Your nonprofit can have a clear strategy and a big vision, but that doesn’t guarantee it will happen, because eventually that strategy becomes someone's job. Someone has to do something differently than they are doing it today.
In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with David Chatham of Angel Oak Creative, a marketing communications agency that works exclusively with nonprofits, to talk about how to prepare your people to execute your organization's strategy.
It takes more than one announcement and a round of staff training. Staff needs to understand why the strategy matters, have the skills and the authority to act on it, and hear about it again and again, with room to ask questions and help shape the plan.
▶️ Key Points:
00:00 When Nonprofit Strategy Becomes Someone's Job
04:24 David Chatham’s Career Story: For-Profit and Nonprofit
09:06 What Staff Need to Hear About a New Strategy
13:43 Communication Need Versus Capability Need
17:42 From Strategy Exposure to Strategy Application
22:09 Creating a Strategy Feedback Loop
23:38 Lessons from a Nonprofit Rebrand
Prepare Staff for What Your Nonprofit Strategy Requires
When I prepare for a speaking engagement, I spend time developing my ability to do what the opportunity asks of me. I’ve taken programs to help me create an engaging talk, practiced on smaller stages, and rehearsed at home.
That preparation gives me experience to draw on when I step onto a larger stage. Staff need preparation for the responsibilities that come with a new strategy, too.
Eventually, a strategic priority becomes part of someone’s job. A person needs to make a different decision, use a new process, or have a conversation they have handled another way before. We can help leaders get specific about those changes and build preparation around them.
Start with one priority. Ask what it will require of the people responsible for carrying it out. The answer gives you a clearer foundation for planning communication, staff development, and ongoing support. And that’s what I’m exploring with my guest David Chatham on episode 211 of the Learning for Good podcast.
Explain the Purpose of a New Nonprofit Strategy
David brings a communications lens to our conversation. So he begins with the questions staff are likely to ask. Why are we doing this? Why now? What problem are we addressing, and what result are we trying to achieve?
Those questions help people understand how a new priority fits into the organization’s work. They also help each person consider what the strategy means for their own role.
Plan that internal communication while the strategy is being developed. Think about who needs to understand it, what it will ask of them, and where they will have opportunities to discuss it. A team meeting may allow people to work through the implications together. Written information can give them something to revisit afterward.
David described clear, compelling, concise, and consistent communication as useful qualities to work toward. In practice, I would look for language that makes the purpose understandable and gives people a concrete picture of the work ahead.
Identify Communication Needs and Staff Development Needs
One of the most useful distinctions in our conversation was between a need for clarity and a need to develop capability. Each points toward a different kind of support, and a rollout may involve both.
Listen for Questions About Purpose and Priorities
A staff member who is asking why the organization is pursuing a strategy or what it means for them may need more explanation and discussion. Invite them to describe what they understand so far and which questions would help them connect the strategy to their work.
Their response can tell you how to make the communication more relevant. You may need to explain the reason for the timing, clarify which priority takes precedence, or show what the change looks like in a particular role.
Explore the Skills Staff Need to Take Action
When someone understands the goal and would welcome help carrying it out, look at the work itself. Ask them to walk through how they would handle a relevant situation. Where would practice, feedback, or a tool help them take the next step?
This makes the staff development conversation more specific. For example, if the strategy requires managers to lead a new kind of conversation, you can identify what they need to practice and how their own leaders will support them afterward.
Provide Tools and Authority to Execute the Strategy
During our conversation, I also brought up the power to do the work. People need the opportunity and authority to use the skills they develop.
Talk with managers about what staff will be able to decide and what resources they will have available. If a new responsibility requires access to information or approval from another team, include that in the preparation. Communication, learning, and implementation planning can work together to give staff what they need.
Support Staff from Strategy Exposure to Application
David described a progression from exposure to comprehension, acceptance, and application. That is a useful way to think about the support people may need over time.
First, people encounter the strategy. They then need opportunities to understand its purpose and implications, make sense of their role, and begin applying it. Those conversations can reveal different questions at different points in the rollout.
As people start using a new process, for example, an update could address a situation they are encountering that week. A manager might help them work through a decision. Later, the team could discuss what they have learned and recognize progress.
I think of this as continuing to enroll people in the strategy. We revisit the purpose and connect it to what they are experiencing now. That gives communication and staff development a place throughout implementation.
Create a Feedback Loop During Strategy Implementation
People doing the work will have information that can help you improve the rollout. David emphasized giving staff permission and encouragement to ask questions and describe the challenges they encounter.
Build that opportunity into the plan. Decide who will gather feedback, where staff can share it, and how someone will respond. The owner could sit in HR, communications, or leadership, depending on your organization. What matters is that someone takes responsibility for keeping the conversation active.
Ask what is working well, what needs clarification, and what would help people move forward. Some answers may point to additional practice or better tools. Others may suggest an adjustment to the plan itself.
Following up on that feedback gives people another opportunity to contribute to the strategy. It also helps you keep the support connected to their actual experience.
Learn from a Nonprofit Rebrand Rollout
David shared the example of a nonprofit changing its name. His team began discussing the change roughly a year before it happened and brought stakeholders into the process early. Surveys and polls gave people ways to contribute as the new name took shape.
When the organization introduced the name, staff received talking points and materials to explain why the change happened, what it meant, and how it would affect the organization. There was space for questions and concerns, and the organization continued to recognize milestones as implementation progressed.
David described the change as embraced more than a year after the rollout. The organization had thousands of volunteers who knew its previous name, so helping people understand and communicate the new identity was a substantial part of the work.
For nonprofit leaders planning a strategy rollout, the useful lesson is the preparation around it. People were involved early, equipped to explain the change, and supported as it became part of their work.
Start a Staff Readiness Conversation This Week
Choose one strategic priority your nonprofit is preparing to implement. Talk with someone whose role will be affected and ask them to explain what it means for their work. Then ask how they would carry out a specific responsibility and what would help them feel prepared.
Use that conversation to connect the communication plan with staff development and implementation support. Agree on a way to check back as the work progresses so you can respond to what people learn along the way.
If you’re preparing staff for a new strategy, I partner with nonprofit and association leaders on instructional design and leadership development. Share what your organization is working toward and where your people need support.
To hear my full conversation with David Chatham, listen to Episode 211 of Learning for Good: Preparing Your People to Execute Your Nonprofit's Strategy with David Chatham.
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