Hi! I want to tell you about something that happened last week that reinforced why I do this work the way I do (and how I accomplish my work as well). A client needed board training. Not the cookie-cutter, here's-your-binder-good-luck variety. Real training, as in: How do we run an annual review process for our executive director? We need to learn how to read financials without glazing over! What's our actual role in fundraising? How do we onboard new members so they don't spend a year...
20 days ago • 1 min read
You probably use the word "stakeholder" dozens of times a week. In proposals, meetings, strategic plans. It feels neutral, professional, standard. It's not. The term comes from literally driving stakes into land to claim it—to forcibly mark indigenous territory as someone else's property. Every time we use it casually in our sector, we're invoking the language of dispossession. I just released a podcast episode with Austen Smith and Julie McFarland diving into why this matters and what to do...
22 days ago • 1 min read
I recently published an article on board succession planning in Community Association Institute's Common Ground magazine's November/December edition. The article was written specifically for homeowners associations and community association boards—the volunteer leaders who govern neighborhoods, condos, and planned communities. But like so many other topics, there is nothing in that article for community association boards that departs from the advice I'd give to nonprofit board members. The...
29 days ago • 6 min read
This week's Leaving Well podcast features Katya Fels Smyth, who just did what most nonprofit leaders think is impossible: she wound down the Full Frame Initiative after 15 years — proactively, with integrity, and in partnership with her community. Not because she had to, but because staying wasn't serving the mission anymore. Who gets to decide they're leaving? What are the implications? Who's left holding the bag? These aren't just operational questions. They're power and justice questions....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Let's talk about the question your board isn't asking out loud: Is it time for our ED/CEO to leave? Not because they're failing. Not because they're old. But because the organization likely needs something different than what they can deliver right now, or needs to prepare for when that time comes. New McKinsey research on 200 top CEOs found that leaders in their final stage—"Winter"—have predictable blind spots. The most critical one: recognizing when to leave is a leadership competency, and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
After four seasons and nearly 100 episodes, I'm closing the Leaving Well Podcast. Not because the work is done—far from it. But seasons end, and practicing what I preach means leaving while there's still intention and love for the work. The final Season 4 episodes will release over the coming months. But first, I want to share what this journey taught me—and what it means for your organization's next transition. What 100 Leaders Taught Me When I launched in September 2023, I knew nonprofits...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
This podcast conversation with Kate Harris landed differently than most. Kate runs KHG Nonprofit Strategy and has spent years doing work that most of us avoid: mergers, dissolutions, and what she calls "structural change." Not because organizations are failing, but because structure is the vehicle—not the destination. Here's what stuck with me: Your mission is your destination. Structure is just the vehicle getting you there. Most nonprofits pick a vehicle and never reassess whether it still...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
*We are continuing our experiment with a longer form email structure. Less quick + easy, more deep + thoughtful." Would love to hear your thoughts! You're reading this because you know the power of transitions. Maybe you're an ED planning your exit, a board member preparing for leadership change, or a funder watching organizations navigate the uncertainty of what comes next. Today's conversation is about something we rarely discuss: how to give everything to work you know will end. My guest,...
3 months ago • 4 min read
*We are experimenting with a longer form email structure. Less quick + easy, more deep + thoughtful." Would love to hear your thoughts! I just finished a podcast conversation about sabbaticals with Alexander Lapa, and he said something that stuck: "I always had the perception of sabbatical as being a one-time thing, but I just realized there's no actual limit to it." That moment of recognition? It's exactly what needs to happen in boardrooms across the nonprofit sector. Let's Address the...
3 months ago • 4 min read