Insights
Leadership insights and community resources for those building capacity in themselves and others.
Conflict, Compensation, Community
These are three words I've been hearing lately when I sit with nonprofit leaders, not as separate topics but as three threads of the same conversation: conflict, compensation, community. None of them are new, but the frequency has picked up. Conflict shows up first inside the team, most often in the relationship between staff and their own manager or organizational leadership. In one recent stretch of coaching calls, five out of six sessions centered on some version of the same tension: how to...
What Happens When HR Is Slow and the Manager Is Stuck? (Schaumburg Nonprofit Leaders Forum, June 2026)
"It is not my responsibility to carry their feelings." There is a difference between supporting your team and absorbing what belongs to them. Finding that line is a challenge in any management position, and understanding it does not make it easier to hold. This professional development intentionality carried into Nonprofit Leaders Forum, supporting Schaumburg Township-funded agencies. (www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum) Two partner consultations brought live challenges to the center. One...
“It’s Your Challenge, But I Don’t Hear You Wanting to Do Something About It” (Bloomingdale Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum – June 2026)
"It's your challenge, but I don't hear you wanting to do something about it." That kind of honesty happens in a group that has built real trust, and it's exactly what showed up at our Nonprofit Leaders Forum, where mid-level nonprofit leaders serving Bloomingdale Township residents come together for peer support, skill building, and cross-agency connection. Learn more:...
Resource Sharing in Action: How One New Segment Sparked Real Connections at the Hanover Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum
Sometimes the most useful resource is the person sitting next to you, because they already found what you're looking for. This truth sat at the center of our June session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum, hosted by Maryville Academy. This session's Resource Sharing segment proved its worth immediately: partners surfaced dozens of community resources across housing, food access, transportation,...
Data That Works for the People Doing the Work (Impact Measurement Cohort – May 2026)
Every agency in the room had a version of the same challenge. That, it turns out, was exactly the point. The Agency Capacity Builder (https://www.goodworksresults.com) Impact Measurement Cohort held its first of six sessions, bringing together ten Milton Township Community Mental Health Board-funded agencies focused on making data work for us. The session opened with an honest look at where...
Recruiting, Developing, and Keeping Great People: A Six-Session Commitment to Nonprofit Workforce Strength (Workforce Cohort – May 2026)
Recruiting, developing, and keeping great people is where nonprofit mission meets daily reality. It's also a challenge best worked through together. The Agency Capacity Builder is built to answer that question. The first session of the Workforce Cohort launched, bringing together eight Milton Township Community Mental Health Board-funded organizations for the first of six sessions. The focus:...
You’re Not the Only One: Nonprofit Leaders Forum (Schaumburg Township) Explores Capacity and Connection
Access to early childhood mental health support can change the trajectory of a child's life. Brightpoint ensures every family has a clear path to get there. Serving over 37,000 children and families annually across 70 Illinois counties, the Schaumburg Marletta Darnall Center brings those services directly to Schaumburg Township (Cook County) residents. Brightpoint meets families at every stage....
Leading Across Generations
Managers keep asking some version of this question: How do we show younger staff that we care while also upholding accountability for their job responsibilities? The leaders I see navigating this well are not choosing between care and accountability. They do both. They model what they expect. They communicate the why behind the ask. They protect their teams' time without sacrificing quality....
Curiosity, Listening, and the Willingness to Update
Everyone has blind spots. The hardest part of leading is seeing what we cannot see on our own. That takes curiosity, listening, and a willingness to update what we came in believing. I keep watching this unfold across the peer cohorts I facilitate, and the leaders in those rooms are showing me what it looks like. It starts with curiosity. The leaders I see doing this well show up willing to be...
Leading Gen Z: The Shift Great Managers Are Already Making
"As a millennial supervising a team made up mostly of Gen Z staff, I'm learning that purpose is not a 'perk' for them — it's a requirement. The old model of 'come to work, collect a paycheck, and be grateful' simply doesn't resonate. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves, especially in the nonprofit space. They are intentional about protecting their time and energy. They...
Difficult Conversations and Organizational Advocacy in Practice (Bloomingdale Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum – May 2026)
Rappelling down 12 floors on behalf of DuPagePads (https://www.dupagepads.org), one partner from a completely different agency did this because the commitment in this cohort does not stay in the room. That energy carried into Nonprofit Leaders Forum #3, supporting Bloomingdale Township-funded agencies. Learn more at www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum. The Difficult Conversations Skills Lab...
What Mid-Level Leaders Own: Accountability & Advocacy (Hanover Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum – May 2026)
Know what is yours to own. Ask clearly for what you need. A room full of trusted peers who understand the work is one of the most valuable resources a leader can have. That was the thread running through our May session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum, held at Hanover Township's hidden gem, the Izaak Walton Center in Elgin. Together, we tackled the real day-to-day of mid-level leadership:...
May “As We See It” Recap
Mental health in the workplace is not a benefits question. It is a leadership question. Geri Kerger, CEO of NAMI DuPage, framed it clearly at our May 5 Community Leaders Series event: the workplace has significant influence on mental health, and the higher you go in an organization, the harder it becomes to talk about it. When a leader is willing to be vulnerable, the culture shifts. Leaders...
Agency Capacity Builder Convenes 21 Nonprofits
The answers are already in the room. 21 agencies proved it. Leaders from organizations funded by the Milton Township Community Mental Health Board came together for the introduction roundtable of the Agency Capacity Builder, a new peer-driven program where funded agencies solve real challenges together. Participants rotated through speed connecting conversations, worked two peer consultations on...
Carol Stream Volunteers Drive $500,000 in Giving
Nineteen local charities just received a share of $124,500. The entire event is driven by an amazing group of Carol Stream residents who bring people together for two weeks of tournament play and massive local impact. Over the last decade, they have given away more than $500,000! I participated on behalf of the Bloomingdale Parks Foundation. For us, this support translates into concrete action....
Ecker Center: Accessible Behavioral Health and 24/7 Crisis Support
Access to comprehensive, integrated behavioral health care can be a lifeline. Knowing where to start in a crisis is a major community barrier. The Ecker Center for Behavioral Health is a solution bridging that gap. Ecker Center has served Kane County, northwest Cook County, and the surrounding communities since 1955, providing accessible, comprehensive behavioral health care through prevention,...
Building Future Founders: Why We Brought a “Solution Board” to Lake Park High School
What happens when you stop asking high schoolers "what they want to be" and start asking them "how they would solve this?" Innovation and creativity happen in real-time. Mark Connor and I represented our businesses, Provable Solutions LLC and Good Works Results LLC , at the Lake Park High School Career Fair. While we were honored to be among 50+ diverse organizations spanning everything from...
Navigating Growth and Leadership Barriers (Bloomingdale Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum – March 2026)
Feeling stuck in operational tasks with no time for "new and needed things"? Wanting to expand your thinking but unsure how to navigate existing leadership dynamics? These were the real challenges we tackled during our Nonprofit Leaders Forum session, where midlevel leaders dove into navigating perceived versus real barriers to their growth. This powerful peer-learning model empowers nonprofit...
Leadership Confidence Through Peer Support (Hanover Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum – March 2026)
How do you balance being an available manager for your staff while protecting time for strategic work? How do you navigate moments of self-doubt, even when you are hearing that you are leading effectively? These were the real, human challenges shared and navigated at our fourth session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum (Hanover Township), serving midlevel leaders. This powerful peer-learning model...
When Fifty Community Leaders Share One Room
What happens when you bring 50 community leaders into the same room to talk about what we're seeing in our students? New connections. Cross-sector problem-solving. And the most common feedback: "I wish we had more time." That's the goal of the Community Leaders Series (https://www.goodworksresults.com/communityleadersseries), creating spaces for businesses, nonprofits, law enforcement,...
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago: Vital Childcare and Family Support
The immense challenge of finding affordable, quality childcare is being directly addressed by the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. They are a social enterprise dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace. This nonprofit agency actively mitigates significant community challenges, ensuring families have access to stability, trauma recovery, and vital early childhood mental...
Peer-Powered Leadership (Schaumburg Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum)
These midlevel nonprofit leaders have built something powerful: a trusted network that validates their experience and renews their capacity to lead. During our final session of this cohort, partners continued to tackle real leadership challenges, including when to advocate for organizational structure where it's lacking and how to navigate difficult employee situations with clear, direct...
We Rise By Lifting Others Up (Nonprofit Leaders Forum – Bloomingdale Township 2026)
"We rise by lifting others up." These words from a forum partner captured the spirit of the inaugural session of the 2026 cohort of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum, empowering nonprofit leaders serving Bloomingdale Township residents with tools and a trusted network. www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum This forum, in partnership with Good Works Results LLC, proves that leaders don't have...
Resource Generator: Concrete Wins at the Nonprofit Leaders Forum (Hanover Township)
What happens when you combine the shared wisdom of 11 empowered nonprofit leaders with a focused commitment to action? That was the powerful formula for success at the recent Hanover Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum. Our session was a resource generator. Partners shared tangible resource leads and strategic connections that expand upon services and address critical client needs. We produced...
The Groundwork of Leadership: Growing to Give
We are working and supporting others in what feels like a chaotic season. To show up well for others, let's look together at the emotional and strategic bandwidth required to lead effectively. What I am Hearing Managing Perceptions : One leader realized that while half of her energy went to strategic work, nearly as much was being drained just managing how external parties perceived her...
Sticky Habits: Tools I’m Learning from the Leaders I Partner With
I am learning alongside the leaders I partner with. These practical strategies come from people like you who are navigating these challenges in real time. Capacity is built in the small, "sticky" habits that allow us to lead with more clarity and less anxiety. Tools from the Field The Self-Interruption Tool: Many of us have a natural pattern of filling space with words when things get chaotic,...
Trust Plus Action (Nonprofit Leaders Forum – Schaumburg Township)
After seven sessions, these midlevel nonprofit leaders know each other. They've built trust through shared challenges and honest conversations. In a "Partnership Expansion Lab" segment at our recent forum, we strengthened those relationships by translating connections into concrete benefits for the agencies they serve. The "plus-one" model makes this happen. Partners pitch a specific service...
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