Mission: Impact podcast & blog
Build a better world without becoming a martyr to your nonprofit cause
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Progress over perfection, slowing down and joy - Envisioning a more humane nonprofit sector - Part 18/12/2024
 In this special episode of Mission: Impact, host Carol Hamilton celebrates four years of podcasting and reflects on the lessons learned from her 100+ episode journey. The podcast, aimed at nonprofit leaders striving to build a better world without martyrdom, offers practical advice, deep analysis, and engaging conversations. This episode gathers insights from various guest experts, focusing on key themes such as cultivating healthy organizational cultures, prioritizing progress over perfectionism, ensuring work-life balance, and infusing joy and creativity into the nonprofit sector. The discussion underscores the importance of aligning organizational values with actions, fostering inclusive and supportive environments, and advocating for the resources needed to achieve meaningful change. Episode Highlights Key Lessons from 100 Episodes & Imagining a Healthier Nonprofit Sector 03:31 Carol shares ten essential lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of diverse, equitable, and inclusive cultures, the dangers of overwork, and the value of focusing on relationships and progress over perfection. Progress Over Perfection 06:28 Pooya Pourak discusses the importance of favoring progress over perfectionism, embracing continuous improvement, and cultivating a growth mindset to drive meaningful social change. Action Bias 09:15 Susan Kahan highlights why analysis paralysis is common in the sector. She describes the need to make decisions and take action, even if imperfect, and the value of celebrating small wins to foster progress and avoid burnout. Setting Guardrails and Modeling 13:51 Dr. Orletta Caldwell offers practical steps for leaders to establish clear values in support of your nonprofit mission, support work-life balance, and create a culture where it's okay to be human while striving to do good work. Planning Realistically 20:42 - 25:40 Sarah Olivieri advises on planning realistically, working within your nonprofit organization’s capacity, and using visual tools to manage workloads and avoid overcommitment. Infusing Joy and Creativity into Nonprofit Work 25:41 - 33:18 Erin Allgood shares strategies for infusing joy and creativity into the nonprofit workplace, emphasizing the importance of building strong relationships and creating a culture of fun and innovation. Advocating for the Resources Your Team Needs 33:19 Reva Patwardhan calls on nonprofit leaders to advocate for their organizations' needs, ensuring they have the resources necessary to meet goals without sacrificing well-being. Important Links and Resources:
Erin Allgood - https://www.allgoodstrategies.com/ Dr. Orletta Caldwell - https://beyondexisting.com/ Susan Kahan - https://sapphirefundraisingspecialists.com/ Sarah Olivieri - https://www.pivotground.com/ Reva Patwardhan - https://www.greatergoodcoaching.org/ Pooya Pourak - https://www.matchnice.org/ Liberating Structures - https://www.liberatingstructures.com/ Related Episodes: Episode 50 - Why more money and more staff isn’t always the answer for nonprofits Episode 62 - Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights, part 1 Episode 63: Healthy nonprofit organizational culture highlights part 2 Episode 78: Renegotiating our relationship with work Episode 98: Declining interest in nonprofit leadership Episode 100: 10 Lessons from 100 Episodes Click "Read More" for a transcript of the episode.  In episode 103 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton, Tip Fallon, and Stephen Graves explore the nuances of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), exploring the differences between inclusive and equitable leadership. The conversation highlights the importance of not only representation but also the behavior and mindset of individuals within organizations, emphasizing the need for fairness and addressing power imbalances. This episode provides valuable insights for nonprofit leaders seeking to cultivate more equitable and inclusive organizations, emphasizing the importance of self-reflection, systemic change, and embracing humanity in leadership. Episode highlights: Defining DEI [00:8:08]
[00:08:50]
[00:13:44]
- Concrete examples to create more equitable hiring practices. - Piloting inclusive structures and the importance of leaders doing their own self-work to understand their privilege and responsibility. 00:28:30 - Hippy Dippy or Innovation - The resistance to DEI initiatives and the perception of these efforts as "soft" or "extra." - The financial implications of not addressing DEI, including lost productivity and customer base. - Questioning the fundamental purpose of organizations and the costs of maintaining exploitative practices. 00:38:30 - Embracing Humanity in Leadership - The cultural barriers to embracing emotions and humanity in the workplace. - The need for leaders to create psychologically safe environments and to see employees as whole human beings. Guest Bios:
Tip Fallon partners with leaders and teams to create effective and equitable organizations. He became interested in leadership and creating inclusive cultures at a young age, growing up in an area that had substantive racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity, and as the son of an immigrant in a multiracial family. Coming from a predominantly working class neighborhood, he also saw the impact any leader can have at all levels of society and particularly the effects leaders have on those who are most marginalized. These life experiences inform his philosophy that good leadership is equitable leadership. Tip has worked with dozens of organizations ranging from community based nonprofits to organizations with international reach including the Federal Aviation Administration, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member for ten years in Organization Development and DEI programs at American University and Georgetown University. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.), Organization Development (M.S.), and is a Certified Professional Diversity Coach (CPDC). _____________________________________________ Stephen Graves Born in Greenwood, South Carolina to a pair of faith-driven educators, the values of service and lifelong learning were instilled in Stephen Graves from an early age. These values, coupled with spiritual lessons from an upbringing in the Black Baptist church, shaped Stephen’s social consciousness for understanding the inherent worth every person has in life and addressing the historical and present injustices inhibiting people from fully realizing their worth. With this awareness, Stephen pursued a mission-driven path, ensuring people have a sense of respect, dignity, and belonging to live and thrive in a multicultural world. For over a decade, Stephen has consulted and advised leaders and organizations of all sizes and sectors on focus areas such as People & Culture, Leadership & Professional Development, Language Access, Health Equity, and Patient Advocacy. Stephen earned his Master in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. He holds an Executive Certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from Georgetown University. Important Links and Resources: 🔗 Tip Fallon 🔗 Stephen Graves 🔗 All In Consulting Co. More Women work at Nonprofits so Why do Men end up Leading Them https://hbr.org/2024/04/more-women-work-in-nonprofits-so-why-do-men-end-up-leading-them Jay Z - Feeling It: Feelin' It Related Episodes: Episode 62: Highlights of healthy nonprofit organizational cultures, part 1 Episode 63: Highlights of healthy nonprofit organizational cultures, part 2 Episode 86: Building your cultural competence Episode 92: Three stages of nonprofit leadership Episode 97: The business imperative of facing climate change Episode 102: The Nonprofit board’s duty of foresight Click "Read More" for a transcript of the interview.  In episode 66 of Mission: Impact, Carol and her guest, Katherine Turner discuss:
Katherine L. Turner, MPH (she/elle) is the founding President of Global Citizen, LLC consulting firm that strengthens inclusive leadership and effects organizational transformation and social impact by advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, public health, human rights, and global competence. As Adjunct Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, she teaches and mentors global leaders on leadership, global competence, and other topics. Katherine provides strategic leadership on global advisory committees, has founded and led boards of directors of nonprofit organizations, and won awards for excellence in leadership, teaching, public health, and advocacy. She is an internationally-recognized executive consultant, coach, thought leader, speaker, author, and change agent who has worked in English, French, and Dutch across all sectors in over 50 countries to deliver high-impact results for a better world. Important Links and Resources:
Helping nonprofits boards move toward greater equity with Christal Cherry and Renee Rubin Ross8/23/2022
 In episode 55 of Mission: Impact, Carol and her guests, Dr. Renee Rubin Ross and Christal Cherry discuss:
Guest Bios: Dr. Renee Rubin Ross is a nationally recognized strategic planning and board development consultant. Committed to racial equity in the nonprofit sector, Dr. Ross supports organizations and individuals in practices that celebrate and amplify diverse voices and perspectives. Christal M. Cherry is a nationally recognized nonprofit executive and professionally trained fundraiser. With over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, she has supported higher education institutions, human services organizations and faith-based missions. Her career portfolio, as a full time professional and consultant includes American University, the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College, Nicholas House, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Florida A & M University, Action Ministries, and the GA Center for Nonprofits. In each role, Christal has interfaced, guided and collaborated with diverse boards made up of college presidents, ministers and bishops, politicians, corporate CEO's, civic leaders, consultants, attorneys, stay at home moms and students. With passion and a wide breadth of experience, Christal works today with clients to help them mark a clear path to success in board development. Her style is electrifying, inspiring, and energizing. Christal earned a MA in Counseling from Hampton University, a BA in Liberal Arts from Hofstra University and professional development certifications in nonprofit leadership, social media fundraising, and nonprofit management. She currently serves on the board of the Greater Atlanta chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Villages of Carver YMCA. She is regular presenter with CANDID, Qgiv, Network for Good, Bloomerang, and the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy where she facilitates webinars and teaches courses in fundraising, board development and equity and inclusion. Christal has been a guest on multiple podcasts and enjoy serving as a requested expert on board matters. She is contributing author in Collecting Courage, a documenting of racism and survival by 14 accomplished Black fundraisers working across North America. She also enjoys her membership in the African American Development Officers Network, Toastmasters, and F3, Fabulous Female Fundraisers which she founded. Important Links and Resources:
Click "Read Morea" for Transcript:  There is a brief discussion of police brutality in this episode around 16 minutes in.
In episode 14 of Mission: Impact, some of the topics that Carol and her guest, Keisha Sitney, discussed include: - Why leaders need to be role models for their staff and lead by example - Why organizations need to start with individuals when working on equity - How to build the leadership capacity of people who haven’t traditionally been promoted to leadership roles - Why it is important to not just teach people of color to be like “traditional” white leaders but encourage them develop their own leadership style - How professionals focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion experience profound fatigue in continually educating people about racism and other forms of oppression.
Keisha Sitney is the Chief People Officer for The Y in Central Maryland and the founder of Golden Key Coaching. She works to ensure the people strategies and resources support and match the strategic priorities of the organization. Keisha is an executive leader who has been with the Y for 30 years, both at the national and regional levels. With in-depth experience in coaching, talent management, strategic visioning and planning, and facilitation, Keisha has served in operational roles at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, led the national multicultural leadership development movement as well as served as an internal consultant for C-Suite leaders from Ys across the United States. She holds a Master's Degree in Organization Development from American University and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Howard University. Links:
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Grace Social Sector Consulting, LLC, owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of the Mission: Impact podcast, as well as the Mission: Impact blog with all rights reserved, including right of publicity.
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