Insights and Resources
Read through our team's viewpoints, explore our expertise, and tap into value-driven insights designed to help you shape and navigate the future of your organization.
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4 Questions All Board Chairs and CEOs Should Ask Each Other
The best board chair (chair) and chief executive relationships are founded on mutual trust and respect. But at Realize, we know that for some chief executives, this relationship can be a deadweight...
Jenn Fong
June 13, 2023
Our Social Impact: Realize 2021-22 Impact Report
“We bring value to our members, clients, and partners by reinvesting in, engaging, and collaborating with the communities we serve.” 2021/22...
Samantha Lee
February 23, 2023
Realize Employee Experience Survey Insights: What We Learned in 2022
Driving workplace change starts with listening to our people. In early 2022, we heard from 281 employees working at five purpose-driven...
The Value of Taking a People-Centred Change Management Approach
Last updated on March 28, 2024 Every organization goes through change – it is inevitable. In fact, change should be a regular part of every...
Realize is a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp!
We are thrilled to announce that Realize has been named a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp in recognition of our exceptional positive impact in...
Samantha Lee
July 13, 2022
3 Lessons for Leaders on How to Adapt for Hybrid Workplaces
Regardless of one’s own personal feelings on the matter, remote work is here to stay and hybrid work is the future for many remote-capable...
The Problem of Burnout
Last updated on March 28, 2024 Burnout is a popular word that has been used to describe chronic work stress. While it may sound like yet...
Making a Difference: Realize 2020-21 Impact Report
“We believe people are the heartbeat and that culture is foundation of all world-changing organizations.” This is the core principle of the...
Designing Hybrid Workplaces for Human Moments
How might we design a new hybrid workspace that fosters collaborative, innovative, and spontaneous “human moments”? This was the topic we...
Designing A Workspace From a People Lens
Teams worldwide are grappling with what to do with their office space now that we’ve experienced either fully remote work or a hybrid model. You...
Samantha Lee
May 18, 2021
Shared Services: A Solution for BC Non-Profit COVID-19 Recovery
In March, we heard from 84 non-profit leaders across BC to learn about how COVID-19 has impacted them and what their priorities are for recovery in...
Systems Thinking: Big Picture, Win-Win Solutions
Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Systems thinking is a holistic method that helps determine collective actions to solve complex...
Samantha Lee
May 4, 2021
Dear Non-profit Board Member: Are You Harnessing or Hindering Innovation?
Dear Non-profit Board Member, Let me start this letter by thanking you sincerely for agreeing to serve on a non-profit. It’s incredibly...
John Kay
April 27, 2021
Earth Month Challenge: Co-Create A Sustainable Future
Climate change is one of the most pressing problems facing our world today. It affects everyone - from families worrying about their children’s...
Samantha Lee
April 20, 2021
We’re Closing In August
We’re closing down this August. Not permanently – but for the first time in our 22 years of practice, Realize is closing our practice down in...
Samantha Lee
April 13, 2021
Hopes and Fears: Establishing Creative Unity
Many people often feel excited and a bit nervous at the start of a new project. Does everyone's work styles mesh easily together? What are the team...
Samantha Lee
April 6, 2021
5 Ways Coral Reefs Reflect the Employee Experience
Realize Employee Experience Framework™ example I’m pretty sure that when I say “employee experience” your next thought will probably...
Revitalize Your Employee Survey in 6 Easy Steps
Employee surveys. Most organizations do them once a year or even less frequently. Some might call them satisfaction surveys, some might call them...
Celebrating Leadership and Advice That Has Shaped Our Careers
Happy International Women's Day! To celebrate and honour all the women who are changing the world, day by day, we asked our team to share a few...
Harvard Business Review Says Corporate Leaders Should “Stop Softening Tough Feedback.” But What About Non-Profits?
The non-profit sector is critical to the health of our communities. Fierce work is carried out daily in the sector, ranging from poverty...
Alison Marshall
March 5, 2021
How To: Giving and Receiving Negative Feedback
Have you ever struggled with how to approach giving negative feedback to a colleague? Or perhaps felt hurt and deflated when on the receiving end of...
Samantha Lee
February 23, 2021
We Made it to 2021, Now What? Adapting Management Styles for the Post-COVID Reality
For a lot of us, getting to the end of 2020 felt like a relief. But in reality, we’re still far away from getting back to “normal”, including...
User Manuals: A Cheatsheet for Powerful Team Collaboration
Have you ever wished that there was a playbook on how to bring out the best out in your team? What if you had a cheatsheet or "user manual" covering...
Samantha Lee
February 9, 2021
Designing Your Ultimate Competitor Today: What Would They Look Like?
2020 sucked. Let’s just call that out. But the future is still bright and who’s to say that 2021 can’t be our best year yet? To kick things...
Samantha Lee
January 26, 2021
DEI: From Acronym to Action
What's stopping your workplace from taking practical action to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive? This was the topic we dove into...
Samantha Lee
December 10, 2020
10 Months Later: State of the Victoria Workforce
2020 has been a year of massive change and disruption around the world. It’s hard to believe that just shy of 10 months ago, the WHO declared...
Here’s Our Talent Culture and Performance Strategy. What’s Yours?
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.Peter Drucker At Realize, we spend a lot of time thinking about people and culture. We firmly believe that...
John Kay
November 20, 2020
School Reopening Delayed: 5 Ways To Support Working Parents
It’s a tough and confusing time for everyone right now, especially working parents. When the B.C. Ministry of Education announced a full return to...
John Kay
August 26, 2020
Leadership Succession Planning: Securing the Future
“A person who does not worry about the future will shortly have worries about the present.” Ancient Chinese proverb Here is a sobering...
John Kay
July 21, 2020
Being Financially Prepared for the “New Normal”: Back to the Basics
Effective financial management is a vital part of the business recovery process. Primarily, it’s about going back to basics to ensure you have a...
Brad Boyce
June 29, 2020
Re-Solidify Your Culture in the “New Normal”: 3 Ways Employee Empowerment Can Strengthen Culture
As we’re slowly and cautiously starting to reopen and navigate our “new normal”, there are a lot of frank and potentially difficult...
Re-Solidify Your Culture in the “New Normal”: 3 Ways to Bolster Culture Through Purpose
As we’re slowly and cautiously starting to reopen and navigate our “new normal”, there are a lot of frank and potentially difficult...
Compassionate Leadership: Taking Care of People as Humans First, and Employees Second
What is compassionate leadership? According to Harvard Business Review, compassion is the intent to contribute to the happiness and well-being of...
Trends and Best Practices for Supporting Remote Workers During COVID-19 and Beyond
Remote work. Up until very recently, remote work primarily was viewed as an occasional workplace benefit or a trend only really feasible within the...
Samantha Lee
May 12, 2020
Building Culture in Times of Uncertainty
The future is extremely uncertain for many of us right now. As leaders, it’s easy to focus on and worry about the livelihood of the organization...
Samantha Lee
April 21, 2020
Realize and COVID-19: An Open Letter From Our CEO
It is currently a challenging and nebulous time for both the world and Canada, and we want to update everyone to maintain transparency and clarity...
John Kay
March 16, 2020
7 Options for Socially Conscious Procurement in Greater Vancouver
Here at Realize, we’re incredibly passionate about using our procurement practices to support local, socially conscious organizations. Before we...
John Kay
November 4, 2019
Realize Strategies Recognized As A “Best For The World: Overall” B Corp For The Fifth Year In A Row!
Every year with the “Best For The World” honoree list, B Lab recognizes the top 10% of B Corps from around the world who are...
Samantha Lee
September 28, 2019
A Partial History Of The “Social Enterprise”
WAY BACK WHEN… in 1945, Chicago Businessman Walter Paepcke, had a grand vision – he was going to create the new intellectual hub to serve as a...
We’re A Certified Living Wage Employer!
We’re proud and excited to announce that Realize Strategies is now a certified Living Wage Employer! Here at Realize, we take pride in doing...
Samantha Lee
July 12, 2019
Global Alliance For Banking On Values Summit – Reflections
If I had gone to school just fifty years ago, I would have been hard-pressed to pursue my degree in International Relations. Combining Economics...
WEFORSHE Conference: Advancing Equality in Canadian Workplaces
Two-hundred and seventeen. That’s the number of years it would take Canada to reach workplace gender equality continuing at its the current pace...
Social Purchasing Lessons from The Buy Social Canada Summit
Realize CEO John Kay shares his takeaway from the 2017 Buy Social Canada Summit. Every day Canadians make thousands of purchases. Coffee. Paper....
John Kay
December 28, 2017
Is There a Cookie Cutter Template For Good Leadership?
We’ve all read the articles: “Top 10 Traits of a Great Leader” or “5 Qualities All Successful Leaders Share”. These articles invariably...
John Kay
November 28, 2017
BC Budget 2017: Investing in people to build a prosperous BC
Realize Strategies was honoured to participate in BC Budget lock-up on September 11, 2017. We’re pleased that the Province took steps yesterday to...
John Kay
September 28, 2017
Workplace Wellness – A Win for Both Employee and Organizational Health!
Implementing a workplace wellness program is in the best interests of both employers and employees. A workplace wellness program reflects of an...
ANNOUNCEMENT: We’ve just gained certification as a B Corporation!
For those who don’t know what a B Corporation is, they are organizations certified by the non-profit organization B Lab, to meet rigorous...
John Kay
January 28, 2015
7 Signs of A Healthy Organization
In our many years of working with purpose-driven organizations of all sizes and across multiple sectors, we’ve learned that some organizations...