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

Your nonprofit can have a clear strategy and a big vision, but that doesn’t guarantee it will happen, because eventually that strategy becomes someone's job. Someone has to do something differently than they are doing it today. 
In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with David Chatham of Angel Oak Creative, a marketing communications agency that works exclusively with nonprofits, to talk about how to prepare your people to execute your organization's strategy. 
It takes more than one announcement and a round of staff training. Staff need to understand why the strategy matters, have the skills and the authority to act on it, and hear about it again and again, with room to ask questions and help shape the plan.

▶️ Preparing Your People to Execute Your Nonprofit's Strategy ▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 When Nonprofit Strategy Becomes Someone's Job
00:04:24 David Chatham’s Career Story: For-Profit and Nonprofit
00:09:06 What Staff Need to Hear About a New Strategy
00:13:43 Communication Need Versus Capability Need
00:17:42 From Strategy Exposure to Strategy Application
00:22:09 Creating a Strategy Feedback Loop
00:23:38 Lessons from a Nonprofit Rebrand

Resources from this episode:
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with David
LinkedIn: David Chatham
Website: angeloakcreative.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!
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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

In learning and development, we know that you can roll out a new system, restructure a team, or announce a new strategy in your nonprofit, and still find people working the same way they always have, even with training.
In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down why organizational change doesn't stick and which workplace behavior change strategies help the new way become the normal way.
Training and a clear message matter, but they aren't the only things people need. Behavior changes when the conditions around it make the new behavior the default.

▶️ Why Organizational Change Stalls when Habits Don't Shift
▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Why Workplace Behavior Change Feels So Hard
00:04:58 The Real Unit of Organizational Change
00:08:14 Example: Turning a Problem-Solving Manager into a Coach
00:11:38 Questions to Ask When Organizational Change Doesn't Stick

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

In nonprofit Learning and Development, we depend on stakeholders to get our work done. But our stakeholders have their own priorities, so we often end up chasing, pushing, and sometimes telling ourselves that they don't value our work.
In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Carson Parrish, Director of Learning and Development at Seed Company, to talk about what it takes to actually work well with the stakeholders we depend on. 
Collaboration starts long before the project does, with trust, real curiosity about what your stakeholders value, and an invitation to bring them all the way into the work.

▶️ How to Chase Your Training Stakeholders without Looking Desperate with Carson Parrish
▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Learning and Development Depends on Stakeholders
00:03:31 Carson's Career Pivot from Law Enforcement to Nonprofit L&D
00:06:58 How to Build Effective Stakeholder Relationships
00:12:41 Engaging with Stakeholders
00:19:30 Managing Stakeholder Disagreements
00:24:42 How to Stop Chasing Stakeholders

Resources from this episode:
Join the Learning for Good Summit on October 28: 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 Carson
LinkedIn: Carson Parrish 
Website: seedcompany.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

In this episode of Learning for Good, I share how to find evidence that your staff training and development is working, even when you can't prove the training caused the result.
In L&D, we can get hung up on proof. We want to prove that manager development reduced turnover or that leadership training improved performance, and because we can't draw a straight line from training to organizational results, we sometimes stop looking for evidence altogether.
I think we're asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, "Can I prove this training caused that result?" we can ask, "If this learning is working, what would I expect to see?"

▶️ How to Prove Learning Impact without a Complicated ROI Spreadsheet
▶️ Key Points:
00:00:00 Why We Get Hung Up on Proving Training Results
00:03:52 Defining Learning Success With Stakeholders
00:06:37 Mapping the Path Backward From Success
00:08:26 Designing for Behavior Change
00:10:13 Looking for Evidence That Learning Works

Resources from this episode:
Questions to ask in early stakeholder conversations: 
E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/10-strategic-questions-learning-leaders-ask 
Episodes on creating change through learning: 
E196: Four Conditions for Lasting Workplace Behavior Change: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/four-conditions-for-lasting-workplace-behavior-change 
E193: Why Staff Need a Reason to Change Behavior: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/why-staff-need-a-reason-to-change-behavior  
E172: Rethinking the Role of L&D: From Order Taker to Change Agent: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/rethinking-the-role-of-lampd-from-order-taker-to-change-agent 
Episodes on measuring learning:
E188: 5 Levels of Training Impact: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/5-levels-of-training-impact 
E117: How to Measure Behavior Change and Impact from Training: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/how-to-measure-behavior-change-and-impact-from-training 
E59: How to Measure the Impact of Your Training and Development: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/how-to-measure-the-impact-of-your-training-and-development
Join the Learning for Good Summit on October 28: 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

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