Signals Nonprofits Can’t Ignore with Carrie Fox [Episode 406]

One of the most important leadership skills is listening.

Not listening in the polite sense.

Listening in the diagnostic sense.

Listening for signals.

Leaders who pay attention to signals understand what’s really happening in their organizations and communities long before others notice it.

And those leaders have time to act proactively instead reactively.

Recently I had a conversation about this with Carrie Fox, founder and CEO of Mission Partners and one of the driving forces behind the Insights on Purpose Report. Our conversation got me thinking more deeply about something I see often in the nonprofit sector.

There are guiding signals everywhere… hints about what’s coming.

But not everyone is listening.

And when signals go unheard, we shift into reactive mode and our systems start to strain.

Carrie described the moment that sparked the research project.

She said she kept hearing nonprofit leaders making statements like:

“I don’t know if I can do it again. I don’t know if I can navigate through another sustained crisis.”

That line stayed with me.

Because it tells us something about the system they’re operating in.

We can't always predict what crisis will come next, but we can be sure there will be one.

And we can choose to operate using systems that are resilient or even anti-fragile to crisis.

An anti-fragile system is one that gets stronger when it is pressure tested.

When most organizations go through sustained disruption—COVID, economic pressure, funding uncertainty, policy changes—leaders absorb the shock and their systems crack with the shockwaves.

But when organizations are set up with systems that are anti-fragile to crisis, the shock is subdued to a gentle breeze.

And if we implement anti-fragile operating systems...

Questions about capacity.
Questions about sustainability.
Questions about whether we can keep going.

Become signals to adapt instead of pressure that crushes.

A key part of an operating system that is anti-fragile to crisis is proactive listening.

Carrie shared that the research began with a simple idea: listen more systematically.

Good advice you should follow!

Instead of relying on anecdotal conversations, the project gathered data from nonprofit and foundation leaders across the country to understand what they were experiencing.

That approach matters.

Many nonprofit leaders are trained to solve problems quickly.

But sometimes the most important step is not solving yet.

Oftentimes the first best step is listening.

Without listening, leaders risk solving the wrong problem!!!!!

Another insight from the conversation is the importance of understanding perspectives across the sector.

Nonprofits and foundations operate in the same ecosystem, but they often experience it differently.

Nonprofit leaders see day-to-day operational realities for making an impact.

Foundations see impact reports and funding strategies.

Ideally, nonprofits and foundations work together in a self-improving ecosystem that lifts up all parties.

But in reality, too often foundations and non-profits feel like they are at odds.

If you only take one thing from this conversation, it’s this:

Pay attention to the signals.

Signals show up in conversations.

Signals show up in questions people ask.

Signals show up in the concerns people raise quietly… sometimes it’s a subtle as a brief expression on their face.

Develop systematized ways of listening early and frequently.

That’s not just good management.

That’s good leadership…This is leadership that is anti-fragile to crisis.

And it’s one of the reasons conversations like this one with Carrie Fox matter so much.

They help us see what leaders across the sector are experiencing—and what we can learn from listening.