What the most effective nonprofit leaders do differently (hint: it’s not working more)
If there were just more hours in the day, we could work ourselves to death. Our American work life believes that whatever is on our plate, even if the plate is the size of the Moon, must be eaten, if it takes all our life energy to chomp away at it.
There is help. Philanthropy has started to shift from solely supporting programs, to supporting leadership capacity to impact and scale performance of whole organizations. In the business world, coaching is a standard tool in the leadership tool kit; in the nonprofit world, it is considered a privilege for those with budget reserves.
“Investing in a leader can be one of the most cost-effective ways to strengthen a nonprofit. It can build up not just the person but also the systems, culture and strategy around them (Forbes, Sept. 2025).”
This is not just a great idea. Research shows that coaching drives measurable behavioral change, including improved self-efficacy and resilience, while developing new habits for long-term personal and professional change. This supports the claim that coaching makes leaders more effective, not busier and more stressed.
The goal for nonprofit leader success is not to clean what has shown up on our plates. Rather than burnout, leaders should avoid the overcommitment that leads to burnout, and focus on impact:
Build a real support system. Hire an executive coach for leadership development and confidential accountability.
Shift to systems thinking. Create repeatable workflows and decision norms, clarifying who owns what, and let go of the hero approach.
Anchor work to boundaries. Establish clear priorities so everything is not urgent, define what is not yours to carry, and consider “no” a leadership act.
Normalize recovery. Lead by example and institutionalize reflection, time off, planning over crisis response, not emailing after hours.
Grow emotional awareness. Pay attention to the signals of health and stress in self and others, practice ways to promote balance.
Redefine success. Track outcomes not just effort, celebrate learning not just funding, align performance with sustainability.
Invest in other leaders. Nurture teams with skills that support succession planning and supportive cultural norms.
Delegate. Practice letting go to intentionally grow team members, with regular check-ins for everyone’s comfort and alignment.
Outsource. Build capacity by hiring external expertise, and relieve staff to focus on strengths.
Decline. Learn to say no to invitations that do not match priorities or capacity.
Executive coaching is not just a supportive act, but builds efficacy and resilience. Coaching can help leaders choose sustainable strategies for leading well-directed teams, improving decision-making for impact, and focusing on what matters most.