SE01E34 - Most Culture Problems Start When Leaders Expect What They Don’t Model | Alex Montgomery

SE01E34 - Most Culture Problems Start When Leaders Expect What They Don’t Model | Alex Montgomery

What if the real reason your nonprofit is quietly falling apart has nothing to do with your team and everything to do with the culture you are building as a leader without even knowing it? Alex Montgomery, Managing Director of Team VKA, left a civil rights law career to spend over 20 years transforming how mission driven organizations operate, lead, and sustain impact. She is not here to recite theory. She is here to change how you think about leadership, operations, and the people who carry your mission every single day. 📋 The Culture Audit: When the Real Problem Sits at the Top  🔑 Operational Clarity: Roles, Ownership, and the Architecture of Team Trust  🗓️ Meeting Design That Moves Missions Not Just Agendas  🌱 Boundaries as Bold Leadership: Living Your Values Out Loud Nonprofit executive directors, operations strategists, board leaders, and organizational consultants, this episode is your playbook. If you are ready to build the kind of culture where brilliant people stay, grow, and actually solve the problems the world needs solved, start here. You can get in touch with Alex Montgomery here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-montgomery-a9121a54/ Website: https://www.teamvka.com The mission will not wait. Build the culture that is worthy of it. We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!  - Marla and the What Works Podcast team :) Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.  Connect with me: LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/ #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.

SE01E34 - Nonprofit Teams Burn Out When Leaders Confuse Urgency With Real Impact Work | Alex Montgomery

What if the real reason your nonprofit is quietly falling apart has nothing to do with your team and everything to do with the culture you are building as a leader without even knowing it? Alex Montgomery, Managing Director of Team VKA, left a civil rights law career to spend over 20 years transforming how mission driven organizations operate, lead, and sustain impact. She is not here to recite theory. She is here to change how you think about leadership, operations, and the people who carry your mission every single day. 📋 The Culture Audit: When the Real Problem Sits at the Top  🔑 Operational Clarity: Roles, Ownership, and the Architecture of Team Trust  🗓️ Meeting Design That Moves Missions Not Just Agendas  🌱 Boundaries as Bold Leadership: Living Your Values Out Loud Nonprofit executive directors, operations strategists, board leaders, and organizational consultants, this episode is your playbook. If you are ready to build the kind of culture where brilliant people stay, grow, and actually solve the problems the world needs solved, start here. You can get in touch with Alex Montgomery here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-montgomery-a9121a54/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-montgomery-a9121a54/] Website: https://www.teamvka.com [https://www.teamvka.com/] The mission will not wait. Build the culture that is worthy of it.

SE01E33 - Human Trafficking Recovery Fails When Support Ends After the Rescue Story | With Merrie Karimov

Most people think rescuing a trafficking survivor is the finish line. Merrie Karimov, Founder and CEO of Harbour Hope International, is here to prove it is only the beginning. With over 28 years of nonprofit leadership and a front row seat to some of the most overlooked truths in the anti-trafficking space, Merrie is rewriting what restoration really looks like inside Central Florida and far beyond it. 🏛 The Myth of the Quick Fix: Why Recovery Takes Years, Not Moments 🤝 People Over Programs: The Relationship Model That Changes Everything 🔑 Unlocking Barriers: Criminal Records, Trauma Freeze and the Hidden Employment Wall 🌱 From Survivor to Leader: How Harbour Hope Builds Spheres of Influence If you lead a nonprofit, volunteer in social services, care about human dignity, or simply want to understand what real community restoration looks like, this conversation was made for you. Connect with Merrie Karimov here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merrie-karimov-912860275/ Website: https://harbourhope.org The women being served are not victims waiting to be saved. They are warriors already rising. We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!  - Marla and the What Works Podcast team :) Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.  Connect with me: LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/ #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.

SE01E32 - Healthy Workplace Cultures Start With Protecting Human Energy | With Henriette M. Recny

What if the secret to a thriving nonprofit was not a bigger budget, but a braver culture? Henriette Recny, President of People and Organizational Strategy at The Literacy Lab, has spent over 15 years building workplaces where purpose does not cost people their wellbeing. A former career teacher turned organisational architect, Henriette brings a radical yet grounded philosophy to nonprofit leadership, one that dares to say: growing organisations do not have to burn their people down to build something great. 📖 The Literacy Crisis No One Is Talking About Inside Nonprofits 🌱 The Gardener Framework: Leading Teams Without Burning Them Out 🔄 Adaptive Leadership and the Art of the Pivot Under Pressure 🧭 Start Where You Are: The Onboarding Blueprint That Changes Everything If you lead a mission driven team, manage people in a high pressure environment, or are building nonprofit culture from the ground up, this episode will shift how you think about sustainable leadership, staff retention, and human centred operations. You can get in touch with Henriette Recny here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henriette-recny/ Website: https://theliteracylab.org We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!  - Marla and the What Works Podcast team :) Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.  Connect with me: LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/ #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.

SE01E31- PUBLIC MEDIA LOST TRUST WHEN NEWS BECAME PROFIT DRIVEN AND ALGORITHMIC | With David Fischer

What if the antidote to a fractured, algorithmically poisoned society was already broadcasting 60 years ago? David Fischer, President and General Manager of KNKX Public Radio, walked away from a 35 year performing arts career, picked up a ringing phone on a beach, and said yes to the most urgent mission in media today. 🎙 From Burnout to Broadcast: A Career Reinvented Against All Odds 📡 The KNKX Blueprint: How Dual Format Radio Rewires Divided Communities 🧠 Solutions Journalism vs Breaking News: The Model That Actually Heals ⚖️ Nonprofit Accountability in a Trust Deficit World: The Standard We Must Hold When profit driven algorithms deliberately deepen division, public media without paywalls, without advertisers, without selling your data becomes the most radical act of civic courage alive. David unpacks why community convening through jazz, blues, and fearless local news is not nostalgia. It is the future. Connect with David Fischer here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fischer-5975876/ Website: https://www.knkx.org/ We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!  - Marla and the What Works Podcast team :) Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.  Connect with me: LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/ #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention #whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.