The Launch

Launching IWC is truly an exciting moment in time for me. Over the past 20 years of working in various parts of the not-for-profit sector, and more recently in my leadership roles in homecare and community support services for charitable organizations, I have learned some big lessons.

My professional growth and personal growth have often mirrored each other, particularly in leadership and people management roles. I find the skills that have taken me the farthest are the ones that have caused the most growing pains:

• learning to foster meaningful, sometimes hard conversations with teams.

• knowing when I have taken a misstep and have to admit I was wrong AND pivot.

• knowing when my ego was getting in the way of progress.

These moments repeat themselves over and over again in leadership and offer us new opportunities to exercise our humility, empathy and bravery. The growth spurts that I have experienced over the years have undoubtedly leant themselves to my personal life as well and, when I am faced with a new challenge that daunts me, I push myself and try to act within my integrity.

I have learned that while you may have a work persona and a homelife persona, your values must be interchangeable.

When I am at my best as a leader and a mentor, there is an alignment between my values and my actions that rings true to my core. It is these moments of integrity that give me the greatest return. It usually happens when I connect with someone. When I have meaningful interaction that removes the BS from the moment and allows for honest conversation and shared vulnerability.

I have worked as a leader during times of challenge and change including a pandemic that forever changed the world of frontline and essential care. These times of turmoil proved my theory that leading with my integrity was the best way to be effective at my role.

Faced with new environments, I continue to learn every day about dynamics and culture and what shapes a healthy workplace. I am constantly confronted with choices to take easy routes vs difficult ones that will yield wildly different results. Sometimes I falter because I am human, and in this sector where we are always doing more with less, leaders get tired. But the reality of my decision is always with me; when I take the easy route I am inevitably just postponing a problem, choosing to deal with it in the near future instead of the now. I lead through the day to day with heightened self-awareness and hold myself to high account in my dealings with staff and the people we serve.

These are the insights that I can bring to your organization. I think you will find that even though they sound simplistic and maybe even idealistic, cultivating a culture that values integrity is hard but rewarding work. In addition to the leadership roles I have and continue to hold, I have mentored emerging leaders and continued my education to enhance my skills adding intensive coaching and a psychological approach to my work.

Working with non-for-profit organizations to help shift culture, coach and mentor leaders and reconnect staff with their vision and purpose is the next part of my journey and I can't wait to see where it leads me. 

This blog is where I will share stories of success and failure, lessons learned along the way and challenges that I continue to face. I hope to foster a community of leaders who are striving to lead from integrity, honestly sharing victories and defeats and fearlessly continuing despite them. I hope my experiences offer you support on your leadership journey working in this sector that comes with its own unique challenges and plentiful rewards.

With thanks, Teresa