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How do you get your CEO to see staff development as central to your nonprofit's success rather than something that is nice to have? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, to explore how a nonprofit CEO thinks about learning and development and staff training and development. In nonprofits, resources always feel finite, and staff development often loses out to more urgent priorities, even for leaders who believe deeply in their people. However, if your organization is a body, learning is the nervous system, and that makes investing in your people central to your mission. ▶️ Why Learning Is Central to Your Nonprofit's Success and Sustainability with Playworks CEO Elizabeth Cushing ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Learning Is Central to Your Nonprofit's Success 00:03:21 Elizabeth's Nonprofit Background 00:07:44 How Playworks Brings Play into Schools 00:09:38 How Learning and Staff Development Drive the Playworks Mission and Strengthen Their Organization 00:17:44 Why Staff Development Deserves Finite Nonprofit Resources 00:20:53 What Makes L&D a Strategic Partner in Achieving Goals 00:23:42 Advice for Nonprofit CEOs Juggling Competing Priorities Resources from this episode: Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Elizabeth LinkedIn: Elizabeth Cushing Website: playworks.org Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you get your CEO, COO, executive director, or board to see why investing in staff is not just important, it's mission critical? In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down how to get leadership buy-in for staff development in your nonprofit. The first step is to stop talking about training. Leadership already has a goal in the spotlight, and training isn't it, so pushing it into the conversation just gets you tuned out.  I share how to connect a specific capability gap to the goal leadership already cares about, how to make the risk of ignoring that gap clear, and how to show leadership that their investment is working. ▶️ How to Get Leadership Buy-In for Staff Development in Your Nonprofit ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Getting Leadership to Invest in Staff Development 00:05:09 How to Step Into Your Leaders' Spotlight 00:07:46 Defining Outcomes 00:08:47 Proving the Investment Is Working Resources from this episode: Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

One of the most challenging parts of our jobs as  nonprofit learning and development professionals is working with and through other people.  This makes our ability to influence critical to our work. In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with leadership development consultant and relationship expert Morag Barrett to talk about how nonprofit learning and development professionals can build influence and strengthen the workplace relationships that make training initiatives succeed. Morag walks through her Relationship Ecosystem framework: ally, supporter, rival, and adversary. Most relationships aren't fixed in one category. Her advice is to start by moving your supporters closer to allies and to make sure you have at least one go-to ally relationship. ▶️ How to Build Relationships that Move Work Forward in Your Nonprofit with Morag Barrett ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Using Influence to Shape Work 00:04:13 Morag's Path Into Relationship and Leadership Work 00:08:57 The Part of Relationships You Can Control 00:13:24 From Transactional to Transformational Relationships 00:16:28 The Relationship Ecosystem: Ally, Supporter, Rival, Adversary 00:26:19 Relationship Pulse Check: Three Questions That Build Trust Resources from this episode: Morag’s Books: Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships by Morag BarrettYou, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How to Show Up As One!) by Morag Barrett, Eric Spencer and Ruby VeselyJoin the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action  Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Morag LinkedIn: Morag Barrett Website: skyeteam.com  Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you design training that actually leads to a job, not just a certificate? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Amina Mohamed, founder and executive director of Cameras for Girls,  a Canadian charity advancing gender equality in media across Africa, to talk about  designing learning around the change you want to create. So many nonprofits build training programs and hope people walk away better prepared, but hoping isn't the same as knowing a program creates real employment outcomes. For Amina, a training program only matters if it ends in a job, and that standard shapes every phase of how she builds and evaluates her work. ▶️ How One Nonprofit Uses On-the-Job Training to Fulfill Its Mission with Amina Mohamed ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Career Training Reflection 00:03:11 Introduction to Amina: From Film and Television to Cameras for Girls 00:09:07 The Mission Behind Cameras for Girls 00:12:38 Inside the Four-Phase Training Model 00:20:52 Amina's Vision for Cameras for Girls: Training Isn't the Goal, Change Is 00:25:03 Turning Training Into Lasting Impact Resources from this episode: Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Amina LinkedIn: Amina Mohamed Website: camerasforgirls.org  Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down three practical shifts nonprofit learning designers can make to build credibility and grow their influence. Many competent learning and development professionals feel like their recommendations don't carry weight. It's frustrating to know you understand a problem and can offer a better solution, only to have that expertise go unheard. That gap usually has less to do with skill and more to do with how much evidence you've given people that you can be trusted. I explain why credibility isn't something you announce, it's something you build one interaction at a time until people trust your judgment enough to follow where you lead. ▶️ 3 Small Shifts that Increase Your Credibility as a Learning Designer ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 How Credibility Works in Nonprofit Leadership 00:03:26 How to Build Trust Within Your Nonprofit 00:05:31 3 Shifts that Increase Credibility as a Learning Designer 00:08:55 How Credibility Changes Stakeholder Buy-In Resources from this episode: Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

What do you do when the pressure at work never seems to let up? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with peak performance coach Jay Abbasi to talk about what it takes to lead under pressure and how nonprofit L&D leaders can build resilience into how they lead themselves and others. Nonprofit leaders carry a heavy load, with tight resources, shifting priorities, and a mission that never feels like it can wait. That pressure builds and shapes how people think, communicate, and lead, often without them realizing it. This can push even strong leaders into constant reaction mode instead of intentional leadership. ▶️ How Nonprofit Leaders Can Lead Under Pressure with Jay Abbasi ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 How Pressure Shapes Nonprofit Leaders 00:03:10 Jay's Path From Personal Loss to Peak Performance Coaching 00:08:51 How L&D Leaders Can Stay Effective Under Pressure 00:13:32 What Pressure Does to the Brain 00:18:51 Building Clarity and Intention as a Learning Leader 00:22:46 Balancing Organizational Urgency With the Patience Behavior Change Requires 00:28:19 One Shift Nonprofit Leaders Can Make to Lead Under Pressure Resources from this episode: Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action  Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Jay LinkedIn: Jay Abbasi Website: jayabbasi.me Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Do you actually know if your training worked, or are you just hoping it did? In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down the five biggest mistakes nonprofit learning and development professionals make when measuring training impact. Most of us know we should be measuring our training, and we want to measure it, but somewhere between good intentions and actual practice, we get stuck. We settle for data that is easy to collect instead of data that tells us the truth. Good measurement isn't about checking a box, it's about using what you learn to make real decisions and show that the work actually matters. ▶️ The Biggest Mistakes We Make When Measuring Learning ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Why Measuring Training Matters 00:03:00 The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation 00:04:23 The 5 Biggest Mistakes L&D Professionals Make When Measuring Learning 00:17:17 Turning Your Learning Dashboard into a Strategic Tool Resources from this episode: ATD Research: https://www.td.org/content/press-release/atd-research-measuring-learning-program-effectiveness-is-challenging Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Learning for Good, I celebrate 200 episodes and share the five biggest lessons that have shaped my approach to nonprofit learning and development and nonprofit leadership development. Two hundred episodes in, I have interviewed nearly a hundred guests, built a summit, and grown a community, and along the way, my thinking about staff training and development has shifted in ways I did not expect. This episode is a chance to pause and look back at what has actually changed my career. ▶️ 200 Lessons from 200 Episodes. Just Kidding. Here are the Top 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development. ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 200 Episodes of Learning for Good 00:02:33 Thank You to the Nonprofit L&D Community 00:03:44 Top Five Episodes: A Look Back at Nonprofit Learning and Development Highlights 00:05:09 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development Resources from this episode: Top 5 Learning for Good Episodes:  E135: Want to Work in Nonprofit Learning and Development? What You Should Know E132: Translating Behavior Science into L&D Strategy: Lessons from Top ExpertsE71:   Are Your Nonprofit Leaders The Best They Can Be? Your Leadership Skills Might Be Lagging And THIS Is Why E116: Using a Blended, Cohort Training Model to Create Behavior Change E129: How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis for Nonprofit Staff Development Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you decide which trainings in your library still deserve a spot, and which ones are just taking up space? In this episode of Learning for Good, I walk through five strategic questions nonprofit leaders can use to decide when to retire a training program.  Many nonprofits build a training toolbox one request at a time, until the toolbox is packed with tools nobody stops to evaluate. That toolbox turns into an endless menu instead of a strategy, and it gets harder to tell which trainings are still earning their place. Keeping a training isn't about whether people liked it or whether it's always been offered, it's about whether it's still moving the mission forward. ▶️ Should You Retire Your Training? ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 When Should You Retire a Nonprofit Training Program? 00:03:15 How the Nonprofit Training Toolbox Fills Up Over Time 00:05:32 Five Questions to Decide Whether to Retire a Nonprofit Training Program 00:08:19 Building a Curated Nonprofit Training Toolbox Resources from this episode: Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Does your learning and development team spend more time responding to requests than shaping where your organization is headed? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with L&D leaders Kamaria Scott, Rachel Platt, and  Yogi Mueller for a conversation on why nonprofit learning and development teams stay reactive and what it takes to build stronger learning and development strategies. Too many L&D functions have been reduced to a training factory instead of shaping where the organization is headed. We talk about why this happens even to skilled, well-intentioned professionals and the real cost of staying reactive instead of strategic. ▶️ The Hidden Cost of Reactive Learning in Nonprofits ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Reactive vs Strategic Learning and Development 00:04:05 Understanding Reactive Learning  00:06:31 How the L&D Business Partner Role Got Lost 00:15:25 Learning Becomes Strategic When... 00:23:06 The Real Cost of Staying Reactive 00:25:25 One Shift Every L&D Professional Can Make Today Resources from this episode: Past episodes on strategic learning: E195: Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why.E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders AskE191: How Nonprofit Learning Leaders Can Show Up as a Strategic PartnerE186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order TakersE134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You’re MakingJoin the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with guests from this episode:  Yogi Meuller Kamaria Scott Rachel Platt Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with nonprofit leader Melody Lam to explore how she built a coaching culture by training first-time managers to coach. Coaching sounds like the obvious solution when new managers struggle to have hard conversations with their teams, but it often gets treated as a perk reserved for executives, and the cost of outside coaches can make the whole idea feel out of reach.  Melody's experience shows that coaching does not have to start big or expensive, it can start with a simple model, a willing pilot group, and two minutes of practice at a time. ▶️ When to Choose Coaching as Your Leadership Development Solution with Melody Lam ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Why Nonprofits Need Coaches, Not Just Training 00:03:50 Melody's Path into Nonprofit Leadership Development 00:07:39 The Benefits of Coaching Across Organizations 00:11:45 Building Emotional Buy-In for Coaching 00:14:39 Making Coaching Accessible with a Limited Budget 00:19:13 Piloting and Scaling Coaching Across the Organization 00:21:01 Coaching Results: From Technical Skills to Coaching Culture 00:23:42 Where to Start with Coaching (Even with Limited Time or Budget) Resources from this episode: E175: How One Nonprofit Used Habit Stacking to Improve Feedback Skills with Amy Glover The Extraordinary Coach: How the Best Leaders Help Others Grow by John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett Join us for our next Nonprofit L&D Collective networking event on August 19: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/join-the-nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective  Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Melody LinkedIn: Melody L. Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Why does your team go right back to their old habits the week after training ends? In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down how nonprofit leaders can design training that leads to lasting workplace behavior change instead of a short-lived bump in knowledge. Most training ends the same way. People show up, they learn something new, and within a few weeks it is like the training never happened. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone, and it is not because your training was bad.  What matters is designing for what happens after training ends, so the learning people carry with them actually changes what they do on the job. ▶️ How to Make Learning Last: Designing for Workplace Behavior Change ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 How to Make Learning Last 00:05:03 The Real Goal of Nonprofit Staff Training and Development 00:05:36 The Four Gears of Lasting Behavior Change Resources from this episode: Episode mentioned: E193: Why Staff Need a Reason to Change BehaviorJoin the free, virtual Nonprofit L&D Collective networking event: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/join-the-nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective  Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Does your L&D team spend most of its time responding to urgent training requests instead of shaping strategy? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Mark Nilles and Scot Vessell, two experienced learning and development leaders, to discuss what it actually takes for nonprofit L&D to operate as a strategic lever. We argue that becoming a strategic partner starts with an internal shift, from seeing yourself as a learning designer who produces training to seeing yourself as a change agent who helps solve organizational problems. ▶️ Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why. ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Becoming a Strategic Partner in Nonprofit L&D 00:04:25 Meet the Panel: Nonprofit L&D Leaders on Strategic Partnership 00:08:05 Why Nonprofit L&D Teams Get Stuck in Reactive Mode 00:14:24 The Risk of L&D Staying a Reactive Training Factory 00:18:03 What Strategic Learning and Development Looks Like 00:22:30 Reframing the Conversation Around Nonprofit Training and Behavior Change 00:29:46 Practical Advice for Becoming a More Strategic Nonprofit L&D Partner Resources from this episode: Past strategic partnership episodes: E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders AskE191: How Nonprofit Learning Leaders Can Show Up as a Strategic PartnerE186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order TakersE134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You're MakingJoin the next Learning for Good Summit on July 22nd: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625  Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Mark LinkedIn: Mark Nilles  Connect with Scot LinkedIn: Scot Vessell  Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Do you have employee engagement data sitting in a survey report with no plan for turning it into action? In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Wilson Kirkpatrick, Director of People Operations at Waterford.org, to talk about how they used employee engagement data to design a coaching program that strengthened leadership trust and psychological safety. Many nonprofit leaders collect engagement survey data every year, but once the report comes back, it often sits untouched. That data only becomes valuable when you pair it with a deliberate cycle of listening, understanding, and acting, turning a single survey into an ongoing system for organizational growth. ▶️ How to Align Learning with Data with Nonprofit HR Leader Wilson Kirkpatrick ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 Wilson's Path Into HR and People Operations 00:05:21 Inside Waterford.org's Mission and Team 00:06:16 Turning Employee Engagement Data Into a Business Case for Coaching 00:11:31 Prioritizing Quick Wins When Rolling Out Coaching 00:15:23 Measuring the Results: Engagement Score Improvements 00:17:18 Advice for Leaders Who Feel Intimidated by Data 00:19:02 Where to Find the Data Already Inside Your Organization Resources from this episode: Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Wilson LinkedIn: Wilson Kirkpatrick Website: waterford.org  Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms

Your staff already know what to do and how to do it. So why are they still not doing it? In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down why explaining the why is one of the simplest and most overlooked workplace behavior change strategies nonprofit leaders have available. Nonprofit leaders pour energy into teaching their teams what to do and how to do it, then feel baffled when the new behavior never sticks. It is easy to assume the problem is the training itself, when the real gap might be something far simpler and far easier to fix. ▶️ Trying to Change Behavior? One Missing Element from Your Training ▶️ Key Points: 00:00:00 How an Explanation Can Change Behavior 00:05:11 Ellen Langer's Research on Behavior Change and Compliance 00:08:38 Closing the Gap Between Staff Training and Behavior Change Resources from this episode: The Power of the Word Because Study by Ellen Langer: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-wise/201310/the-power-of-the-word-because-to-get-people-to-do-stuff  Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625 Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective Connect with Heather LinkedIn: Heather Burright Website: skillmastersmarket.com Book an interest call with Heather here. ⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations. Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization. Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions! Produced by Ideablossoms