UPCOMING: Awakening Conscious Leadership 101  | October 19th, 2023 9:00am - 11:00am MDT

THRIVERS: Nonprofit Leadership for the Next Normal

This is a podcast for nonprofit leaders. Why?

The landscape has never been more challenging. Lots of noise competing for revenue. Staff turnover is at an all-time high. Burnout is real.

Many leaders are trying to do everything by themselves. The truth is you’re not meant to do it alone.

Welcome to THRIVERS. This is a community of nonprofits leaders sharing the best ideas, cheering each other on in their wins, and innovating in a rapidly changing world.

Get nonprofit leadership insights right here online or on your favorite podcast player.

Operationalizing Your Goals: Connecting Strategy and Activity

Ever wondered how to transform grand strategic visions into concrete tasks for your team? Or how a strategic plan should play a part in the day-to-day? The hard part isn’t setting these objectives (okay, maybe a little). It’s in the journey from idea to implementation and not getting lost along the way. In this episode […]
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Breaking the “Accountability” Stigma

What do you think of when you hear the word, “accountability”? For most people, it immediately brings to mind all the negative aspects of accountability, namely being held responsible for a mistake. This limited view of the word creates a tension between holding folks "accountable" and allowing them to learn. What if this understanding of […]
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Drawing Out (and Leaning Into) the Best of Your Board

Have you ever struggled with striking the right balance with your board's involvement in your mission? Encouraging your board to maintain their strategic focus, without veering into operational territories, or dictating the “how”, can be difficult to navigate The truth is that nonprofits are at their best when leaders can draw out and lean into […]
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Fallibility on Display

"Do I acknowledge, and even allow others to witness, my own mistakes?" The fear of revealing our fallibility hinders our personal growth and the development of a genuine learning culture. We buy into the lie that as leaders we have to have it all together for the sake of our teams. This fear can form […]
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Navigating Uncertainty More Effectively with Nisha Anand

"How do I steer my nonprofit through the uncertainty?" Nonprofit leadership often resembles navigating through uncharted territories. With shifting power dynamics, potential declines in philanthropy, and a persistent undercurrent of uncertainty, leaders grapple with a myriad of challenges while striving to keep their mission afloat. In this episode of THRIVERS, Tucker Wannamaker engages in a […]
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The Role of Dissent in a Learning Organization

“Do I make room for dissent in my organization?” As leaders, we tend to equate harmony and collaboration with being a positive learning environment. In reality, the ability to disagree without fear of repercussion is often a stronger indicator of the health of our teams. As nonprofit leaders, how can we cultivate an environment of […]
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Should You Invest More In Leaders & Less In Programs? A Conversation with Jason Janz

The demands of leadership in the nonprofit sector are overwhelming right now.  The need to scale, serve, and make real impact can all too easily lead to neglecting personal wellbeing.  Oftentimes we seem to be faced with the difficult decision of choosing between investing in program development or investing in our staff. It’s time to […]
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Hard Choices, High Impact: Navigating Nonprofit Financial Viability

Are your nonprofit’s programs financially viable?  Are they delivering the desired outcomes?  Is it even possible to find a balance? Sometimes it feels like nonprofit leaders are jugglers, trying to keep multiple balls in the air at the same time. The truth is, they often are. Juggling the financial viability of programs while also striving […]
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Neck-Down Learning: How To Lead Well From Within

“We don't need more knowledge, we need more learning." - Tucker Wannamaker As nonprofit leaders, we're deeply committed to our communities and the causes we serve.  Unfortunately, the demands of our roles often leave us with little time for deep introspection and self-care.  The journey to effective leadership begins with leading ourselves. So how can […]
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When Willpower Isn’t Enough: Cultivating Personal Growth

“When we choose growth over perfection, we immediately increase our shame resilience.” - Brené Brown As nonprofit leaders, we know that personal growth is a key ingredient to being able to serve our communities well.  Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to let guilt and shame drive us away from achieving that growth. So how can […]
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From Charity to Change: Mastering Effective Program Evaluation

How can you ensure your nonprofit is genuinely creating positive change rather than unintentionally causing harm?  Nonprofit leaders should aim to “do no harm”, and evaluating programs is a crucial step in ensuring that nonprofits are making a positive impact instead of causing unintended negative consequences.Unfortunately, it can be challenging to evaluate your programs effectively, […]
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Are We Speaking The Same (Organizational) Language?

Do you find it challenging to streamline communication within your organization? Do your team members have different perspectives on how information should flow? It might be time to establish a shared language and approach for communication. After all, everything that takes place within an organization can be traced back to the countless conversations you and […]
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