It was garbage pickup today. Usually, it’s a pretty ordinary chore in my house. This week, though, we let go of a futon that my husband had been gifted from a friend when he was very, very broke. It symbolized the relationship. It memorialized a specific part of his life. There was definitely a struggle […]

In nonprofit leadership, the demands are constant: delivering on today’s programs, building toward tomorrow’s vision, and sustaining the organization through shifting external conditions. Finding the right fuel for yourself—and for your team—is a tough balancing act. Every leader carries a spark that burns brightest. For some, it’s deep subject-matter expertise and confidence in getting things […]

Nonprofit leadership is a role of constant decision-making. Decision fatigue is real. The fear of making a bad decision is real. And the overwhelm of being expected to know what to do—and how to do it—day after day is draining. Even when we show up with energy, joy, and hopefulness, decisions can wear us down. […]

I came to work this morning with the word hope on my mind. Talk about an intangible! Let’s play with the word and how it has meaning for leaders—not only as a personal disposition but also as an asset that can be developed and shared across a team. I’ve taken emotional intelligence tests before, though […]

Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash When I sat down to write this morning, the word that came to mind was: centering. Immediately, I was anything but centered. My mind split in two directions—do I write about centering from the emotional intelligence perspective, or about centering the intangible assets of an organization? Maybe that confusion […]

Trust is showing up all around my work in a very active and acknowledged way. People want and need trust. People build relationships. So, if your organization wants to be in partnership, collaboration, networks, or collective impact work with other organizations you’re going to have to work on your ability to trust others, to earn trust, and to foster trust.

I had a lot of new questions after analyzing the survey data. I wouldn’t be able to answer them quickly, so I spent some time thinking about how my experience as a manager in the nonprofit sector could help me chip away at big questions. I had staffed committees of the board for every organization […]

I was a fundraiser for 15 years. The implications of my survey’s findings on who funds, owns, and benefits from intellectual property created by nonprofits was always lingering in the back of my mind. Fundraising is not a new activity or new profession. I remember one of my grad school professors showing us a direct […]

After the analysis of the survey responses was complete, I found myself in a similar state of curiosity that I’d been in before the survey. There were more questions about intellectual property, management, and strategy that hadn’t been answered. Some of these questions for the basis of my ongoing study and work as a consultant. […]

Today’s survey data is all about whether nonprofits leverage their intellectual property assets to secure investments, like grants or donations. I don’t know of a single nonprofit that couldn’t use more. More money, that is. Money, as one type of asset accomplishes one critical thing: buying resources (talent, supplies, awareness) that enables achieving organizational objectives. […]