Leadership

How do successful not-for-profits develop future leaders? Part 5: Monitoring progress and adjusting course

Great leadership is central to all successful not-for-profit organisations. In this five-part series, we look at strategies to recognise and realise the leadership potential within a not-for-profit. Follow the links to part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. In part 5 below, we finish our series by looking the how you monitor your […]

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6 steps to improve your staff training – and increase staff retention too

Even with the knowledge that training and development can have a massive impact on your staff and organisation’s performance, being able to invest time and money in it can still be a challenge for many NFP organisations. In this post we explore the big question of “how?” for NFPs that want to take the next steps.

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“Clarity, optimism, tenacity and persistence” – Leadership lessons from Lin Hatfield Dodds, CEO of The Benevolent Society

Lin Hatfield Dodds has spent her working life focused on people and communities who are vulnerable or disadvantaged, most recently leading over 1,500 staff as CEO of The Benevolent Society, Australia’s oldest charitable organisation dedicated to meeting the needs of vulnerable groups in society. In the lead-up to her keynote presentation at the 2023 Not-For-Profit People Conference, Lin spoke with us about her leadership journey and how she faces and overcomes challenges as the CEO of Australia’s oldest charity.

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NFPs could increase their impact by prioritising staff learning: new research

How do you prioritise professional development in your organisation? It’s not always easy to find the budget for training and development of staff, but according to new research on Australia’s NFP sector, failing to invest in this area could be significantly affecting your organisation’s success and impact. Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) […]

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4 myths about redundancies – and how to ease a difficult transition for your staff

4 layoff myths – and how to ease a difficult transition for your staff

“Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.”

These are the words of Didier Elzinga, CEO of Melbourne-based software firm Culture Amp, reflecting on his experience of navigating a difficult transition. Making staff layoffs can be a shock for any company, but the impact can be more profound in highly collaborative environments like the company Elzinga had built.

Here, Elzinga dispels some of the myths surrounding staff layoffs and shares his learnings on managing change, dealing with fear and more.

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