Author: Erika Bjune
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Hope in Hard Times: Leading Through Crisis
You wake up, check the news, and feel your stomach drop. Another funding stream cut. Another policy rollback targeting the communities you serve. Another headline that makes the work you’ve dedicated your life to feel not just harder, but actively under attack. Then you open your laptop for the morning team check-in, and you take…
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A Garden of Impact: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Leadership
Empathy is a strength. It also needs refilling. This piece offers simple, personal practices to cultivate self-compassion so your leadership stays steady and effective.
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Don’t Burn Out Chasing Goals, Nurture Outcomes Instead
Mission-driven leaders are no strangers to pressure or to chasing goals that never stop moving. Whether it’s meeting fundraising goals, proving impact to funders, or keeping a team motivated through uncertainty, the demands never seem to ease up. The work is meaningful, but the weight of it can be heavy. In the middle of all…
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Leading Through Self-Doubt: Quieting the Voice That Holds You Back
Leadership doesn’t come with a guidebook for what to do when your confidence falters. You might be months into a new role, or years into a trusted one, and still find yourself navigating moments when the ground feels shaky. It might show up as imposter syndrome, second-guessing your judgment, or hesitating to speak up in…
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The Double-Edged Sword of Laissez-Faire Leadership
Not all absence is neglect. Not all freedom is trust. And not all “hands-off” leadership is a gift. In the study of leadership styles, laissez-faire is often defined, both academically and colloquially, as a posture of non-interference. The Oxford Languages dictionary puts it simply: “a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course,…
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Bridging the Leadership Gap: From Transactional Boss to Transformative Change Agent
Leadership doesn’t come in just one flavor, and it certainly doesn’t develop all at once. Most of us develop into our leadership over time, gaining skills, clarity, and self-awareness as we go. And, whether we realize it or not, our approach to leadership reflects how we see our role in the system around us. Some…
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Leadership as Learning: Growing Ourselves, Growing Together
While doing the final editing pass on the proof of my upcoming book, Organizing for Impact, I came across a quote that really emphasizes why this work matters so much to me. It’s from Peter Senge, and it continues to shape how I think about leadership and learning: “Real learning gets to the heart of…
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Leading Starts Here: Returning to Self in a World That Pulls Us Away
Leadership is often talked about in terms of vision, influence, or strategy. We’re taught to associate it with action: stepping forward, speaking up, setting direction. Indeed, all of that can be true. When I speak with leaders, especially those immersed in the hard work of mission-driven change, I often hear something else. It isn’t a…
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Triggers and Choices: Finding Our Way Through the Fixed Mindset Fog
There’s a moment that perhaps we all recognize: your stomach tightens, your face flushes, and suddenly, you’re in that old story again. Maybe it’s the story that says you’re not ready. Maybe it’s the one that says you should have known better. Or the one that says if you don’t prove your worth right now,…
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When the Weight Feels Heavy: A Love Letter to Nonprofit Leaders and Changemakers
Nonprofit leaders are a special breed. They’re the ones who run toward the fire, not away from it. They work long hours not for profit, but for purpose. They wake up thinking about how to heal communities, fight injustice, lift others up, and somehow still make payroll by Friday. It takes a rare kind of…