Navigate a leadership gap
Identify the work, records and decisions that need owners after a departure, vacancy or disrupted handover.
Crisis stabilization / in development
A difficult chapter.
A way forward.
When your term takes an unexpected turn, you don’t have to make sense of every moving piece alone.
You stepped into student leadership to contribute. A leadership vacancy, disrupted process or gap in continuity can make that work much harder. This proposed support helps executives, boards and continuing staff organize the situation and identify the next accountable steps.
Recognize something here?
When the unexpected
becomes your responsibility.
You don’t need to have the whole situation figured out before asking for support. Choose a situation to explore how we could work through the next steps with you.
01Executive removed or role vacantExplore this situation +
A removal, resignation or sudden vacancy has left work without a clear owner. We can help you map responsibilities, organize the current records and plan interim continuity with the people authorized to act.
Ask about support →02General manager dismissed or departedExplore this situation +
Your general manager or executive director has been dismissed, resigned or become unavailable. We can help organize the leadership transition, immediate work and handover alongside your existing HR and legal support.
Ask about support →03Suspected fraud or missing fundsExplore this situation +
Spending, missing records or financial irregularities have raised concerns. We can help organize what is known, identify continuity needs and coordinate next steps with the appropriate independent financial and legal specialists. A concern is not a finding.
Ask about support →04Fees or funds withheldExplore this situation +
Expected funding is delayed, restricted or withheld, and essential work is under pressure. We can help clarify the available information, immediate priorities, responsibilities and questions for the people managing the funding relationship.
Ask about support →05Board or team in conflictExplore this situation +
Trust has broken down, meetings keep stalling or people cannot agree how to proceed. We can help clarify roles, prepare a workable process and facilitate conversations toward shared next steps where that fits the situation.
Ask about support →06Election or authority challengedExplore this situation +
An election, meeting or decision is being challenged and the next step is unclear. We can help bring the governing records, disputed questions and continuity tasks together for the responsible decision-makers and advisers.
Ask about support →These are examples of situations, not judgments about an organization or person. General enquiries are welcome; fit, availability and scope need to be confirmed. Please keep the first message general and leave out confidential files or personal case information.
Support we’re developing
Find your footing.
Keep essential work moving.
A difficult situation doesn’t erase the contribution you want to make. The first task may be to understand what needs attention now and who can act.
Clarify the next process
Bring current rules, available records and unanswered questions together for the people responsible for deciding what happens next.
Protect continuity
Give essential tasks and deadlines visible owners while the wider situation is being addressed.
What agreed support could produce
A clearer picture.
A practical next step.
The aim is a usable process and continuity plan, with sources, responsibilities and unresolved questions visible to your team.
- Situation and evidence inventory
- Available records, confirmed facts, competing accounts and missing information. Allegations remain distinct from findings.
- Decision and responsibility log
- Current authority, accountable owners, decisions taken and questions awaiting resolution.
- Process and continuity plan
- Next steps, relevant deadlines, work owners and dependencies requiring clarification.
- Team-owned handover
- What changed, what remains open, where the records live and who carries each part forward.
A proposed engagement sequence
Build stability into the work.
- 01 / UNDERSTAND
Establish the picture
Review agreed records, separate facts from interpretations and identify the next decisions.
- 02 / ORGANIZE
Restore a workable path
Connect priorities and process steps to current authority. Keep decisions and ownership visible as the work proceeds.
- 03 / HAND BACK
Leave the team ready to continue
Prepare a usable continuity record and agree where the engagement ends.
These are proposed phases. Scope, availability, timing and fee would depend on the actual situation and be agreed before work begins.
Working with Matthew
People matter.
So does the process.
I’m Matthew Dunlop. My background in social work and disability studies shapes how I approach people, access, power and organizational change.
I served for two years as Vice-President, Student Advocacy at the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance. I’ve also worked as a consultant to student unions and as a board parliamentarian, supporting how boards meet, participate and make decisions.
I’ve focused my career on helping nonprofit organizations work better. That means making space to understand what people need, bringing research and practical experience into the conversation, and building a path your team can carry forward.
Clear roles matter
Practical support.
Accountable decisions.
The Lab’s proposed role is to help organize evidence, process and continuity. Your organization retains authority over its governance and actions.
This is not an investigation, adjudication, legal representation or emergency service. Legal, HR, financial assurance and safety matters need the relevant accountable professionals; their roles should be clear in any agreed plan.
Crisis stabilization is separately scoped. Membership or a consulting engagement does not establish crisis coverage.
Prepare a useful starting point
Describe the situation.
Keep the case file private.
Begin with the kind of disruption, your role, the next decision and the support already involved.
- 01
Name the immediate job
What continuity task or decision needs attention first?
- 02
Identify the accountable people
Who can approve scope and record access? Which advisers are already involved?
- 03
Confirm fit and capacity
Any engagement would establish whether this support fits, its boundaries and a handover plan.
Prepare a stabilization note
Download a short, non-confidential outline for your own use.
Ask Matthew about stabilization support →
The note tool sends nothing and books nothing. You can email a general enquiry about fit and availability. Services remain in development; this page is not an emergency or monitored crisis channel.
Practical questions
Know what support means.
Does the Lab decide who is at fault?
No. The proposed work organizes records and process. It does not adjudicate a dispute or replace an authorized investigation.
Can we expect immediate help?
No immediate availability or response time is promised. Any future work depends on confirmed fit, capacity and an agreed scope.
What happens when the engagement ends?
The agreed handover would identify decisions, next owners, record locations and unresolved questions. Continuing help would be a separate choice.
Could consulting be a better fit?
If current authority and operating processes are clear and you need help delivering one planned priority, consulting may be the more useful route.
Working on the next chapter of an otherwise stable term?
Explore consulting & implementation →