Strategic questions for strategic thinking for nonprofit leaders with Carol Hamilton

Strategy for nonprofits is not a plan to perfect but a human practice—built through care, curiosity, and intentional choices in the face of uncertainty.

As the year draws to a close, episode 138 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact brings together reflections from a wide range of nonprofit leaders and thinkers, all responding to one central question: What should nonprofit leaders ask themselves to be more strategic?

Across topics as varied as crisis management, equity, careers, evaluation, organizational design, culture, and innovation, a clear throughline emerges—strategy is deeply human work. Rather than offering abstract frameworks, the episode highlights:

• practical, grounding questions and practices that help leaders navigate uncertainty with clarity, intention, and care.

• An invitation to slow down, resist urgency, tend to themselves and their teams,

• Why it's important to surface assumptions, seek multiple perspectives, and make decisions rooted in both alignment and capacity.

Together, these reflections offer a steadying guide for leaders facing complexity in the year ahead.

Episode Highlights Setting the Frame: Strategy Through Reflection and Humanity

[00:00:00–00:01:13]

Caring for Basic Needs to Make Better Decisions

[00:04:10–00:08:01]

Don't Go It Alone: Expanding Perspective Through Support

[00:08:01–00:10:31]

Two Essential Leadership Questions: "What Am I Missing?" and "Tell Me More"

[00:10:31–00:12:03]

Surfacing Expectations and Assumptions

[00:12:03–00:14:27]

Asking "So What?" to Get to Strategic Impact

[00:14:27–00:16:45]

From Individual Practice to Organizational Insight

[00:17:00–00:18:03]

Interrogating Organizational Design

[00:18:03–00:19:00]

Culture as the Silent Driver of Strategy

[00:19:00–00:20:33]

Filtering New Opportunities Through Alignment and Capacity

[00:20:39–00:21:59]

Resisting Frantic Urgency in Favor of Sustainable Focus

[00:22:05–00:24:00]

Closing Reflection: Strategy as Moment-by-Moment Human Practice

[00:24:08–00:25:53]

Important Links and Resources:

Independent Sector coalition data base

Be in Touch:

✉️ Subscribe to Carol's newsletter at Grace Social Sector Consulting and receive the Common Mistakes Nonprofits Make In Strategic Planning And How To Avoid Them

📚Find the books referred to on Nonprofit Mission: Impact

👥 Like what you heard? Please share the podcast with a colleague or friend

🌟 Help more people learn about Nonprofit Mission: Impact by leaving a rating & review.

😀 Connect with Carol Hamilton ➡️ LinkedIn