Category: Leadership

Finding a safe and affordable place to live

Paul Wagenaar

Safe, affordable housing for everyone. Many people talk about affordable housing, but few really define what that is.

Unfortunately, safe and affordable housing simply doesn’t exist for many people. It is difficult enough for the average person or family, for vulnerable, low-income people and families the potential of homelessness is very real.

This post is intended to help navigate the very Darwinian market of housing supply and demand. In a small way, it might help to illuminate some of the questions, workarounds, solutions, and resources that are available to help.

Project Management Tips

Paul Wagenaar

Few teams in high school, college/university, and even in the work environment currently apply project management skills to everyday assignments and projects.

These skills can make a difference, eliminate frustration, and help transform groups of individuals into high-performance teams. These skills work on large construction projects, software design projects, and on any academic and work projects whether they are large or small.

Building People with a Team Charter

Paul Wagenaar

What is a team charter? It is a building block. It is an interactive and inclusive tool to give people in your organization the freedom, the space, and the ability to get things done.

I will not pretend that this post has all the answers. But in this post and in my other posts, you will find places to start. These posts all share three common themes, one is that you or your organization can start today, all they require is a change of thinking or a change of process and finally, the cost is virtually zero.

Revisiting Leadership

Paul Wagenaar

Effective leadership is not easy. An effective leader is always learning, always reinventing themselves, and always adapting their skills and approach to the current environment. To be successful, effective leaders cannot be entrenched they must constantly look at different perspectives and be aware of their blind spots.

Effective leaders never forget that leadership isn’t about them, it is about the people they lead. They are facilitators, they empower, and they are whatever the situation, their organization, and most importantly what their people need them to be.

10 Warning Signs Your Meetings are in Trouble.

Paul Wagenaar

We have all experienced them.
The kind of meeting where the clock, if it seems to move at all crawls at a glacial pace. Far from being productive, the attendees have long since stopped paying attention and only want to find an escape so they can get some real work done.

Ineffective meetings frustrate everyone, the people attending them and the people running them.

The first step to resolution is to recognize the warning signs and then start today rectifying the situation.

Culture and Teamwork

Paul Wagenaar

More than ever, I appreciate how an organization uses its culture to develop ideas and concepts through its people.

Systems and processes are important but how an organization collaborates with its people is what really sets it apart. It doesn’t matter whether your organization is small or large, these tools can help everyone.

New Job Anxiety and Tools Everyone Can Use

Paul Wagenaar

Recently I started a new job. The job and people are excellent but I found myself trying too hard and doubting my skills. This anxiety is common and can easily overwhelm a new person in any organization. I recalled the lessons I had learned from my mentors, applied them to my own situation, and sought to share them as well. Please feel free to add your own suggestions and share this post.

Rigidity – People & Organizations

Paul Wagenaar

Rigidity usually happens slowly and without most people noticing.
If we do notice it, we usually only see it in other organizations and in other people. Most people do not even realize it is happening to them, many will deny it, but those who do are only fooling themselves.

The rigidity of thinking and action can stifle growth, success, and happiness, and even threaten survival.

Things everyone should know about Food Security

Paul Wagenaar

August 31st will be my final day as Food Security Coordinator for the United Way of Bruce Grey.

For the past two years, my job has been to build awareness of food insecurity, improve connectivity between the 50+ food organizations in Bruce Grey, and assist each of the 300+ volunteers and staff as much as possible. I have learned so much about the important work all of them do. These very dedicated people need our assistance to alleviate and to also eliminate food insecurity as an issue throughout Canada.