The Paul E. Magnus Centre for Leadership Studies

Our team is certified to administer the Church Health Assessment Tool (CHAT),  as well as theologically informed Team, Church, and Organizational Thriving Assessments.

We also offer follow up or stand-alone facilitated approaches and individual and team coaching to support personal and organizational thriving.

Our in-person and online interactive leadership development experiences can be adapted for use with student or adult teams and include topics such as:

Blacksmithing: A hands-on activity exploring the crucible of culture building.

Building Blocks of Communication: an in-person experience that highlights important communication strategies.

Brave Women and Girls: Facilitator training for leaders interested in helping girls and women grow in godly self-awareness, confidence,  resilience and voice. Go to bravewomen.ca for more information.

Deep Blue Sea: A fast-paced in-person experience that balances the polarities of planning and adaptability.

Good and Bad Government: Offered in person or online, this experience sets the stage for deep conversation and explores guiding principles of leadership.

Periscope Down: A cat-and-mouse in-person experience with the opportunity to practice strategy development and effective communication.

Round the World Yacht Race: an interactive in-person or online experience showcasing how to build resilient teams.

Shackleton: An in-person or online experience that explores thriving in turbulent times.

I am grateful to Ellen Duffield for leading a very impactful and effective two-day professional development session for my staff team. She facilitates learning through leadership experiences that bring a fresh perspective on critical areas such as communication, organizational health, unity, problem-solving, and adaptability.  —Kevin Thiessen

I have been a teacher/coach for 30 years and have never encountered anyone with Ellen’s skillset. Our students naturally lower their walls and barriers because of her genuine concern for them, which in turn allows her to speak openly and honestly straight to their hearts. Many educators possess knowledge, but very few can communicate the way Ellen can. —Rob Conroy, Cadence

Teams thrive on meaningful co-creation. We offer theologically informed and highly collaborative processes that encourage shared ownership, innovation and organizational alignment.

Many Strategic Plans are designed to deliver one bottom line, often financial. Our process is different. Rooted in God's ideal for humanity, as found in Genesis 1, it offers both a holistic perspective and targeted tools. This proprietary Planning to Thrive (P2T) process empowers your team to identify and build towards well-being across three bottom lines—people, purpose, and products and/ or services.

The Design Thinking process is a fun and powerful pathway to better understanding and, therefore, serving our constituency. This is a replicable and transferrable skill that you will find your team accessing over and over again.

This strategic planning process enabled our board to think theologically and to establish and move toward important targets. —Inscribe