From Distress to Direction: Leading with Assets
Just hours before the federal government shut down, I was facilitating a strategic planning retreat with a client board. The shutdown was on people’s minds, but what struck me was the perspective in the room: the political landscape will always be shifting. For this group, they framed their responsibility as: moving forward by leaning into or building upon what they already have.
The conversation wasn’t easy. There was healthy tension as the board named tradeoffs. They acknowledged the work their priorities would create for staff and for themselves. They deliberated where risks were worth taking. But by the end, everyone, including me as the facilitator, left energized. The room had a kind of healing quality. Not because the challenges disappeared, but because the group centered their discussion on strengths and claimed agency in the choices ahead.
Nonprofit teams know the need for healing firsthand. Staff burnout, funding uncertainty, community crises, and the relentless weight of serving in strained systems can fray even the strongest organizations. Healing isn’t abstract here. Sometimes boards and staff need space to reset, to remember what they already carry, and to rebuild the trust and energy that constant stress erodes.
That’s the soft power of intellectual capital. Naming your assets — human, structural, and network — isn’t just an accounting exercise. It’s a stabilizer in uncertain times. It reminds you that you’re not starting from scratch, even in times of distress. You have resources to draw on, and that awareness itself is restorative.
From there comes agency. Agency is what turns awareness into choice, and choice is how organizations move toward healing. In times of distress, assets become a kind of compass. They help leaders discern what’s possible and what’s prudent.
Assets remind you that not every opportunity must be pursued. That, sometimes, healing means protecting capacity and focusing energy where it matters most. They show that the right partners can carry you farther than you could on your own, turning isolation into collaboration. And they reinforce that credibility built over years is itself a resource, one that allows an organization to speak with authority and lead even in turbulent times.
Seen this way, intellectual capital isn’t abstract. It’s the grounding that transforms distress into direction.
Healing, in an organizational sense, isn’t about glossing over difficulty. It’s about re-centering on what’s strong and generative so that decisions, even hard ones, come from a grounded place. When that happens, a boardroom can hold both tension and renewal at the same time.
A Team Reflection Exercise
Organizational healing doesn’t stop with leadership. Teams also need practices that remind them of their shared assets. At your next board or staff meeting, ask each person to name one organizational strength that makes them feel steadier right now. Write them up on a flip chart or shared document so everyone can see the list take shape.
Then guide a short conversation around two questions:
- Which of these strengths do we forget to lean on when things get hard?
- How might we use them more intentionally as we navigate what’s ahead?
This isn’t just a morale boost. It shifts the focus from what’s missing to what’s present, and it reinforces that the future isn’t dictated solely by outside forces. It’s shaped by how you recognize and use the assets you already hold. That’s where healing — and momentum — begins.
Reflection for Leaders
As a leader, notice how your mindset shapes what you see. In moments of stress, do you default to a scarcity lens — focusing only on what’s missing, what’s broken, or what could go wrong? Or can you hold a growth lens that names what’s present, what’s strong, and what can be built upon?
The difference is subtle but profound. A fixed, scarcity mindset narrows options and drains energy. A growth-oriented mindset opens the door to assets, choices, and momentum. Leading you team through stress and supporting healing begins with which lens you choose.
