Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits

In this episode of Learning for Good, I share how to find evidence that your staff training and development is working, even when you can't prove the training caused the result.

In L&D, we can get hung up on proof. We want to prove that manager development reduced turnover or that leadership training improved performance, and because we can't draw a straight line from training to organizational results, we sometimes stop looking for evidence altogether.

I think we're asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, "Can I prove this training caused that result?" we can ask, "If this learning is working, what would I expect to see?"

▶️ How to Prove Learning Impact without a Complicated ROI Spreadsheet

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Why We Get Hung Up on Proving Training Results

00:03:52 Defining Learning Success With Stakeholders

00:06:37 Mapping the Path Backward From Success

00:08:26 Designing for Behavior Change

00:10:13 Looking for Evidence That Learning Works

Resources from this episode:

Questions to ask in early stakeholder conversations: 

• E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/10-strategic-questions-learning-leaders-ask 

Episodes on creating change through learning: 

• E196: Four Conditions for Lasting Workplace Behavior Change: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/four-conditions-for-lasting-workplace-behavior-change 
• E193: Why Staff Need a Reason to Change Behavior: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/why-staff-need-a-reason-to-change-behavior  
• E172: Rethinking the Role of L&D: From Order Taker to Change Agent: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/rethinking-the-role-of-lampd-from-order-taker-to-change-agent 

Episodes on measuring learning:

• E188: 5 Levels of Training Impact: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/5-levels-of-training-impact 
• E117: How to Measure Behavior Change and Impact from Training: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/how-to-measure-behavior-change-and-impact-from-training 
• E59: How to Measure the Impact of Your Training and Development: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/blog/how-to-measure-the-impact-of-your-training-and-development

Join the Learning for Good Summit on October 28: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action 

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you get your CEO to see staff development as central to your nonprofit's success rather than something that is nice to have?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Elizabeth Cushing, CEO of Playworks, to explore how a nonprofit CEO thinks about learning and development and staff training and development.

In nonprofits, resources always feel finite, and staff development often loses out to more urgent priorities, even for leaders who believe deeply in their people. However, if your organization is a body, learning is the nervous system, and that makes investing in your people central to your mission.

▶️ Why Learning Is Central to Your Nonprofit's Success and Sustainability with Playworks CEO Elizabeth Cushing

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Learning Is Central to Your Nonprofit's Success

00:03:21 Elizabeth's Nonprofit Background

00:07:44 How Playworks Brings Play into Schools

00:09:38 How Learning and Staff Development Drive the Playworks Mission and Strengthen Their Organization

00:17:44 Why Staff Development Deserves Finite Nonprofit Resources

00:20:53 What Makes L&D a Strategic Partner in Achieving Goals

00:23:42 Advice for Nonprofit CEOs Juggling Competing Priorities

Resources from this episode:

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Elizabeth

LinkedIn: Elizabeth Cushing

Website: playworks.org

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you get your CEO, COO, executive director, or board to see why investing in staff is not just important, it's mission critical?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down how to get leadership buy-in for staff development in your nonprofit.

The first step is to stop talking about training. Leadership already has a goal in the spotlight, and training isn't it, so pushing it into the conversation just gets you tuned out. 

I share how to connect a specific capability gap to the goal leadership already cares about, how to make the risk of ignoring that gap clear, and how to show leadership that their investment is working.

▶️ How to Get Leadership Buy-In for Staff Development in Your Nonprofit

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Getting Leadership to Invest in Staff Development

00:05:09 How to Step Into Your Leaders' Spotlight

00:07:46 Defining Outcomes

00:08:47 Proving the Investment Is Working

Resources from this episode:

Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

 One of the most challenging parts of our jobs as  nonprofit learning and development professionals is working with and through other people.  This makes our ability to influence critical to our work.

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with leadership development consultant and relationship expert Morag Barrett to talk about how nonprofit learning and development professionals can build influence and strengthen the workplace relationships that make training initiatives succeed.

Morag walks through her Relationship Ecosystem framework: ally, supporter, rival, and adversary. Most relationships aren't fixed in one category. Her advice is to start by moving your supporters closer to allies and to make sure you have at least one go-to ally relationship.

▶️ How to Build Relationships that Move Work Forward in Your Nonprofit with Morag Barrett

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Using Influence to Shape Work

00:04:13 Morag's Path Into Relationship and Leadership Work

00:08:57 The Part of Relationships You Can Control

00:13:24 From Transactional to Transformational Relationships

00:16:28 The Relationship Ecosystem: Ally, Supporter, Rival, Adversary

00:26:19 Relationship Pulse Check: Three Questions That Build Trust

Resources from this episode:

Morag’s Books:

• Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships by Morag Barrett
• You, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How to Show Up As One!) by Morag Barrett, Eric Spencer and Ruby Vesely

Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action 

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Morag

LinkedIn: Morag Barrett

Website: skyeteam.com 

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you design training that actually leads to a job, not just a certificate?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Amina Mohamed, founder and executive director of Cameras for Girls,  a Canadian charity advancing gender equality in media across Africa, to talk about  designing learning around the change you want to create.

So many nonprofits build training programs and hope people walk away better prepared, but hoping isn't the same as knowing a program creates real employment outcomes. For Amina, a training program only matters if it ends in a job, and that standard shapes every phase of how she builds and evaluates her work.

▶️ How One Nonprofit Uses On-the-Job Training to Fulfill Its Mission with Amina Mohamed

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Career Training Reflection

00:03:11 Introduction to Amina: From Film and Television to Cameras for Girls

00:09:07 The Mission Behind Cameras for Girls

00:12:38 Inside the Four-Phase Training Model

00:20:52 Amina's Vision for Cameras for Girls: Training Isn't the Goal, Change Is

00:25:03 Turning Training Into Lasting Impact

Resources from this episode:

Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Amina

LinkedIn: Amina Mohamed

Website: camerasforgirls.org 

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down three practical shifts nonprofit learning designers can make to build credibility and grow their influence.

Many competent learning and development professionals feel like their recommendations don't carry weight. It's frustrating to know you understand a problem and can offer a better solution, only to have that expertise go unheard. That gap usually has less to do with skill and more to do with how much evidence you've given people that you can be trusted.

I explain why credibility isn't something you announce, it's something you build one interaction at a time until people trust your judgment enough to follow where you lead.

▶️ 3 Small Shifts that Increase Your Credibility as a Learning Designer

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 How Credibility Works in Nonprofit Leadership

00:03:26 How to Build Trust Within Your Nonprofit

00:05:31 3 Shifts that Increase Credibility as a Learning Designer

00:08:55 How Credibility Changes Stakeholder Buy-In

Resources from this episode:

Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

What do you do when the pressure at work never seems to let up?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with peak performance coach Jay Abbasi to talk about what it takes to lead under pressure and how nonprofit L&D leaders can build resilience into how they lead themselves and others.

Nonprofit leaders carry a heavy load, with tight resources, shifting priorities, and a mission that never feels like it can wait. That pressure builds and shapes how people think, communicate, and lead, often without them realizing it. This can push even strong leaders into constant reaction mode instead of intentional leadership.

▶️ How Nonprofit Leaders Can Lead Under Pressure with Jay Abbasi

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 How Pressure Shapes Nonprofit Leaders

00:03:10 Jay's Path From Personal Loss to Peak Performance Coaching

00:08:51 How L&D Leaders Can Stay Effective Under Pressure

00:13:32 What Pressure Does to the Brain

00:18:51 Building Clarity and Intention as a Learning Leader

00:22:46 Balancing Organizational Urgency With the Patience Behavior Change Requires

00:28:19 One Shift Nonprofit Leaders Can Make to Lead Under Pressure

Resources from this episode:

Join the next Learning for Good Summit in October: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/influence-to-action 

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Jay

LinkedIn: Jay Abbasi

Website: jayabbasi.me

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

Do you actually know if your training worked, or are you just hoping it did?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down the five biggest mistakes nonprofit learning and development professionals make when measuring training impact.

Most of us know we should be measuring our training, and we want to measure it, but somewhere between good intentions and actual practice, we get stuck. We settle for data that is easy to collect instead of data that tells us the truth. Good measurement isn't about checking a box, it's about using what you learn to make real decisions and show that the work actually matters.

▶️ The Biggest Mistakes We Make When Measuring Learning

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Why Measuring Training Matters

00:03:00 The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation

00:04:23 The 5 Biggest Mistakes L&D Professionals Make When Measuring Learning

00:17:17 Turning Your Learning Dashboard into a Strategic Tool

Resources from this episode:

ATD Research: https://www.td.org/content/press-release/atd-research-measuring-learning-program-effectiveness-is-challenging

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Learning for Good, I celebrate 200 episodes and share the five biggest lessons that have shaped my approach to nonprofit learning and development and nonprofit leadership development.

Two hundred episodes in, I have interviewed nearly a hundred guests, built a summit, and grown a community, and along the way, my thinking about staff training and development has shifted in ways I did not expect. This episode is a chance to pause and look back at what has actually changed my career.

▶️ 200 Lessons from 200 Episodes. Just Kidding. Here are the Top 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development.

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 200 Episodes of Learning for Good

00:02:33 Thank You to the Nonprofit L&D Community

00:03:44 Top Five Episodes: A Look Back at Nonprofit Learning and Development Highlights

00:05:09 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development

Resources from this episode:

Top 5 Learning for Good Episodes:

•  E135: Want to Work in Nonprofit Learning and Development? What You Should Know
•  E132: Translating Behavior Science into L&D Strategy: Lessons from Top Experts
• E71:   Are Your Nonprofit Leaders The Best They Can Be? Your Leadership Skills Might Be Lagging And THIS Is Why
•  E116: Using a Blended, Cohort Training Model to Create Behavior Change
•  E129: How to Conduct a Training Needs Analysis for Nonprofit Staff Development

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms

How do you decide which trainings in your library still deserve a spot, and which ones are just taking up space?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I walk through five strategic questions nonprofit leaders can use to decide when to retire a training program. 

Many nonprofits build a training toolbox one request at a time, until the toolbox is packed with tools nobody stops to evaluate. That toolbox turns into an endless menu instead of a strategy, and it gets harder to tell which trainings are still earning their place.

Keeping a training isn't about whether people liked it or whether it's always been offered, it's about whether it's still moving the mission forward.

▶️ Should You Retire Your Training?

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 When Should You Retire a Nonprofit Training Program?

00:03:15 How the Nonprofit Training Toolbox Fills Up Over Time

00:05:32 Five Questions to Decide Whether to Retire a Nonprofit Training Program

00:08:19 Building a Curated Nonprofit Training Toolbox

Resources from this episode:

Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

⭐Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review!

🔗Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends.

Learning for Good is the podcast for nonprofit leaders seeking practical L&D solutions. Hosted by Heather, an experienced consultant, we dive into leadership development, instructional design, change management, and staff management strategies tailored to nonprofit organizations.

Discover how to implement impactful learning solutions, foster belonging, and influence senior leaders. Each episode provides the tools you need to confidently navigate high-level conversations and drive meaningful change within your organization.

Let’s create lasting impact through innovative L&D solutions!

Produced by Ideablossoms