Lens on Leadership

Two-minute tips for leaders on how to create the types of vision, plan, and culture that will move the needle for your mission.

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David Wagner David Wagner

5 Essential Leadership Boundaries

Stay in the driver’s seat by using effective boundaries to safeguard your organization from deteriorating culture, mission creep, and other risks – and preserve your own sanity.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Debunking 5 Myths about Nonprofit Strategy

Too many nonprofit leaders think “strategy” is just something their board does on a retreat every few years, or is something they can’t afford, or a waste of time. Myths, all!

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David Wagner David Wagner

5 Reasons to Put Your Own Mask On First

When we disregard our own needs, we risk serious detriment – to ourselves, our teams, and the missions we serve. Taking the time to attend to our individual needs makes us better leaders.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Three Approaches to Stay Responsive

Strategies aren’t meant to be static. By anticipating change and having mechanisms to gather and act on new information, we can stay responsive to shifting conditions.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Balancing Two Types of Vision

When vision reflects both enduring aspects of your organization and changes needed to grow impact in the near-term, you can achieve consistent results for your mission - even in times of change.

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David Wagner David Wagner

The Emotional Elephant in the Room

Suppressing - or worse, discounting- emotions in the workplace can be like trying to ignore an elephant in the room. You and your team will have more success dealing with them in a healthy way.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Measure What Really Matters

Are you communicating how your activities contribute to your impact? In the social sector, the most valuable thing we can measure is our mission outcomes.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Keep Up the Fight Without Burning Out

The journey ahead is long and arduous. When we allow ourselves to feel personally responsible for shortening the path, we do our mission a disservice and risk becoming another casualty of the trek.

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David Wagner David Wagner

Leading Through Uncertainty

As leaders, we are more likely to encounter uncertainty than others. And we must take on the additional burden of creating certainty for our teams.

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