Raelene Bergen

Raelene Bergen Indigenous Advisor: Accelerating Community Energy Transformation at University of Victoria. Citizen Manitoba Metis Federation. www.originlc.com

Lead Advisor Origin Leadership, guiding national and international initiatives focused on relational integrity. Business owner, Graduate degree in Leadership Studies, and certified in Strategic Intervention coaching. I have worked diligently with executives, coaches, authors, businesses and individuals who have decided to make significant changes and are ready to implement real strategies to “get out of their own way” and THRIVE.

Matriarchal spaces do not fear friction. They expect it.We need to stop trying to smooth out every rough edge in the nam...
08/12/2026

Matriarchal spaces do not fear friction. They expect it.

We need to stop trying to smooth out every rough edge in the name of alignment. That friction is not a sign that things are breaking down. It is the sparks catching, and it is the only way a group actually creates anything real.

My latest journal entry, Why Are We So Obsessed With Alignment?, is live. https://thebraidedleader.substack.com/

Nothing alive is perfectly smooth. River stones only become round because they crash against each other in the current. ...
08/11/2026

Nothing alive is perfectly smooth. River stones only become round because they crash against each other in the current. Fire only catches because of the rough friction of wood.

Matriarchal spaces do not fear friction. They expect it. When we gather a council, we aren't looking for a chorus of polite agreement. We are looking for the sparks that happen when different perspectives rub against each other.

That friction isn't a sign of failure. It is the only way a group actually creates anything real.

My latest journal entry, Why Are We So Obsessed With Alignment?, is live. https://thebraidedleader.substack.com/

My real question is, why do we all have to be aligned to professionally do our jobs and be kind to one another while doi...
08/09/2026

My real question is, why do we all have to be aligned to professionally do our jobs and be kind to one another while doing so?

Sometimes friction is needed. River rock doesn’t become smooth without it. A fire cannot start without it. The reality is, change cannot happen without it.

So why do we avoid it at all costs?

Read the full piece on The Braided Leader at the link below.
https://thebraidedleader.substack.com/

"We weren’t just taught leadership frameworks in university. We were taught a specific, transactional worldview."Looking...
08/05/2026

"We weren’t just taught leadership frameworks in university. We were taught a specific, transactional worldview."
Looking back at your own training or early career, what was the biggest unlearning you had to do when you realized the corporate textbooks didn't match real life?

What does moving from the pyramid to the circle actually look like in practice? https://thebraidedleader.substack.com/

I spent two years getting a master’s degree in leadership studies. We dissected case studies, analyzed corporate hierarc...
08/03/2026

I spent two years getting a master’s degree in leadership studies. We dissected case studies, analyzed corporate hierarchies, and memorized every modern framework on the books.

Guess what we talked about zero times?
Matriarchal leadership.

Traditional academia teaches leadership as a system of control, transaction, or vision projection. It treats leading like a performance; a set of tactics to implement so you can keep a system running fast.

This past week, sitting in a circle with First Nations and Métis elders, I was reminded of what those textbooks completely missed. Real matriarchal leadership isn't about flipping the old hierarchy on its head. It’s about caring for the ecosystem so everyone can thrive. It replaces the executive at the top of the pyramid with someone sitting in the center of a circle.

My latest piece, What University Forgot to Teach Us About Leadership, is live on Substack now. https://thebraidedleader.substack.com/

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