Kathy Archer, Silver River Coaching

Nonprofit leaders, trust is not built because you tell your team they can trust you.

Trust is both a feeling and a cognitive assessment.

Your employees are continually asking themselves:

Do I feel safe with this person?

AND

Based on what I have seen them do, can I rely on them?

That means trust is built through your actions.

You say you have an open-door policy. Do you actually make time to listen?

You say you value your staff. Do your decisions demonstrate that?

You say you will follow up. Do you?

You say one thing in the staff meeting. Does your behaviour afterwards match it?

Your words matter, but your actions need to align with them.

Because your team is assessing you with both their head and their gut.

And when those two things consistently tell them, “Yes, I can trust this person,” they are much more willing to engage, follow your leadership, and work alongside you.

Trust is not something you ask for.

It is something your team experiences.

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.

Nonprofit women leaders, one of the things I hear women apologize for most is simply being themselves.

They apologize for being emotional.

For caring deeply.

For their soft skills.

For being a parent and having responsibilities outside of work.

For the very things that are often part of what makes them an effective leader.

We need to stop treating our natural talents and strengths like something to minimize.

Instead:

1️⃣ Identify them

2️⃣ Claim them as strengths

3️⃣ Learn how to use them intentionally in your leadership

That is why I do so much strengths work with women leaders, both as a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and using VIA Character Strengths.

When women begin to recognize what is already strong in them, own it, and use it more intentionally, they become more confident and more effective leaders.

You do not need to lead like someone else.

You need to learn how to lead from what is strongest in you.

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.

Nonprofit leaders, if you keep working on weekends and wish you could stop, try giving yourself something stronger to move toward.

There is a quote that says happiness comes from having something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.

That last part matters.

Often, work wins on the weekend because nothing else has been given a place.

But when something important is scheduled, you make room for it.

A wedding.

An appointment.

Helping someone you care about.

The same principle can work in a more enjoyable way.

Create something you genuinely look forward to:

🌿 A walk in the park

🎨 A craft class

☕ Coffee with a friend

📚 A good book waiting for you

🎟️ An event you are excited about

You do not always need a stronger boundary.

Sometimes you need a stronger pull.

Create something that draws you away from work and back into your life.

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.

Nonprofit leaders, stop asking your employees, “How are you?”

You already know the answer.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m okay.”

Most people do not think you really want the honest answer.

Instead, ask questions that show you genuinely care 👇

1️⃣ How is your energy today?

2️⃣ How are you managing your workload this week?

3️⃣ What has been the best part of your day so far?

4️⃣ What is one thing I can help with today?

These questions invite real conversations instead of automatic responses.

When people feel seen, heard, and supported, trust grows.

And trust is the foundation of every healthy nonprofit team 🤝

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.

Nonprofit leaders, when was the last time you pruned your to do list?

Part of your job as a leader is managing workload.

That means looking at:

1️⃣ The projects you and your team are working on

2️⃣ The priorities within those projects

3️⃣ The pace you are expecting people to maintain

But there is another piece leaders often miss.

You need to remove things.

A task may be deprioritized, but if it keeps sitting at the bottom of your list, it still creates pressure every time you look at it.

It becomes a reminder of everything you are not getting done.

So ask yourself:

✂️ Is this still important?

✂️ Does this actually need to be done?

✂️ Am I keeping it because it matters, or because I feel guilty deleting it?

If it is not a real priority, take it off the list.

It may circle back another day.

For now, give yourself and your team the relief of a list that reflects what truly matters.

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.

Nonprofit leaders, checking off the orientation list does not mean your new staff member has actually learned it all.

Too often, we rush through orientation because we need people ready to start doing the work.

We cover the policies, procedures, systems, and expectations.

Then we check the boxes and move on.

But orientation should not be one and done.

Keep the checklist and bring it back into your one to one meetings.

You might say:

“We went through this when you first started, but now that you have had some time in the role, what questions do you have?”

Or:

“Which parts are making more sense now, and where are you still struggling?”

New staff often do not know what questions to ask during their first few days.

They need time and experience before they can identify what they do not understand.

Your orientation checklist should be more than proof that information was shared.

It should be a tool that helps you onboard staff thoughtfully, revisit important information, and make sure they have what they need to succeed.

If leadership feels heavy and you want support navigating situations like this, send me a message. I am the coach nonprofit leaders turn to when leadership gets hard.