As federal spending cuts, government policy shifts, and economic turbulence roil the nonprofit world, nearly 90 percent of leaders are worried they’re burning out, according to a new study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

To help leaders figure out how to avoid exhausting themselves and their staffs, we turned to Sean Goode, an executive coach, to tackle this topic for our final episode of the first season of Nonprofits Now: Leading Today.

Goode led Choose 180, a Seattle nonprofit that works to keep marginalized youth out of the criminal-justice system, and then took a senior role at the Seattle Foundation before he decided to focus full-time on helping mission-driven executives lead better. His experiences have led him to challenge many conventional approaches to nonprofit leadership.

Among Goode's insights:

• Curiosity is an essential trait for any leader.
• Recognize the toll it takes when you only focus on what’s new and what’s next.
• Make fundraising about community engagement, not transactions.
• Being a good CEO is a lot like being a good parent.

Connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

For more advice on preventing burnout, check out these articles from the Chronicle:

• (Tool Kit) "How to Prevent Employee Burnout” by Chronicle Staff
• “Making Big Changes? Survey Finds Leadership and Staffing Are Keys to Success” by Jim Rendon
• (Opinion) “Sabbaticals and the Case for More Rest for Leaders of Color” by Cora Daniels
• (Opinion) “Could Term Limits for Nonprofit Leaders Ease the Burnout Crisis?” by Chitra Aiyar
• “Burnout Plagues Nonprofits, With Bad Effects for Mission. Sabbaticals May Help.” by Emily Haynes
• “How Leaders Can Help Fundraisers Avoid Burnout” by Emily Haynes
• “How Fundraisers Can Get Off the Road to Exhaustion and Burnout” by Emily Haynes
• (Training) “Foster a Culture of Well-Being” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe.

As leaders at every nonprofit — no matter the size or cause — grapple with challenges to their missions and finances, it’s especially important to tap into the wisdom of executives who have helped their organizations weather previous threats.

Barron Segar is one of those leaders. He took over as head of World Food Program USA just a few months before Covid ripped across the globe.

Before that, he worked as executive vice president and chief development officer at Unicef USA, and he is a founding executive board member of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, serving more than 30 years on the National Board of Directors.

Segar walked host Stacy Palmer through the ways he is persevering through current leadership challenges. He discussed how he is talking to his staff and leaders about preparing contingency plans in case funding gets tight; how he decided to call staff back to the office a few days a week and explained his rationale; and why he put into the budget money for each staff member to take advantage of professional development.

Among his advice for leaders:

• Candor with staff is essential, especially in anxious times.
• Always ask about the staff’s capacity to handle a new project.
• Changing course is okay.
• Ask donors what the organization is doing right and where it needs to improve.

Connect with Segar on LinkedIn.

Watch a video of this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/StKzFQR4ob4

For more advice on leadership, check out these articles from the Chronicle:

• “A Really Tough Job: Nonprofit CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable” by Ben Gose
• “Me and My Shadow: A Peer Learning Model Helps Leaders Grow” by Ben Berger and Shuki Taylor
• “How to Retain Skittish Donors Amid the Economic Turbulence” by Rasheeda Childress
• “Tips to Maintain Your Well-Being Amid Tariffs, Layoffs, and Recession Talk” by Rasheeda Childress
• “How to Find Fundraising Mentors — and Best Learn From Them” by Rasheeda Childress
• “Show How Your Nonprofit Is Making a Difference: 10 Dos and Don’ts” by Lisa Schohl
• “(Video) Two CEOs Share Insights on Leading in Challenging Times” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Todayis hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at theChronicle of Philanthropyand from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

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Valerie Jarrett is no stranger to the tough challenges nonprofit leaders face today. She is now head of the Obama Foundation, which is working to build an extensive library and community center in Chicago. From that perch she collaborates closely with leaders who pursue a wide range of social-change and economic development efforts.

Jarrett built many of her leadership muscles decades ago, when she served as a key senior adviser to President Barack Obama through all eight years of his presidency. In the years since, she also served on many corporate and nonprofit boards.

What she learned in the White House — responding to crises like the Great Recession — and now emphasizes as a nonprofit CEO, is the importance of assembling and building a great executive team. Host and Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer talked with Jarrett about her team-building strategies and advice to fellow leaders. Jarrett says not only does a strong executive team get more done, but it also enables the CEO to spend as much time as possible working on big-picture issues that are essential to the organization's future.

Among her recommendations to nonprofit CEOs:

• Start thinking about the whole team from the very first interview with a candidate for an executive role.
• Make sure everyone at the leadership table feels welcome.
• Encourage the leadership team to change course when needed.
• Delegate everything you can to others.
• Ask people how you can make their jobs easier.

Follow Jarrett on LinkedIn.

For more advice on recruiting, see these article from the Chronicle:

• “A Really Tough Job: Nonprofit CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable” by Ben Gose
• “Leaders’ Advice for Other Leaders” by Ben Gose
• “Humanize Your Hiring Process — Here’s Why and How” by Mordy Walfish
• “(Video) How to Hire and Retain Top-Quality Workers” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to the Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe.