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If you’re a leader wondering why your team seems more anxious or scattered than the workload alone would explain, the missing piece is usually clarity, not more meetings, not more perks, just clarity. You’re in the right place if you’re trying to figure out what to actually say and do about it.
By Scott R. Warren, Co-Founder, Owner & Director, Warren Whitney
Many organizations produce accurate financial statements every month but still struggle to answer basic business questions. Can we afford to hire? Is cash getting tight? Are margins slipping? Are we on track to meet our goals?
The problem usually isn’t the accounting. It’s that the reports were built to record history instead of support decisions.
Written By: Janet Duncan | Human Resources Director | Warren Whitney
Virginia’s new pay transparency law is about more than adding salary ranges to job postings. Employers should review their compensation strategy, internal pay equity, manager training, and hiring practices before posting a single job. Otherwise, public salary ranges can expose inconsistencies that affect recruiting, employee trust, and retention.
Under HB 636, Virginia employers must include a good-faith wage or salary range in public and internal postings for jobs, promotions, transfers, and other employment opportunities. The law also limits the use of salary history in hiring and pay decisions.
Many employers are starting with the posting. What range do we need to list? How wide should it be? Where should it go? Those questions matter, but they are not the only ones you should be asking.
If your team has gotten quieter, more guarded, or quicker to disagree lately, you’re not imagining it, and you’re in the right place. This is for leaders trying to figure out why workplace tension is rising even though nothing about the org chart has changed.
Most CEOs don’t lose sleep over accounting. They lose sleep when they aren’t confident the numbers are telling them the truth. Financial management isn’t just about keeping accurate books. It’s about giving leaders the confidence to make good decisions. If your financial reports are confusing, your forecasts are unreliable, or you aren’t certain where your organization really stands, the issue may not be your accounting system. It may be your financial management team.
Over the last 25 years, the number of nonprofits has grown dramatically. In Central Virginia alone, estimates suggest an increase of between 3,500 and 4,000 nonprofit organizations. Every one of those organizations needs a board. More importantly, every one of them needs a good board.
That is becoming increasingly difficult.
It is hard to find good board members. And frankly, it is hard to be a good board member in today’s environment.
Katherine brings both professional consulting experience and firsthand governance leadership to her work. She is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer and has served on numerous nonprofit, educational, civic, and community boards across Virginia, including roles as board chair, governance committee chair, strategic planning committee chair, and search committee chair. Her board service includes organizations such as Christchurch School, The Memorial Foundation for Children, St. Michael’s Episcopal School, St. Catherine’s School, The Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, Heart of Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts of America, RichTech, Greater Richmond Partnership, and The Richmond Chamber.
Katherine holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a BS in Mathematics from Davidson College, and is a graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond. Her work is grounded in a practical understanding of the nonprofit and philanthropic landscape, particularly in Virginia, where she has helped mission-driven organizations align strong governance with effective execution.
For years, nonprofit leaders have talked about the “three Ts” of board service: Time, Talent, and Treasure. The goal for most boards is to have members who can bring at least two of the three. Today, checking even two boxes has become increasingly challenging.
Time has become one of the greatest barriers to nonprofit board service. Scheduling is harder for nearly everything we do. People retire later, work longer hours, travel more, and manage increasingly complex family and professional responsibilities.
Even highly committed board members can struggle to find time for:
At the same time, the work of nonprofit governance has become more demanding. Boards are expected not only to provide oversight, but also to think strategically, support leadership transitions, strengthen community relationships, and help organizations navigate financial and operational complexity.
There is no shortage of intelligent and capable people in our communities. The challenge is finding individuals with the specific skills, experience, and mindset that nonprofit organizations increasingly need.
For example, every board should have several financially savvy members. Not everyone with financial strength needs to be a CPA but having someone who understands the complexity of nonprofit accounting, nonprofit financial statements, cash flow, and organizational sustainability brings tremendous strength to a board. Yet the controller and CFO pipeline has become significantly smaller over the last decade, making those candidates harder to find.
Beyond financial expertise, boards increasingly need people who can:
The strongest board members are not simply supportive of the mission. They actively strengthen the organization’s future.
The financial expectations of board service have also become more complicated.
As the gap widens between the very wealthy, upper middle class, and middle class, there are not enough individuals who are both willing and financially able to support multiple nonprofits at significant levels.
The traditional model of “you support my nonprofit, and I’ll support yours” is becoming harder to sustain. At the same time, nonprofits are facing increasing competition for philanthropic dollars, volunteer leadership, and community attention.
Organizations that rely solely on financial capacity as the primary criteria for board recruitment may find the pipeline shrinking.
Strong boards and strong nonprofit CEOs tend to reinforce one another. Great boards help organizations:
A high-functioning board also improves the return on the CEO’s time and energy. Nonprofit CEOs invest substantial time working with boards. When the board is engaged, thoughtful, and strategic, the organization becomes stronger.
Great boards rarely happen accidentally. They are built intentionally over time.
Strength attracts strength. Talented people are drawn to organizations that are well-led, well-organized, and mission-focused.
Three things consistently help organizations attract strong board members:
1. Strong Leadership
A strong CEO who communicates a compelling vision, builds trust, and represents the organization well is far more likely to attract strong board members. People want to be associated with organizations that are making meaningful progress.
2. Good Processes
Busy and talented people want their time used wisely. Organizations that thoughtfully cultivate board candidates, provide strong orientation and education, communicate effectively, and design engaging board meetings are more likely to attract and retain strong members. Board meetings should not feel like “necessary but boring” reporting sessions. The best meetings create opportunities for strategic discussion, learning, problem-solving, and meaningful engagement.
3. A Culture of Accountability and Excellence
Healthy board cultures matter. Board members are more likely to stay engaged when expectations are clear, participation is meaningful, and fellow board members follow through on commitments. Strong cultures create momentum. High-performing board members tend to attract other high-performing board members.
Organizations should be intentional about creating a culture of:
The work of nonprofits is too important to settle for passive governance.
Strong boards do not happen by chance. They are built intentionally through thoughtful recruitment, meaningful engagement, clear expectations, and strong leadership.
Time, talent, and treasure are increasingly stretched; organizations that invest in governance will be far better positioned to fulfill their missions, support their CEOs, and strengthen the communities they serve.
As nonprofits continue to grow and evolve, boards should periodically ask themselves:
The use of AI in small to medium-sized businesses is increasing and will soon become a necessity. If you are a business leader in the early stages of integrating AI into your organization, read on to explore several key concepts and examples of how to implement different tools.
As a note, and in the spirit of transparency, I used AI to help draft this article. The value was not in having the tool “write” the piece, but in using it as a thinking partner. I started by outlining the structure and key ideas, then worked through the draft conversationally by asking it questions, refining language, and pressure-testing my thinking along the way. For business leaders, this is where AI can be most effective: not as a replacement for judgment or experience, but as a tool that clarifies ideas, speeds up iteration, and improves the quality of the final output.
Vulnerability. It’s a word that can evoke discomfort, particularly in professional settings. Yet, when approached with intentionality, vulnerability can be the cornerstone of authentic leadership and a catalyst for fostering trust, creativity, and resilience in the workplace.
Do you remember Jerry Seinfeld’s observation that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than deliver the eulogy? As humorous as it is, that quip reveals a deeper truth: being vulnerable, whether in public speaking or expressing emotions, can feel daunting. But why?
Written by: Katherine Whitney
Our July newsletter focused on what should be an ongoing succession planning effort to develop the next group of potential leaders for your organization. That is a central part of ensuring smooth transitions in leadership so that, when changes occur, the organization can have a smooth transfer of job responsibilities.
But “what if?” What if someone in a key position leaves without notice either permanently or for an extended period without a successor in place? There can be many reasons for this, and the organization can suffer regardless of the reason. The following are five steps that you should take in advance to help your organization navigate an unexpected transition.
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