In this final episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken sits down with Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International—one of the most recognized and influential global NGOs. Together, they explore what it means to lead transformative change inside a large, complex confederation while navigating a shifting political, economic, and cultural landscape.

Their conversation spans Oxfam’s ongoing change journey, its efforts to become a truly global organization rooted in legitimacy and equity, and the leadership lessons Amitabh has learned along the way. This episode is a fitting finale to the podcast—bringing together the themes of leadership, legitimacy, and adaptation that have defined Tosca’s work and this show.

Amitabh Bio

• Executive Director of Oxfam International
• Former CEO of Oxfam India
• Former Executive Director of the National Foundation for India
• Former Executive Director of the National Center for Advocacy Studies

We Discuss

• Oxfam’s decades-long transformation journey and its confederated model of global affiliates
• The rewards and tradeoffs of shifting decision-making power to the Global South
• The political dimensions of leading large-scale organizational change
• Balancing legitimacy, agility, and complexity in global NGOs
• The use (and risks) of academic or ideological language in public communication
• The critical question: should global NGOs narrow their roles for sharper impact?
• Amitabh’s reflections on AI, digital rights, and Oxfam’s 2030 strategy
• Leadership lessons for navigating power, resistance, and renewal

Quotes

“The world still needs Oxfam—with its courage to question power, and its willingness to transform itself.”
 “Leadership is not just about holding power; it’s about sharing it, even when it feels uncomfortable.”

Resources

Amitabh's LinkedIn Page

Bio

• CEO of DRi Waterstone Human Capital, a firm serving nonprofits with leadership development, talent recruitment as well as executive search 
• DRi Waterstone offers this valuable service to nonprofits, associations, foundations and social impact orgs in US 
• Before his leadership position in Dri Waterstone, Dough worked at the Montpelier Foundation and at the University of Virginia as an administrator, among others. 

We Discuss

• Why "time and talent" are the sector’s most valuable—and most constrained—strategic assets
• The disconnect between what nonprofits say about valuing their people and what they actually invest in
• How burnout, moral injury, and emotional fatigue are reshaping talent practices
• What skills today’s leadership teams need to build truly inclusive and agile cultures
• What nonprofit boards are getting right—and wrong—about talent investment
• Best practices for working with executive search firms and how to make the most of that investment

Quotes

“We talk about valuing people, but how often do we fund what we say we value?”
“If talent is a strategic asset, we need to start treating it like one—from the board level down.”

Resources

Doug Trout on LinkedIn

DRi Waterstone Human Capital

Innovation is often treated as a buzzword—but few nonprofit leaders take a hard look at the cultural, structural, and leadership obstacles that keep it from taking root. In this episode, Tosca talks with Carlos Simon, an innovation strategist and longtime leader at World Vision, about what it really takes to build innovation-ready organizations. From internal mindsets to outdated processes, they explore what’s getting in the way—and what to do about it.

Guest Bio:

• CEO of World Vision Costa Rica and iSmart360
• Director of Data Science and former Regional Director of BD & Marketing at World Vision
• Innovation strategist with 25+ years at World Vision International (WVI)
• Author of a forthcoming framework on the 7 stages of organizational innovation maturity

We Discuss:

• Why innovation is not the same as continuous improvement—and why that matters
• The cultural and structural obstacles that slow down innovation in large NGOs
• How Carlos developed a framework that identifies 7 distinct organizational "zones" of innovation capacity
• The importance of removing outdated processes to truly make space for new ideas
• Why leaders must address internal “friction” as much as they focus on promoting new ideas
• How senior leadership mindsets—like overconfidence or premature solution bias—can block innovation
• The role of flat structures, strategic alignment, and client focus in driving real innovation

Quotes

“You cannot have a disruptive vision and then treat it as a continuous improvement plan.”

“Innovation doesn’t fail because of a lack of ideas—it fails because of internal resistance.”

Resources

Organizational innovation index with exponential factor

 What does it really mean to lead through a feminist lens? In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Jayanta Bora, a seasoned People & Culture expert who has helped shape leadership practices across major NGOs. Drawing from his own matrilinear upbringing and decades of experience, Jayanta explores feminist leadership not as a gendered concept but as a deliberate, power-aware leadership practice rooted in justice and equity.

Jayanta's Bio:

• Over 30 years of experience in People & Culture, OD, OB, and HR in the nonprofit sector.
• Former Executive Director of Human Resources at Plan International.
• Visiting faculty at NMIMS Global Access School and Tezpur University.
• Leadership roles at Oxfam, ChildFund, and other global organizations.

We Discuss:

• What feminist leadership is—and what it is not.
• The origins of Jayanta’s interest in feminist leadership, rooted in a matrilinear culture.
• Why feminist leadership is not about gender, but about power analysis.
• The seven behavioral competencies of feminist leadership:
  1. Self-awareness and reflection
  2. Self-care and caring for others
  3. Inclusion and dismantling bias
  4. Accountable collaboration
  5. Sharing power and transparent decision making
  6. Respectful feedback and conflict resolution
  7. Courage and zero tolerance for discrimination
• The need for more longitudinal research on feminist leadership effectiveness.
• How feminist leadership differs from traditional or transformational leadership styles.

Quotes:
“If you practice feminist leadership, you have no need for DEI policies, since intersectionality of identities is baked in.”
“I am a male feminist.”

Resources:
Jayanta's LinkedIn profile

Let’s stay connected

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Have a challenge or opportunity in your nonprofit or philanthropic organization that you'd like to explore? Feel free to reach out to Tosca directly at tosca(at)5oaksconsulting(dot)org.

And if you’d like more insights on nonprofit leadership, organizational change, and culture, you can follow Tosca on LinkedIn.

Guest’s Bio

• Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University
• PhD in Leadership Studies, University of San Diego
• Former People & Culture leader with World Vision in Papua New Guinea
• Coach, consultant, and certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator

We Discuss

• What the Competing Values Framework reveals about NGO culture
• Andrew’s four-phase model of cultural consciousness
• Why safeguarding policies fall short without deeper cultural insight
• The difference between “organizations having culture” and “organizations being culture”
• How to apply a developmental view of culture to real-world leadership challenges
• Why boards and regulators often miss key dynamics in NGO culture

Quotes
“Culture is not just about values. It’s how people make sense of reality.”
“Organizations are not just entities with cultures—they are cultures.”

Resources

•  Andrew's LinkedIn Page
• Enjoy my essay related to todays topic: Can Organizational Culture Help Explain Recent INGO Scandals?

Let’s stay connected

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• Founder and Principal of Randel Consulting Associates
• Long-standing consultant in nonprofit change management and scaling
• Researcher on philanthropic giving and leadership dynamics
• Regular advisor to mission-driven organizations facing major transitions

We Discuss:

• Michael’s research into nonprofits that received large-scale gifts from MacKenzie Scott
• Why divisiveness after a big gift was less common than expected
• How to manage sudden scaling and increase organizational readiness
• The value of a “quiet phase” in your communication strategy
• How to plan for the eventual “financial cliff” once funding is spent
• Why this moment calls for both bold leadership and intentional restraint

Quotes:

“One day, 10 million dollar suddenly landed in our bank account.”
“Should we be careful what we wished for?”

Resources:

• Michael Randel's LinkedIn page
• Randel Consulting Associates LinkedIn page
• Randel Consulting Associates
• Get insider tips to overcome the 5 most common problems facing leaders during change - download here
• Mackenzie Scott has donated part of her fortune to over 2,000 organizations doing amazing work. What are they doing with all this newfound money? - download here

Let’s stay connected

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And if you’d like more insights on nonprofit leadership, organizational change, and culture, you can follow Tosca on LinkedIn.

Summary

Land rights are at the heart of building a sustainable and equitable future. Yet securing these rights—especially for marginalized communities—remains a profound global challenge.

In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO of Cadasta, a global social innovation organization dedicated to advancing affordable, accessible land rights documentation.

Drawing on her leadership at the intersection of technology, social innovation, and global nonprofit management, Amy and I explore the unique opportunities and challenges Cadasta faces as a technology-forward organization working closely with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and governments.

We also address a timely leadership question: how nonprofits can respond to increasingly challenging funding landscapes while staying aligned with mission and values.

Guest's Bio

• President and CEO of Cadasta, a leading social innovation organization
• Global Advisor, How Women Lead
• Advisory Board Member, Geospatial World
• Board Member, InterAction
• Former COO, National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA), International
• Former Deputy Executive Director, Pan American Development Foundation

We Discuss

• What the integration of technology unlocks for advancing land rights—and the risks and limitations it brings
• How Cadasta approaches its role as an ally-organization to Indigenous Peoples and locally-led land tenure groups
• The leadership challenge of navigating downward trends in nonprofit funding across Europe and the US
• How leaders can respond strategically to funding shifts while identifying new opportunities for mission-driven impact
• What it means to balance innovation with the grounded realities of community-driven change
• Lessons from Cadasta's hybrid model as both a technology provider and a global NGO

Quotes

“We need to be technology-forward but always community-centered.”

"Responding to a changing funding landscape requires not just resilience—but also creativity and adaptability.”

Resources

• Cadasta.org
• Cadasta LinkedIn Page
• Cadasta on BlueSky
• Cadasta Facebook Page
• Amy Coughenour Betancourt Linked In Page

Let’s stay connected

You can also watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes or other thought pieces are released.

Have a challenge or opportunity in your nonprofit or philanthropic organization that you'd like to explore? Feel free to reach out to Tosca directly at tosca(at)5oaksconsulting(dot)org.

And if you’d like more insights on nonprofit leadership, organizational change, and culture, you can follow Tosca on LinkedIn.

The International Tunnelling Association (ITA) plays a critical role in global infrastructure, ensuring clean water, sewage systems, and transport for millions while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But behind the technical achievements lies a deeper challenge—modernizing an industry traditionally dominated by European, American, and Australian professionals.

In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Arnold Dix, President of ITA, to discuss his iconoclastic leadership approach in making tunneling a more diverse and inclusive profession. Arnold has actively pushed for greater representation of women, people of color, and young engineers, challenging traditional power structures and advocating for regional voices.

As a leader in a global membership-based professional association, Arnold cannot mandate change—he must influence, persuade, and lead by example. What does it take to challenge entrenched norms, navigate resistance, and truly drive transformation? Listen in to find out.

Arnold's Bio

• President of the International Tunnelling Association (ITA), leading efforts to modernize and diversify the profession
• Lawyer, engineer, and scientist, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to underground infrastructure development
• Champion for diversity in engineering, working to increase representation of women, young engineers, and professionals from non-Western regions
• Global infrastructure expert, contributing to sustainable underground solutions worldwide

We Discuss

• Reforming a global professional association: How Arnold has worked to decentralize power and amplify regional voices
• Breaking industry norms: Making tunneling less exclusive and more diverse, bringing in women, younger professionals, and engineers of color
• Leading without authority: The challenge of influencing rather than mandating change in a global membership-based association
• Managing resistance: How traditional power centers within the industry have responded to his leadership and reforms
• Lessons in delegation: What Arnold would do differently if he could start again
• The bigger picture: How underground infrastructure development supports global dignity and the UN SDGs

Quotes

“I am a change man.”

Resources

ITA-AITES

Arnold's Book

Connect with Arnold Dix on LinkedIn

Follow Arnold on Facbook 

'International man of mystery’ who saved men from Indian tunnel collapse | Australian Story

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What does it take to lead an organization through a responsible and strategic closure? In this episode, I speak with Amy Miller-Taylor, former Executive Director of Global Integrity, about her experience navigating the complex decision to wind down an organization while ensuring its legacy, people, and resources were safeguarded. We explore the financial and strategic challenges that led to this decision, the leadership lessons Amy learned, and how organizations can approach closure as an intentional and thoughtful process rather than a last resort.

Amy's Bio

• Former Executive Director of Global Integrity, an organization focused on open governance and anti-corruption.
• Deputy Chief of Party, Powered by the People, PartnersGlobal
• Advocate for responsible leadership transitions and sustainable organizational change.
• Experienced in global development, governance, and nonprofit management.

We Discuss:

• Facing financial realities early on: How Amy quickly recognized the urgent need for a new business model upon stepping into leadership.
• The role of transparency in leadership: Why erring on the side of over-communication helped maintain trust and morale among staff.
• Navigating financial and grant structures: The complexities of nonprofit funding and how the fine print of grants can influence an organization’s survival.
• Seeking external counsel: How a small group of peer advisors helped Amy evaluate alternative business models and ensure the decision to close was strategic, not reactive.
• Ensuring an ethical and responsible wind-down: The steps Global Integrity took to transition programs, preserve resources, and document key learnings for the sector.
• Supporting staff during closure: The importance of providing job placement support and ensuring employees had access to career transition resources.
• The administrative side of closure: Legal, financial, and operational considerations when dissolving a nonprofit.
• Shifting power in practice: How Global Integrity’s approach of handing over program leadership to local partners in prior years eased the transition.
• The emotional weight of closing an organization: Amy’s reflections on the psychological toll and how she found meaning in the process.
• Why ending well allows for new beginnings: The importance of reframing closure as part of an organization’s legacy rather than a failure.

Quotes:

• “Closing well was more important than a last-ditch effort to make it work.”
• “Our efforts toward a responsible wind-down, shifting power, and advancing Global Integrity’s mission could have been more impactful if we had embraced the idea of a strategic ending earlier.”

Resources:

• Read Amy’s reflections on some aspects of Global Integrity’s ending
  
  

Let’s stay connected

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Have a challenge or opportunity in your nonprofit or philanthropic organization that you'd like to explore? Feel free to reach out to Tosca directly at tosca(at)5oaksconsulting(dot)org.

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So Nankhonde Kasonde, a Zambian international development as well as a leadership development specialist and certified coach, created something that was.

Nankhonde's Bio:

Nankhonde Kasonde is a Zambian international development specialist, certified leadership coach, and the founder of Zanga, an African leadership assessment and HR analytics company.

As a leadership coach, Nankhonde recognized that African leaders need a coaching framework rooted in African national, regional, and continental values—rather than Western models that do not align with the cultural realities of high-context societies like Zambia.

In high-context cultures, such as those in parts of Africa, China, and Japan, communication is often layered and indirect, relying on shared understanding, relationships, and cultural norms. This contrasts with low-context cultures, where communication tends to be more explicit and direct, as seen in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States (for example). Recognizing this fundamental difference, Nankhonde developed a coaching framework tailored to African leadership, built on five key cultural dimensions: belief, pride, community, loyalty, and respect.

Through Zanga, she provides African-grounded leadership coaching, self- and 360-degree assessments, and HR analytics that support talent management and organizational development. Her work aims to reshape leadership development in Africa by integrating culturally relevant coaching methodologies that truly resonate with African leaders.

We Discuss:

• How did Nankhonde come to conclude that the Western approaches to coaching were not sufficiently helpful for African clients or tailored to their needs?
•  In what ways were these coaching approaches not culturally appropriate?
• How did Nankhonde set out to develop your new coaching framework?
• What are the components of Nankhonde’s coaching framework for African clients and how it is different from Western or  North-founded frameworks?
• Where does this coaching model diverge from Western ones?

Resources:

Zanga’s LinkedIn page

Nankhonde’s LinkedIn page

Zanga’s website

Let’s stay connected

You can also watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes or other thought pieces are released.

Have a challenge or opportunity in your nonprofit or philanthropic organization that you'd like to explore? Feel free to reach out to Tosca directly at tosca(at)5oaksconsulting(dot)org.

And if you’d like more insights on nonprofit leadership, organizational change, and culture, you can follow Tosca on LinkedIn.

What are the attributes of the modern humanitarian and development leader? Why modern? In what ways? How does one become one?

Torrey’s Bio:

As a certified coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the humanitarian and development world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.”  She has taught and coached over 400  supervisors globally from the UN, INGO and civil society to become more inclusive and caring leaders that make a greater impact while also stepping out of overwork and overwhelm. Her mission is to provide leaders the skills they need to be part of the change we want to see in the humanitarian and development world while also maintaining their wellbeing. For more information about Torrey’s work and podcast, please visit www.aidforaidworkers.com. 

We Discuss:

• What defines the modern humanitarian and development leader?
• Why self-awareness and intentional leadership are crucial in humanitarian work
• The importance of recognizing and overcoming traditional ways of leading that hinder progress.
• Leadership coaching as a style, including the shift from managerial to coaching approaches.
• Reverse mentoring: how younger team members can teach older colleagues.

Resources:

Torrey's podcast: The Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader

Torrey's website: Aid for Aid Workers

Torrey's Linkedin page

Torrey's course on Humentum's learning platform

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This is part one of a two-part conversation between two podcast hosts: Torrey Peace and myself. Torrey’s podcast is The Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader. 

Torrey and I tackle two broad topics: in this first part of our conversation, Torrey interviews me:

How do people in development agencies experience organizational change? What is the psychology of organizational change that a development leader needs to be aware of? How can experiencing organizational change affect staff motivation? How, as leaders, do we tackle any reactance as well as resistance to change?

Torrey’s Bio:

As a certified coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the humanitarian and development world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.”  She has taught and coached over 400  supervisors globally from the UN, INGO and civil society to become more inclusive and caring leaders that make a greater impact while also stepping out of overwork and overwhelm. Her mission is to provide leaders the skills they need to be part of the change we want to see in the humanitarian and development world while also maintaining their wellbeing. For more information about Torrey’s work and podcast, please visit www.aidforaidworkers.com. 

We Discuss:

• What defines the modern humanitarian and development leader?
• Why self-awareness and intentional leadership are crucial in humanitarian work.
• The importance of recognizing and overcoming traditional ways of leading that hinder progress.
• Leadership coaching as a style, including the shift from managerial to coaching approaches.
• Reverse mentoring: how younger team members can teach older colleagues.
• Empowering teams by building trust and facilitating self-learning.

Resources:

Website

Podcast

Aid for Aid Workers

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What does the concept of Ubuntu teach us about leadership, community, and the well-being of people in organizations?

How can African leadership models inform and enhance global approaches to management and organizational development?

How do we navigate the challenges of avoiding romanticizing Ubuntu while honoring its depth and practical value?

In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, Martin Kalugu-Banda, a thought leader on organizational development and leadership coach (among many other things!), about redefining leadership through African paradigms and systems thinking.

Martin's Bio

• Martin Kalungu-Banda is an expert in Leadership and Organizational Development, with senior-level experience in business, government, and civil society.
• He is co-faculty of the Leadership Academy at the Presencing Institute and the MIT Global Alliance for Banking on Values.
• Martin served as Special Consultant to the President of Zambia (2005-2008), helping to re-establish the position of Chief of Staff.
• As an adviser to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he has supported leaders across Africa, including governance reforms in Rwanda, healthcare transformation in Namibia, and Tanzania’s National Skills Development Strategy.
• He has co-designed and facilitated flagship leadership programs for Rand Merchant Bank and HSBC, as well as teaching at Cambridge, Oxford, and London Business School.
• Martin is the author of Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela and other influential books on leadership and transformation.

We Discuss

• Martin shares how leadership as it is taught at the Presencing Institute involves “presencing”—combining being present in the moment with sensing future opportunities and needs.
• Ubuntu, often defined as “I am because you are,” needs to expanded as a concept to include interdependence across generations, global connections, and non-human beings like animals and nature.
• How Ubuntu aligns with systems thinking by emphasizing the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and the environment.
• The challenges of avoiding romanticizing Ubuntu while appreciating its practical applications in leadership and organizational well-being.
• Coaching leaders to embrace open-mindedness, emotional intelligence, and an openness of heart and will in decision-making.
• How African leadership models provide valuable insights into collective well-being and interconnectedness that global North frameworks often overlook.
• Martin’s reflections on the limits of knowledge as we age and the importance of humility in leadership.

Resources

Martin’s profile at the Presencing Institute 

Ubuntu Lab Institute (similar institutes exist for other regions within the Presencing Institute)

Martin’s books:
Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

What are some key differences in organizational development needs and cultural norms between development agencies in the Global South and Global North?

How can concepts like Ubuntu and Ujama inform leadership models in ways that resonate across African contexts?

In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, I interview Faye Ekong, Managing Director and co-founder of RavelWorks Africa, about designing management consulting solutions rooted in African paradigms and practices.

Faye's Bio

• Managing Director and co-founder of RavelWorks Africa for over 6 years
• Held multiple leadership roles at the NGO Action Against Hunger
• Former trainer and consultant at MDF Management Consulting

We Discuss:

• Faye shares how RavelWorks was founded to counter the prevalence of Western management solutions in African contexts, focusing instead on locally-developed approaches.
• While RavelWorks initially aimed to serve primarily African organizations, their clients now span Europe, the US, and other regions.
• Core clients include humanitarian donor agencies, NGOs, private sector companies, and some government agencies.
• Services offered by RavelWorks include HR, organizational design, system and process improvements, and learning and development, with a future-of-work lens.
• The African paradigm of communalism, exemplified by concepts like Ubuntu (“I am because you are”), prioritizes relationships and the well-being of staff and stakeholders. This contrasts with the Anglo-Saxon focus on task and goal orientation.
• The management and leadership literature has expanded beyond the US and Europe to include countries like India and Japan but still largely overlooks Africa’s unique contributions.
• There has been a significant uptick in the use of niche consulting firms like RavelWorks in the Global North, but European NGOs still tend to exhibit a control-oriented approach compared to their US counterparts.
• Faye emphasizes that Global North consultants can still play a meaningful role if they adopt humility, curiosity, and a willingness to understand African ways of working.

Quotes:
“If you lead an organization, choose courage over comfort” (Brenee Brown)

Resources

Website

Faye's LinkedIn profile

YouTube video of this podcast

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How can nonprofit organizations leverage human emotions to enhance the impact of their campaigns?

What can NGOs learn from cognitive science to create more effective, empathetic communication strategies during a time of poly-crisis?

How can organizations shift from traditional advocacy approaches to more agile, psychology-driven methods for mobilizing communities?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Diya Deb, Executive Director at MindWorks Lab, about harnessing the power of cognitive science to transform nonprofit campaigning in today's challenging landscape.

Diya's Bio:

• Executive Director of MindWorks Lab, a global cognitive science innovation lab incubated at Greenpeace
• Nearly two decades of experience in grassroots and international nonprofit leadership
• Former Campaign Director at Greenpeace India and Amnesty International India
• Led global youth mobilization efforts alongside Indian Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi
• Co-founder of PowerSouth, an initiative focused on amplifying women's leadership in grassroots movements
• Advisor to multiple nonprofits on strategy, advocacy, and decolonizing research practices

We Discuss:

• Diya reflects on how MindWorks has grown since its early days within Greenpeace, evolving from theoretical frameworks to hands-on applications in the field.
• Diya highlights the urgency of adapting campaigning strategies to the current era of poly-crises, where overlapping global challenges are exhausting communities and donors alike.
• MindWorks has pivoted to focus on the role of emotions like anger and powerlessness in shaping people's responses to crises, drawing on new case studies from India and Indonesia.
• She explains how MindWorks seeks to decolonize research practices, shifting away from Global North-centric methodologies by grounding their work in diverse cultural contexts, especially in East Asia.
• The conversation explores MindWorks’ unique approach to agile campaigning, emphasizing rapid experimentation and applying cognitive science insights to their internal operations.
• Diya shares her thoughts on the implications of this research for philanthropy, urging funders to shift towards more adaptive, emotionally resonant approaches to support nonprofit campaigns.

Quotes

“Doomsday communications have clearly proven not to work”

“We focus on social empathy as an enabler for activism”

Resources:

MindWorks Lab Website

Diya Deb's LinkedIn Profile

YouTube video of this podcast (ADD LINK!)

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What are the key principles of African leadership that nonprofit leaders globally could benefit from adopting?

How does the African concept of Ubuntu translate into practical leadership strategies for nonprofit organizations?

How does African leadership balance individual and collective success, and how might nonprofit teams benefit from seeking the same balance?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Albert Anoubon Momo, axecutive, author, and board member, about leadership lessons we can all learn from African cultures.

Albert's Bio:

• Co-founder of a brand new company offering geospatial consulting services to emerging economies
• Former Vice President and Executive Director, Emerging Markets and Funded Projects at the Trimble company
• Former Director of Institutional Business Development at Trimble
• Management and Program Analyst at USAID
• Albert played multiple other roles as senior geo-scientist and GIS and software engineer, including at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) inside the US Government.

We discuss: 

• Albert has been a student of leadership from early adult life onwards, and he runs a large Facebook group on leadership. His experience has been primarily in the private sector , though he also plays governance roles in the nonprofit sphere, such as his role Board Chair of Cadasta (where Tosca is also on the board)
• Albert urges listeners to focus on what the African continent can bring to the rest of the world, and not to assume Africa just consumes from the rest of the world (especially when it comes to West-influenced leadership models)
• Subregions within the huge continent of Africa have had different influences on leadership approaches and practices: in Northern Africa and the Sahel, Islamic influences have prevailed while French colonizers brought more hierarchically oriented thinking to leadership; in coastal Africa, colonizers introduced Christianity which persists till today; and in Southern and Eastern Africa, Zulu-inspired Ubuntu philosophy has dominated
• Ubuntu as the most well known African philosophy emphasizes interdependence, solidarity, shared community, and communalism (also within organizational leadership and management) – different from the individualism more prevalent in Western societies
• What Western leadership practices can learn from African leadership approaches regarding employee engagement, shared value, shared futures, solidarity, and humanism
• In African cultures, traditionally councils of elders have played an important conflict resolution role; it is beneficial for global North/Western nonprofits to take account of these Councils' approach to seeking win-win resolutions rather than zero-sum litigation, their focus on the common good, common ground and shared goals.

Resources:

Albert’s LinkedIn Profile

Albert's Facebook group on Leadership

Book

YouTube video of this podcast

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Is it that people resist change? That they fear change? Or rather that people fear loss?

As a change management consultant, what is the most difficult or frustrating while supporting clients with change management efforts?

What is one word most alive right now in the world of change management support?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Michael Randel, Founder of Randel Consulting Associates, on mastering the ever-complex world of organizational change management.

Michael's Bio

• Owner of Randel Consulting Associates, a boutique consulting firm that supports change processes across sectors
• Former Change Consultant in the World Bank's Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness department
• Worked for a Danish development agency in South-East Asia
• Started as an  Organizational Development practitioner in South Africa, at the YMCA during the anti-apartheid struggle.

We discuss 

• Michael worked as a young professional in the South African YMCA youth organization during South Africa’s apartheid struggles, which was a formative experience for him. It launched his career in change management
• He consults on change management across the private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. His clients all have in common: a social purpose.
• Early in his career, he discovered that we overestimate rationality in change management; instead, emotion is a significant factor. We also are simply unable to foresee all factors that will be at play in our change-planning efforts
• Michael uses a Gestalt approach in his work: in this approach, the forces that energize change are faced with forces that resist change – and Lewin’s forcefield analysis tends to apply. Put simply: people tolerate the current state of affairs till it is no longer tolerable. 
• The Gestalt approach stipulates that we may need to intervene at the individual, team, unit organization, or sector level (or a combination)
• Michael appreciates Rick Maurer’s framework on resisting change, which emphasizes 3 factors, embodied in ‘I don’t get it’; ‘I don’t like it’; and ‘I don’t like you’. Each requires its response – and the three should not be confused.

Quotes:

Eisenhower’s quote (paraphrased here) is relevant in change management: “Plans are useless, but the process of planning is useful”

Resources:

Michael’s LinkedIn Profile

Randel Consulting Associates Website

Blog post: Resistance to change is often misunderstood

YouTube video of this podcast

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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: 

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What does it Busara's tagline mean: 'transformational leadership, from the inside out'?

To what extent are there truly different global south-normed leadership models?

Does personality still play an important role as well, in addition to national or regional cultural differences in leadership approaches?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Taaka Awori, Founder & CEO of Busara Africa, a leadership development services company, on redefining leadership in Africa.

Taaka's Bio:

• Founder and CEO of Busara Africa, a pan-African leadership development firm based in Accra, Ghana
• Author of the book Leadership Redefined: Untold Stories
• Associate Certified Coach with International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• Podcast host of Leadership Redefined: Untold Stories
• Member of the editorial board of Coaching Perspectives
• Chair of the board of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)
• Former Country Director of AAI
• Assistant Social Development Adviser, DFID (now called FCDO)
• Degrees from Harvard and Columbia Universities

We discuss: 

• Taaka started specializing in leadership development and organizational development, after discovering as a Country Director at ActionAid that what was most needed from her was good leadership – not any technical specialization
• Busara’s tagline is - transformational leadership from the inside out – signals that leadership starts with self-awareness and self-regulation
• Equally, good leadership is a combination of not just intellect or analytical capabilities, but also innate and learned wisdom, and the heart
• Other premises of Busara: let’s build on the examples of excellent leadership in Africa (not the negative examples); and feminist leadership
• 70% of Busara’s clients are NGOs; the rest are private sector and government agencies
• How are African leadership models distinct, if in any way, from global North-formed models? 
• Another distinct element is the explicit inclusion of politization and thus the need for leaders to be aware of this, and to navigate it in a mission focused manner 
• Busara is also interested to learn more about what’s to be learned from leaders of informal, non-registered organizations: informal worker associations, social movements and networks
• Interesting sub-continental dimensions of leadership within the African continent

Resources:

Taaka’s LinkedIn Profile

Taaka’s Website

Taaka’s book: Leadership Redefined: Untold Stories

Leadership in Africa Redefined Podcast

Busara Africa Website

YouTube video 

Click here to subscribe or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org

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How should INGOs discern what roles are still relevant, legitimate, and needed, at this moment in civil society history?­­ 

And which roles they therefore  should *stop* playing?

Is there more here, over and beyond stopping service delivery? (Which on its own is quite the shift)

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dylan Mathews, Chief Executive Officer at Peace Direct. Peace Direct has been quite vocal, and has acted as a thought leader on this role question -- which I consider fundamental, and which I don't see INGOs facing head-on sufficiently yet.

Dylan's Bio:

• Chief Executive Officer of Peace Direct 
• Director of International Programs at Y Care International
• Program Manager at CARE
• Worked on conflict countries and issues with Landmine Action, Oxford Research Group, and the British Red Cross

We discuss: 

• While the sector is changing, once again, on several fronts (in terms of programming approaches, shifting authority/decision rights to the place of program impact representation, biz models, operating models etc.), what seems to get less attention is whether the organization should go through a fundamental role shift
• Common sense would say role and function, as well as strategy, should come before the other types of changes mentioned above
• One organization that is advocating that NGOs need to tackle the fundamental question of role shift is PeaceDirect, with Dylan Mathews as its leader. 
• So what roles are still appropriate, especially for global North-founded INGOs?
• Dylan explains the nine roles that Peace Direct thinks are still appropriate for INGOs 
• What are, importantly, the implications of a change in role and function for, for instance, board competencies and mindsets, organizational size, staff competency profiles, and culture?
• Dylan shares what gives him hope as INGOs traverse this journey, but also what makes him skeptical that the role shifts Peace Direct points to will actually take hold among INGOs,

Resources:

Peace Direct Website

Dylan’s LinkedIn Profile

Peace Direct reading resources: Link1, Link2, Link3

YouTube video of this podcast

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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

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Conflict management and mediation are skills that come up frequently as a weak area in many of our social sector organizations.

And these days, more than ever conflict is on the rise within our organizations.

So how can we work through our conflicts more skillfully and effectively?

Nathalie has answers for us. She's a trainer conflict mediator (as well as a Corentus, Inc. team coach) who helps teams and organizations develop better conflict management capabilities. 

And she's a valued colleague in a broader team I am a part of. Which means I get to learn from her!

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Nathalie Thompson, Owner of 5 Fold Consulting, on conflict mediation.

Erica's Bio:

• Owner of ‘5 Fold Consulting’, a consulting and coaching firm focused on conflict management skill building and mediation
• Core Practitioner and Faculty at the Corentus team coaching company
• In short: mediator, facilitator, and coach

We discuss: 

• It is often useful to work on task-related conflicts as a precursor to working on relationship-based conflicts.
• There are cross-national cultural differences in how humans deal with conflict. As a mediator, it is important to first build relationship, to inquire what makes for a good conversation for the person, and how to structure the conflict mediation process
• There are also gendered dimensions to conflict expression and management. Society tends to ascribe the term ‘aggressive’ to women (negative framing), for instance, when they engage in conflict, while men tend to be labeled as ‘assertive’ in the same context (positive or neutral framing)
• One way of minimizing interpersonal conflicts within organizations is to clarify expectations, styles, and preferences. Similarly, to clarify goals and parameters, and how to do the work. 
• Also, to agree to tackle breakdowns in relationships by agreeing upfront how difficulties will be raised, and to work through the Corentus ‘6 question framework’ for dealing with breakdowns.
• Nathalie is among others an ombuds. This is an originally Swedish term that literally means: ‘representative of the people’, and is an independent, neutral person to whom staff in an organization can go for confidential advice, feedback on policy, procedure, or when they seek accommodation. Ombuds are independent from HR and can offer mediation, and raise sensitive issues such as harassment and performance issues with those in authority.
• The apparent rise in intra-organizational strife in civil society organisations is an extension of the external polarization in society: a tendency to think in terms of ‘one true way’ instead of accepting there are many different ways

Quotes:

“In the nonprofit sphere, people tend to be expected to be ‘so nice’; this makes it harder to exert accountability, and to say what needs to be said”

Resources:

Nathalie’s LinkedIn Profile

Nathalie’s Email

5 Fold Consulting Website

YouTube video of this podcast

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What constitutes a culture of philanthropy within nonprofits and NGOs? It's a term easily bandied around, but how do I see when it's in place?

How has the field of direct giving by small donors, and monthly giving as one donor practice in particular changed in the last 10-20 years?

Are there hurdles to be overcome in persuading donors to adopt monthly giving? 

Finally, there is a lot of discussion about the need for a shift towards ethical storytelling, with local program participants in the driver's seat, and while focusing on the local person's agency. The raison d'etre for this is clear; however, is this aligned with what motivates donors (at least in traditional fundraising 'markets') to give?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution, a consulting agency with expertise in direct giving and monthly giving, on trends in direct fundraising.

Erica's Bio:

• Author and Speaker, and a Master Trainer affiliated with the Association for Fundraising Professionals
• Expertise in Direct Marketing, Monthly Giving, International Fundraising
• US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress (IFC)
• Before launching A Direct Solution, she held several consulting, coaching and direct marketing roles in various consulting agencies, nonprofits, and in the publishing industry.

We discuss - particularly with regard to the US donor arena: 

• Online donations have blossomed since 2011, to the point where people now have access to many online payment platforms, donation-by-text, etc.
• Religious people are more generous than non-religious people; and so are low to mid-income people (in relative terms, as a proportion of their income), as compared to wealthy people
• Monthly giving is an important strategy to underpin financial sustainability since it guarantees nonprofits potentially significant levels of dependable unrestricted revenue; this in turn allows the agency to do long-term planning.
• In the short term, when setting up monthly giving as one avenue, it is more capacity and resource-intensive for an agency
• Monthly giving as one donation strategy has been around for decades, but many nonprofits have only started focusing on it in a serious way in the last 10 or so years
• There is some tension between the NGO sector’s aspired direction of ethical, authentic storytelling – what Erica calls ‘the complete story’ --, that starts from a program participant’s strengths and assets and the opportunities they have rather than from a deficit perspective, and the need of donors to feel that they contribute to a clear need. This tension is not yet fully acknowledged.
• Intermediary nonprofit ranking and rating sites (e.g. Guidestar, Charity Navigator, Give Well, etc in a US context) fulfill a donor’s felt need for transparency and the ability to trust an agency, but such data is unlikely to shape  donation behavior of new donors in a major way. 
• Child sponsorships are likely to continue as a vehicle for fundraising, but at a lower level than before. Many nonprofits’ donor pools are aging (a lot), and this will remain the case till current day Millenials and subsequent generations age themselves.

Resources:

Erica’s LinkedIn Profile

A Direct Solution consulting agency, founded by Erica (the site provides lots of free resources on direct fundraising)

YouTube vid

What does the name Taimaka mean?

To what extent are there challenges, as an organization, when you aim for evidence-based decision-making?

What kind of culture is needed to truly live the aspiration of being evidence-based?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dr. Umar Abubakar and Justin Graham, co-founders and co-directors of The Taimaka Project -- an NGO working in Gombe state, Nigeria, on what happens when a start-up nonprofit wants to nurture an evidence-based culture.

Umar Abubakar's Bio:

• Co-founder and director, Taimaka Project, an NGO working on child malnutrition in Gombe state, Nigeria
• Medical doctor, Ministry of Health, Nigeria
• Umar has degrees in clinical medicine as well as public health
• He runs the medical side of Taimaka’s malnutrition program
• Umar manages Taimaka’s team of nutrition care specialists, oversees hospital partners, and ensures that  patients receive the best possible standard of care

Justin's Bio:

• Co-founder and director, Taimaka Project
• Worked in the past for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
• Former intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Justin oversees technology, finance, and innovation at Taimaka
• He handles Taimaka’s tech portfolio and manages in-house digital case management database

We discuss: 

• Taimaka Project is a start-up NGO working on child malnutrition in Gombe state in N-W Nigeria.
• Taimaka Project stands out in how much attention it gives to rigorous evaluation of its program treatment methods (in this case with regard to child malnutrition related interventions). 
• Using this approach entails the following question: what is the most amount of impact we can ‘produce’ or contribute to, per dollar spent? 
• This can come across as utilitarian to some, and  a vigorous discussion about the ethical trade-offs of such an approach is always a good thing
• If you want to promote an evidence-based culture, what does this entail? One facet: when you are told you are wrong, whether you are a leader or staff, you should take this personally. 
• Taimaka regularly collaborates with academics on rigorous program evaluation. What are the ins and outs of working with academics, as a practitioner organization?
• Taimaka is also shifting from a start-up into a ramp-up phase and is currently experiencing fast growth. What does this imply for policies, systems, and processes that now need to be built or adapted, and how do we preserve what is precious about the org's culture? 

Quotes:

·       “We go a layer deeper in our measurement and evaluation”

Resources:

Dr. Abubakar’s LinkedIn Profile

Justin’s LinkedIn Profile

Justin’s Email

The Taimaka Project (sign up for their email newsletter if you want insight into their evaluation and (cost) effective measurement approaches)

Tamaika LinkedIn Business Page

YouTube video 

Click 

Quite a few smaller size social sector organizations assume that program evaluation is too complex or demanding an undertaking for them. Is that the case, though?

If we want to introduce program evaluation to staff, leadership, and boards who have not yet been inducted into the importance of program evaluation: what are the most effective questions to generate genuine interest in and motivation to engage in such program evaluation?

How can we build a more evaluation-friendly culture all around?

Chari Smith, President and Founder of the consulting company Evaluation into Action has written a book that gives clear answers to these questions: Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple (2021). She explains her core argument in this podcast episode.

Chari's Bio:

• Program Evaluation enthusiast: Author, Speaker, Consultant, and Trainer
• President/Founder of Evaluation into Action, a consulting company
• Program Evaluation Associate at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

We discuss: 

• Chari’s book is meant for small to midsize nonprofits who have not yet taken up program evaluation, to make it achievable to them. The book is also meant for entry-stage evaluators
• Chari values Beth Kanter's and Aliza Sherman’s definition of organizational culture  – “Organizational culture is a complex tapestry made up of attitudes, values, behaviors, and artifacts of the people who work for your nonprofit.”
• If you apply a collaborative, inclusive, participatory, and non-siloed approach to introducing program evaluation, your chances of increasing buy-in grow considerably
• Only collect data that you will actually analyze and synthesize into actionable data and that is likely to influence decision-making
• A program evaluation-friendly culture cannot be ‘mandated’, on the one hand
• On the other hand, the role of culture ambassadors – people who already are in favor of program evaluation – is important in instilling an evaluation-friendly culture
• What's also important is the role of organizational ‘heroes’, and the use of stories, images, and narratives, while organizational artifacts (tangible objects that can be seen around the organization) can be used to signal a desired culture.

Quote:

•  “By gathering data, nonprofits can pivot from a reactive stance to a proactive one, by acting on the data gathered”

Resources:

• Chari’s LinkedIn Profile
• Website of ‘Evaluation into Action’
• Book ‘Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple’

What are the main benefits of a network structure, where power, authority, and leadership are dispersed and shared across regions, from an effectiveness perspective? 

What are the most important enabling habits, practices and behaviors that go with that, as a change leader?

And what are the most valuable network-related frameworks, concepts, resources, and tools at work in moving towards this structure?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Anu Kumar, President and CEO at Ipas, on the why, the what, and the how of changing an organization from a hub and spoke to a horizontal NGO model.

Anu's Bio:

• President and CEO at Ipas
• Former Chief Strategy and Development Officer as well as Executive Vice President at Ipas
• Senior Program Officer, Program on Global Security and Sustainability, Population and Reproductive Rights, MacArthur Foundation
• Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation
• Social Scientist in Human Reproduction, WHO

We discuss: 

• Ipas is the leading technical org that advocates for access to contraception and abortion services, globally
• Traditionally, Ipas has had a hub-and-spoke organizational model, like many traditional NGOs
• A strategy change – for Ipas to contribute to a sustainable global contraception and abortion access ecosystem – demanded that countries would take over much of the lead in Ipas. So form followed function
• Ipas started its change towards a network model by defining what decentralization meant for itself
• It then defined shared leadership as its management model, and articulated change behaviors, practices, and management set-up as required next steps
• Subsequently, it changed its structure to that of a network in which the US no longer was the primary member, and a Network Leadership Group, a Staff Community Council, and a NetCare group were formed -- the latter nurtures the network
• Ipas explicitly chose not to become a (con)federated organization and to remain a corporate hierarchical structure
• As a next step, it adopted horizontal decision-making for some of its decision-making on budget aspects and recruitment
• Adopting a horizontal management approach does *not* mean there is no hierarchy anymore: the CEO, CFO, and a few other executive leaders still have some positional power, but their  realm of decision-making is now reduced
• Decentralized decision-making means faster decision-making; more cross-country collaboration is also happening that's not involving the US.
• Role clarity is still an issue to be improved upon. On the other hand, global coherence was facilitated through a codified collaboration agreement
• Ipas' board, still based in the US, retains fiduciary responsibilities, so compliance continues to be important

Resources:

• Anu's LinkedIn Profile
• Ipas Website
• LinkedIn article on Ipas change approach by Anu Kumar
• Bridgespan consulting group article on Re-imagining Multi-Country NGO Operating Models
• Samantha Slade’s book was informative for Ipas's change journey: Going Horizontal

YouTube 

Conflict within our organizations: we often don't really want to face them, but they are very much there. The result? Plenty of passive aggression to go around. 

What are the implications of such forms of conflict avoidance?

In other NGOs on the other hand -- especially in the last few years it seems -- internal strife has come out into the open - sometimes spilling into the media in an unwanted fashion.

On another note: is interest-based problem-solving still a helpful approach to conflict management skill building, or not?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Daniel Genberg, one of the foremost consultants on NGO governance matters, on how conflict mediation can come to the rescue when nonprofits deal with internal strife.

Daniel's Bio:

• Independent advisor on governance issues; Daniel is one of the premier INGO governance advisers in fact
• Special Advisor for Not-For-Profit Organisations at Morrow Sodali (formerly Nestor Advisors), a consulting company on governance and sustainability
• Director of Governance, Amnesty International
• Head of Governance Development, ActionAid International
• Head of Governance and Accreditation at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
• Anthropologist by training

We discuss: 

• Even though Daniel is called in to consult on governance issues -- both their structural and process dimensions --, behind these governance issues one often finds people, relationship, and power issues that truly drive the difficulties
• Thus, conflict mediation skills need to be part of the toolbox of a governance adviser
• Conflicts tend to revolve around 1/ resource distributions and who holds the (financial) resources; 2/ differences in view about strategic directions; and 3/ divergent understandings of the roles and authority of management vs. boards 
• In resource-scarce environments, conflicts tend to abound
• Important steps in mediation: 1/ abandon a win-loss attitude; 2/ it’s not always about compromise (i.e. mini-win, mini-loss); 3/ how can we grow the pie for everybody?; 4/ the importance of feelings; 5/ the need to be able to try out ideas without committing to them as yet; 6/ it is not the role of the mediator to create solutions; 7/ confidentiality; 8/ the use of a structured process with an outcome that prevents loss of face
• Do we see a rise in recent years of intra-organizational strife in civil society? Yes, there are more areas of tension, due to the gloomy financial prospects of many organizations, and power and authority structures that have been in place for decades.

Quotes

"Conflict mediation is not so much about getting out of conflict but about restoring relationships, listening skills, and learning and understanding how a situation looks like from the other side"

Resources:

Daniel's LinkedIn Profile

Morrow Sodali (former name Nestor Advisors)

Center for Effective Dispute Resolution

CIVICUS Essay Tosca on NGO sector scandals about abuse of power and the role of cultural issues

SSIR: The Upside of Conflict, with Joseph McMahon, Allen Fowler and Elizabeth Field

&nbs

What are some structural things that are wrong in development aid and in civil society?

Which mindsets most need to be decolonized when it comes to the relationship between global South civil society organizations (CSOs) and INGOs?

Global North-founded INGOs need to be reimagined. How, in turn, do global South-founded NGOs have to change to take over many roles that INGOs currently still fulfill? And how do they need to recalibrate their power relationships with INGOs?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Charles Kojo Vandyck, a development practitioner based in Ghana, a leader at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), and a thinker on alternatives to development and alternatives to  INGO models.

Charles’ Bio:

• Development practitioner, based in Ghana, who is on a mission to drive transformative change within civil society
• Head of the Capacity Development Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)
• Core team member, RINGO project – Reimagining International NGOs 
• Founding Member of the International Consortium on Closing Civic Space (iCon)
• Trustee of INTRAC and an Advisory Board Member of Disrupt Development
• Host of the podcast Alternative Convos, which focuses on social cohesion as well as social change in Africa. You can find Alternative Convos on Spotify

We discuss: 

• The West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), based in Accra/Ghana, is a regional organization focused on civil society support and institutional strengthening
• RINGO project: the Reimaging the INGO project is a collaborative global project among civil society leaders to prototype new models of INGOs that shift power to the global South and equalize relationships between global South and global North NGOs as well as funders
• According to Charles, here are some of the problems with current models of development and aid architecture: a projectized approach to development;  local expertise of people is insufficiently recognized in project design; the ad-hoc and short-term nature of money flows; the presence of dependency cultures; lack of asset-based models to development (instead of  deficit-based ones)
• The policies and ways of working of INGOs have to be part of what needs to shift
• The RINGO project helps to identify areas of stuckness and develop prototypes for alternatives
• The hardest nuts to crack within the RINGO project are related to structural racism
• Global South NGOs also need to change their models: they need to invest more in talent development and succession planning, to help generational shift from founders to successors; develop their skills in intersectoral as well as intersectional approaches to development; and invest in technology skills.

Resources:

Charles’ LinkedIn Profile

Podcast Alternative Convos – on Spotify

WACSI Website

Reimagining the INGO Website

YouTube video of this podcast

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Email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org 

You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her socia

Leadership transitions are tricky -- and potentially risky -- moments in a nonprofit's life. What are the most common pitfalls or aspects that get overlooked when nonprofits -- and outgoing leaders themselves -- tackle such leadership transitions?

What key strategies and tactics are essential to ensure a smooth leadership transition and maintain organizational stability?

What are the habits, practices, and behaviors that are most aligned with a successful exit of an Executive Director?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ignacio Saiz,  who transitioned out of the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) some 2 years ago, on the right way to do this.

Ignacio’s Bio:

• Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Economic Justice, and Strategic Leadership
• Former Executive Director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
• Ignacio also held various managerial and leadership roles at Amnesty International, including Director of Policy Programs, Deputy Director for the Americas, and other roles

We discuss: 

• How planned transitions should be seen as an opportunity
• Written transition plans help in avoiding miscommunication, and in allocating clear roles and responsibilities for how to deal with the transition, while clarifying the timeline as well
• A comprehensive communication strategy is vital: outwards (towards donors/funders, peers/partners), as well as inwards (towards staff, board, advisory councils, volunteers etc.)
• Participation of staff is vital. One mechanism can be representation of 1-2 staff in the Board recruitment committee, as long as the organization is  very clear though about staff's decision rights vis-a-vis  the selection of the successor 
• Outgoing leaders often underestimate the anxiety that may occur among staff and some board members -- especially if their  tenure has been long
• Whether the outgoing leader plays any role in the organization beyond their tenure is a very tricky and highly contextualized  decision, and needs to be carefully negotiated between the outgoing and incoming leaders. Most importantly, this must be completely steered by the needs and preferences of the incoming leader.

Quotes:

• “Boards need to realize top leadership transition involves more than a recruitment”
• “Planned leadership transitions should be seen as a shared opportunity, not a cause for concern”
• “Transition takes at least two years, and has to include the transition-in period when the incoming leader needs active support”

Resources:

Ignacio’s LinkedIn Profile

Ignacio's blog post on the matter (note links at the end to two good additional resources)

YouTube video of this podcast

Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.

Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

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What should I imagine, practically, when a team coach starts to support my team?

What does a well-known team coach find the most rewarding about working with nonprofit teams?

Can a team coach detect any differences in team behaviors or tendencies between their for-profit and nonprofit clients? 

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Alexander Caillet, CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc., on all of the above questions,  including how to navigate team behaviors when it comes to organizational politics as well as decision-making. 

His answers may surprise you!

Alexander’s Bio:

·       CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc.

·       Adjunct professor at Georgetown University,  in its Leadership Coaching Certificate Program

·       Alexander also worked at other coaching and consulting companies

·       His education is in Organizational Psychology

We discuss: 

• Corentus’ vision: thriving, high-performing teams that result in a sustainable and harmonious future
• What differentiates Corentus’ approach to team coaching from other approaches is its blending of team coaching with team facilitation, training, and consulting 
• Alexander is one of the pioneers in the relatively new field of team coaching
• The various stages of a team coaching engagement
• Corentus has worked with a range of nonprofits: Save the Children, Oxfam, Technoserve, Syngenta Foundation, AIPP, and others.
• Alexander observes interesting differences in what pre-occupies teams in the for-profit and nonprofit space, respectively. They relate to themes such as productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of processes, as well as decisiveness
• He also observes differences in terms of a greater focus on achieving consensus or even unanimity in the nonprofit sphere, rather than using decision-making methods such as voting, delegation, and authority with consultation.

Quotes:

“I was surprised to encounter issues of hierarchy, power, DEI, and dysfunction in the nonprofit sector, I had not expected these as much in this sector”

Resources:

Alexander’s LinkedIn Profile

Corentus Website

Corentus Email

Info on Corentus' offer on Low bono / Pro bono team coaching opportunity

YouTube video of this podcast

Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.

Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: 

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What is the state of DEI in US-founded international development organisations (both for-profit and nonprofit), and how has this state changed since 2021? 

 What has been the action, as compared to the professed intentions for action?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Shiro Gnanaselvam, President and CEO at Social Impact, on DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) trends in US Development agencies.

Shiro’s Bio:

• CEO of Social Impact, a US-based mid-size consulting company that offers MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) services to the international development sector
• Former EVP and COO of Social Impact
• COO of AfriCare, largest and oldest African-American founded international NGO focused exclusively on the continent of Africa.
• Senior Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Millenium Challenge Corporation

We discuss: 

• Racial and ethnic minorities remain under-represented in positions of power
• The global development sector remains predominantly white and female, including at the top
• Disability reporting shows signs of greater awareness
• Organizations have invested in establishing governance structures for DEI: policies, strategies and staff with dedicated responsibilities as well as collective staff bodies (DEI councils etc.)There are modest improvements in how diversity data are captured
• Commitment to DEI remains, but competing priorities and resource limitations are a severe impediment to progress
• There are tensions between global DEO, localization and domestic DEI that need to be resolved – but also many points of similarity

Resources:

Shiro’s LinkedIn Profile

Social Impact website

Social Impact’s blog post on overall survey results

Social Impact blog post on 7 actions the US development sector must take

YouTube video of this podcast

Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.

Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: 

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What is life after leadership like?

What happens to you as a person when you leave a high-powered, highly visible role in civil society?

What happens with your sense of identity? Does this also perhaps touch on ego as well?

What offers new meaning and purpose, when we live our life-after-leadership?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Sam Worthington, former President and CEO at InterAction, who stepped down from a position with much positional as well as symbolic power just about a year ago. 

Sam’s Bio:

• Executive coach, board member and advocate
• Former President and CEO of InterAction – 16 years
• Former President and CEO of Plan International USA
• Executive Director at Delphi International

We discuss: 

• In the months before you leave your leadership job, expect that the extent to which your colleagues still want you to make decisions on important things will rapidly decline
• In Sam’s case, the sense of loss that was involved was not about loss of power (since he’d experienced positional power  for a few decades),  but was about loss  of the comradery that former colleagues and peers used to provide
• You can partially fill this void by offering (informal) coaching to new incoming CEOs for instance.
• Life after leadership does mean you can move more from doing to being; you can be more present now
• Sometimes leaders, once they retire, still are called to speak in global gatherings based on their reputation, their personal brand
• Our knowledge which we can still contribute now is the synthesized wisdom of decades of experience
• Sam is writing a book to look back on everything he learned, his views on the sector, and what gives him hope -- follow him on LinkedIn to stay tuned!

Quotes:

• “The transition is about having been the village chief before; now, I am no longer in the village”

• “My public persona never was my identity”

Resources:

Sam’s LinkedIn Profile

Book David Brooks, From Strength to Strength

Essay by David Brooks in The Atlantic: The New Old Age (gated)

YouTube video of this podcast

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What is scaling? And how is it different from growing?

What’s the role of partner strategies or multiplier strategies in scaling?

What are the implications of scaling in an era of decolonizing aid, localizing development, and shifting roles of nonprofits and NGOs, shifting power, authority and decision rights?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Amy Ragsdale, Director at Spring Impact, a consulting, coaching and training agency specializing in scaling strategiesfor mission-focused organizations, on how to navigate the big scaling quandary.

Amy’s Bio:

• Director at Spring Impact
• Senior Consultant at Capgemini Consulting 
• Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

We discuss: 

• Spring Impact offers coaching, consulting services, and training for mission-focused organizations keen to scale their impact
• Growing the size of an organization or solution means increasing its revenue and/or impact at the same rate as adding resources to an organization. Scaling means you are impacting a societal problem at a larger scale, by increasing impact exponentially, while adding resources incrementally
• Central questions to ask: 1/ What are we scaling?; 2/ Where are we scaling?; 3/ Who will do the scaling? Who are the ‘doers’? Who are the ‘payers’?
• The following attributes of the organizational culture of social mission organizations act as enablers for scaling success: 1/openness to failure; 2/ an ability to hold our hypothesis on what works lightly; 3/ a realization that invention is not the same as innovation!
• The following leadership mindsets are enablers as well: 1/ clarity whether your org is pursuing growth or impact; 2/ staying committed to the problem (NOT the solution); 3/ being collaborative by default
• Financial sustainability models underpinning scaling strategies: examples can be government funding; earned income revenue; fee for service; advertising - and more

Quotes:

“Scaling is not the same as growing. The two are often confused. ”

“Invention is not the same as innovation! (the latter involves testing and learning)”

Resources:

Amy’s LinkedIn Profile

Website of Spring Impact

Podcast Mission to Scale

YouTube video of this podcast

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And, separately, to what extent are African leadership models and frameworks  different from global North ones?  Most importantly, what could global North imprinted leadership models learn from African ones? 

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Adama Coulibaly, Global Programs Director at Oxfam, on both these topics. He is a very experienced NGO leader, a coach, and an eloquent thinker and author on all things leadership. And he just transitioned into his new role at Oxfam, so he is here to speak from experience!

Adama’s Bio:

• A seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of experience in international development and humanitarian aid
• Global Programs Director, Oxfam International; earlier in his career he was also a Regional Director at Oxfam
•  Leadership positions as Country Director at the International Rescue Committee, Regional Director at Plan International, and Principal Adviser at UNICEF
• Certified Transformational coach, and somebody who labels himself a 'positive thinker'

We discuss: 

1. His advice to leaders who are transitioning into an organization, based on his own experience

1. What differentiates African takes on leadership models and frameworks, as distinct from global North imprinted models?

• Adama Coulibaly (nickname ‘Coul’) considers himself a born positive thinker; he learned this behavior in his youth while facing very difficult circumstances in his home country Mali
• As an adult, he learned about the field of positive thinking; and that positive thinking is good for your physical and mental health
• Coul’s advice, in a nut shell, on how to transition into a new senior leadership position:

Give yourself at least 2, if not 4 weeks between two jobs

Use your break time to learn as much about your new organization as you can

Communicate healthy boundaries immediately, otherwise, you will pay a stiff price

Build on what works; don’t feel the need to change everything or most things

Prioritize external engagement, insist on it, and commit to external engagements so that your calendar time for this is protected

• On African models of leadership: they tend to focus on the collective nature of people: the person in the context of their community (see for instance the Ubuntu model)

Quotes:

• “Positive thinking is not about utopia: I call myself a realistic positive thinker. There are a lot of negative things in the world. It is about how we balance negative and positive things”

• “If you have a weak transitioning period, you set yourself up for failure”

• “As soon as you enter the door, you have to problem solve, there is no honeymoon for senior leaders”

Resources:

Adama’s LinkedIn Profile

Positive minds, a pro bono consulting, coaching, and mentoring group (see also Coul’s blog on this site)

Coul’s blog post about leadership transition

YouTube video of this podcast&a

What should we think of when we consider organization integrity issues?

How do you distinguish between positive and negative forms of power?

How do we nurture power for organizational integrity? 

These are the fairly complex questions that we address in the podcast today.

In this NGO Soul+Strategy  episode, I interview Bhavika Patel, Senior Adviser for Equalities and Inclusion at Oxfam Great Britain, and Alex Cole-Hamilton, independent consultant and one of the founders of the Power and Integrity Initiative, on their work on positive power for organizational integrity.

Bhavika’s Bio:

• Currently the Senior Adviser for Equalities and Inclusion at Oxfam
• Brings HR, culture, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) experience,  with practical experience in understanding power in relation to EDI and organizational ways of working
• Led on HR issues in Oxfam, and has been a Talent Advisor at UNICEF
• MSC in applied positive coaching psychology

 
Alex’s Bio:

• Independent consultant, advising boards and executives on ethics and integrity risks and related decision-making frameworks
• Former head of Ethics and Compliance, Oxfam Great Britain
• Former head of Corporate Responsibility, Oxfam
• Former ethical trade project manager, The Body Shop

We discuss: 

• The Power & Integrity Initiative is focused on UK-specific agencies; it aims to complement, but not overlap, with other ongoing activities, such as the RINGO project, Pledge4Change, #ShiftThePower etc.
• Concrete examples of measures and policy areas related to organizational integrity: safeguarding, anti-racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), environmental sustainability practices, anti-corruption
• How is power perceived in general?  And in our sector?
• How can integrity be understood more holistically, going beyond the classical interpretation of ethics, to look at people's behavior and organizational behavior in relationship to each other?
• The initiative just went through several Labs to pilot getting to a shared understanding of what power is (not easy!); their write-up on what was learned will be published in late 2023
• Positive power as a concept comes out of the thinking on transformative power, led by Srilatha Batliwala and others at CREA. It also builds on notions of power with, power within, power for and not just power over (hierarchical or positional or coercive power)
• Even if power is used with good intention by (in)formal leaders in our sector, whether we like it or not, the impact of white-normed organizational systems and processes is not neutral

Resources:

Website of Power & Integrity

Alex’s Website

Bhavika’s LinkedIn Profile

Alex’s LinkedIn Profile

YouTube video of this podcast

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How can the feelings of people who work in organizations both facilitate and suppress change?

What makes people attach reputation and credibility to another person? And how does this relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and these may work out in practice?

What's the problem with think tanks from the perspective of a decolonization goal, and what has been the problem historically?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ajoy Datta,  consultant, policy researcher, and coach, on decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations, and consulting agencies.

Ajoy’s Bio:

• Independent consultant
• Over 20 years of experience in the global development and humanitarian sector
• Supports leaders, teams, organizations, and networks to collaborate, perform better, learn, innovate, and change
• Performs designing, monitoring, and evaluating work to engage with and influence policy and practice as well as strengthen decision-making systems
• Worked 12 years at the Overseas Development Institute (DI)'s research and policy unit
• Worked 3 years at the On Think Tanks (OTT) consulting group
• Started at VSO, the British volunteer agency, in Zambia

We discuss: 

• The useful role of psychodynamics in organizational development: what goes on in our minds, consciously and unconsciously, while working in organizations. Some of these feelings are suppressed and below the surface
• Decolonizing organizations means that we aim to do away with hundreds of years of Western, global North power, such as philosophical underpinnings, concepts, frameworks, assumptions, knowledge systems, and leadership profiles. 
• When organizations recruit people who are dissimilar in demographic or experiential profile from those that were thus far considered the 'norm',  the 'default' -- if their organizational culture, expectations towards staff, and org systems don’t adapt to these new profiles, tension will be the result. These people will be at higher risk of either leaving or being ‘spit out’
• The phenomenon of the glass cliff: when people with demographic profiles different from what was the norm thus far are recruited to high-risk leadership positions, and then fail. 
• What to do about all of this? 1/ Name and acknowledge what is happening. If we fear talking about it, it will never be addressed; 2/ “decriminalize bias"; 3/ create a safe container for discussion; 4/ communicate externally but also internally

Resources:

Ajoy’s LinkedIn profile

Ajoy’s Medium blog posts

Ajoy’s Website

Sample blog posts: 1, 2

YouTube video of this podcast

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How should we think about the  ‘collective journey to equitable development’ of Northern-founded NGOs, national NGOs and their funders?

What obstacles stand in the way of continuing on that journey? 

Why does Humentum argue that NGO operating models need to enable  ERA (Equitable, Resilient, and Accountable) development, and how does that need to come about?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Kim Kucinskas, Director for Community Strategy at Humentum, on nonprofit operations as a driver of transformation.

Kim’s Bio:

• Director, Community Strategy, Humentum
• Director, Member Engagement and Services, Huentum
• Several other roles in Humentum since 2012
• Worked in Namibia on issues related to local epidemics
• Fundraising role at the International Institute for Cooperation and Development

We discuss: 

• The pressure is building for significant change in the northern INGO sector; it’s coming from all frontiers
• There is actual strategic power in the operations model; if we change it in a significant way, big change happens in the power distribution between northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOs
• Humentum argues this in their new 3-part series of reports on ERA: how to move to an Equitable (E), Resilient (R) and Accountable (A) development sector
• But this will only happen if northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOs make significant changes in their institutional architecture, people and culture, funding, and  risk frameworks
• Institutional Architecture is one of Humentum's main building blocks towards ERA: within this, organizations have to have sufficient autonomy for the sector to be able to be equitable, resilient, and accountable
• People and Culture: who is recruited, and works where; a shift in the ‘headquarters’ concept from one that is location-based to role-based; where staff receive fair and equitable compensation, etc.
• Funding: the islands of innovation that are happening in various places need to become ‘mainland’
• Accountability, with a focus on risk management: within this, a shift from risk transfer to risk sharing is required
• Be mindful: the way in which the process of #shiftthepower is happening is actually reflective of the very ways in which power is still being held right now.

Quotes:

“There is strategic value and potential in operations; not as “back-office functions” but as drivers of transformation”

“We are at a tipping point in terms of significant NGO sector change”

Resources:

Kim’s LinkedIn profile

Kim’s Email

Humentum's ERA reports

YouTube video of this podcast

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How does a climate change activist movement such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) chose among strategies and tactics on the spectrum between more 'radical' actions such as civic agitation, (nonviolent) disobedience, high-profile stunts that may lead to arrests and more 'mainstream' actions that may (or may not?) help them build a more broad public base?

How does Extinction Rebellion (XR) see the distinction between insider and outsider strategies in climate change activism?

Is it necessarily the case that 'radical 'activism by nature is cyclical, i.e. that it cannot be maintained on a long-term basis because of the intensity of this activism model?

And how does Extinction Rebellion deal with internal as well as external equity dimensions of the fact that low-income people and/or those who face discrimination tend to get hit harder by the impacts of climate change? 

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview a youth activist in the Netherlands (my original home country), on how she sees Extinction Rebellion tackle all these choices and trade-offs. 

Bio of the youth activist X:

• Student at Erasmus University College, Rotterdam, the Netherlands 
• Involved for the last year, 4-5 hours/week

 
We discuss: 

• How climate change fights and climate justice issues need to be interlinked to both benefit from sustained civic action
• The nature of the three global XR  demands: 1/ Tell the Truth; /2. Act Now; 3/ Decide together
• How environmental activism in the global south has a history of white elite-level advantage, how it rightfully has been critiqued for suffering from white elitism and how it is now trying to overcome this by focusing on embracing everybody’s contribution and being expressly inclusive
• Climate change requires both civil disobedience and broad public support. Collaboration between social movements such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) and formally registered NGOs is therefore important
• Groups like Greenpeace are better than XR at drawing in the media, examples such as the Netherlands NGO Milieu Defensie (Environmental Defense) are good in online petitioning, while movements like XR are good in mass mobilization. They need to complement each other
• The sustainability of engagement in XR-type activism, with its typical peak-type activities, fairly time-intensive forms of self-organization and democratic decision making styles may be challenged; XR expressly tries to compensate for this through encouraging collective self-care

 
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Environmental activism, environmental justice and equity concerns: what, if anything, is challenging about holding all of these three concerns at the same time?

Can a better integration or balance be achieved between these 3 concerns?

To what extent is radical activism cyclical in nature because it is hard to keep activists motivated for peak public mobilization moments?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Aseem Prakash, Professor of Political Science and Founding Director at the Center on Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, Seattle (USA) on climate change activism by nonprofits and social movements. Aseem does much of his research together with Nives Dolsak, also a Professor at the University of Washington.

Aseem’s Bio:

• Professor of Political Science; Walker Family Professor; Director, Center for Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, Seattle
• Former Assistant Professor in Strategic Management and Public Policy at the George Washington University in Washington DC
• Obtained his Ph.D. at the Dept of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University
• MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India

Nives’ Bio:

• Nives Dolsak is Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA
• Visiting professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

We discuss: 

• Is environmental activism still guilty of white elitism? To what extent is a concern for environmental degradation, including climate change, still primarily a concern for citizens only once their material needs are met? Is the focus on environmental justice making a difference in this regard?
• There are few climate deniers anymore – even in the US: it is more a conflict over what instruments or ways of fighting climate change to use, not a conflict anymore over the goals themselves. Who carries most of the burden of energy policy implications coming out of climate change mitigation needs? Who loses and who wins across rural/urban areas, class, and race? Who pays for the costs of mitigation, and who gets the benefits? These are equity concerns
• Climate change contention and the surge of populism across the world are closely linked since class and location or place (rural vs. urban concerns) are intertwined
• What are the merits of outsider strategies – a la Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise Movement vis-a-vis insider strategies (Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace (partially) etc.?
• ‘Radical’, disruptive activism can have several benefits while it can also antagonize or turn away broader publics (see the radical flank argument)
• Museum vandalism to draw attention to the climate crisis is primarily a European tactic and surged in 2022; it seems to have died down so far in 2023.

Resources:

Aseem’s Website

Aseem’s LinkedIn Profile

Academic article on climate change activism motivated museum vandalism (open access!): https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-023-00054-5

Example of a article by Aseem and Nivek for broader audiences: HERE

Their article on South Africa and coal: 

What are the strengths of a confederated nonprofit organizational structure and what are its inherent weaknesses and limitations?

What is a ‘diversified network’ type of organizational structure?

To what extent does having a confederated organizational structure, as well as the aspiration to be a diversified network, Impact the nature, legitimacy, adaptability, and quality of decision-making?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Doris Bäsler, formerly Oxfam, on the potential and peril when NGOs aspire to use a network structure

Doris’ Bio:

• Right now, Doris is resting, learning, and volunteering in Berlin, Germany
• Former Director for Strategy & Feminist Futures and Strategy & Confederation Development at Oxfam International
• Former Director for Organisational Development services at Transparency International, as well as head of capacity services
• Worked at Mines Advisory Group (MAG)
• Former Head of office as well as other roles at the country level for the International Committee for the Red Cross

We discuss: 

• The path by which Oxfam chose a confederated organizational structure
• The differences between federated, confederated and corporate unitary structures, and the strengths as well as challenges of confederated structures – and how it is all about places on a spectrum
• How Oxfam got stuck for a while in discussing the choice of a federated versus confederated model – and how the aspiration of a ‘diversified network’ came up
• A diversified network implies that there is diversification of voice: not just global South members, but also non-Christian affiliates, greater recognition of the primacy of Africa within Oxfam, diversification of affiliate business models, etc
• How Oxfam tried to prevent the creation of a lot of “mini me’s”
• The implications for internal systems of decision making, valuing of different forms of knowledge, assets etc
• Quality Decision making can be challenging in a diversified network like Oxfam, but if the values and the ‘why’ and purpose are clear, this helps

Quotes: 

“Complexity of organizational structure is not inherently negative, if you understand it”

“Being a diversified network is an imperative, not a nice to have in a world within which power is clearly shifting”

Resources:

Doris’s LinkedIn profile

Doris’ Email

Related Blogpost

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What is the difference between forecasting and foresight, as a skill and an area of work?

What are the pitfalls when international civil society organizations (ICSOs) apply crisis frameworks to trends that are actually longer-term, intersecting, and systemic?

Decolonization and diversity: how are these big current discussions and areas for taking action intersecting with what sometimes is called 'anticipatory capacity': the capacity to anticipate futures and know how to act in order to try to influence them?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview consultants and former Amnesty International practitioners  Danny Vannucchi and Heather Hutchings, on anticipating the future of civil society operating space - the legal, political and normative space for CSOs to do their work. Their report, commissioned by the International Civil Society Centre (ICSC) as part of its long-term work on civic space, is titled: Anticipating Futures for Civil Society Operating Space.  

 ICSC's mission is to strengthen the impact and resilience of international civil society organizations to support people to change their world for the better. The Centre does this by convening civil society actors, offering training, research and other activities.

The Centre is planning further work on civil society's anticipatory capacity and is keen to get in touch with potential partners. Email Miriam Niehaus at ICSC: mniehaus@icscentre.org

 
Heather’s Bio:

• Consultant at Storm Consulting
• Former senior Advisor, Conflict and Organizational Development at Amnesty International

Danny’s Bio:

• Senior Strategy & Human Rights Consultant
• Senior Strategic Facilitator at GRID Impact
• Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
• Former director of Global Strategy & Impact at Amnesty International

We discuss: 

• Foresight and forecasting are two different concepts, yet they easily get misunderstood in civil society (CS): forecasting is about the mitigation of risk and is a more pragmatic concern. Foresight is about imagining different futures, shaping visions of the future, and forging strategies to shape the future that emerges. To be ahead of trends, in other words.
• Crises can keep civil society in a ‘defensive crouch’, in a reactive mode. Crisis management mode is a well-honed capacity in civil society, but we do not focus enough on the trends underlying those crises. 
• Due to a lack of anticipatory capacity within civil society, we miss opportunities to make use of or shape longer-term trends 
• CS has sufficient awareness of macro trends, but we fail to make this knowledge actionable; what are the reasons do decision-makers not act on the data on trends that is offered to them?
• Future scanning is actually often primarily about good strategy
• Civil society collectively can improve its anticipatory capacity by pooling resources 

Quotes: 

“How to not sit at the table laid out by others, but rather, invite others to sit at your own table – that is the challenge”

“Crisis response is an important part of NGOS’ public relations 

What is ‘transscalar activism’ in a nutshell? And how is it different from what academics call the 'Boomerang' model of international advocacy NGO networks?

When did international NGO advocacy begin attracting the attention of academics, and why? What had shifted at that point, what had changed?

What was the dominant narrative in academia for a long time? And what was wrong with that?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Elizabeth Bloodgood, Associate Professor at Concordia University, Canada, and Christopher Pallas, Professor at Kennesaw University, USA, on major shifts in advocacy and campaigning approaches among NGOs. Trust me: their empirical research, based on practitioner case studies, is relevant for us practitioners.

Elizabeth’s Bio:

• Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Lecturer in non-state actors at the University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College, USA

Christopher’s Bio:

• Professor of Conflict Management at the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw University in Georgia, USA
• His research focuses on nongovernmental organizations and their role in international policymaking and development

We discuss: 

• Chris and Beth argue that how we think about advocacy strategies in relation to the roles and practices of global North and global south founded NGOs is well overdue for an update
• The argument they make in their 2022 book ‘Beyond the Boomerang: From Transnational Advocacy Networks to Transscalar Advoacy’  is linked to hot topics of today, such as decolonizing aid, and a shift in power and agency between global South-founded and global North-founded NGOs – a shift that Beth and Chris argue has already been well on its way for 10+ year. 
• The era of the so-called ‘boomerang effect’  model in global advocacy -- in which national-level global South-founded NGOs would link up to global North-founded NGOs on advocacy causes when they did not find their government to be responsive -- that era is over
• Their argument as expressed in the book implies changes in what are legitimate, needed roles for global North-founded NGOs into the future.
• National NGOs in the global South now choose at what scale to operate (thus the term ‘transscalar activism’) – whether local, national, regional or global -- and these days ally with Southern CSOs as much as with global North-founded NGOs
• This also means that we should expect to see that global South-founded NGOs will feel less obliged to engage in marketing and reframing of their local causes in order to get international partners or global-North based media on their side. 

Resources:

Elizabeth’s LinkedIn Profile

Faculty page of Elizabeth

Faculty page of Christopher

Christopher’s Google Scholer page

Book: <&l

What’s problematic about philanthropy in the ways the sector has practiced it for many decades?

Are there limits to trust-based philanthropy?

How do boards of grant-making philanthropies such as the Global Fund for Children have to change their composition, mindset, and oversight practices to lessen a compliance and upward accountability lens and to make themselves more responsive to actual needs?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview John Hecklinger, President and CEO at Global Fund for Children, on how we can practice philanthropy that’s less colonial in mindset and practices.

John’s Bio:

• President and CEO, Global Fund for Children (GFC)
• Co-Chair, Alliance for International Youth Development
• Chief Program Officer, Global Giving
• Business development director, Global Giving
• Director of Data Acquisition in the private sector
• Peacecorp volunteer (US volunteering program)

We discuss: 

• Global Fund for Children acts as an intermediary in on-granting philanthropic resources from family and corporate foundations to child and youth-focused, local civil society organizations. It also facilitates peer cohort capacity strengthening among grantee partners
• What John learned from working at Global Giving in terms of its innovative role in introducing crowdfunding to the nonprofit and citizen-giving sector  
• The risks when well-intentioned philanthropic organizations reinforce a mindset of compliance and upward accountability
• GFC stimulates homegrown philanthropy because communities have assets that can be leveraged 
• How GFC’s board had to evolve in composition, mindset and practices  composition to be liberated from simply approving ‘pre-baked’ dockets of prepared projects and to move to an approach that allowed GFC to become more flexible and responsive to needs
• What does the future of philanthropy look like, beyond grantmaking, when on-granting organizations such as GFC have taken themselves out of the picture?

Quotes:

“Everyone was getting smarter together once the board composition became more representative of the grantee partners it worked with”

Resources:

John’s LinkedIn Profile

Global Fund for Children (GFC) Website

GFC’s blogs

Podcast episode #22, NGO Soul + Strategy, with Dorothy Nyambi of MEDA

Benchmarking study on Shifting Power among 17 CSOs (International Civil Society Centre)

Youtube video of this podcast

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What are the characteristics of 'digitally native' campaigning organizations?

How do digital NGO campaigning organizations compare and contrast with traditional, 'brick and mortar' NGOs?

Do digitally native civil society organizations and traditional NGOs sufficiently seek to complement each other, in order to maximize impact? I don't think they do.

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Nina Hall, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University, on my episode 'Digital advocacy NGOs: a necessary, complementary force'.

 Nina’s Bio:

• Associate Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University,  School of Advanced International Studies, Europe
• Nina's research explores the role of transnational advocacy and international organizations in international relations
• Published research on advocacy organizations and multilateral institutions
• Author of the recent book Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era, Think Global, Act Local (Oxford University Press, 2022)
• DPhil (Ph.D.) in International Relations from the University of Oxford

 We discuss: 

• Nina studies progressive national digital advocacy and other digital campaigning organizations
• Digital advocacy organizations use digital campaigning tactics such as online petitioning, combined with offline tactics such as street mobilization, offline meetings with campaign targets, etc. 
• Digital advocacy organizations are less likely to work on issues that are less broadly popular, such as minority rights issues
• Nina pushes back on the use of the word ‘platform’ for digital advocacy organizations since the actors she studies have actual HQs, paid staff, etc.
• The kind of digital advocacy organizations that Nina studies have most potential to be effective in more or less democratic societies, where they are in a position to pressure elected or appointed decision-makers
• The profile of most ‘members’ (i.e. supporters) of digital advocacy organizations is that of middle-class, educated, urban citizens with adequate internet access
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this type of digital advocacy organization, as compared to those of traditional NGOs?
• What's the difference between staff-stewarding campaigning approaches versus member-driven approaches?

Resources:

Nina’s professional Website

Nina’s personal Website

Nina’s book:  Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era: Thinking Global, Acting Local, Oxford University Press, 2022

Nina's book recently won the ISA ICOM best book prize, see HERE

Stanford Social Science Innovation Research excerpt of Nina's book - HERE

Twitter thread by Nina on the book – HERE

Youtube video

INGOs have been rocked by scandals and allegations of abuse of power, discrimination etc. in the last 5-10 years. 

What kind of different types of scandals can we distinguish in our sector?

Which factors that affect nonprofit scandals remain understudied?

What's the distinction between integrity violations and competency violations? And should we be getting more concerned as a sector about the latter

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Cassandra Chapman, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Queensland, Australia, on causes, consequences, and prevention and recovery strategies for NGO scandals.

Cassandra’s Bio:

• Associate Professor in Marketing at the Business School of the University of Queensland
• Associate Editor at Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
• Former practitioner - Supporter Development Manager as well as Fundraising & Communications Manager at ChildFund, New Zealand

We discuss: 

• If the consequences of transgressions by nonprofits are directly relevant to the mission of nonprofits, then they are being punished harsher by the public and the media
• Scandal consequences go up, if the nonprofit is perceived to be inactive afterward, or tries to cover it up
• ‘Expectancy violations’ happen when nonprofits engage in ethical transgressions because nonprofits are perceived to be/are expected to be ‘good’
• Researchers should examine more on whether sector-level actions by nonprofit apex or peak bodies engage in apology, acknowledgment, and reparative actions
• Persons who feel morally credentialled by working in nonprofits are actually more likely to transgress

Quotes:

“My mission as an academic is to create usable know-how for practitioners”

“People assume that there is a crisis in trust in charities; instead, actually, trust in charities has continued a little bit in charities over time”

Resources:

Cassandra’s LinkedIn

Cassandra’s Twitter

Cassandra’s article: (this article is not available through Open Access; message Cassandra through LinkedIn and she can send you the PDF version)

Cassandra’s short summary post on LinkedIn

An upcoming website with summaries of articles by Cassandra: www.donorpsych.org

Tosca’s essay on ‘Can organizational culture explain recent INGo scandals’ provides further perspectives

Youtube video of this podcast

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A number of NGOs have aimed to strengthen their global legitimacy by adding more global South members/affiliates. Is this truly a valuable strategy? Does it help with legitimacy to be more 'globally balanced'? What are the hard lessons learned about how to manage this process? And how do local civil society as well as government respond?

 Hazem Fahmy, the CEO of the CARE Egypt Foundation and former Country Director of CARE USA-line managed Egypt Country Office, is an excellent source of wisdom on all of this. He, together with his senior leadership and with other 'change champions' in his broader team and in CARE globally, shepherded CARE Egypt's transition into full membership.

What does Hazem consider the most interesting or rewarding about the ‘art and science’ of change leadership?

Equally, what is the most difficult or frustrating about this experience with change management and leadership?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Hazem Fahmy, CEO of CARE Egypt Foundation, on CARE Egypt’s Country Office transition towards full membership. 

Hazem’s Bio:

• CEO of the CARE Egypt Foundation
• Country Director for CARE Egypt Country Office
• Worked at CARE Egypt for 19 years
• PhD from New Mexico University in Water Resources

We discuss: 

• CARE USA had overseen the CARE Egypt Country Office for almost 60 years before it transitioned to full CARE membership (with a voice in global governance)
• These kinds of transformations should not be seen as a project but as a change journey
• The addition of global South members to CARE’s confederation means that new topics have been introduced within CARE: it has changed the organization’s discourse on what matters
• How the new global South  members demanded that global North members too should live up to the same  standards that are expected of them 
• Organizational change processes like this always take longer than expected, but that is acceptable– it's about living up to the intention of change, not about project deadlines
• Hazem finds it rewarding to hear people who used to be doubtful about this strategic direction now applaud what has been achieved
• One cannot be overfocused on keeping staff comfortable by saying that most things will not change
• Egyptian civil society largely accepts the CARE Egypt Foundation as part of its own, while Government has started to involve it more in consultative roundtables - so the transition to full membership has helped with local credibility.

 Quotes:

“Change management means navigating a lot of ambiguity, it is a discovery process; change is not a project”

“Don’t leave influential people behind”

“I am not denying there is a privilege in being tied to the CARE mothership”

Resources:

Hazem’s LinkedIn profile

Hazem’s Email

Website of Care Egypt Foundation

Hazem’s blog:

Youtube video of this podcast

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What is most difficult or challenging about operating as a leader in a place like Oxfam?

What does it take to lead from a political frame in NGOs?

Rational persuasion: is it overrated?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview John Samuel, Oxfam Asia Regional Director on influence and power in complex NGOs. John is an expert on Organizational Development. He is also the founder of Bodhigram, an Indian grassroots social movement,

John’s Bio:

• Regional Director of Oxfam Asia
• Former President of the Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance
• President & CEO of Trancivic International
• President of the National Centre for Advocacy Studies
• CEO of FORUM-Asia, the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development
• International advisor at UNDP

We discuss: 

• What John is most excited about in Oxfam at this moment, as well as what can be challenging as a leader in Oxfam
• Oxfam is a complex organization, combining multiple DNAs of the respective affiliates, their histories, organizational systems and national cultures - how to navigate this most effectively
• What it takes to develop relationships of trust in an organization like Oxfam: negotiation across differences, people, power, and national cultures. Also understanding where people are coming from, rather than using the same measuring scale on all
• How integrity, truthfulness, conviction, and principles can bypass or negate internal organizational political dynamics
• John's experience is that some people are mission-focused; some are career-driven; and some task-driven; knowing how to recognize these different drivers is helpful.

Quotes:

“Organizations are about people, systems, and power”

“An organization is a living system, it’s organic; an institution, on the other hand, is about systems”

“Humans are fundamentally relational, so you lead through people and relationships”

“Leadership is about communication acts, through language”

“Power is not what you have but what you are perceived to have” (Saul Lewinsky)

Resources:

John’s LinkedIn

Website of Bodhigram, the grassroots social movement founded by John 

John’s blogs:

Dancing with dreams reflects part of the philosophy of Bodhigram

On leadership and language

 John’s predictions for a 2030 future for INGOs

Youtube video of this podcast

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Summary

Who pays for generating the data that nonprofits need, and who should pay?

What about the idea that some or all nonprofit outcomes are fundamentally immeasurable or have unmeasurable components?

How could the US government IRS 990 forms that nonprofits have to submit to the US Treasury Service be improved to provide better data on activities and actual results? 

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Michael Thatcher, President & CEO at Charity Navigator, on his organization’s changing expectations of nonprofits, and how this impacts  US nonprofit behaviors.

Michael’s Bio:

• President & CEO of Charity Navigator
• Board member of Giving Gap and Keystone Accountability
• Chief of Technology for Asia, Middle East, and Africa at Microsoft

We discuss: 

• Charity Navigator purposively does not charge donors or nonprofits to use its platform.
• Charity Navigator’s methodology has changed substantively since its inception – and in ways that at least partially respond to the widespread criticism that had been lobbed at the agency by nonprofit leaders, analysts, and funders.  One of many criticisms had been that CN reinforced the 'overhead myth' and thereby indirectly harmed the nonprofit sector.
• There is an interesting tension that CN has to hold between being largely publically funded (through average donations of $45 per person, annually) and offering just enough – but not too much – information to the average user of Charity Navigator's platform
• Which non-US countries are considering starting an intermediary rating agency similar to CN, and how are they going about it?

Resources:

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Email

Michael’s Twitter

Charity Navigator Website

Charity Navigator’s Press Room

Charity Navigator’s Knowledge Base

Youtube video of this podcast

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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.

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Welcome to our 50th podcast episode!

In this episode, we continue to zero in on what it takes to adopt and shepherd innovation through social change organizations. I interview Emma Proud, head of Learning and Adapting at Brink, an agency that coaches and consults on behavioral innovation approaches.

Emma’s Bio:

• Head of Learning and Adapting at Brink
• Former Director of Organizational Agility at MercyCorps
• Director for Center for Adaptive Management at MercyCorps
• Emma played other roles at MercyCorps, as well as at Save the Children and in private-sector consulting as well

We discuss: 

• Leadership mindsets Emma observes in social change organizations that act as an obstacle when it comes to creating innovation-friendly climates:
  • overconfidence
  • low-risk appetite
  • getting distracted by the 'halo effect' of the new or the 'shiny'
  • difficulty in killing your 'darling innovation projects' ( sunk costs phenomena also plays a role in this); in other words, difficulty with stopping
  • when considering the risks attached to innovation, not thinking through the risk of doing nothing as well
• It is helpful to move clients to an innovation portfolio approach (groups of innovation), accompanied by the development of criteria before you intervene in innovations; 
• The importance of aligning innovations with the organization's strategic priorities
• Innovation 'shepherds' are different from those that need to be concerned with the adoption of innovation – the former are more organizational change managers

Quotes

“Innovation is about better, not necessarily about new” (Ann Mei Chang, author of Lean Impact)”

Resources:

Emma's Twitter

Emma's LinkedIn

Brink's website

Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSRI) article by Emma Proud and others: 'The Adoption of Innovation

Youtube video of this podcast

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What are the strengths of faith-based organizations that secular NGOs may have reason to covet?

On the other hand, what weaknesses or potential blind spots  may faith-based organizations face?

And is there anything specific, or ‘typical’ about being a woman top leader in a faith-based NGO?

In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Martha Holley Newsome, President & CEO of Medical Teams International, and we talk among others about women and positional power in faith-based NGOs, and why, based on anecdotal data, they seem to be underrepresented as compared to secular organizations.

Martha’s Bio:

• President and CEO, Medical Teams International
• 19 years at World Vision International (Vice President, Sr. Director and head of the Africa Region’s HIV/AIDs division, National Director, and more)
• Degree in Public Health from John Hopkins University

We discuss: 

• Medical Teams International is a small to mid-size Christian health and humanitarian aid NGOs, working in the US as well as in 7 countries. In the US, it offers a large dental aid program as well as wrap-around medical and social service care programs for underserved populations such as the elderly, houseless people, and veterans. Outside the US, Medical Teams focuses on long-term refugee and displaced people’s medical care needs, primary care improvements, and health sector reforms
•  Medical Teams aims to be a "big tent" for its staff and volunteers (as well as the target populations it serves) – and not to be exclusionary based on people's faith traditions
• Martha’s own professional journey which ended in senior leadership at World Vision and top leadership at Medical Teams International was heavily influenced by her father’s medical career and his tragic loss of life when Martha was  12 years old
• What Martha learned about change management when she was unprepared to lead a large change process at World Vision: the costs of not focusing on building a strong, broad-based change coalition and on the creation of a strong, widely shared sense of urgency for change. As a result, the intended change process petered out
• Faith-based NGOs tend to be somewhat behind when it comes to the full inclusion of women in top leadership. Possibly, this is due to unconscious bias, linked to how the religious institutions that these NGOs originate in preach about the role of women during their religious gatherings and services.

Quotes

“Faith-based NGOs can suffer from isolation when they think their vision suffices. This can come with naivete, and insufficient appreciation for professional standards that sector organizations need to uphold”

“Faith-based NGOs come with tremendous assets, through the motivation instilled in staff and volunteers – our vision is our calling”

“Younger and smaller faith-based organizations can have a tendency to come barreling into a country setting...instead of being part of a coordinated approach, with other NGOs”

Resources:

Martha’s Twitter

Martha’s Facebook

American Stories Podcast which profiles Martha in detail

Medical Teams' Storytelling guide background is HERE (created by a

Do you work in a large NGO or UN agency, and wonder how the heck you are supposed to stimulate innovations in such a sizable, potentially quite bureaucratic organization?

Do you assume that organization size and structure matter when it comes to creating a good climate for innovation?

And is lack of innovation funds as big an issue as we make it out to be?

In this podcast episode, I interview Soren Vester Haldrup, Innovation Fund Manager at UNDP, on how to kindle innovation in large development agencies. Many people associate 'innovative culture' with small start ups, but there is not necessarily a link between the two.

Soren’s Bio:

• Innovation Specialist and Fund Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Board Member, Global Integrity
• Senior Consultant, Oxford Policy Management 
• Policy Analyst, UNDP

We discuss: 

• How and why UNDP's approach to innovation transitioned from a focus on going after small, project-size innovations to a portfolio  approach of larger-scale innovations that aim to address system-level challenges and multi-faceted ‘wicked issues’ that only groups of actors can address

• Too many innovations are solutions looking for a problem; stay focused on the problem longer!

• Perhaps counter-intuitively (at least for me), not all solutions need to be pursued, as scale is not always good for wicked issues. Rather, UNDP uses an innovation funnel model, in which many innovations are expected to fail fast. But getting to that one solution that can be scaled is not always the solution

• You need buy-in from leadership at the right time and interest, engagement and encouragement from the grassroots

• UNDP uses 'deep demonstrations', instead of scaling. It also aims to create demand for innovations on the side of peers, primary constituents, and funders

• A leadership mindset of humility and comfort with uncertainty is not always present across cultures

• Human inertia may be present more strongly in large organizations because they’ve been around for a long time. And the number of approvals needed in such organizations is typically significant. On the other hand, in small organizations, groupthink can be more prevalent

• Availability of money is an issue, but the flexibility of money is a bigger issue

• Innovation is both about small tweaks to existing solutions as well as big breakthroughs to overcome system-wide issues

Resources:

Soren’s Twitter

Soren’s LinkedIn

Medium Blog

UNDP blog on innovations

Youtube video of this podcast

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Alyona’s Bio:

• Country Director of Pact Ukraine
• Independent consultant for Organisation Development/ Organisational Change
• Country Director of Holt International Children’s Service

We discuss: 

• How work can be a coping mechanism when everything else in the context is out of control – but you have to watch out for its downsides
• The power of gratitude for the little things when in crisis
• The need to switch between short-term, medium-term, and long-term time horizons and perspectives and planning, all the time 
• In volatile contexts, you need to frequently change your decision-making. This does not necessarily reflect bad decision-making, but just the need to be agile
• Personality type-wise, some thrive in crisis; some can switch from a planful to an adaptive style, and some have difficulty functioning or making decisions in crisis
• Some opportunities for change, learning and innovation, which organizations learned during crisis are things they may want to hold on to after the crisis is over

Quotes:

“This is more than a crisis, this is a war. War consists of multiple crises”

“Interestingly enough, the humanitarian sector was slow to respond in Ukraine, while the development sector was more agile in switching to humanitarian work”

Resources:

Alyona’s LinkedIn Profile

PACT website

PACT Ukraine Facebook Page

PACT Twitter

Youtube video of this podcast

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Did you know....

When nonprofits signal they are financially trustworthy,  they actually give up to half of their potential impact.

Why is this "financial trustworthiness signaling behavior” so pervasive, when it has this high a cost?

In this podcast episode, I interview George Mitchell,  Professor of Nonprofit Management at Baruch College, City University of New York – and a long-time collaborator, including on our book (Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’ (Oxford University Press, 2020) -- and Thad Calabrese,  Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at New York University about their provocative new findings. 

George’s Bio:

•  Professor of Nonprofit Management at Baruch College, City University of New York 
• Director at Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management
• Moynihan Research Fellow at Syracuse University
• Independent consultant at InterAction
• Ph.D. from Syracuse University
• Co-author of our joint book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, together with Hans Peter Schmitz, University of San Diego (Oxford Uni Press, 2020)

Thad’s Bio:

• Professor of Public and Nonprofit Financial Management
• Assistant professor at Baruch College, earlier on 
• Ph.D. from New York University

We discuss: 

Nonprofits frequently adhere to four financial ‘orthodoxies’ or norms:

• Though shall keep your overhead costs minimal
• Though shall be financially lean, i.e. not look too profitable, not sit on a large financial or capital reserve
• Though shall diversify one’s revenues as much as possible
• Though shall avoid taking out debt (in the form of loans, bonds, bank notes) etc to acquire capital for investment

What if these practices, these financial norms, actually reduce your impact as a nonprofit by as much as 50% (in terms of your overall spending levels)?

George and Hans did a large-scale, quantitative study on US-based international and domestic nonprofits that indicated exactly this. Their research findings were picked up by several national US media, given their provocative nature.

Quotes:

“Norm-adhering nonprofits sacrifice about half of their mission impact over a 10-year period compared with norm-busting nonprofits.”

“Forgone mission impact is the hidden cost of trustworthiness”

Resources:

George’s LinkedIn Profile

Thad’s LinkedIn Profile

George's blog post – pointing to an article in The Conversation: HERE

Related article in Nonprofit Policy Forum  (Open Access): HERE

Book: Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’ (Oxford University Press, 2020): HERE

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What can we learn from civil society leaders who wish to spur the adoption and implementation of innovations?

How do humans – within organizations, and particularly in NGOs – react to change?

What is the best advice when leading NGOs through innovation, from a senior team leader’s perspective?

Today, I am interviewing Dermot O'Gorman of WWF Australia on the do's can don'ts of NGO leadership when it comes to promoting innovation. 

Dermot’s Bio:

• Global Leader in Innovation for Sustainable Development
• CEO at WWF Australia
• Visiting Scholar, Stanford University Digital Civil Society Lab
• Board of directors, ACFID, Australian Council for International Development

We discuss: 

• How can AI help us with our nonprofit core purpose: e.g. in the field of conservation, the monitoring of fish caught/harvested, from the source to the plate of the consumer – to find out whether it was poached or legitimately harvested
• High-risk, long-term capital in philanthropy is not sufficiently available, but NGOs also do not ask enough for it. We don’t have the right organizational risk profile in place, but also do not have  the organizational systems to execute
• One of the most important things leaders can do to spur innovation is to invest in it
• CEOs cannot afford to delegate the creation of an innovation-friendly organizational climate to others: they have to be Chief innovators
• CEOs have to be able to say transparently: I do not know if this will succeed, we will test and validate, iterate, and work with decision stage gates till we figure it out
• Don’t fall victim to ‘shiny’ innovations and their halo effect, or to supersmart single ‘heroes’ that purport to introduce and manage innovation on their own
• CEOs among others have to give senior staff protection so that they can focus on 4-6 weeks sprints, and they have to signal to the org that they will manage the risks that come with innovation
• The board’s risk appetite  matters a great deal as well
• Why the removal of old org processes is hard:  you need something in place till the new process is in place; and if old processes are linked to values/ideas that staff have an attachment to, this is particularly hard

Quotes:

“We fundamentally underestimate both the upsides and the downsides of innovation”

“As CEO, you cannot delegate innovation to an innovation chief; you need to be around to take away obstacles, indicate the strategic boundaries within which innovations have to fit, etc."

“Don’t let the perception on brand risk – often in the head of one Communications staff member -- be an overblown obstacle”

Resources:

Dermot’s LinkedIn Profile

Dermot’s Company Website

Dermot’s article: the need for a first ‘regenerative revolution’

Tosca's report: HERE

Links to previous episodes on innovation:

https://5oaksconsulting.org/podcast/

Youtube video of this podcast

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Has it been helpful to see disability integrated into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) approaches -- or have there been some downsides to this approach?

Are there disadvantages to being perceived as a single-issue organization (i.e. disabled people’s organizations)?

Today, I am interviewing Susan Sygall of Mobility International USA (MIUSA) about how NGOs go about claiming  rights for people with physical, mental and cognitive disabilities.

Susan’s Bio:

• Co-founder of the Disabled Women's Coalition at the University of California, Berkeley
• Co-founder of the non-profit organization Mobility International USA  (MIUSA)
• Winner of the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards in 2014 for her work in the disability sector
• Recipient of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2000
• Wheelchair rider since the age of 18

We discuss: 

• Mobility Int. USA (MIUSA) works on disability rights. It does programming with men and women, though its leadership development program WILD (Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability) has a special emphasis on women with a disability and their leadership, given these women's ‘double disadvantage’.
• Organizations like MIUSA and others are sometimes indicated as DPOs – Disabled People’s Organizations -- , or OPDs – Organizations for People with Disabilities
• MIUSA’s business model is built, among others, on a consulting offering: MIUSA advises ‘mainstream’ NGOs as well as other international development actors on how to integrate disabled people's approaches into their work
• One of the focal points of MIUSA’s advisory work with non-disability-focused development actors is to make sure that these organizations do not just have policies on paper, but have integrated disability concerns into actual budgets, by adding 2-3% to the budget to allow for disability accommodations and 5-7% for integrating disabled people into program evaluations
• Susan senses that disabled people’s rights finally are getting more fully taken on board; the focus on DEI seems to have helped with this coming to fruition
• If funders request as a standard measure that grant applications indicate how disabled people will be incorporated into the programming, this supports mainstreaming in significant ways
• One of the aspects common to disabled leaders is that in their biographical background, there often were one or more family members who believed in the capacities of the person and supported them wholeheartedly.

Resources:

Mobility International USA website

Profile of Team and Staff at MIUSA

WILD: Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability

Five Oaks Consulting School's Online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills

Upcoming course dates: September 24 - November 5, 2022 

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Lysa’s Bio:

• Secretary General of CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation
• Global Campaigns Director, Save the Children International
• Head of Outreach, UN High-Level Panel on the post-2015 agenda
• International Campaign Director, Global Call to Action Against Poverty

Resources:

Lysa’s LinkedIn Profile

Lysa’s Email if you wish to contact her to learn about virtual leadership skills

CIVICUS Website

And if you too want to excel in virtual and hybrid leadership: Five Oaks Consulting School's online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills may be just right for you!

Upcoming course dates: September 24 - November 5, 2022 

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Today, I am interviewing Kirthi Jayakumar of World Pulse and founder of the Gender Security Project, and Leila Billing, senior advisor on youth, gender, and social movement building on Feminist Leadership. Leila, along with Natalie Brook, runs an open enrollment Feminist Leadership training program (We are Feminist Leaders), and Kirthi is one of its alumni.

As some NGOs and development organizations have embraced, how much of its subversive elements get diluted and cooptated; and how should we think about this? Is there still good being achieved, or is there a real danger here?

Kirthi’s Bio:

• Founder of the Gender Security Project
• Head of Training at World Pulse
• Digital Engagement Manager at Every Woman Treaty
• Advisor at Women7
• Editor at Cactus Communications

Leila’s Bio:

• Senior advisor on gender, youth, and movement building
• Co-founder of We Are Feminist Leaders training program
• Trustee at Gender and Development Network
• Head of Partnership to End Child Marriage

We discuss:

We start from the premise of Srilatha Batliwala's beautiful phrase: "the self as a site of change". Self-reflection and self-awareness have to be at the start. But that is not enough. 

We also have to put in place concrete organizational practices that embody feminist leadership, such as:

• Normalization of a focus on staff/volunteer well-being and care – instead of on productivity and numbers
• Organizations with zero deadlines and where people co-own the mission
• Organizations where everybody has the same base salary, and people receive extra pay based on their caregiving responsibilities
• Organizations where performance appraisal processes focus more on collaboration skills and attitude/aptitude and on sharing power rather than productivity against set targets
• Cultures where it is OK/encouraged to bring your full self to work, and where emotions do not need to be checked at the door
• Organizations where joy and dreaming are part of the parlance of the organization
• Organizations comfortable with the messiness of emotions; as well as with the political dimensions of Feminist Leadership

Resources:

Kirthi’s LinkedIn

Kirthi’s Email

Leila’s LinkedIn

Article by Leila in Medium on how grief in the workplace should be addressed by leaders: HERE

'We are Feminist Leaders'  training program on feminist leadership, co-hosted by Leila Billing: HERE

Five Oaks Consulting School's Online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills

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What happens when NGO leaders take a 4 months sabbatical? 

What happens to the mind -- what journey does it go on during a 4 month's rest from work?

What happens, especially when we are talking about a leader who was already quite steeped in mindfulness and meditation before he started his sabbatical?

In this podcast episode, I discuss with Chris Proulx, Global Director at  Humentum the topic of rest, reset, reflection, and personal resilience when leaders take an extensive break from work.

Chris’s Bio:

• Global Director at Humentum, the global network of NGOs that strengthens  operational excellence through community building, training, consulting services, and policy-influencing work
• Former President and CEO at LINGOs
• Former CEO of e-Cornell - Cornell University's e-learning platform

We discuss: 

• Resilience is not helped when we do not dare to rely on the help of others, even in the presence of a great team
• What is the art of ‘doing nothing’? At first, anxiety about the empty space.
• To what extent is the notion of time an illusion?  
• How leaders spend their attention is precious.  Most of us spend it quite poorly.  
• How organizations can create more opportunities for sabbaticals, as part of a benefits package, even when you are not huge. 

Quotes

“My mind was not ready to rest in the first few weeks after starting my sabbatical; I was not yet able to pull back the mind”

“I at first still kept scheduling, trying to stay in control mode, I was still crossing things off my to-do list”

“It took a while to really be able to listen to what bubbled up in the mind”

Resources:

Chris’s LinkedIn

Chris’s Twitter

Chris’s Website

Humentum page

Five Oaks Consulting School's Online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills

Youtube video of this podcast

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The new generation of 'smart technology' -  chatbots, AI, machine learning, natural language processing, robots etc.  can bring major benefits to nonprofits - if they can discern what they need to do to remain human-centered in their choice of technology. And if they remain aware of the potential for bias in AI-generated data, given its profound potential negative impact?

What can nonprofits – who are frequently not digital natives, let alone coders themselves – do to protect themselves against these?

In this episode, we discuss the timely new book by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine: 'The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World'.

Beth’s Bio:

• Nonprofit and foundation-focused trainer and independent consultant
• Virtual facilitator
• A nonprofit innovator in digital transformation and workplace well being
• Author
• Adjunct Professor at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies

Allison’s Bio:

• Principal consultant at Allison Fine Consulting
• Founder/CEO of Network of Elected Women
• Senior fellow at Demos, at the Wagner School at New York University
• Founder and Executive Director at Innovation Network
• Author of multiple books on (digital) networking, social media and the nonprofit sector

We discuss: 

• Tech is more available and more cheaply available than ever; that actually increases its dangers
• Smart tech can eliminate ‘grunt work’ done by many nonprofit frontlines, operations, and fundraising staff, and create a ‘dividend’ of time, which can be more strategically spent on frontline interaction with clients, evaluation and learning, horizon scanning etc.
• Smart tech can reduce the need for ‘astroturf campaigning’, in which nonprofits transactionally engage with their ‘members’ on a superficial basis; instead, it allows them to engage more deeply in getting to know new donors
• Smart tech is used in the form of bots, for instance, to engage with people in the public who need services– but we have to do so very carefully 
• How leaders need to be ‘digitally literate’ and not leave these decisions with regard to adoption of new 'smart technologies' up to the Chief Technology Officer
• How nonprofits need to remain overall reflective in adopting smart tech

Quotes

“This book is not technical to me”

“Leading through resistance in organizations is among others about doing away with outmoded ideas that only people can do nonprofit tasks”

Resources:

Beth’s LinkedIn

Beth’s website

Allison’s LinkedIn

Allison’s website

Harvard Business Review article: How Smart Tech is Transforming Nonprofits

Amazon link to book - The smart nonprofit: staying human-centered in an automated world: here

Online course on Virtual Team Leadership skills

Youtube video of this podcast

Click here to