/tim...

Timeline of Broken Trust — Lead With Catalyst

It’s rarely a single decisive failure. Almost every time it’s an accumulation of smaller errors, misunderstandings, or disagreements that culminate in a situations where the cost of rebuilding trust...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Sep 7

When a client texts me and says "Do you have ten minutes?"...
www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/jus...

#healthyleaders #healthyorganizations

Just Ten Minutes… — Lead With Catalyst

*Phone buzzes with an incoming text message* “Hey Chris do you have ten minutes?’ It happens a couple times pretty much every week; and I like it.

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Aug 25

When someone becomes emotional in a work meeting?

For some teams the tendency is to drop the topic that prompted the emotion, focus on being supportive of their colleague and affirming the relationship.

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/sol...

Solving Half The Problem — Lead With Catalyst

I learn a lot from the way people respond when a colleague gets upset. There’s usually a little awkwardness, someone offers some tissues, a hand on the shoulder or even a hug isn’t rare. Those are, wh...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Aug 23

As I’m working a lot with executive and leadership teams I often found myself trying to jury-rig tools and concepts from those two areas. I knew there were missing pieces.
Last week something clicked into place.

#healthyteams

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/wha...

What I Was Missing — Lead With Catalyst

As I’m working a lot with executive and leadership teams I often found myself trying to jury-rig tools and concepts from those two areas to fit the particular needs of these groups. It’s been good, bu...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Jul 26

"Particularly when times are hard, which is the reality for most of the charities I work with these days. We need to intentionally remind ourselves that it’s not about the organization, it’s about the cause."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/mis...

Mission First, Org Second — Lead With Catalyst

Without this perspective we easily become short term thinkers, overly competitive with our peers, obsessive about our own performance, and vulnerable to our insecurities. We do dumb stuff because we’r...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Jul 22

"Just the prospect of receiving feedback had me experiencing a sudden wave of stress before I could even put words to it. At the core of my brain my amygdala was preparing for trouble. I was reacting to a threat before I had any real reason to perceive one."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/fee...

Feedback Freeze — Lead With Catalyst

Her tone in bringing up the feedback was calm, even light. Nothing triggering about it at all. And yet… Just the prospect of receiving feedback had me experiencing a sudden wave of stress before I c...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Jul 10

Working with charity leaders is both inspiring and heartbreaking. There's a lot to celebrate right now, but also a lot who are struggling. Some victories, some crises.
If you are able to offer a small donation to a cause you care about, or a call or note of encouragement it makes a difference.

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Jun 17

"My peers have been raised to just deal with things we don’t want and can’t avoid. Sometimes that makes us too compliant about real problems, and too passive about things that can and should be changed. Being able to “deal with it” isn’t always a virtue."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/men...

Menus and Buffets — Lead With Catalyst

One mark of experienced leaders is the ability to anticipate what comes with their choices. Wisdom tells us that something we like often comes with something less appealing included and we can’t alway...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · May 27

"Like cleaning out the junk drawer in your desk, you won’t actually find yourself with nothing better to do than pick up those tasks that weren’t important enough to do in the fall, winter, or spring but still felt like they should be on a list somewhere."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/jun...

Junk Drawer Summer — Lead With Catalyst

Like cleaning out the junk drawer in your desk or kitchen, you won’t actually find yourself with nothing better to do than pick up those tasks that weren’t important to do in the fall, winter, or spri...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · May 24

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/on-...

On Cosplay and Community — Lead With Catalyst

If we’re honest we have to admit that all of us are wearing costumes of some sort everyday to portray something about who we are and what matters to us. The corporate office blazer isn’t much differen...

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Apr 30

Today I've had meaningful conversations with nearly a dozen charity leaders about how to develop staff, handle transitions, lead with more confidence, deal with insecurity, and live out their personal and organizational values. Some may lead to further work for me, some won't. These are good days!

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Apr 26

I’ll be speaking the next 4 Sundays at our little country church: www.wfpconline.com

My themes are
April 27 - Sins Against Nature
May 4 - The Nature of Sin
May 11 - The Power of Influence
May 18 - The Influence of Power

I’d love to have you join us. All welcome!

West Flamboro Presbyterian Church | Presbyterian | Flamborough, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Welcome to West Flamboro Presbyterian Church. We are a worshipping community found at Christie's Corners. To learn more about us, visit our website.

www.wfpconline.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Mar 4

I hope as we Canadians put our “Elbows Up” in response to America’s provocations we don’t forget to open our arms to those in need in our country and around the world. Let’s not allow the real stress we’re facing to make us afraid to show care & kindness. That’s a big part of what’s best about us.

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 19

"They felt that their personal integrity was being compromised by being associated with a leader who seemed to have abandoned the core values of the organization in pursuit of something they couldn’t support.
It was a real problem."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/a-c...

A Conundrum of Conscience — Lead With Catalyst

They felt that their personal integrity was being compromised by being associated with a leader who seemed to have abandoned the core values of the organization in pursuit of something they couldn’t s...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 18

"As charity leaders in Canada we need to learn from the past and recognize the current reality; relying on the USA for programs, partners, or supporters was never a sure thing and it’s probably getting more difficult."

#charityleadership #healthyleaders

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/the...

The American Exception — Lead With Catalyst

This isn’t meant to be a political statement, but a practical one. As charity leaders in Canada we need to learn from the past and recognize the current reality; relying on the USA for programs, partn...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 14

Rewatching The Newsroom series is frighteningly prescient.

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 12

"Much of the world live with high levels of instability all the time. It undermines progress, wellness, and trust. Some people exploit these situations for selfish profits."

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/the...

The Power of Chaos — Lead With Catalyst

Many years ago I had a boss who could be very impulsive. I never went into a meeting fully confident that I could predict how it would turn out. In someways I guess that kept me on my toes, which I ...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 11

It's good to be loyal, but at some point we need to consider whether it's time to turn away.

#healthyleaders #healthyorganizations

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/on-...

On Off-Ramps — Lead With Catalyst

Loyalty to religious institutions, pop culture heroes, and most of all, to political parties and leaders is in turmoil. Typically, as this happens some see it as a betrayal and demand greater loyalty;...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

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Chris Wignall @chriswignall.bsky.social · Feb 8

I don't usually repost my own work so quickly, but...

#DEI #justice #values #healthyleaders #healthyorganizations

www.leadwithcatalyst.com/insights/why...

Why I Am A Volunteer JEDI — Lead With Catalyst

We are in a season where prominent corporations are ending their DEI programs and some people are getting lots of attention by decrying the very idea of promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. And...

www.leadwithcatalyst.com

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