Nonprofits Now Leading Today Podcast with Stacy Palmer and Guest Sean Goode

As federal spending cuts, government policy shifts, and economic turbulence roil the nonprofit world, nearly 90 percent of leaders are worried they’re burning out, according to a new study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

To help leaders figure out how to avoid exhausting themselves and their staffs, we turned to Sean Goode, an executive coach, to tackle this topic for our final episode of the first season of Nonprofits Now: Leading Today.

Goode led Choose 180, a Seattle nonprofit that works to keep marginalized youth out of the criminal-justice system, and then took a senior role at the Seattle Foundation before he decided to focus full-time on helping mission-driven executives lead better.

His experiences have led him to challenge many conventional approaches to nonprofit leadership. While experts often say leaders should spend all their time looking ahead, Goode tells chief executives to slow down and focus on the present. He also urges leaders to see themselves as stewards of their organization focused on building the long haul and not act like owners focused on short-term wins. And he doesn’t think the usual way nonprofits CEO’s approach high-net-worth donors builds sustainable organizations.

Among his insights:
Curiosity is an essential trait for any leader. 
Recognize the toll it takes when you only focus on what’s new and what’s next.
Make fundraising about community engagement, not transactions.
Being a good CEO is a lot like being a good parent.

For more advice on preventing burnout, check out these articles from the Chronicle:
“(Tool Kit) How to Prevent Employee Burnout” by Chronicle Staff
“Making Big Changes? Survey Finds Leadership and Staffing Are Keys to Success” by Jim Rendon
(Opinion) “Sabbaticals and the Case for More Rest for Leaders of Color” by Cora Daniels
(Opinion) “Could Term Limits for Nonprofit Leaders Ease the Burnout Crisis?” by Chitra Aiyar
“Burnout Plagues Nonprofits, With Bad Effects for Mission. Sabbaticals May Help.” By Emily Haynes
“How Leaders Can Help Fundraisers Avoid Burnout” by Emily Haynes
“How Fundraisers Can Get Off the Road to Exhaustion and Burnout” by Emily Haynes
(Training) “Foster a Culture of Well-Being” by Chronicle Staff
“Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

As we wrap up this season of our leadership podcast, watch your feeds for more from the Chronicle. We’re launching our newest podcast, The Commons in Conversation, on July 1 — starting with insights philanthropist Reid Hoffman in the first episode and author Barbara Kingsolver in the second.

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson. 

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe