These are notes from the inside — of leadership, of change, of staying whole in the face of systems that often ask us not to be. The Olive Pages is where care and clarity meet, one reflection at a time.
The Olive Pages
Fieldnotes on care, clarity and staying whole.
When You No Longer Recognize Yourself Inside the Work
We often use the language of burnout when work becomes heavy. Sometimes that is right. But sometimes the experience feels different. This reflection explores moral injury, grief, identity, and the experience of no longer fully recognizing yourself inside work you still care deeply about.
“I wonder how many people are carrying grief for versions of themselves they lost at work without realizing that is what they are mourning.”
Trauma-Informed Organizations: Culture, Systems & the Future of Staff Well-being
Humanitarian organizations don’t become trauma-informed through slogans, policies, or campaigns. They become trauma-informed through how people experience the system…in decisions, communication, change processes, and the way leaders handle the hard moments. This post explores what a trauma-informed organization feels like and why system care, not individual resilience, must shape the future of staff well-being in a sector already carrying so much.
“Trauma-informed systems don’t erase the difficulty of humanitarian work, they simply refuse to become another source of harm.”
Grief, Loss, and the Human Cost of Change
Beyond strategy and timelines lies an often-unspoken reality: loss. This article brings forward the quieter, more personal dimensions of organizational transformation.
“Grief is what happens when we lose something that mattered, even if no one else noticed.”