Show Notes Summary Land rights are at the heart of building a sustainable and equitable future. Yet securing these rights—especially for marginalized communities—remains a profound global challenge. In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO of Cadasta, a global social innovation organization dedicated to advancing affordable, accessible land rights documentation. Drawing on her leadership at the intersection of technology, social inno...

Summary The International Tunnelling Association (ITA) plays a critical role in global infrastructure, ensuring clean water, sewage systems, and transport for millions while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But behind the technical achievements lies a deeper challenge—modernizing an industry traditionally dominated by European, American, and Australian professionals. In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Arnold Dix, President of ITA, to discuss hi...

Summary What does it take to lead an organization through a responsible and strategic closure? In this episode, I speak with Amy Miller-Taylor, Executive Director of Global Integrity, about her experience navigating the complex decision to wind down an organization while ensuring its legacy, people, and resources were safeguarded. We explore the financial and strategic challenges that led to this decision, the leadership lessons Amy learned, and how organizations can approach closure as an in...

Western coaching models weren’t built for African leaders. So Nankhonde Kasonde, a Zambian international development as well as a leadership development specialist and certified coach, created something that was. Nankhonde's Bio: Nankhonde Kasonde is a Zambian international development specialist, certified leadership coach, and the founder of Zanga, an African leadership assessment and HR analytics company. As a leadership coach, Nankhonde recognized that African leaders need a coachin...

Summary:What are the attributes of the modern humanitarian and development leader? Why modern? In what ways? How does one become one?Torrey’s Bio:As a certified coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the humanitarian and development world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.” She has taught and coached over 400 supervisors globally from the UN, INGO and civil society to ...

Summary:This is part one of a two-part conversation between two podcast hosts: Torrey Peace and myself. Torrey’s podcast is The Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader. Torrey and I tackle two broad topics: in this first part of our conversation, Torrey interviews me:How do people in development agencies experience organizational change? What is the psychology of organizational change that a development leader needs to be aware of? How can experiencing organizational change affect sta...

SummaryWhat does the concept of Ubuntu teach us about leadership, community, and the well-being of people in organizations?How can African leadership models inform and enhance global approaches to management and organizational development?How do we navigate the challenges of avoiding romanticizing Ubuntu while honoring its depth and practical value?In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, Martin Kalugu-Banda, a thought leader on organizational development and leadership coach (among many ...

SummaryHow does an African management consulting company that expressly sets itself up to offer African solutions to African problems communicate its identity? What are some key differences in organizational development needs and cultural norms between development agencies in the Global South and Global North?How can concepts like Ubuntu and Ujama inform leadership models in ways that resonate across African contexts?In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, I interview Faye Ekong, Ma...

SummaryHow can nonprofit organizations leverage human emotions to enhance the impact of their campaigns?What can NGOs learn from cognitive science to create more effective, empathetic communication strategies during a time of poly-crisis?How can organizations shift from traditional advocacy approaches to more agile, psychology-driven methods for mobilizing communities?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Diya Deb, Executive Director at MindWorks Lab, about harnessing the pow...

SummaryWhat are the key principles of African leadership that nonprofit leaders globally could benefit from adopting?How does the African concept of Ubuntu translate into practical leadership strategies for nonprofit organizations?How does African leadership balance individual and collective success, and how might nonprofit teams benefit from seeking the same balance?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Albert Anoubon Momo, axecutive, author, and board member, about leadersh...

SummaryIs it that people resist change? That they fear change? Or rather that people fear loss?As a change management consultant, what is the most difficult or frustrating while supporting clients with change management efforts?What is one word most alive right now in the world of change management support?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Michael Randel, Founder of Randel Consulting Associates, on mastering the ever-complex world of organizational change management.Micha...

SummaryWhat does it Busara's tagline mean: 'transformational leadership, from the inside out'?To what extent are there truly different global south-normed leadership models?Does personality still play an important role as well, in addition to national or regional cultural differences in leadership approaches?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Taaka Awori, Founder & CEO of Busara Africa, a leadership development services company, on redefining leadership in Africa. ...

SummaryHow should INGOs discern what roles are still relevant, legitimate, and needed, at this moment in civil society history?­­ And which roles they therefore should *stop* playing?Is there more here, over and beyond stopping service delivery? (Which on its own is quite the shift)In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dylan Mathews, Chief Executive Officer at Peace Direct. Peace Direct has been quite vocal, and has acted as a thought leader on this role question -...

SummaryConflict management and mediation are skills that come up frequently as a weak area in many of our social sector organizations. And these days, more than ever conflict is on the rise within our organizations. So how can we work through our conflicts more skillfully and effectively?Nathalie has answers for us. She's a trainer conflict mediator (as well as a Corentus, Inc. team coach) who helps teams and organizations develop better conflict management capabilities. And she's a valu...

SummaryWhat constitutes a culture of philanthropy within nonprofits and NGOs? It's a term easily bandied around, but how do I see when it's in place?How has the field of direct giving by small donors, and monthly giving as one donor practice in particular changed in the last 10-20 years?Are there hurdles to be overcome in persuading donors to adopt monthly giving? Finally, there is a lot of discussion about the need for a shift towards ethical storytelling, with local program participant...

SummaryWhat does the name Taimaka mean?To what extent are there challenges, as an organization, when you aim for evidence-based decision-making?What kind of culture is needed to truly live the aspiration of being evidence-based?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dr. Umar Abubakar and Justin Graham, co-founders and co-directors of The Taimaka Project -- an NGO working in Gombe state, Nigeria, on what happens when a start-up nonprofit wants to nurture an evidence-based cultu...

SummaryQuite a few smaller size social sector organizations assume that program evaluation is too complex or demanding an undertaking for them. Is that the case, though?If we want to introduce program evaluation to staff, leadership, and boards who have not yet been inducted into the importance of program evaluation: what are the most effective questions to generate genuine interest in and motivation to engage in such program evaluation?How can we build a more evaluation-friendly culture all ...

SummaryWhat are the main benefits of a network structure, where power, authority, and leadership are dispersed and shared across regions, from an effectiveness perspective? What are the most important enabling habits, practices and behaviors that go with that, as a change leader?And what are the most valuable network-related frameworks, concepts, resources, and tools at work in moving towards this structure?In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Anu Kumar, President and C...

SummaryConflict within our organizations: we often don't really want to face them, but they are very much there. The result? Plenty of passive aggression to go around. What are the implications of such forms of conflict avoidance?In other NGOs on the other hand -- especially in the last few years it seems -- internal strife has come out into the open - sometimes spilling into the media in an unwanted fashion.On another note: is interest-based problem-solving still a helpful approach to c...

SummaryWhat are some structural things that are wrong in development aid and in civil society?Which mindsets most need to be decolonized when it comes to the relationship between global South civil society organizations (CSOs) and INGOs?Global North-founded INGOs need to be reimagined. How, in turn, do global South-founded NGOs have to change to take over many roles that INGOs currently still fulfill? And how do they need to recalibrate their power relationships with INGOs?In this NGO Soul+St...