Diversity and inclusion are buzz words today in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. 

But what exactly do those two words mean when it comes to your organization? And how can you become even more inclusive and equitable in your leadership? 

Author and researcher Paolo Gaudiano is my guest today and he will address these topics. He is the President at ARC, Aleria Research Corporation and is a speaker, writer, teacher. Aleria Research Corporation is a nonprofit that conducts scientific, charitable research related to Diversity & Inclusion. 

Enjoy today’s show.

There are so many books about leadership. Many books are about new skills you can learn, bad habits to unlearn or new perspectives to incorporate into your leadership.

My guest today argues that the most important aspect of your leadership is this: self-leadership. My guest is Terry Looper is the founder and CEO of Texon LP, a leading oil and energy company in Houston, Texas. Terry shares quite a bit about his faith and how his faith has shaped his leadership style today. He has written a new book called: Sacred Pace.

His book traces his journey of success, burnout, and rediscovering his priorities. Enjoy today’s show.

Ever wondered what happened to the Muscular Dystrophy Association after Jerry Lewis?Years after the annual telethons hosted by the famous Jerry Lewis, who served as the national chairman, the MDA is still going strong. In fact my guest on the show today is the new President and CEO of the MDA, Lynn O’Connor Vos.

MDA continues to raise millions of dollars for neuromuscular research and care, and remains the largest non-government funder of research on muscular dystrophy, ALS and other neuromuscular diseases. Find out about the latest, exciting news from the MDA. Enjoy today’s show!

Today’s guest will give us some incredibly inspiring stories about how her organization is ending tropical diseases. My guest is Ellen Agler who serves as the CEO of the END Fund, a private philanthropic initiative working to end five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affecting 1.5 billion people—1 in 5 people alive today. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Security Advisory Board.

Ellen holds graduate degrees in International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. She is also the author of a new book entitled: Under the Big Tree: Extraordinary stories from the Movement to end neglected tropical diseases. Enjoy today’s show.

All of us have people who inspire us. We need people in our lives who inspire us. My guest today will not only inspire you, but has written a book about people who will inspire us all. My guest today is Jean Case. Jean is the Chairman of the National Geographic Society and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is a philanthropist, investor and an internet/impact investing pioneer who advocates for the importance of embracing a more fearless approach to innovate and bring about transformational breakthroughs. 

She has just written a new book entitled: Be Fearless. Jean set out to investigate the core qualities of great change makers, past and present, from inventors to revolutionaries, she found five surprising traits all had in common. Enjoy today’s show.

The power of a clear vision. We talk a lot about vision on this show. My guest today leads an organization that has really sought to create a clear vision for not only their work, but for helping to foster a holistic, healthy village. My guest today is Justin Narducci who is the CEO of Lifewater International a faith-based clean water organization.

Justin left his job at Boeing and took over at Lifewater when its financial viability was in doubt. Now, it has grown 3x over the last five years and has launched a bold initiative to revolutionize the ways donors track the impact of their gifts. Enjoy today’s show.

Leadership is the secret sauce to all effective organizations, nonprofit or otherwise. How to consistently grow as a leader is one of the most important goals for all nonprofit leaders. But growth in leadership takes time.  My guest today is Ron Ashkenas, the co-author of a new book entitled: ”The Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook.” He and co-author Brook Manville provide an excellent guide for all leaders who want to excel in leadership through providing step-by-step instruction, curated best practices and real-life stories of people and organizations that have made a significant impact through their leadership, collected from Harvard Business Review.

As Partner Emeritus of Shaffer Consulting, Ron is a trusted advisor and coach to senior leaders across industries including the nonprofit sector. He has helped leading organizations achieve dramatic performance improvements while also helping CEOs and senior executives to strengthen their leadership capacity.
Enjoy today’s show!

#MakingYourWorldBetter

Social change is far more complicated than simply creating a new app. It requires intentionality, listening and collaboration. But change is slow. What if we collectively could exponentially increase our social impact?

My guest on today’s show argues that to increase our impact, we must come up with solutions that are embraced by beneficiaries and include an engine that can accelerate growth to match the scale of the needs. My guest today is Ann Mei Cheng.

She is the Author of “Lean Impact”. Previously, she was Chief Innovation Officer at USAID and Mercy Corps, and served the U.S. Department of State as Senior Advisor for Women and Technology in the Office of Global Women’s Issues. Prior to that, Ann Mei Chang had more than 20 years’ experience as a technology executive at such leading companies as Google and Apple, and she is a keynote speaker who has been featured at TEDx among others venues.

Enjoy today’s show.