We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits · We Are For Good

679. Shift 9 — Trust Is The Work Now - Abby Falik

·30 min·1 clip

Abby says leaders need to "call it as we see it" instead of performing certainty.

1. We Are For Good Podcast centers this January 2026 conversation on "trust is the work now" for nonprofit leaders. 2. Abby Falik, co-founder and CEO of the Flight School, joins as a guest whose work on leadership pathways gives her a direct stake in the topic. 3. The episode asks what trust means when institutions are questioned, tech moves faster than people can process, and communities demand transparency. 4. Abby says trust needs "new language, new metaphors, new practices" because it has frayed across relationships with self, community, and the natural world. 5. She describes "the speed of trust" as "infinite" when relations are trustworthy, and says trust is either there or not. 6. Abby links her own shift to the Enneagram, saying she sees her "three" as a striving achiever and now asks what she is ambitious for. 7. She reframes ambition as becoming more worthy of her own trust and others' trust for the sake of her kids and Flight School students. 8. Abby says the world is "running on very outdated systems and structures" while change accelerates in ways people cannot fully grasp. 9. She uses the Zen line "the bad news is we are all falling and the good news is there is no ground" to describe the uncertainty of the moment. 10. Abby compares transition to swinging on monkey bars, where letting go of one bar creates momentum toward the next one. 11. She says risk-taking, trust, and not knowing are entwined muscles that require practice. 12. Abby argues that being outside comfort zones reveals whether something feels right or only sounds right. 13. She names "grant reports that ask me for false certainties" and five-year strategic plans as examples of what does not feel trustworthy. 14. Abby criticizes systems that value polish and performance over presence and authenticity, including fear-based schools and credential-first thinking. 15. She says leaders should "call it as we see it" and stop wasting energy pretending things are true when they are not. 16. Abby names three Flight School shifts: animation, co-creation, and liberation, each framed as movement from fear toward flourishing. 17. The conversation stays calm and reflective, with Becky drawing Abby into concrete examples from nonprofits, parenting, and leadership. 18. The format moves between personal reflection, organizational critique, and practical advice, with frequent references to the Flight School curriculum. 19. Listeners working in nonprofits, leadership, or youth formation will get the most from it. 20. People wanting quick tactics without reflection may want to skip it.

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