A nonprofit with good management and a healthy organizational culture can better achieve its mission. In order to lead well, nonprofit leaders need to invest in themselves and in their staff.

A positive organizational culture will bring resources and relationships to the organization.  A negative culture will wipe out good intentions and handicap good programs. It has been said that "culture eats strategy for lunch." It is better to attend to your organizational culture before it sabotages your strategy and mission.  Consider how your organization compares to these benchmarks:

• Does your organization have a clear structure for getting things done?
• Do you have specific ways to measure success that you can share with staff, board, donors, founders, and clients?
• Do you provide employees and volunteers with opportunities to learn?
• Can you share resources, knowledge, and work with partners so you can get more done and make better use of resources?
• Are the leaders of the organization as interested in advancing their cause as they are in benefiting their organization?
• Are inclusiveness and diversity celebrated and encouraged?
• Is the organization diverse in age, ethnic and racial background, sexual orientation, and disability status?
• When change is necessary to meet the mission, does the organization embrace and successfully navigate it?
• Do leaders share responsibility and demonstrate trust in others so staff members work together effectively?

Be sure to take advantage of opportunities to engage with others in the nonprofit sector.  Conversations with peers can be informative and cathartic! It is helpful to get the perspective of someone who is familiar with the challenges you are facing. While every organization is unique, the problems nonprofits face are very similar regardless of the cause or size of organization.

Bookmark our Training and Networking Events calendar in order to stay abreast of the training and leadership development opportunities available to you. Also we encourage you to sign up for our e-newsletter to receive notices about 501 Commons events and those of the nonprofit specialists listed in our Resource Directory.