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

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.

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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

In this episode of Learning for Good, I share 10 questions strategic learning leaders can ask to move beyond content creation and into real organizational impact, using learning and development strategies rooted in behavior change and performance.
Most nonprofit L&D professionals know that training alone does not create change. But without the right questions, it is easy to build solutions that miss the mark, overlook the real barriers, or fail to connect to organizational strategy. The gap between a training that checks a box and one that actually shifts behavior often comes down to what you asked, and what you did not.

▶️ 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask

▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Why the Best L&D Tool You Have Is a Question
00:04:07 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask
00:12:29 Why Questions Alone Are Not Enough

Resources from this episode:
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

Many nonprofit learning and development professionals know their work matters, but still find themselves executing requests rather than shaping solutions.
In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with global learning and development leader Mark Nilles to explore what it really means to shift from order taker to strategic partner, and how nonprofit L&D professionals can build the capability, opportunity, and motivation to lead with influence.
Strategic partnership is not a personality type or a seniority level. It is a set of skills any L&D professional can develop, one small step at a time.

▶️ What Strategic Partnerships Look Like in Learning & Development with Mark Nilles

▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Mark's Origin Story in L&D
00:08:23  The Three Cs of Strategic Partnership
00:13:12  Can Anyone Lead as a Strategic Partner?
00:14:21  Strategic Partnership in Practice: From Conversion Request to eLearning Solution
00:23:49  Why L&D Professionals Get Trapped in the Order Taker Role
00:26:49  The COM-B Model for Behavior Change
00:35:54  Practical Steps Toward a More Strategic Role

Resources from this episode:
Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625  
Past strategic partnership episodes:
Episode 186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order Takers
Episode 134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You're Making
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Mark
LinkedIn: Mark Nilles

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

You invested time and resources into staff training and development, but your team still isn't applying what they learned. Why? Many nonprofit leaders focus heavily on what employees need to learn and how they should learn it. While those elements are essential, they're only part of the equation.
In this episode of Learning for Good, I’m exploring why even well-designed training programs often fail to create lasting behavior change. True success happens when training translates into consistent action on the job. 
I’m sharing five overlooked factors that determine whether learning becomes performance improvement or simply another forgotten workshop.

▶️ Why Your Nonprofit Training Isn't Working: 5 Factors Preventing Workplace Behavior Change

▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Why Great Training Doesn't Always Lead to Action
00:05:07 5 Factors Preventing Behavior Change
00:14:12 Designing Training That Drives Lasting Behavior Change

Resources from this episode:
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