Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits

While work may never be the top place you feel belonging, it can be a place where you can be yourself, where you can feel safe, and where you can feel connected to your work and team. However, this doesn’t happen organically, we have to work to create a space like this. That’s why in this episode, leadership and mindset coach Abigail Finck is sharing the Belonging Blueprint - a tested method for c...

 Measuring behavior change and impact is hard in most organizations, but add the complexities of federated nonprofit organizations or membership associations, and it suddenly feels impossible. In this episode, I’m exploring why measuring behavior change and impact is so hard in these organizations and I’m sharing some creative ideas to measure them anyway. ▶️ How to Measure Behavior Change and Imp...

Creating behavior change is no easy task. So when Rebecca Kelley of Waterford.org approached me about a change she wanted to facilitate in one of her teams, I knew we had a lot of work to do. Today’s episode is a case study of sorts - we're taking a closer look at how my team at Skill Masters Market partnered with Rebecca's team at Waterford to address their unique needs. Rebecca is a sk...

I feel strongly that you don't need a formal education in adult learning to be a good instructional designer. But I do think instructional designers have to be open to learning new things. I’ve learned a lot over my 20 year career in Learning and Development and in this episode, I’m sharing three of my most valuable lessons. ▶️ I'm 20 Years into My Career. If You're New to L&D,...

Boundaries, coping skills, conflict resolution, empathy, mental health, and self-care are skills we all need in life, and the nonprofit Un/Do Mindset is on a mission to make sure everyone has them.  They're working to build a more resilient and compassionate society and I think we need more of that in the workplace too. That’s why I invited the founder and executive director, Erin Harris, to...

People with goals are 10 times more likely to succeed. That’s the kind of momentum I want as I head into 2025. I've worked with others to set goals for years. I've coached people through career transitions. And I've led project teams with a specific goal in mind so I know how important a goal can be. In this episode, I’m bringing you some recommendations for setting better goals so...

The number one priority for HR leaders in 2025 is leader and manager development and yet, only 36% of organizations with leadership development programs think they work. Organizations are spending money and prioritizing leadership development but they aren't seeing the results. So what’s missing? New manager expert, Eric Girard is joining me on this episode to share two essential skills your...

Stories help us learn and engage us on an emotional level. But one of the more challenging parts of using stories is finding the right visuals to go with them. That’s where AI comes in. I personally have not used AI to create visual stories, that’s why I invited Dr. Nicholas Leonard to be my guest. Nicholas’s passion is at the intersection of AI and learning and on this episode, he’s sharing how t...

Peer learning is a great technique to use in your training programs because it encourages active participation and networking, ensures diverse perspectives are shared and considered, encourages social and collaborative skills, and so much more. That’s why on this episode, I’m sharing five ways you can incorporate peer learning into your nonprofit's learning strategy. ▶️ 5 Ways to Incorporate...

Providing off-the-shelf courses is a common approach to training and development. But one of the limitations is the lack of context which is often needed to make the training relevant and meaningful. When I heard about Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston and how they were combining off-the-shelf courses with more contextualized learning, I knew I wanted to bring this case study to you. Is it...

Working with subject matter experts can be a great experience, but it can also be challenging. They don't always understand Learning and Development, they may have competing priorities that take them away from your project, and sometimes they think that they don't really need you. That’s why, in this episode, I’m sharing how you can turn your subject matter expert into your biggest asset...

Is training a change project? My vote is almost always YES. Training is often either being used to drive a change or it's being offered as the result of a change. Why does that matter?   70% of organizational changes fail and L&D has a role to play in this. That’s why in this episode I’m exploring how we, as L&D, can use change management principles to improve the chances of success i...

Most people form a first impression in just a tenth of a second, and there’s no second chances. So, what is your nonprofit's first impression? When you hire a new staff person, what do they think or feel? It's worth asking the question, and it's worth investing in making that first impression a good one.  That’s why, on today’s episode, I‘m sharing three practical ways you can impro...

50% of leaders will fail. Even those who were once successful often eventually fail. Leadership failure comes with significant cost. You have to recruit, hire, and onboard a new leader and employees may have left or stopped performing under the old leader.  So why do leaders fail? And how can we in L&D support them so they don't? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode. ▶️ Want Better...

70% of organizational changes fail. I feel strongly that almost every training project is a change project. So, how do we successfully facilitate change?   One essential element is social influence.  We have to create the environment and the relationships to help our audience create and sustain the change. But how do we do that? I'm sharing five ways to use social influence to facilitate beha...

I often hear from nonprofit L&D leaders about the challenges they face with constrained budgets. And I feel their pain. I know so many of you are working with small teams and few resources. But leadership development activities don’t have to be expensive and you don’t have to let a constrained budget keep you from developing your leaders. That’s why, on this episode, I’m sharing five low to no...

You spend months working hard on a training only to launch it and hear crickets. If you can't mandate people take that training, what do you do? This is where marketing comes in. Marketing is a pretty different skill set than what most L&D teams have. And your marketing team may not have the capacity to support you with each new training.  That’s why nonprofit L&D teams need email mar...

I see a lot of L&D job descriptions and they usually include things like communication skills, project management skills, knowledge of learning design principles, and more. And while these are skills that you certainly do use as an L&D pro, what actually helps you hit the ground running? In this episode, I’m sharing three not-so-obvious skills or characteristics that actually make people s...

On today’s episode, I want us to look to the future of L&D.  However, I don't only want to talk about the future of L&D from an L&D lens; I want us to be holistic and well-rounded and hear from a diversity of perspectives. That’s why I’ve invited some of my favorite L&D and L&D adjacent thought leaders to join me to talk about what they hope for the future of L&D.  We’...

Fantasy football is an $11 billion business with 29.2 million people playing in the US alone in 2022.  So what’s the appeal? It's our job to look at what fantasy football is doing well and determine what we can steal to make our training more effective. In today’s episode, I’m exploring the four things L&D can steal from fantasy football to improve our training. ▶️ What Corporate Training...

Is generative AI your L&D thought partner? I've used ChatGPT for this podcast, for LinkedIn posts, for training, and more. And while I don't yet rely on it daily, it's becoming a better partner for me, because I'm getting better at using it. I love the idea of helping L&D pros like us make generative AI our thought partner, that’s why today’s guest, Valerie Ehrlich, is...

I'm a big fan of blended learning…  I like being able to have learners spend some time inside a virtual or in-person classroom, but I also like them to spend time learning independently or in groups outside the classroom.  Blended learning is a great approach to people development. In this episode, I’m sharing 5 reasons why. ▶️ 5 Reasons Blended Learning is a Good Strategy for Staff Developme...

We often reach for storytelling in our nonprofit training and it’s easy to understand why. Stories evoke emotion, help us connect with each other, and help us learn. But, there is a wrong and right way to tell a story. On this episode, Diana Farias Heinrich is sharing her ethical storytelling framework with us so we can tell stories the right way and prevent harm. As the CEO of Habra Marketing, Di...

I start every new training project with a sense of hope and excitement. I'm ready to build a lasting relationship with my client and I feel ready because I have a proven plan for my project kickoff. I'm not reinventing it every time I have a new project. On today’s episode, I want to share that plan with you. Whether you're a consultant or currently working inside an organization, t...

As a training and leadership development consultant, I'm always wondering what we can learn from things around us, like the Olympics. The Olympics brings together top athletes from around the world as they compete against each other and their best selves. It takes years of practice and dedication to achieve something like this. We can learn a lot about leadership from the Olympics and I want...