NGO Strategy and Leadership: 10 Steps of Crisis Management

Jul 10, 2025

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Veteran humanitarian leader Roger Sandberg joins us to discuss how NGOs can lead effectively in the midst of funding cuts and uncertainty. As political shifts tighten budgets, the gap between global needs and available resources continues to widen. Roger shares practical strategies for assessing risk, strengthening communication within teams, and re-imagining sources of funding.

We dive into crisis leadership—why financial clarity, quick decisions, and lessons-learned reviews matter more than ever. Roger also emphasizes the importance of donor diversity and the risks associated with relying too heavily on a single funding source.

This episode offers honest insight and practical advice for any leader navigating change in the aid sector.

Listen in to learn more :

4:44 - 10 Steps to Stabilize, Adapt, and Lead Through Uncertainty

31:31 - Study on the role in humility within humanitarian leadership

Read More from Roger on this topic:

NGO Leaders: 10 Steps to Stabilize, Adapt, and Lead Through Uncertainty

Crisis Leadership: Strategic Planning in the Age of Aid Disruptions

Opinion: The US aid crisis is an opportunity for outcome-based finance

The Three-Legged Stool of Humanitarian Action…Did it just break?

About Roger Sandberg

Roger is a global humanitarian leader, strategist, and consultant with over two decades of experience leading emergency response and organizational transformation in crisis-affected regions. He advises international NGOs, foundations, and philanthropic networks on leadership, localization, and humanitarian response models that center community agency and sustainability.

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This episode was produced by WildfireCreative

Theme Song: “Turning Over Tables” by The Brilliance

Follow on Instagram: @wildfirecreativeco @wheaton_hdi

(Note to the listener: In this podcast, sometimes we'll host Evangelicals, and sometimes we won't. Learning how to “do good, better” involves listening to many perspectives with different insights and understanding. Sometimes, it will make us uncomfortable; sometimes, we'll agree, and sometimes, we won't. We think that's good. We want to listen for correction–especially in our blind spots.)

The Better Samaritan podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, which offers an M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership and a Trauma Certificate. To learn more and apply, visit our website. Get your application fee to the HDL M.A. program waived with code TBS25.

Jamie Aten, Ph.D., and Kent Annan, M.Div., co-direct the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College and are the Co-Founders of Spiritual First Aid.

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