Start here
Welcome
If you want to explore new ways of working, leading, and supporting others during a time of sector upheaval, this is your starting point.
Here you'll find resources, mindsets, and stories that help you reconnect with your strengths and navigate your next chapter with confidence.
1. Read
Familiarize yourself with key concepts
2. Listen
Tune in to the Embodying Change podcast
3. Follow
Stay connected
4. Join
Sign up for our mailing list
Definitions
for the purposes of this work
- Adaptive leadership: Navigating uncertainty with curiosity, creativity, and courage.
- Embodying change: A process of aligning actions and behaviors with the values of compassion, accountability, equity, and solidarity to create meaningful change.
- Organizational culture: The unwritten rules and norms that define how things “really” get done within an organization.
- Peer support: A structured way for people facing similar challenges to help each other think, grow, and adapt.
- Power: The ability to influence others' behavior and decisions. (Hint, we're going for more "power within" and "power with", rather than "power over.")
- Regenerative Humanitarian: Someone who contributes to human or planetary well-being while also replenishing their own capacity, clarity, and connection.
- Solidarity: Values-aligned support that honors equity, accountability, and collective care — not self-sacrifice.
- Well-being: Feeling good and functioning well in both personal and professional contexts.
- Wintering (sectoral): A period of contraction, pause, or restructuring that requires rest, reorientation, and new strategies.
Reports
Here are four reports written in collaboration
with CHS Alliance and ICVA and co-authored in various combinations by Melissa Pitotti, Mary Ann Clements, Rachel Velasco Jacquot and Nathalie Gons.
Introduces a concept of well-being through the lenses of mental health, people management, and organizational culture.
Suggests 10 practices for effective leadership, complete with examples and case studies.
Offers 5 essential questions for boards, accompanied by a fictional scenario based on real-life incidents.
Provides a 4-stage path towards values-aligned, trust-based solidarity.
Podcast
Tune in to the Embodying Change podcast for inspiring stories and insights.
Subscribe at:
wherever you get your podcasts!
Popular Episodes:
- Episode 32: “A Victim/Survivor Approach” with Sabrina Prioli
- Episode 27: “Everyone Needs a Safe Space to Flourish” with Oge Chukwudozie
- Episode 31: “Mental Health at Work” with Dr. Aiysha Malik
Follow Melissa on LinkedIn here for regular updates, insights, and community engagement.
Don’t forget to share with your network!
Join
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Why wait? Your next step starts here.
Connect with women who understand your struggles, explore practical tools for well-being, and contribute to a future where the humanitarian workforce thrives.
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