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

Does your learning and development team spend more time responding to requests than shaping where your organization is headed?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with L&D leaders Kamaria Scott, Rachel Platt, and  Yogi Mueller for a conversation on why nonprofit learning and development teams stay reactive and what it takes to build stronger learning and development strategies.

Too many L&D functions have been reduced to a training factory instead of shaping where the organization is headed. We talk about why this happens even to skilled, well-intentioned professionals and the real cost of staying reactive instead of strategic.

▶️ The Hidden Cost of Reactive Learning in Nonprofits

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Reactive vs Strategic Learning and Development

00:04:05 Understanding Reactive Learning 

00:06:31 How the L&D Business Partner Role Got Lost

00:15:25 Learning Becomes Strategic When...

00:23:06 The Real Cost of Staying Reactive

00:25:25 One Shift Every L&D Professional Can Make Today

Resources from this episode:

Past episodes on strategic learning:

• E195: Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why.
• E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask
• E191: How Nonprofit Learning Leaders Can Show Up as a Strategic Partner
• E186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order Takers
• E134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You’re Making

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

Connect with guests from this episode:

 Yogi Meuller

Kamaria Scott

Rachel Platt

Connect with Heather

LinkedIn: Heather Burright

Website: skillmastersmarket.com

Book an interest call with Heather here.

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🔗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 sit down with nonprofit leader Melody Lam to explore how she built a coaching culture by training first-time managers to coach.

Coaching sounds like the obvious solution when new managers struggle to have hard conversations with their teams, but it often gets treated as a perk reserved for executives, and the cost of outside coaches can make the whole idea feel out of reach. 

Melody's experience shows that coaching does not have to start big or expensive, it can start with a simple model, a willing pilot group, and two minutes of practice at a time.

▶️ When to Choose Coaching as Your Leadership Development Solution with Melody Lam

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Why Nonprofits Need Coaches, Not Just Training

00:03:50 Melody's Path into Nonprofit Leadership Development

00:07:39 The Benefits of Coaching Across Organizations

00:11:45 Building Emotional Buy-In for Coaching

00:14:39 Making Coaching Accessible with a Limited Budget

00:19:13 Piloting and Scaling Coaching Across the Organization

00:21:01 Coaching Results: From Technical Skills to Coaching Culture

00:23:42 Where to Start with Coaching (Even with Limited Time or Budget)

Resources from this episode:

E175: How One Nonprofit Used Habit Stacking to Improve Feedback Skills with Amy Glover

The Extraordinary Coach: How the Best Leaders Help Others Grow by John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett

Join us for our next Nonprofit L&D Collective networking event on August 19: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/join-the-nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective 

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

Connect with Melody

LinkedIn: Melody L.

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

Why does your team go right back to their old habits the week after training ends?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down how nonprofit leaders can design training that leads to lasting workplace behavior change instead of a short-lived bump in knowledge. Most training ends the same way. People show up, they learn something new, and within a few weeks it is like the training never happened. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone, and it is not because your training was bad. 

What matters is designing for what happens after training ends, so the learning people carry with them actually changes what they do on the job.

▶️ How to Make Learning Last: Designing for Workplace Behavior Change

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 How to Make Learning Last

00:05:03 The Real Goal of Nonprofit Staff Training and Development

00:05:36 The Four Gears of Lasting Behavior Change

Resources from this episode:

Episode mentioned:

• E193: Why Staff Need a Reason to Change Behavior

Join the free, virtual Nonprofit L&D Collective networking event: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/join-the-nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective 

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

Does your L&D team spend most of its time responding to urgent training requests instead of shaping strategy?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Mark Nilles and Scot Vessell, two experienced learning and development leaders, to discuss what it actually takes for nonprofit L&D to operate as a strategic lever.

We argue that becoming a strategic partner starts with an internal shift, from seeing yourself as a learning designer who produces training to seeing yourself as a change agent who helps solve organizational problems.

▶️ Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why.

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Becoming a Strategic Partner in Nonprofit L&D

00:04:25 Meet the Panel: Nonprofit L&D Leaders on Strategic Partnership

00:08:05 Why Nonprofit L&D Teams Get Stuck in Reactive Mode

00:14:24 The Risk of L&D Staying a Reactive Training Factory

00:18:03 What Strategic Learning and Development Looks Like

00:22:30 Reframing the Conversation Around Nonprofit Training and Behavior Change

00:29:46 Practical Advice for Becoming a More Strategic Nonprofit L&D Partner

Resources from this episode:

Past strategic partnership episodes:

• E192: 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask
• E191: How Nonprofit Learning Leaders Can Show Up as a Strategic Partner
• E186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order Takers
• E134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You're Making

Join the next Learning for Good Summit on July 22nd: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625 

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

Connect with Mark

LinkedIn: Mark Nilles 

Connect with Scot

LinkedIn: Scot Vessell 

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 have employee engagement data sitting in a survey report with no plan for turning it into action?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Wilson Kirkpatrick, Director of People Operations at Waterford.org, to talk about how they used employee engagement data to design a coaching program that strengthened leadership trust and psychological safety.

Many nonprofit leaders collect engagement survey data every year, but once the report comes back, it often sits untouched. That data only becomes valuable when you pair it with a deliberate cycle of listening, understanding, and acting, turning a single survey into an ongoing system for organizational growth.

▶️ How to Align Learning with Data with Nonprofit HR Leader Wilson Kirkpatrick

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Wilson's Path Into HR and People Operations

00:05:21 Inside Waterford.org's Mission and Team

00:06:16 Turning Employee Engagement Data Into a Business Case for Coaching

00:11:31 Prioritizing Quick Wins When Rolling Out Coaching

00:15:23 Measuring the Results: Engagement Score Improvements

00:17:18 Advice for Leaders Who Feel Intimidated by Data

00:19:02 Where to Find the Data Already Inside Your Organization

Resources from this episode:

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

Connect with Wilson

LinkedIn: Wilson Kirkpatrick

Website: waterford.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

Your staff already know what to do and how to do it. So why are they still not doing it?

In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down why explaining the why is one of the simplest and most overlooked workplace behavior change strategies nonprofit leaders have available.

Nonprofit leaders pour energy into teaching their teams what to do and how to do it, then feel baffled when the new behavior never sticks. It is easy to assume the problem is the training itself, when the real gap might be something far simpler and far easier to fix.

▶️ Trying to Change Behavior? One Missing Element from Your Training

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 How an Explanation Can Change Behavior

00:05:11 Ellen Langer's Research on Behavior Change and Compliance

00:08:38 Closing the Gap Between Staff Training and Behavior Change

Resources from this episode:

The Power of the Word Because Study by Ellen Langer: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-wise/201310/the-power-of-the-word-because-to-get-people-to-do-stuff 

Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625

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 share 10 questions strategic learning leaders can ask to move beyond content creation and into real organizational impact, using learning and development strategies rooted in behavior change and performance.

Most nonprofit L&D professionals know that training alone does not create change. But without the right questions, it is easy to build solutions that miss the mark, overlook the real barriers, or fail to connect to organizational strategy. The gap between a training that checks a box and one that actually shifts behavior often comes down to what you asked, and what you did not.

▶️ 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Why the Best L&D Tool You Have Is a Question

00:04:07 10 Questions Strategic Learning Leaders Ask

00:12:29 Why Questions Alone Are Not Enough

Resources from this episode:

Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625

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

Many nonprofit learning and development professionals know their work matters, but still find themselves executing requests rather than shaping solutions.

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with global learning and development leader Mark Nilles to explore what it really means to shift from order taker to strategic partner, and how nonprofit L&D professionals can build the capability, opportunity, and motivation to lead with influence.

Strategic partnership is not a personality type or a seniority level. It is a set of skills any L&D professional can develop, one small step at a time.

▶️ What Strategic Partnerships Look Like in Learning & Development with Mark Nilles

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Mark's Origin Story in L&D

00:08:23  The Three Cs of Strategic Partnership

00:13:12  Can Anyone Lead as a Strategic Partner?

00:14:21  Strategic Partnership in Practice: From Conversion Request to eLearning Solution

00:23:49  Why L&D Professionals Get Trapped in the Order Taker Role

00:26:49  The COM-B Model for Behavior Change

00:35:54  Practical Steps Toward a More Strategic Role

Resources from this episode:

Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625  

Past strategic partnership episodes:

• Episode 186: The Mindset that Separates Strategic L&D Leaders from Order Takers
• Episode 134: Being a Strategic Learning Partner & The Biggest Mistake You're Making

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

Connect with Mark

LinkedIn: Mark Nilles

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

You invested time and resources into staff training and development, but your team still isn't applying what they learned. Why? Many nonprofit leaders focus heavily on what employees need to learn and how they should learn it. While those elements are essential, they're only part of the equation.

In this episode of Learning for Good, I’m exploring why even well-designed training programs often fail to create lasting behavior change. True success happens when training translates into consistent action on the job. 

I’m sharing five overlooked factors that determine whether learning becomes performance improvement or simply another forgotten workshop.

▶️ Why Your Nonprofit Training Isn't Working: 5 Factors Preventing Workplace Behavior Change

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Why Great Training Doesn't Always Lead to Action

00:05:07 5 Factors Preventing Behavior Change

00:14:12 Designing Training That Drives Lasting Behavior Change

Resources from this episode:

Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625 

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 does it really take to grow as a learning leader? 

In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with instructional design expert Dr. Luke Hobson to explore how learning professionals can build confidence, strengthen influence, and develop a clear leadership voice. We reflect on our own career journeys into learning and development and discuss how intentional growth, networking, and relationship-building shape effective leaders.

From instructional design for nonprofits to relationship-building and professional growth, this conversation is packed with practical insights for nonprofit learning and development professionals who want to create meaningful organizational impact. Whether you’re leading training initiatives, managing change, or trying to grow your confidence as a leader, this episode offers actionable ideas you can immediately apply.

▶️ Learning and Growth for Learning Leaders with Dr. Luke Hobson

▶️ Key Points:

00:00:00 Dr. Luke Hobson’s Journey into Instructional Design

00:05:39 Heather’s Path into Learning and Development

00:08:38 Moving Beyond Content Creation into Organizational Influence

00:14:47 The Value of Partnering with Your Stakeholders

00:19:35 How Learning Leaders Invest in Their Own Growth

00:27:35 Building Confidence and Finding Your Leadership Voice

00:34:49 Advice for Nonprofit Learning Professionals Who Want to Grow Their Influence

Resources from this episode:

Join the Learning for Good Summit in July: https://collective.skillmastersmarket.com/invitation?code=9A6625 

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

Connect with Luke

LinkedIn: Luke Hobson, EdD

Website: drlukehobson.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