There’s a common misconception about entrepreneurship that refuses to die: the idea that starting your own business is a way to escape authority, to finally break free from the suffocating grip of a boss. It’s an appealing fantasy - one where you call the shots, answer to no one, and shape your … [Read more...]
Leading from the Flanks: The Art of Presence Without Overshadowing
Leadership is often framed as being out in front - setting direction, taking charge, and pulling people along. But true leadership, the kind that endures and transforms, is just as much about standing to the side, watching, anticipating, and stepping in precisely when needed. Strengths and … [Read more...]
The Talent You Can’t Replace
Some people impress. Others transform. And then there are those who inspire. Over the years, I’ve worked alongside incredible colleagues, mentors, and partners - people whose impact isn’t just measured by their output but by the way they change the very nature of how work gets done. At OCF, I see … [Read more...]
Be the Person They Rely On, Not Just the One They Manage
These are unprecedented times, with the amount of political, financial, and social shifts happening - all in parallel, and all influencing each other. It is but expected that folks are feeling overwhelmed and jittery. The impact on international students and foreign professionals is even more. … [Read more...]
Leadership Is About Learning, Not Knowing
The best leaders I’ve worked with, the ones who inspire, who build, who create lasting impact, share a common trait: they welcome challenge. Not as an obligation, not as something to endure, but as an essential part of growth. They are not threatened by dissent. They don’t fear disagreement. … [Read more...]
Beyond Labels: Decoding Habits, Skills, and Strengths for Lasting Success
In a world obsessed with buzzwords and bullet points, I've often wondered how many of us have inadvertently sold ourselves short by mislabeling our capabilities. It wasn’t too long ago that I realized - after countless hours of self-reflection and professional growth - that the real game-changer … [Read more...]
The Risk Worth Taking: A Path Forward for Impact Investing
This is a follow-up to The Cost of Doing Good, where I challenged the social impact sector - particularly foundations - to pause and ask some uncomfortable questions about the prevailing push toward impact investing. The first article wasn’t a critique of the idea itself but an invitation to a … [Read more...]
Wake Up, Canada: The Future Won’t Wait for Us
There’s a quiet complacency that creeps in when a nation has known peace, prosperity, and relative stability for so long. It’s almost seductive. We start to assume that what worked before will somehow carry us forward. That the formulas we perfected in the twentieth century will continue to … [Read more...]
Leadership in Crisis: Hope is Not a Strategy
Lately, Canada has been spending a lot of time bracing for impact, caught in the gravitational pull of America's turbulence. I have heard a few folks talk about “coping”, as if endurance is a strategy, as if waiting out uncertainty will somehow lead to stability. But in moments like these, … [Read more...]