The close of a strategic planning process often feels like crossing a finish line. In reality, it’s the starting line for what comes next. A good plan gives direction. But direction alone doesn’t build capacity, communicate value, or sustain momentum. Those next steps depend on how well an organization can see, name, and use its […]

In nearly every nonprofit boardroom or coaching conversation, financial constraint is the first—and often only—frame for decision-making. “Can we afford it?” becomes shorthand for “Should we do it?” Whether it’s adding a staff position, launching a new initiative, or investing in technology, the conversation tightens around dollars and decimals. It’s understandable. Money feels measurable. It […]

Life is not quiet where I live. Between roadwork, utility crews, and the occasional roofing project nearby, there’s often a steady hum of noise in the background of my home office. Some days it’s manageable. Other days, I can feel the interruptions fracturing my focus before I even sit down to work. The same thing […]

When you hear the phrase organizational health in a nonprofit context, what comes to mind first? For many leaders, it’s the budget: balanced books, strong reserves, maybe a clean audit. But those are just one part of the picture. Real organizational health runs deeper—into the energy, relationships, and systems that allow your mission to endure. […]

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 […]

When we think about intellectual capital in nonprofits, it can be tempting to assign it to the realm of the rational: systems, knowledge, expertise, processes. Yet if we stop there, we miss the vital current that makes intellectual capital come alive. Intellectual capital is neither sterile nor static. It is embodied in people, relationships, and […]

When you think about sustainability, you probably think about money: how to raise more of it, diversify where it comes from, and make it last. But your organization’s sustainability also depends on something less visible and just as powerful: your ability to build agency inside your team. That agency grows out of intellectual capital—the collective […]

Growth is one of those words that everyone nods along to as a goal. It sounds obvious—who wouldn’t want their organization, team, or self to grow? But in my work with nonprofits, I find that when a board or leadership team says, “we should grow,” the real work begins. Growth is not a single destination. […]

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 […]

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 […]