Impact-Driven Leadership Insights

Explore articles and insights written specifically for Impact-Driven Leaders.

From Reactivity to Resilience: Embracing Challenges in Partnership

I sat at the table, bracing myself for the conversation ahead. I had been mulling this over in my mind for weeks—how to best engage in a topic that I’ve realized I get triggered by—Roles. What is it about Roles that is so intimidating? Why does my nervous system ramp up into a state of […]

March 18, 2025

Reframing the Mess: A Lesson in Grace, Growth, and Letting Go

I stood, glancing around the room, noticing all of the unfinished things on the “list” that my child was to do when picking up the room he had been asked to clean. I identified a couple of things that had been moved around and put into different places, but even those were done hastily and […]

March 5, 2025

Taking Extreme Ownership: Turning Triggers into Transformation

Why is it so easy to feel that when I have not been triggered by a wound for a while, it has somehow resolved itself—only to feel blindsided when that wound rears up again? Healing doesn’t work that way, as much as I wish it did. The phrase “time heals all wounds” falls wholly short […]

February 26, 2025

Between Stimulus and Response: Harnessing the Power of the Pause

“Why don’t we pause? Fear of judgment?” This was a question that was brought forward in our most recent workshop on leadership. Sixty-eight nonprofit leaders from around the Midwest gathered to learn ways to grow into integrated leaders and engage with their teams in more co-creative ways to combat the ever-pervasive issue of burnout. Many […]

February 4, 2025

The Courage to Be Authentic: A Journey Toward Wholeness in Leadership

Being a whole human means embracing the courage to show up as our authentic, complex, and unique selves in every aspect of life. It’s a journey of vulnerability, self-awareness, and conscious leadership—one that impacts not only our well-being but also the environments we create for others. What if, by stepping beyond the facade and embracing authenticity, we unlock connection, growth, and joy in ourselves and those around us?

January 22, 2025

Restorative Conversations vs. Letting Employees Go: Which Path to Take?

I don’t know how to reconcile something… It’s been said that for employees, wisdom is to “hire slow; fire fast”. But is that wisdom helpful? I just experienced a conversation between my teenage son, his boss, and his boss’ boss (I have multiple sons, so I hope this helps with anonymity). My son and his […]

May 31, 2024

From Asset-size to Impact-size: What I learned about the future of Community Foundations from facilitating a CEO retreat

“We must change the language of how we describe ourselves to fit why we’re here.” These words were spoken to me by Simeon Banister, the CEO of the Rochester Area Community Foundation. We recently facilitated a series of impact-driven leadership workshops for CEOs of community foundations from across the country at the CEONet spring retreat. […]

April 29, 2024

Leading Like a Maestro: Focusing on ‘Who’ Not ‘How’

“Tucker, every time we talk about revenue your energy plummets…” That’s what Aaron Cohen, my coach and now our Chief Growth Officer at THRIVE IMPACT, said to me early last year. Realization came crashing in all at once. I had created a system around me where I was the one accountable and responsible for everything […]

March 29, 2024

Clarity & Kindness

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” This is my favorite quote of Brene Brown’s because it is SO true. Within that quote, the best part is the second sentence. Why? Because often, we fail to realize the harmful consequences of not being honest with ourselves or others. But if you’ve ever been on the end […]

February 28, 2024

The THRIVERS Manifesto v2

We feel the speed and complexity of change forcing a shift in our communities and teams in our work with impact-driven organizations every day. We see firsthand that traditional leadership models no longer suffice. They’re growing more irrelevant as every day goes by and in fact are often hurting the most important part of our […]

February 28, 2024

The Inner Workings of Creating Alignment

This month, we at THRIVE IMPACT facilitated a workshop for a well-known community foundation. The goal seemed simple: to help staff and board align on what had been accomplished last year and invite folks to imagine the future. Of course, nothing is simple, particularly when an organization is large and a lot is going on, […]

January 31, 2024

The Imperative of Rest for Impact-Driven Leaders: Insights from Professional Athletes

Professional athletes’ training regimens require the balance between performance and recovery, otherwise injury becomes much more prevalent. Recovery periods are vital for the body to rest, rejuvenate, and repair. As Lebron James’ trainer says, “We keep recovery as our number one focus.” While it seems to make sense for these professionals, why has this concept […]