Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofit Organizations
As nonprofit learning and development leaders, we want a seat at the table. We want to be viewed as true business partners who can help solve problems. We want to create meaningful learning solutions that fit in the flow of work and yield real results for the organization and for the staff.
That's why in this podcast, we will not only explore instructional design and leadership development best practices, but we will also explore change management, belonging, and influence - helping you build the case for the solutions your organization needs so you can show up confidently in conversations with other senior leaders, subject matter experts, staff, and partners.
If we haven't met yet, I'm Heather, and I’ve been in your shoes. I'm a learning and development consultant and the founder and principal consultant at Skill Masters Market. Before starting Skill Masters Market, I worked for a large national nonprofit where I led learning and development leadership initiatives.
I know what it’s like to need to develop your staff quickly and effectively, and to build the relationships and cut through the organizational layers to be successful. With an eye for the larger strategy and the creative design process, I've created hundreds of learning experiences - in-person, self-paced, and virtual classroom - and have worked with dozens of leaders and their staff to help them achieve their organization’s professional development goals.
So if you're ready to bust through the barriers and start creating behavior change in your nonprofit, this podcast is for you. Let's dive in. It's Learning for Good.
Nonprofit Management | Leadership Training | Leadership Development | Staff Management | Change Management | Instructional Design | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Learn more: www.skillmastersmarket.com
Connect with me: www.linkedin.com/in/heather-burright
Schedule a call: https://bit.ly/3GQT6Yg
Episodes
163 episodes
How to Spot a Mindset or Motivation Problem (Not a Skill One)
It's very common for leaders to throw training at every performance problem we see. Yet not all performance problems result from a skill gap. In fact, many are due to other factors, such as mindset or motivation. The problem with th...
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Episode 163
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9:27
From Burnout to Breakthrough: Tools to Restore Yourself in Times of Change and Disruption with Dr. Reggie Thomas
In times of change and disruption, burnout has become a major epidemic. In fact, according to statistics, over half of the workforce is burnt out, with the nonprofit sector being hit the hardest.Because we must address this issue, I have...
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Episode 162
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27:14
Training Isn't a Cost: Here's How Nonprofits Actually Save Money through Learning and Development with Nancy Bacon
Nonprofits often view training as a cost. I've heard it, and I'm sure you've heard it as well. However, it's actually an investment in the very thing that moves your mission forward: your people.That's why, in this episode, I'm sitting ...
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Episode 161
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26:42
Build Teams that Don't Need Babysitting
Do you ever feel like you have to constantly babysit your team instead of focusing on your own job? It's like you can't take your eyes off them, so you always find yourself in their work and in their decisions, double-checking everything.
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Episode 160
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10:27
Five Steps to Align Your People Development Efforts with Your Nonprofit Strategy
Your nonprofit has a strong 2026 strategy. But is your team ready to bring it to life? If your team isn't fully equipped to deliver on your goals, you could be missing the bridge between strategy and success.That's why, in this episode, ...
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Episode 159
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11:24
How to Handle Stakeholder Conflict Without Burning Bridges
We have all disagreed with our nonprofit stakeholders at some point in our careers, but speaking up and sharing that disagreement can feel hard because we tend to want to avoid conflict and not burn any bridges.However, there are times ...
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Episode 158
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16:31
How to Market Your Training So People Want to Take it with Hannah Clark
Have you ever created a training only to launch it into the world and be met with crickets?I see this happen often in learning and development. However, I know how hard you work, and I know you're doing good, meaningful work in the nonp...
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Episode 157
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34:57
The Cost of Building the Wrong Training: How Nonprofits Can Avoid Wasting Resources
Creating impactful training programs for nonprofit teams takes more than good intentions; it takes strategy. In this episode of Learning for Good, we’re diving deep into the hidden and high costs of getting training wrong. ...
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Episode 156
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14:16
What Executives Really Want from L&D with Danika Mitcham
Sometimes, when we work with nonprofit executive leaders, it's easy to jump to an assumption about what they thought or what they wanted. The problem is that when we act on that, things don't turn out the way either of us expects.I don't...
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Episode 155
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26:08
Why So Many Trainings Fail
If you are a nonprofit L&D pro, you know how to design learning experiences. You've got the experience. Yet, sometimes the trainings we spend time and money creating don't work.And if you are a nonprofit leader, you want to ensure th...
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Episode 154
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12:29
3 Design Thinking Principles for Learning & Development Pros with Sheryl Cababa
Empathy might be one of the most essential skills for learning designers, and there's no better place to learn it than design thinking. That's why, in this episode, I am joined by Sheryl Cababa, a design researcher and strategist, and the Chief...
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Episode 153
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30:31
When Training Works and When It Doesn't
Training is often the go-to solution in our nonprofits. But what if I told you that training isn't always the right solution?In this episode, I discuss why jumping to solutions without first diagnosing the problem can be a bad idea, and ...
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Episode 152
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13:54
Team Struggling to Meet Expectations? THIS is the Missing Piece with Ashley Cox
When we think of a high-performance team, we usually think of things like productivity, how much effort people are putting in, accountability, and higher outputs and profits. All that is important, but there is one other thing without which a t...
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Episode 151
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36:24
Celebrating the Valuable Nonprofit L&D Insights From 150 Episodes: Tasha Van Vlack Interviews Learning for Good Host Heather Burright
Welcome to episode 150 of the Learning For Good podcast! Thank you, dear listener. This podcast has grown so much since 2022, and it's all because of you.In this special episode, we are doing something a little different to celebrate: I'...
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Episode 150
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37:25
Key Ingredients in a High-Performance Culture with Brett Myles
How can we create a high-performance culture that benefits not just the organization, but also the individuals in it? In this episode, I sit down with Brett Myles, leadership coach and Founder of LeadWell, and we dive deep into how to create a ...
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Episode 149
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40:06
8 Major Accessibility Insights for Your Nonprofit Learning Strategy with Nicole L'Etoile
Designing a learning experience for the average learner is a thing of the past, we must now design for everyone. So, in this episode of Learning for Good, I am joined by accessibility expert Dr. Nicole L'Etoile. We're diving deep into how we ca...
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Episode 148
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27:30
Stretched Thin? Three Capacity Building Strategies Every Nonprofit Leader Can Use Today
In this episode of Learning for Good, we’re exploring how nonprofit leaders can take actionable steps to maintain performance and build capacity even during stressful seasons. If your team is feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, or stuck in rea...
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Episode 147
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8:56
How to Design Realistic Training Scenarios that Actually Work with Srividya Kumar
Get ready to change the way you think about designing training scenarios in this episode of Learning for Good. I have used scenarios myself, and I really do think this is a skillset that we all need to get better at because scenarios are such a...
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Episode 146
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30:46
How to Make Learning Part of Your Nonprofit's DNA with Yogi Mueller
Creating a strong learning culture is no longer a luxury - it's a necessity for nonprofit leadership development and sustainable mission impact. In this episode, I sit down with leadership coach and author Yogi Mueller to explore how nonprofits...
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Episode 145
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31:53
From Manager to Leader: Nonprofit Leadership Development Strategies
Are your nonprofit’s people managers equipped to lead with clarity and confidence, or just left to figure it out on their own?In this episode, I take a deep dive into how to develop nonprofit people managers using proven learning and dev...
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Episode 144
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16:24
Leading Across Borders? How to Build High-Performing Nonprofit Teams Anywhere in the World with Dr. Lori Beyar
In this episode of Learning for Good, we explore how nonprofit leaders can navigate the complexities of global teams with guest Dr. Lori Beyar, Global VP of Strategy & Organizational Development at Cru. If your nonprofit is scaling across b...
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Episode 143
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34:08
Collaboration Without Chaos: 10 Inclusive Decision Making Practices for Nonprofit Leaders
Nonprofit leadership development hinges on the ability to bring people together while still moving projects forward. In this episode of Learning for Good, I dive into how inclusive decision making can elevate your training and leadership initia...
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Episode 142
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12:30
Scale Smarter, Not Harder: A Better Way to Grow Nonprofit Programs
When nonprofits scale programs too quickly without the right foundation, teams experience burnout, confusion, and inconsistent outcomes. In this episode of Learning for Good, I unpack the role of learning and development strategies in sustainab...
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Episode 141
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10:51
Not Just an HR Problem: The Role of L&D in Succession Planning
Succession planning may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about nonprofit leadership development, but it should be. In this episode, I sit down with transition strategist Naomi Hattaway to explore what it really takes to ...
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Episode 140
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24:37
Stop (only) Training. Start Coaching. How to Improve Staff Performance
If training alone isn't moving the needle, it’s time to bring coaching into the equation. In this episode, I share how nonprofit leaders can use three simple yet powerful coaching questions to drive behavior change and improve staff performance...
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Episode 139
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9:31