PLC Newsletter: Honesty, Trust and the Work of Leading Through Change

By the time we reached the final session of the “Thriving Through Change: Building Healthy, Ready & Resilient Nonprofits” webinar series, one thing was clear. Nonprofit leaders are not navigating a momentary disruption. They are leading through sustained uncertainty, layered crises and deep fatigue, all while remaining accountable to their missions and the people who power the work.

In this final “Ask the Expert” session, I sat down with Kathryn Haslanger, a longtime human services leader, to reflect on what organizational health, resilience and leadership actually require in this moment. Not

What followed was an honest conversation about pressure, people, power and the discipline it takes to lead well when there are no easy answers.

Here is the recording.

This is not the first hard moment. But it is a tired one.

A question that came up early was whether this moment is truly unprecedented. Funding disruptions. Policy whiplash. Growing community need. Workforce strain. Kathryn offered an important reframe.

Nonprofits have always worked in complexity. Many of the communities they serve have lived with instability for decades. What makes this moment distinct is not that hardship exists, but that leaders and teams are carrying it after years of depletion. COVID did not just disrupt systems. It drained reserves of energy, trust and emotional capacity.

Resilience, then, cannot simply mean pushing harder.

Organizational resilience starts with clarity and care.

When I asked Kathryn how she defines organizational resilience today, her answer was deceptively simple. Focus on what matters most and keep doing it, no matter what.

That includes two things, always held together: the mission itself and the people responsible for delivering it. Resilient organizations do not sacrifice one for the other. They create enough trust, transparency and support that teams can stay creative and committed, even while navigating disruption.

A recurring theme throughout the conversation was truth telling. Leaders cannot protect people from reality, but they can protect them from confusion. Naming challenges early, sharing context and communicating honestly builds credibility. When leaders combine realism with hope, teams are more likely to stay engaged rather than shut down.

Psychological safety is not a “nice to have.”

One of the most powerful parts of the conversation focused on what actually strengthens organizational health and employee well being. Kathryn was clear. People must feel safe to raise problems, name gaps and offer ideas without fear of repercussions.

That safety is built through genuine appreciation, not performative gratitude. It is built when leaders actively look for ways to reduce unnecessary burden, sunset outdated practices and free up energy for work that actually advances the mission.

You cannot keep adding without subtracting. Prioritization is not an intellectual exercise. It is a leadership discipline.

Readiness is not just a resource issue.

Kathryn named a tension many nonprofit leaders live with every day. That is, knowing compensation and funding constraints are real, while also worrying that asking more of people feels unreasonable. What often gets overlooked is the impact of practices that help people feel seen, heard and genuinely supported.

People are wired for recognition and belonging. When leaders model care, reduce unnecessary burden and create space for reflection, they increase the organization’s ability to think clearly under pressure. Readiness grows when people are supported enough to respond thoughtfully, not just react.

Financial resilience means choosing risk with eyes wide open.

When we turned to financial resilience, Kathryn acknowledged the familiar advice to diversify revenue streams, then complicated it in an important way.

Diversification does not eliminate risk. It changes the type of risk an organization carries. Government funding, philanthropy, earned revenue and partnerships all come with different vulnerabilities. The work is not to avoid risk, but to understand it, anticipate scenarios and make informed choices about where stability is most likely to hold.

Accountability and compassion must coexist.

Perhaps the most nuanced part of the conversation focused on accountability. Leading with compassion does not mean avoiding hard conversations. It means starting from understanding, listening deeply and discerning whether an issue is a coaching opportunity, a systems problem or a true performance gap.

Sometimes separation is necessary. Those decisions are never easy. The work of leadership is weighing short term disruption against long term health with care for both individuals and the organization as a whole.

Influence without authority starts with alignment.

One of the most grounding reminders Kathryn offered is that resilience is not reserved for people with positional power. Leaders at every level shape readiness through how they think, listen and align.

Rather than pushing against the system, Kathryn encouraged leaders to work with it by understanding what their managers and organizations are trying to accomplish, then positioning their ideas in service of those goals. Influence, in her framing, is not about collecting complaints or demanding change. It is about perspective taking and constructive contribution.

As she put it:

“It’s really thinking from the perspective of your manager or team leader. What are they trying to accomplish, and what practices or resources are going to be important to get there?”

When leaders test ideas with colleagues, gather input thoughtfully and frame solutions as forward movement rather than resistance, momentum becomes possible. Alignment becomes a lever, not a concession.

Trust is built long before it is tested.

Kathryn was clear that trust is not something leaders can manufacture in moments of crisis. It is either there or it is not. What crises do is reveal the strength of the foundation underneath. From her perspective, trust grows through consistency, honesty and proximity. Leaders do not need to micromanage, but they do need to stay connected to the reality of the work and remove surprises from the system.

She named this directly:

“Don’t pretend there’s not a problem if there’s a problem. The no surprises rule. If something is emerging, you need to talk about it.”

Trust is also reinforced when leaders periodically step close to the work, not to control it, but rather to remember what it actually feels like. Kathryn described this as occasionally “washing the windows,” staying grounded in the obstacles people are navigating rather than leading solely from a distance.

And importantly, she reminded us there is no single right leadership style. Authenticity, not polish, is what allows trust to endure pressure. When leaders show up as themselves and communicate honestly over time, organizations are far better positioned to adapt when conditions shift.

Final thought

Near the end of the conversation, Kathryn shared a reminder that felt like both a grounding and a charge. Stay centered on the mission. Stay connected to the community. Care for the people doing the work. And protect the practices that replenish you, because no one leads well from an empty cup.

Thriving through change is not about avoiding hardship. It is about aligning purpose, people and systems so that when pressure comes, organizations bend without breaking.

That is the work. And it is possible.

If you are reflecting on what comes next for you or your organization, PLC is here as a thought partner to help you move forward with clarity, compassion and intention.