What if you could design it – a better future for your own life and the lives in your communities – your experience of every day. The experience you have of your thinking, your body, of your relationships, your sense of meaning and fulfillment… purpose. What if your wildest dreams and hopes for the future were possible? What if you could apply your attention and skills in a focused direction toward achieving that?
Imagine what it would feel like to get out of bed in the morning, connected to all of that hope! Imagine what it would feel like to have the resources, abilities, and a supportive context in which to realize these dreams…
Too often, we don’t allow this dreaming or belief to even crack the surface of “ordinary life“. We are too afraid of disappointment, being called unrealistic, the risk of making changes, or most terrifying of all – experiencing failure if it doesn’t lead to the outcome we hope for.
The future depends on the inner place from which we operate. ~ Otto Scharmer Presencing Institute
Stina: “For over 15 years, I have helped leaders and organizations imagine, design and create purposeful results in the world. What I’m writing about is not fluff or hype or unrealistic.I have literally watched bold visions come true – individuals, teams, cultures and organizations change and millions of dollars appear, to help leaders and their teams fulfill their visionary commitments.
Without visions, without being able to see and articulate the future you want to create, without building systems and relationships to support you, you are bound to repeat current patterns. It’s time to move beyond our limited beliefs of what’s possible and build the future reality we hope to see.”
What is the future you hope to create? Let’s get started!
“To weigh the future of future thoughts requires some powerfully visionary thinking about how the life of the mind can operate in a moral context increasingly dangerous to its health. It will require thinking about the generations to come as life forms at least as important as cathedral-like forests and glistening seals. It will require thinking about generations to come as more than a century or so of one’s own family line, group stability, gender, sex, race, religion. Thinking about how we might respond if certain that our own line would last two thousand, twelve thousand more earthly years. It will require thinking about the quality of human life, not just its length. The quality of intelligent life, not just its strategizing abilities. The obligations of moral life, not just its ad hoc capacity for pity.”
Stina: “My job is to come alongside leaders like you with resources, solidarity accountability and love (yes, love!) to nourish, witness, codify and amplify what you can imagine. Don’t lose hope in a world full of noise, precarity, and seemingly insurmountable complex challenges. It sounds cliché, but if you can imagine it you can create it, I know this for a fact.“
Stina works with individuals, groups and organizations to take care and take a quantum leap.
I love the honest and raw conversations. Be ready to hear and accept the feedback you get from Stina. It’s not always what you want to hear but it’s what is going to propel you the individual and/or agency forward. ~Non-Profit Organizational Development and Planning Client 2020-2022
In Stina’s coaching, process design and facilitation – the objective is to work with peopleto ignite a fundamentally different reality. Clients arethe creators of new realities. Stina guides the process for those leaps to be realized and works with leaders to establish new supports, skills and habits to crystalize those new realities. Her invention, method, and creativity go beyond skilled process design.
Her art is facilitating state-shifting within leaders and organizations. Often with strategic planning, an “event” can happen, and the past and present essentially stay the same. Not so with Stina! Contact her today to explore future possibilities~!
Do you have the support you need to be the intrepid, bold leader your organization needs in 2024?
I spent part of the holiday break in “wintery” Los Angeles with local friends, wandering in neighbourhoods, galleries, beaches and parks. As I took in the work of artists in the Hammer Museum, at Hauser & Wirth and the bright installations of the “Enchanted Forest of Light” at Descanso Gardens, I was struck by the boldness of individuals to be creators – making art while the world spins madly on. “Audacity” is the word that kept echoing in my mind.
According to Mirriam Webster, audacity is “the quality or state of being audacious: intrepid boldness or bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints“.
If an artist spray-paints words on giant canvas and asserts it’s art, who am I to disagree? It’s intrepid boldness, as far as I am concerned.
‘White Noise,’ the first Los Angeles solo exhibition by Mexican-German artist Stefan Brüggemann
Intrepid comes from the Latin word intrepidus, itself formed by the combination of the prefix in-, meaning “not,” and the adjective trepidus, meaning “alarmed.” If you are paying attention, there’s a good chance you’ve been feeling moments of overwhelm and/or even alarm on a daily basis these days, triggered by global events, financial stressors, ongoing inequities, polarization, health concerns etc. When we are alarmed we are unable to think clearly or act decisively. When we are limited by “normal restraints” we will never envision a future that’s different, let alone our highest potential.
Art is inherently rebellious. So is leading a non-profit that wants to change the world! In order to accomplish their missions, organizations need to make obsolete or transform current “reality” – create something new – something outside of “normal restraints”. It’s Stina’s job to help leaders do just that!
HOW? Hire Stina to help you with:
ONE ON ONE SUPPORT Structure, consistency and courage through one on one coaching. How can you be a supportive leader unless you are also supported? Stina’s executive coaching helps you get to the heart of the issues to overcome whatever is limiting you. Stina has found the best way to help her clients is by supporting them in being responsible for themselves. Stina provides focus and feedback, thought partnership and empathic, enthusiastic solidarity.
See a detailed list of self-directed practices and habits insupport of your mental health as a leader here: Self Leadership and Self Care.
Stina! You are a force of nature! You have a powerful gift of compassion and a well-honed ability to clear through the clutter to get to the heart of matters. ~ Executive Director Coaching Client
GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES Knowing your power and using it consciously. Leaders who don’t know the territory of their inner world are bound to project their unconscious bias, fears, insecurities, triggers and shortcomings onto their staff. (What could go wrong?) It’s about taking responsibility for your effect on others and your organization. With racial equity (but really with all forms of equity), it’s necessary for leaders to genuinely “onboard” themselves into this conversation and establish new awareness, accountability structures, norms, and policies. Stina calls the early part of this work the “Equity Onramp.” Start where you are.Let go of some of the fear and begin.
ADDING SUPPORTTO THE COLLECTIVE Understanding and evolving your organization’s culture. Organizational culture is alive and influences everything. Some organizations are aware of the (internal and external) culture they foster – many are not. Sometimes the promoted “values” or “culture statements” are hugely disconnected from reality. In Stina’s work she helps people see and be seen. Organizational cultures that prioritize belonging and well-being outperform those that don’t. Stina supports leaders in building relational (vs transactional) cultures and deepening psychological safety at work. Here are a few practical steps to evolve your organization’s culture.
PROCESS DESIGN & ALIGNMENT Becoming more intentional, deepening relationships and updating your plans. Take time “offsite” to imagine how things could be better/different and encourage honest dialogue and relationship building. Shared experiences out of the office can be an excellent investment in your people, productivity, and your future – if it’s done right. Shared visioning and decision-making can create momentum around your priorities and set up the coming year(s) in a powerful new way. It’s high-risk stakes (setting expectations and spending time/money on a retreat)! You’ll be in good hands with Stina. Check out Stina’s Case Studies page for examples!
To have a conversation with Stina to explore what could help you feel more supported as a leader or as an organization – drop her at note: stina at stinabrown.com.
2023 MISSIONS STINA SUPPORTED Over the past year, Stina has supported leaders, teams and organizations working to fulfill the following INTREPID visions and missions:
IndigenEYEZ engages, inspires and mobilizes change. Our vision is collective wellbeing for all our relations. https://indigeneyez.com/
Helping organizations use the internet and emerging technologies to change their community, and then the world https://echo.co/about-us
We build durable, beautiful websites for world-changing nonprofits. We are inspired and driven by the missions of our clients and making the world a better place. https://capellic.com/
We work on behalf of our members to ensure a bright future for domestic media production and Canadian content https://cmpa.ca/about/
PIBC is a thriving organization supporting and regulating respected professional planners, inspiring excellence, advocacy and community well-being. https://www.pibc.bc.ca/about-pibc
By co-creating places that foster connection, we contribute to the exchange of ideas, the solving of problems, and the growth of stronger, healthier communities better equipped to thrive in good times and navigate crisis when challenges arise. https://www.humanstudio.ca/purpose
ArtSpring’s cause is to enrich lives and build community through Arts and Culture. https://artspring.ca/
An innovative and inclusive community where all learners belong and everyone soars. Our mission is to inspire and nurture future-ready learners. https://www.deltasd.bc.ca/district/our-vision/
Serving members (principals and vice principals in BC) by supporting effective leadership in education through representation, advocacy and leadership development. https://www.bcpvpa.org/about-bcpvpa/about/about-us
The aim of a PACT is to provide an alternative to police and shift BC’s crisis care to a community-led, client-centered, trauma-informed response centered on the mental health and well-being of the affected individual, their family, and their community. https://bc.cmha.ca/peer-assisted-care-teams/
Nourish envisions a future in which the full potential of food as medicine is honoured and realized in Canadian health and food systems. We equip, connect, and lift leaders, both inside and outside the walls of health care, to leverage the power of food, so that the health system can become more preventive, more equitable, and more sustainable. https://www.nourishleadership.ca/about-1
Help women break social and economic barriers by providing support, education and resources so they achieve their true potential. Empower women globally so they reach their full potential. https://saaheli.org/about-us/
OAN provides a secure environment for agency principals to learn how to better run our businesses, develop a professional network we can trust completely, find what we need personally to sustain our work for the long term, and grow and influence the movements for social transformation we are a part of. https://wordpress.com/page/bookofstina.com/2413
Stina guided really sensitive conversations during our in-person retreat. She holds a balance between support and accountability. Keeping us focused and on track; capturing what was said and organizing within topic areas. Homeward Bound 2023
Stina truly is a very skilled coach who offers a perfect blend of non-judgemental listening, wisdom, insight, and ‘real talk.’ They have a wonderful ability to cut to the core of what you’re saying, often before you get there yourself. Even on a low day, I would come out of a coaching call with Stina feeling energized and focused on possibilities rather than deficits. I greatly appreciate their combination of expertise, experience, helpful prompts, and feedback. Thank you for creating a safe self-reflection space while also offering helpful observations and advice to help me grow! Robin Speedie, Nourish 2023
Stina sets the stage for deep trust and sharing at our annual retreat. She works with our wiley band of entrepreneurs to design an agenda that never loses momentum and she pilots us through a focused, five day process of sharing and discovery. Under her expert guidance, new ideas and deep understanding comes to the surface. OAN 2023
Stina has been an invaluable resource in designing and facilitating our organization’s strategic planning sessions through several iterations over the course of more than a decade. She brings well thought-out, nimble, and easy to understand structures and approaches to the planning process in a way that is engaging, dynamic, productive, and even fun. Her style and facilitation of sessions are always organized and yet creative, accommodating and yet focused, open and yet results-oriented – even when working through challenging discussions and bringing together seemingly disparate points of view. It is always a joy and pleasure to work with Stina. Dave Crossley, Executive Director, Planning Institute of British Columbia
Organizations are systems. Visionary leaders are systems thinkers.
It takes more than one organized, conscious leader (CEO, ED, Board Chair, Founder) to lead an organization well. Yes – it helps, but healthy visionary organizations require coordinated groups of collaborators.
In these “unprecedented times” leaders need strategic foresightwiththeir team of senior leadersto see above the noise of every day and share responsibility. An aligned team of organizational leaders with a coordinated approachprovides systemic flexibility (aka organizational resilience).
Real-time adaptations are necessary as we navigate massive systemic changes and uncertainties – the organizational systems to operationalize and implement what you are planning needs to either be in place or be developed.
High Organizational Leadership (HOL) means you have developed a team of leaders who see the full picture of the organization and lead with a coordinated approach. Cultural realities, strategic goals, and long-term vision (how you want to shape the world) are intentionally set, nurtured and ultimately determine how (well) the organization functions. This team (or teams) of leaders gain energy and encouragement from each other, from their successes and what they are learning along the way, even through challenges. They can be their best, at work.
Visioning and goal setting in this environment is exciting! Through open and honest conversation, risk-taking and imagining what’s possible – they organize in a visionary way – leading from the opportunities that are alive and coming into focus. You have the capacity to see what’s ahead and adapt along the way, with generosity for your people. People feel secure and equipped to also bring their best. There’s energy in the system for creativity, planning, adaptation and even celebration.
These organizations nurture and inspire.
Aboriginal Headstart BC Elders Gathering
Low Organizational Leadership (LOL) means you lack a coordinated approach and systems. You may have strong individuals, but they aren’t functioning as a collective. Singular leaders navigate the weight of their responsibilities isolated, operating in siloes. Trust is inconsistent and resources are not shared optimally.
You may have good intentions, serious work ethic, powerful initiatives or ideas, but they are all inconsistent, or never become fully actualized, or backfire. “Retreats” or group meetings become unsafe or precarious spaces with hit and miss outcomes.
Your people are frustrated at dynamics and inefficiencies (they can see them) but feel they don’t have the power to make change. They sometimes try to make change – or they hunker down and do their best, without being able to be their best. This is demotivating, discouraging, or even demoralizing for them. Some become cynical or overwhelmed. Some leave. This disorganization within the system becomes organizational dysfunctions and disabilities. At the very least it taxes your people with added levels of stress, uncertainty, insecurity, health issues and problems relating to their everyday work life. Nobody wants that.
If there’s no coordinated strategic team (teams) or management systems to update or oversee cultural realities, long-term vision and strategic goals, how can you successfully plan for the future? How could you operationalize goals or actions – even if you had good ideas? You need to invest in the organization’s health.
Most organizations are somewhere between these extremes. Initiating a strategic visioning or planning process can be liberating and exciting or demanding and disorienting for organizations along this spectrum.
Supporting organizations to move from Low Organizational Leadership (LOL) to High Organizational Leadership (HOL) is what Stina calls organizational state-shifting.
With HOL clients, Stina and her Trusted Collaborators can dive right into scoping and designing sessions that focus on the meta conversations, invoke imagination, deepen relationships, and challenge the team to reach for ambitious new vision and inspiring outcomes. This is an active collaboration. You have a coordinated approach coming out of the session – meaning you have what you need to make your vision a reality: the organizational systems to operationalize and implement what you are planning.
With LOL clients, we slow the process down and engage sensitively from the beginning, scoping out what the steps could look like to move the organization toward higher trust and organizational coordination. We investigate with you what the organization’s current reality is: culture, gaps and changes, strengths, opportunities, structures, etc.. We support senior leaders to be their best, build trust, become more fully in their role – able to show up and lead in a way that enables more high functioning relationships, power dynamics and communication with the rest of the organization.
Contact Stina for more information or to explore what possibilities exist in your organization.
Stina Brown 