Learning to Lead for Impact
leadership insight from Tom Okarma
the latest and greatest…
Nonprofit Leadership… Revisited… Post Pandemic
A couple years ago I wrote a post about what it takes to be a great nonprofit leader. Who could possibly have envisioned what the next two years would hold. The pandemic has changed everything --...
The Competition for Nonprofit Talent in a Post Covid World
Is nonprofit hiring the next major challenge? We are starting to see the emergence of two very interesting trends in the business world, following our recent experiences with the Covid pandemic. I...
Board of Directors Responsibilities (Post Covid)
What should the role of your board of directors be, post Covid? As the Covid crisis begins to ebb, it's likely time for your nonprofit board's role to shift as well. Board of directors...
Virtual Board Meetings: 7 Tips to Make Them Actually Work
How to Make Virtual Board Meetings Better When we all went into Covid lockdown last year, I thought I'd really like participating in virtual board meetings. They had the potential to make board...
Nonprofit Management vs. Leadership – Which One Are You Doing?
Are you a nonprofit manager, or a leader? In this time of incredible uncertainty, we desperately need more leaders. Nonprofit management is hard. Nonprofit leadership is much more difficult..... The...
Strategic Planning Post Covid: Moving Forward in Your Organization
Planning Post Covid: How Should You Move Forward? Between fundraising uncertainties, fear among staff getting sick, volunteers getting bored to tears, and staff feeling exhausted from the demands...
leadership
Nonprofit Leadership… Revisited… Post Pandemic
A couple years ago I wrote a post about what it takes to be a great nonprofit leader. Who could possibly have envisioned what the next two years would hold. The pandemic has changed everything -- especially the nonprofit world. Nothing is as it was, and the truth is,...
The Competition for Nonprofit Talent in a Post Covid World
Is nonprofit hiring the next major challenge? We are starting to see the emergence of two very interesting trends in the business world, following our recent experiences with the Covid pandemic. I believe they may also have a significant impact on nonprofit hiring,...
Board of Directors Responsibilities (Post Covid)
What should the role of your board of directors be, post Covid? As the Covid crisis begins to ebb, it's likely time for your nonprofit board's role to shift as well. Board of directors responsibilities should switch from survival mode, day-to-day focus, and to how to...
Virtual Board Meetings: 7 Tips to Make Them Actually Work
How to Make Virtual Board Meetings Better When we all went into Covid lockdown last year, I thought I'd really like participating in virtual board meetings. They had the potential to make board meetings more convenient and more accessible for people who travel or...
Nonprofit Management vs. Leadership – Which One Are You Doing?
Are you a nonprofit manager, or a leader? In this time of incredible uncertainty, we desperately need more leaders. Nonprofit management is hard. Nonprofit leadership is much more difficult..... The terms "leadership" and "management" too often get confused. Even...
Strategic Planning Post Covid: Moving Forward in Your Organization
Planning Post Covid: How Should You Move Forward? Between fundraising uncertainties, fear among staff getting sick, volunteers getting bored to tears, and staff feeling exhausted from the demands placed on them for the last 14 months, it’s hard to know how to plan for...
board development
Board of Directors Responsibilities (Post Covid)
What should the role of your board of directors be, post Covid? As the Covid crisis begins to ebb, it's likely time for your nonprofit board's role to shift as well. Board of directors responsibilities should switch from survival mode, day-to-day focus, and to how to...
Virtual Board Meetings: 7 Tips to Make Them Actually Work
How to Make Virtual Board Meetings Better When we all went into Covid lockdown last year, I thought I'd really like participating in virtual board meetings. They had the potential to make board meetings more convenient and more accessible for people who travel or...
Recruiting Board Members: Do You Know What To Say?
Do you know what to say when recruiting board members? The scenario: It happens all the time when recruiting board members. You know someone that is respected and has been engaged with your mission for quite some time now. They’ve shown good judgement and that they...
What should nonprofit boards be doing to help (during the pandemic)?
In last week’s blog post, I provided a list of several actions some agencies have taken as a result of COVID-19. As I learn of other creative steps being taken to combat the changes, I will share them with you. For now though, I'd like to share some thoughts on what...
Want a Better Board of Directors?
Start with incredible board members. Having a reliable board of directors is key to a well run agency, and I'm often asked what makes a high-value board member. This question usually comes from a board chair or CEO who has or anticipates having one or more...
Nonprofit Resources: 3 Free Downloads to Make Your Agency Better
Managing nonprofit resources can be one of the most difficult and yet rewarding experiences for a leader. There are numerous demands on your time, and some days the problems and challenges can seem endless. Today I want to help make your life easier, by providing...
strategic planning
Board of Directors Responsibilities (Post Covid)
What should the role of your board of directors be, post Covid? As the Covid crisis begins to ebb, it's likely time for your nonprofit board's role to shift as well. Board of directors responsibilities should switch from survival mode, day-to-day focus, and to how to...
Strategic Planning Post Covid: Moving Forward in Your Organization
Planning Post Covid: How Should You Move Forward? Between fundraising uncertainties, fear among staff getting sick, volunteers getting bored to tears, and staff feeling exhausted from the demands placed on them for the last 14 months, it’s hard to know how to plan for...
Four Ways Board Training Can Help Your Nonprofit
Why do some boards demonstrate a culture of excellence year after year, while some seem to struggle with getting directors to show up for meetings or to make important decisions? Why do some agencies have a waiting list of board candidates, while others (maybe yours)...
5 Tips for Bringing Your Strategic Plan to Life
Every nonprofit agency has a strategic plan, somewhere. Maybe in a file cabinet, on a credenza, on its website, but they have one. It's there, you just have to search it out. The problem is, you'd never know it by the way so many just keep doing the same things over...
Want Your Agency to Make a Bigger Impact?
Create a Tighter, More Focused Strategic Plan Have you ever asked yourself, with all the hours and hard work your team puts in each week at your agency, why you don't have more to show for it? More progress, more impact, more revenue, more client successes? Or worse...
How to Set Up Your Nonprofit Board for Success in 6 Easy Steps
As a young boy, I always enjoyed watching parades in “The Loop”, the heart of downtown Chicago. Bright colors, shiny instruments, and a snappy pace. So impressive and memorable. If you’ve seen the movie The Music Man, you know what I mean. I was so impressed every...
everything…
Nonprofit Leadership… Revisited… Post Pandemic
A couple years ago I wrote a post about what it takes to be a great nonprofit leader. Who could possibly have envisioned what the next two years would hold. The pandemic has changed everything -- especially the nonprofit world. Nothing is as it was, and the truth is,...
The Competition for Nonprofit Talent in a Post Covid World
Is nonprofit hiring the next major challenge? We are starting to see the emergence of two very interesting trends in the business world, following our recent experiences with the Covid pandemic. I believe they may also have a significant impact on nonprofit hiring,...
Board of Directors Responsibilities (Post Covid)
What should the role of your board of directors be, post Covid? As the Covid crisis begins to ebb, it's likely time for your nonprofit board's role to shift as well. Board of directors responsibilities should switch from survival mode, day-to-day focus, and to how to...
Virtual Board Meetings: 7 Tips to Make Them Actually Work
How to Make Virtual Board Meetings Better When we all went into Covid lockdown last year, I thought I'd really like participating in virtual board meetings. They had the potential to make board meetings more convenient and more accessible for people who travel or...
Nonprofit Management vs. Leadership – Which One Are You Doing?
Are you a nonprofit manager, or a leader? In this time of incredible uncertainty, we desperately need more leaders. Nonprofit management is hard. Nonprofit leadership is much more difficult..... The terms "leadership" and "management" too often get confused. Even...
Strategic Planning Post Covid: Moving Forward in Your Organization
Planning Post Covid: How Should You Move Forward? Between fundraising uncertainties, fear among staff getting sick, volunteers getting bored to tears, and staff feeling exhausted from the demands placed on them for the last 14 months, it’s hard to know how to plan for...
How To Provide Effective Nonprofit Leadership (post Covid)
Nonprofit Leadership…. COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC... Tired of feeling the need to hold back coming out of the pandemic? Many in nonprofit leadership are just trying to make do. Others are waiting for things to get better on their own. While a few are waiting for that...
How To Deal With Difficult People In Your Nonprofit Agency
At first glance, being the head of a nonprofit may look easy... You put together a team of passionate individuals that believe in the mission at hand, lead them in the right direction and let them do their thing. As a whole, egos are not an issue, no one has a secret...
Recruiting Board Members: Do You Know What To Say?
Do you know what to say when recruiting board members? The scenario: It happens all the time when recruiting board members. You know someone that is respected and has been engaged with your mission for quite some time now. They’ve shown good judgement and that they...