Leading Beyond Resilience with Tonia Wellons + Part 2: Key Takeaways

Tonia Wellons became president and CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation thirty days before COVID-19 shut down the world — and her first major move was to build a ten-year strategic framework.

Not because the future was predictable. Because it wasn't. A plan, she understood, is not a forecast. It is a fixed point, and fixed points are most valuable when everything else is in motion.

Six years later, 100% of her staff report clarity on the organization's mission; six years earlier, that number was 39%. The lesson Carrie draws from Tonia's leadership runs deeper than planning: resilience is not a reserve you stockpile — it lives in the relationships you build, in the honest conversations between funders and partners that no grant agreement can manufacture. And holding steady, Tonia proves, is not the same as standing still.

In this week's reflection, Carrie revisits three lessons from her conversation with Tonia that every leader navigating sustained uncertainty needs to hear. Learn more about the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward

What is Mission Forward with Carrie Fox?

Mission Forward with Carrie Fox

Hosted by social impact expert and B Corp leader Carrie Fox, the Mission Forward podcast explores what it really takes to move a mission forward in today’s society.

With her signature blend of heart and head, Carrie sits down with some of the world’s most-admired purpose driven leaders to dig into issues you’re experiencing right now: from how to navigate difficult issues, how to lead through uncertainty and how to tackle tough conversations with courage and care. With guests ranging from Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, purpose-driven CEOs, storytelling and fundraising experts, and people in the driver’s seat of social change, this show will inspire and activate you as a mission-moving leader, too.

* About the Host (https://www.missionforward.us/about-carrie)
* Listen to Past Episodes (https://www.missionforward.us/episodes)