Why the World Needs Catalytic Leaders

A catalyst, in its simplest definition, is something that sparks or accelerates significant change without being consumed in the process. In chemistry, a catalyst quickens the reaction. In leadership, a catalytic leader accelerates progress - turning stuck systems, stagnant organizations, or scattered teams into something vibrant and alive.

For me, one of those catalytic leaders has been Tom Dee.

Tom is the outgoing CEO and President of our local, regional hospital. Over the years, he has been a mentor, a colleague, and a friend. I’ve watched him lead with a style that is both humble and inspiring - someone who never chases the spotlight but commands respect simply by the way he thinks and acts. In community meetings, I’ve seen him move an entire room by naming the challenge and then offering a simple, strategic frame: “Let’s put these into compartmentalized boxes and tackle each one separately.” Tom’s clarity brings order where others see only complexity. His humility gives space for others to step in. His strategic mind pushes organizations and communities toward bold futures.

I admire Tom deeply - not just for what he has accomplished, but for how he has done it.

This past week, at “my other job,” I had the chance to host a Chamber Telecast conversation with him as he prepares to close out his 15 year tenure at the helm of our hospital (45 year career).

What Tom has done here in Southwestern Vermont is extraordinary. Under his leadership, this modest regional hospital became an award-winning institution, now merging with Dartmouth Hitchcock. He raised hundreds of millions to advance rural medicine. But what stands out most, in my mind, is what he did beyond the hospital walls.

Tom understood a truth that many leaders miss: to attract the best doctors, nurses, and administrators, you can’t just build a great hospital - you have to build a great community. 

Under Tom’s leadership, the hospital launched an innovative housing initiative called “Healthy Homes For Bennington.” The hospital purchased derelict homes, renovated them, and sold them at a discount to first-time homeowners, with preference given to employees. The goal was to support community development, tackle population health challenges, and retain staff. The hospital expected to lose $20,000–$25,000 per house - yet viewed it as both a social investment and a strategic retention tool.

Perhaps more boldly, Tom led the charge, through a coalition of institutional leaders called the Bennington Redevelopment Group, to purchase and transform the Putnam Block - a forgotten stretch of downtown - into a hub of condos, cafés, restaurants, and small businesses. That one catalytic act, the renewal of a single block, sparked an economic and cultural ripple effect that continues today. 

Tom is, in every sense of the word, a catalytic leader.

The Power of Catalytic Leadership

In 2014, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives launched the Horizon Initiative, a foresight study to identify the forces shaping communities over the next decade. Of all the trends they named, one stood tallest: catalytic leadership.

Why? Because it’s the stimulant that makes all the other forces move. Catalytic leadership is the combined effect of powerful, influential leaders willing to step out of their silos and create momentum together. It is the most predictable solution to big challenges.

Successful organizations, projects, and initiatives of the future will require at least a handful of leaders who exhibit these traits: staggering levels of focus, commitment to excellence, fiery passion, persistence and humble understanding that only the power of a team can yield success.

Catalytic leaders don’t just ask, What will we do? They ask, What will we become?

Their vision isn’t transactional - it’s transformational. They don’t wait for permission. They test the adaptability of their organizations and communities, pushing boundaries. And when they succeed, they give others permission to act too.

I’ve seen it in my own town. When Tom Dee, college presidents, entrepreneurs, bank leaders, elected officials, and nonprofit directors came together to transform one downtown block, the impact didn’t stop there. Within a few years, breweries, markets, small businesses, and residential projects cropped up around it. Alone, none of these business owners would have taken the leap. Together, inspired by catalytic leadership, they did.

That’s the pattern: catalytic leadership sparks action in others. It lowers the perceived risk, raises the collective energy, and makes the improbable suddenly possible.

We are entering a moment where the “tyranny of the urgent” - world crises, market disruptions, global shifts, polarization, TikTok - threaten to crowd out the work of transformation. It would be easy to retreat to our silos, to protect our turf, to manage rather than lead.

But what the world needs now, more than ever, are leaders who act as catalysts. Leaders who can convene across divides, take the first bold step, and give others permission to follow. Leaders who turn a single downtown block into a story of renewal. Leaders who see communities not just for what they are, but for what they can become.

Because leadership that merely manages preserves what is.

Catalytic leadership creates what’s next.