Searching for Fresh Leadership Ideas? 4 Insights From Inspirational Stories

Late August through early September is a time of transition — even for those of us who aren’t heading back to school. Summer gives way to fall, and the year-end suddenly looms large. It’s a busy time for nonprofit leaders.

To help you gear up for the days ahead, we curated a collection of recent articles and other resources to re-energize and inspire you.

Consider New Directions

Valerie Jarrett, head of the Barack Obama Foundation, sat down with the Chronicle’s CEO Stacy Palmer for an episode of our Nonprofits Now podcast on how to get the right leadership team in place.

One key takeaway: Don’t be afraid to go in a new direction. Jarrett says that at a recent meeting of the executive committee, President Obama urged her colleagues to think hard about how things have changed since 2014, when he created his foundation. It’s a sentiment Jarrett embraces. “Just because we’ve done it this way doesn’t mean we always have to,” she reminded her team. “In fact, institutions that really sustain and replenish themselves are the ones that are willing to be courageous enough to look beyond what we already do.”

To hear more from this visionary leader, download How Valerie Jarrett, the Obama Foundation CEO, Builds a Strong Executive Team from your favorite streaming platform. Check out the other episodes for more advice on leading through uncertainty.

Explore the Power of Shared Purpose

If you’re spending these last days of August on vacation, browse your peers’ recommendations in 34 Summer Books, Movies, and Podcasts to Mend America’s Divisions.

A top pick for nonfiction: When No Thing Works, by Norma Wong. “This book blends Indigenous wisdom and Zen practice into a powerful guide for collective resilience and shared purpose — exactly the medicine we need to heal our fractured social fabric,” says Edgar Villanueva, author and head of the Decolonizing Wealth Project. Wong is an Indigenous Hawaiian leader who has been active in state politics for decades, including leading negotiating teams on the munitions cleanup of Kahoʻolawe Island.

Heal Divisions Through Service

Regular Chronicle columnist Eboo Patel applauds a burgeoning movement to create new volunteering opportunities that bridge ideological divides. The nonprofit sector has the chance to create spaces where good people can show up to “serve and be served” — with transformative benefits for all.

“Every era ends, and that includes this particular moment of chaos and cruelty,” he writes. “We know diverse democracies depend on acts of service by diverse groups of people. Let’s do the good we can in the time we have, knowing our acts of decency lift people up today and set the stage for a better tomorrow.”

Read the rest of The Power of Doing Good When So Much Is Bad. Try It.

Take Time to Recharge

Did you come back from your summer break wishing for a little extra time for reflection? In Sabbaticals Strengthen Leaders and Nonprofits: Here’s How to Recharge, the Chronicle interviewed five nonprofit executives who have taken extended leave, ranging from seven weeks to three months.

Iliana Tavera, the CEO of Haven Hills, went on sabbatical all of last summer. Upon returning, she found that letting others lead in her absence resulted in a change in perspective that has given her — and her charity — an enduring energy boost.

“It was fully understanding that no organization is about one person, right? And that sometimes we undertake tasks and responsibilities that don’t make sense for us because we think that only we can do it,” she says. “That was liberating — coming back and understanding that there are other people here that enjoy that work as well, or that it makes more sense for them to be responsible for certain things.”