Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership

91: Bringing A Business Perspective to Nonprofit Leadership (Laryn Weaver)  SUMMARYHave you contemplated whether your for-profit experience might translate into effective leadership in the charitable sector?  Many nonprofit leaders bring invaluable skills from their for-profit days, but sometimes face barriers in effectively translating those experiences into current nonprofit practice. Laryn Weaver proved to be the perfect guest to talk about that exact topic (and much more!).  She is a former business owner, speaker, trainer and author, and now leads the Greenville Area Parkinson Society in the Upstate region of South Carolina.  She not only talks about her transition from the for-profit world to nonprofit leadership, but also how she continues to apply experience in both sectors to her fundraising, board development, staff recruitment AND her continued professional development planning. Lots of great take-aways in episode #91 of the Path Podcast!ABOUT LARYNLeadership development is a critical aspect of every organization.  As the founder of Laryn Weaver Consulting, LLC, Laryn has worked most closely with nonprofit organizations to improve vision, mission, and overall culture.  As the Executive Director of the Greenville Area Parkinson Society, she continues to bring clarity, intention, efficiency, and development to the already existing programs, as well as help form a vision for a larger future impact in the Upstate of South Carolina. Laryn is grateful for the opportunity to support and honor this specific community as it uniquely matches her life purpose of helping others become the best version of themselves while also bringing greater awareness about Parkinson’s Disease - and those who are battling it - to the people of the Upstate. Laryn has lived at 22 different addresses in four different states over the past 28 years. Some of her key accomplishments include her status as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Development Trainer, the author of four books (including Living Intentionally) and she’s working on her Masters of Organizational Leadership from Anderson University in October of 2021. Laryn has successfully built four businesses between 1995-2015, two in a retail capacity selling products, one as a speaker and an author, and one as a development coach. She has helped her nonprofit with a 400% increase in membership and revenue in her first two years. Laryn has been married for 28 years, and has raised four accomplished adults.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESLearn more about the Greenville Area Parkinson SocietyAlexandre Havard’s book Virtuous LeadershipCheck out Laryn’s book Living IntentionallyListen to Laryn’s colleague Kamber Parker in Episode #80 Attracting Young Professional Talent to Your Nonprofit

90: Can Fractional Leadership Transform Your Nonprofit? (Rocky Cabagnot)  SUMMARYOne of the key challenges in nonprofit management is the identification, recruitment and retention of top-tier talent.  This challenge is compounded by budgetary realities that limit your ability to secure individuals with the skills and experience your organization needs, and as a result, critical hiring offers are often made to “B players” or emerging talent that can (hopefully) grow into the role. Are there other ways to approach this dilemma? That’s exactly what Rocky Cabagnot and I discuss in episode #90 of the Path Podcast.  Rocky is an attorney who specializes in the fractional leadership, and offers several ideas and approaches that will help you look at talent development in a whole new way.  What makes Rocky’s insight even more valuable is that while he is a practicing attorney, he’s also served as a full-time executive director and understands the management challenges of talent development and having sufficient expertise on staff to address increasingly complex issues as a nonprofit leader.  ABOUT ROCKYRocky M. Cabagnot is an Attorney at Hull & Chandler P.A. in Charlotte, NC. Rocky’s practice includes providing direct legal services to nonprofits and public charities, advising these entities on a wide range of legal issues.  In the past year, Rocky has branched out his practice offering his clients fractional general counsel services.  Prior to joining Hull & Chandler, Rocky served as the Executive Director of the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency, a multi-million dollar 501 (c)(3) public charity that administered Head Start/Early Head Start, affordable childcare, and family self-sufficiency programs (Community Services Block Grant) throughout six counties in North Carolina.  For five years he served as a clinical law professor at an ABA accredited law school in Charlotte, NC where he developed and supervised the law school’s Community Economic Development Clinic, providing pro bono legal services to nonprofits and community groups throughout the Charlotte metro region.  He holds a law degree with Honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, a Masters in Mass Communication from the University of Florida College of Journalism, and a Bachelor degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESRobert Greenleaf’s book The Power of Servant LeadershipLearn more about Rocky’s practice at Hull & Chandler PA and it’s Leadership SeriesCheck out Rocky’s blog post What is Fractional General Counsel?Episode #64 Sally Loftis: How Can We Address Compensation Gaps in the Nonprofit Sector? Episode #87 Tosha Anderson: What Questions Should Nonprofit Leaders Be Asking?

89: How to Accelerate Your Nonprofit Leadership (Men Tchaas Ari)  SUMMARYHow do you combine a diverse set of skills, talents and experiences to best position yourself for nonprofit leadership? In episode #89 of the Path Podcast, I explored that exact question with Men Tchaas Ari, who successfully engineered a career path that positioned him for his current role as President & CEO of Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, one of the largest CIS affiliates in the United States.  Men Tchaas shares much about his career journey, how he built on skills learned outside of the nonprofit sector through work in local government, and how he leveraged his work on the program side of another nonprofit.  We also discussed how he contemplated graduate education, and the somewhat surprising choice he made on that front. Finally, Men Tchaas shared a host of great ideas related to his preparation for nonprofit leadership, how he hit the ground running after he arrived at CIS, and how he quickly engaged his team, his board and his key donors.   ABOUT MEN TCHAASMen Tchaas is the President and CEO of Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, a student support organization that empowers students to stay in school and achieve in life.  Prior to joining CIS, he worked as the Deputy Director of Adult and Economic Services with Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services and prior to working at DSS, he was the Chief Program Officer at Crisis Assistance Ministry, where he was responsible for overseeing all client services. A native of Bloomfield, Connecticut, Men Tchaas has lived in Charlotte for 23 years. He is fluent in Spanish, and began his professional career with Mecklenburg County DSS as a Bilingual Food Stamp Case Manager and has more than 23 years of experience in human services. Men Tchaas is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he received his undergraduate degree in Spanish. He earned his Executive Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Government at Syracuse University and received a certificate in Municipal and County Government Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a member of the 2013 Class of Leadership Charlotte, for which he currently serves as board chair, has served on the board of the Assistance League, WFAE’s Advisory Board, and is a charter member of the New Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP).  He is an aviator, an avid reader and a self-proclaimed health enthusiast.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESDavid Schwartz’s book The Magic of Thinking BigOrganizational tools Evernote and TodoistLearn more about the National Communities In Schools NetworkLearn more about Communities In Schools Charlotte-Mecklenburg

88: How Do You Create a Dynamic Culture as a Nonprofit Leader? (Mary Ward)  SUMMARYWill you be ready for your next opportunity to be a nonprofit leader?  Often the best opportunities occur when you're least expecting them, and you must rely on past experience, great mentors, and simply gut instinct, before you make the move. This type of opportunity occurred for Mary Ward, our guest in episode #88 of the Path Podcast, when she had the opportunity to lead the McLeod Center. She offers fantastic advice for nonprofit leaders in evaluating a new opportunity, determining exactly what to do once you arrive, and establishing a trusting and mission-focused environment.  She also tackles strategic topics such as how to follow a long-time leader at an organization, honor their legacy, but also initiate changes that need to be made.  We also discussed questions such as: how do you establish a positive culture in an inherently stressful clinical environment (and then add a pandemic on top!)?  Mary talks about all of the cultural factors she assessed, as well as the resources she’s utilized to maintain a dynamic staff and board culture and continue the important work her organization does every day.ABOUT MARYMary Ward became President of the McLeod Addictive Disease Center in April, 2017.  She is responsible for a $19M business and 230 employees serving the Piedmont and Western regions of North Carolina, providing outpatient and residential services through nine treatment service sites. In 2020, McLeod Center delivered over 57,000 patient services and launched a virtual care delivery system. Previously, Mary was Assistant Vice President of Addiction Medicine with Atrium Health where she had oversight three hospital and non-hospital based substance use disorder services. She was part of the first addiction medicine dyad leadership team and helped launch the system’s first site for office-based medication assisted treatment.  Prior to Atrium, she was the Director of Community Relations for the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board where she grew a grant program from $200,000 to $1.2 million in annual and multi-year awards for substance use disorder services with 20 community organizations.  She is passionate about the adverse effects of social determinants to health and uses her over 25 years of experience in local and state community corrections to advocate for equal access to care.  In addition to several local community groups, she currently serves on the Public Policy Committee with the North Carolina Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence. She holds a MBA from Queens University McColl School of Business and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESAmy Edmondson’s book The Fearless OrganizationLearn more about the McLeod CenterEpisode #39 with Adam Cook: Nonprofit Leadership in Healthcare PhilanthropyEpisode #57 with Lisa Baxter: Bringing Authenticity to Nonprofit Leadership

87: What Questions Should Nonprofit Leaders Be Asking? (Tosha Anderson)  SUMMARYNonprofit leadership requires a wide range of skills and experiences to be successful, but no single leader can manage all of the technical aspects of a growing enterprise without help.  For nonprofit professionals who advance through the program, marketing or fund development side of the organization, the thought of also managing the finance and accounting part of the business is uncomfortable at best and downright intimidating at worst.  If you are new in your leadership position, you may not even know where to begin as you look toward the business office and your CFO!  That’s what makes episode #87 of the Path Podcast so valuable. Our guest Tosha Anderson not only brings the technical expertise of an auditor and a CPA, but the experience of actually working in a nonprofit so she can translate her knowledge into very practical bits of advice. What questions should you be asking of your accountant?  What are the most important contracts and agreements you should be focused on?  Why don’t your business office people and your fundraisers get along? (and what can you do about it?!?!?!).  Answers to these questions and many more in this great episode with Tosha.ABOUT TOSHATosha Anderson is the founder of The Charity CFO, an organization offering accounting and thought leadership skills to non-profit agencies. Tosha created The Charity CFO after realizing the need for specialized skills in non-profits with limited financial resources and increasing pressure to keep costs low despite mounting compliance and financial reporting needs. With non-profit experience as an auditor, a CFO, a board member, a volunteer and a consultant, Tosha works with non-profits with on-going accounting needs. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration; she is also a Certified Public Accountant. Tosha has spent over 15 years working with and for non-profits in many ways, including an auditor, a CFO, a board member, a volunteer, and a consultant. With this experience, we have developed the best practices and processes to make sure your accounting is exactly what you need for your organization and stakeholders.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESMichael Gerber’s book The E-Myth Learn more about how The Charity CFO can help nonprofits large and smallEpisode #64 How Can We Address Compensation Gaps in the Nonprofit Sector?Episode #82 4 Things They Don’t Teach You About Nonprofit Leadership

86:  3 Entrepreneurial Skills Nonprofit Leaders Must Learn (Matt Larson)  SUMMARYThere is much to be learned between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and many nonprofit leaders are elevating their organizations through creative and entrepreneurial tactics. Matt Larson is a wonderful resource on exactly that type of mindset, as he’s been wildly successful in both the tech and software industry but also translated his success into nonprofit development and leadership. In Episode #86 of the Path Podcast, Matt shares three key entrepreneurial fundamentals that every nonprofit leader should employ (and throws in a few more great ideas for good measure!).  In particular, we talk about keys to productivity and strategic focus (especially when you’ve got too much on your pate), and also the importance of identifying, attracting and retaining the best talent possible for your nonprofit.  ABOUT MATTMatt Larson is a parenting and relationships researcher, technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He has been interviewed about the science of well-being on NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, Sirius XM, Telemundo, public radio, and websites like Parentology.com and Mom.com. He spends most of his time on the Human Improvement Project but is also the chairman of two software companies.  Previously, he was the executive chairman of TapInfluence a venture-backed Social Media company. Prior to TapInfluence, he was the Founder and CEO of Confio Software. Confio was the fastest growing company in the database tools market. It was acquired in 2013 by Solarwinds. Previously, Mr. Larson helped found an oil and gas technology company. In the span of a year, the company grew from four employees to over two hundred employees while raising over $110 million in venture capital. In 2012, he was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Larson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Colorado where he graduated 1st in his class. He is a member of the Mensa Society. He has also worked with the U.S. Congress and the White House to fund over $300 million in new spending for child-related causes.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESBrad Smart’s book TopgradingFind about more about The Human Improvement ProjectWant help raising a happy, well-adjusted child? Try the Happy Child App

85:  How Can Nonprofit Leaders be More Authentic Fundraisers? (Jennifer Harris)  SUMMARYFundraising is one of the most important - but often dreaded - functions you have to contemplate as a nonprofit leader. You clearly believe in the mission of your organization, yet fundraising often feels disconnected and transactional.  How do you get more comfortable assuring your nonprofit has the funding it needs to achieve its core purpose, and feel good about it at the same time?  Well, Jennifer Harris is the perfect person to address this dilemma, and she provides great advice that will help both current and aspiring nonprofit leaders in Episode #85 of the Path Podcast. Jennifer talks about what an authentic ask really is, and how you can get more comfortable making it.  She also talks about creating a culture of gratitude at your organization, as well as how to get your board members more comfortable with the authentic ask as well!  ABOUT JENNIFERJennifer Harris is a San Diego-based fundraising and communications entrepreneur who has spent nearly two decades working across the social sector. Her consultancy, JH Collective, Inc., leverages a holistic mindset to bolster fundraising, messaging, and strategy for nonprofits, universities, and health-related organizations. Jennifer has worked for nearly two decades in fundraising and communications, in leadership roles that span annual giving, major and principal giving, capital campaign design and development, and senior management. Most recently, she has ignited dialogue around "the authentic ask" and board wellness, and specifically works with clients to feed their mission, steward possibility, and generate impact. To learn more and/or book a workshop, get in touch with Jennifer.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESAdrienne Maree Brown’s Emergent StrategyKathy LeMay’s book The Generosity Plan Henry Nouwen’s book A Spirituality of Fundraising Read Jennifer’s original “Awakening the Authentic Ask” piece on LinkedIn

84:  4  Keys to Building A Global Nonprofit (Elizabeth Hausler)  SUMMARYAre you pondering nonprofit leadership among multiple career options?  That’s exactly what Elizabeth Hausler considered before she started the global nonprofit Build Change in 2004, and she offers a fascinating review of her leadership journey and the many lessons learned on Episode #84 of the Path Podcast. These lessons, of course, offer great insight for others considering a similar nonprofit career. Elizabeth reflects on what she would do differently if she were starting over at Build Change, and what were some of the key challenges she had to overcome, including being a woman in a male-dominated field.  Many great take-aways in this episode for nonprofit leaders, including the four headlines: how to effectively hire and orient new talent, how to create an effective strategic planning process, how to help your board evolve as the organization evolves too, and finally, how to balance your multiple roles as CEO.ABOUT ELIZABETHDr. Elizabeth Hausler is the Founder and CEO of Build Change and a global expert on resilient housing, post-disaster reconstruction, and systems change. Elizabeth’s strategic direction and leadership have grown Build Change from a few employees in 2004 to a global team spread across five continents. She has profoundly influenced global development policy by making resilience a major consideration for reconstruction efforts. Elizabeth’s extensive experience in post-disaster communities, including a Fulbright Scholarship in India, led her to found Build Change to ensure reconstruction efforts would be safe and sustainable. She is the recipient of many honors, and in 2011, was named the US Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation. Together with Build Change, she was awarded the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2018, she received the University of California, Berkeley’s Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award. Since 2014 she has been a member of the UC-Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Elizabeth is also an Ashoka Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and an Echoing Green Fellow.  She holds a Ph.D. from UC-Berkeley in Civil Engineering, as well as an M.S. from the University of Colorado and a B.S. from the University of Illinois. Dr. Hausler has headlined top conferences, lectured at eminent universities, and been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, Elle Magazine, ABC News, and Bloomberg Businessweek. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESJim Collins’ book Good to GreatRobert Kaplan’s book What to Ask the Person in the MirrorAlicia Garza’s Book The Purpose of Power

83: Maximizing Advocacy to Fulfill Your Mission (Karen Lee)  SUMMARYManaging a nonprofit organization requires a variety of skills and experiences to succeed, and a leader can certainly be consumed by simply keeping their organization in motion.  The best nonprofits, however, commit to a vision the exceeds the direct impact of their programs and services but also seeks to positively influence their communities at large. Karen Lee is a great example of a nonprofit leader just like that, as she manages one of the largest social enterprise organizations in the United States, Pioneer Human Services based in Seattle, WA. In episode #83 of the Path Podcast, Karen shares much wisdom from her career journey including how she’s integrating advocacy into her leadership agenda, how she’s maximizing fundraising and philanthropy, and how she’s using her talented board volunteers across the state of Washington.  ABOUT KARENAs Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Human Services, Karen leads one of the nation’s largest nonprofit social-enterprise organizations in the United States. Under Karen’s leadership, Pioneer successfully operates several revenue-generating businesses that provide living wage jobs to mission-related employees and help fund its mission of empowering people who have been involved in the legal system to build healthy, productive lives. Headquartered in Seattle, Pioneer serves over 10,000 people a year through its diversion, treatment, housing and job training programs. Karen is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESIjeoma Oluo’s book So You Want to Talk About RaceMartin Luther King, Jr.’s book Why We Can’t Wait Books by W.E.B. Du BoisTake the Pioneer Quiz!  

82:  4 Things They Don’t Teach You About Nonprofit Leadership (Martyn Drake)  SUMMARYHow do you look at profitability as a nonprofit leader?  Our sector’s leadership often grapples with conflicted emotions about running their nonprofit “more like a business” despite the fact it is a business and needs to employ critical revenue-generating practices to assure long-term sustainability.  In episode #82 of the Path Podcast, Martyn Drake brings a global perspective to this topic and offers great insight and ideas about how nonprofit leaders can come to terms with their profitability ideas. He illustrates four key leadership concepts they need to understand and employ on their journey to senior leadership in the sector.  ABOUT MARTYNMartyn Drake is the Founder of Binley Drake Consulting, the boutique management consultancy he set up in 2009 to help ambitious business leaders dramatically improve the performance of their organizations. Since then, he has advised commercial organizations ranging from small family businesses right up to some of the world's most iconic brands. In 2013 he began working with the charity sector, and has since helped a wide range of non-profit clients including The Scout Association, Girlguiding, the British Red Cross, the National Health Service, the National Autistic Society, Blind Veterans, Royal Mencap, and St John Ambulance. He writes regular columns for the sector press and features on his website Profit on Purpose, and is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on non-profit strategy and commerce and  His first book, The Commercial Charity, was published by Kogan Page in April 2020. Martyn lives with his wife, two children and two cats in Nottinghamshire, England. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESMartyn’s book The Commercial CharityMartyn’s article The Mindset of Plenty Book: Eric Ries’ The Lean Start-UpBook: Jeremy Heimans’ New PowerBook: Dan Pink’s To Sell is HumanDan Pallotta’s book Uncharitable Pallota’s Ted Talk "The way we think of charity is dead wrong"