In light of the recent high profile suicides by Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, Vu Le wrote an excellent piece on what nonprofits need to know about mental illness. One of the points he brings up is the importance of creating an environment where life/work balance flourish. Overwork and stress can lead to burnout and depression and that can lead to even bigger problems. As a sector, we need to understand that working endlessly long hours is not productive. And here's a summary of the … [Read more...]
Book Review: Work That Matters
Last month I was lucky enough to run into Maia Duerr who participated in Wake's Tech2EmpowerUSA at a workshop I was facilitating on the Happy Healthy Nonprofit. Maia Duerr recently published a book called "Work that Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention." Given our mutual interests, we had a lot to share about mindfulness and well being. A writer, consultant, and coach, Maia Duerr draws on her decades of Zen practice and training in anthropology to create powerful … [Read more...]
Paying Attention to Your Nonprofit's Workplace Culture Pays Off
Recently, I was invited to participate in a staff "Lunch and Learn," by Connor Diemand-Yauman, CEO of Philanthropy University, about building a culture of wellbeing in the nonprofit workplace and capacity building. One of the things I immediately noticed in the office, is that they displayed their values on the wall (the sign with the different color circles). Many organizations do that. But there was also another sign on the wall that described their Quarter 3 theme word "Mindfulness" and a … [Read more...]
The Power of Small Wins: Celebrating Your Nonprofit's To Dones
Working as a nonprofit consultant can sometimes feel isolating. That's why it important to have networking opportunities to connect with professional colleagues face-to-face beyond online groups. I try to make an effort to do this regularly. This past week, I met up with nonprofit consultant Carrie Rice. We met in a nonprofit conference space of another colleague, Corey Newhouse, executive director of PublicProfit. Her organization helps youth organizations do program evaluation using … [Read more...]
How Nonprofit Professionals Can Manage Workplace Stress Triggers
This week I facilitated a Happy Healthy Nonprofit workshop for nonprofit professionals hosted by CVNL in Marin County. Before focusing on workplace strategies and culture change, participants go through some reflective exercises, including taking the nonprofit burnout assessment, identifying stress triggers and reactions before creating a self-care plan. As a group, I have participants take an online poll, answering the questions, "What are your workplace stress triggers?" As the word … [Read more...]
