Meet Angela Wiggins

ANGELA’S JOURNEY

As a leader, Angela has always wanted more to give. During her first career spent leading in design and marketing, she often felt like something was missing. She devoured book after book looking for answers (there was no Brené Brown, no Adam Grant yet). What she ultimately found is that the ability to lead others from a place of integrity — from a truly human place — was inside her all along.

So wait, where did it come from?

It had been passed along by her dad, who fought for worker’s rights in the Boilermakers Union. And her mom, who taught Angela the ins and outs of finance. It was demonstrated by her aunt, who lost her husband to a fatal car crash and then stepped up to continue leading their family business. It was modeled by her granny, who raised six kids and got her GED at age 67. It was built by her grandpa, an inventor who employed individuals previously incarcerated at his corner garage. It was instilled by her great-grandmother to be close to nature and stay curious about the natural world.

Leadership wasn’t in a book, or sitting in a corner office somewhere taking appointments. It had always been in plain sight. The tools to lead were already in Angela’s possession. What she needed was practice using them. This epiphany was a nudge that changed everything.

Knowing this, Angela still wanted more. It was a coach who helped her uncover a new path forward. Angela realized that tackling big issues meant working like everyone is on the same team. She returned to school to study community development and is now ten years deep, putting her work into practice — in leadership coaching and collaborative design.

This brings us back to clay.

Angela empowers everyone she works with to stay curious and become more resilient. To know that, even if they break, it’s always possible to take a step back and consider what the pieces hold. To uncover what’s already there, waiting to be put to use in making the world a better place.

When she’s not coaching or creating, Angela loves on her two rescued greyhounds, her one husband, and fills her own cup with nature walks, Pilates, and plenty of live comedy.

If you’re ready to practice using the tools of good leadership, here’s your nudge.