Nonprofit Executive Director Leadership Circles

After careful consideration, the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management has made the difficult decision to close the current Nonprofit Executive Director Leadership Circles program due to lower-than-needed interest and enrollment. As a result, the Circles this year will not move forward as planned.

Although the current program is closing, the Executive Director Leadership Circles concept is not going away. HBI will revisit and reimagine the program, exploring new ways to engage and support nonprofit leaders. We will seek input from community leaders to help shape a future program that is useful, supportive, and engaging.

Nonprofit executive directors, whose jobs can be challenging even in the best circumstances, are especially stretched in these challenging times. There has been a growing demand by nonprofit executives for opportunities to develop stronger ties with other leaders and establish a network of peers to confide in, depend on, support, and grow with. The Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management offers Wisconsin nonprofit executive directors a unique coaching and learning network.

The Nonprofit Executive Director Leadership Circles program facilitates discussions, peer coaching, mentoring, support, resources, and relationships. It will give nonprofit leaders the extra support they need to address the challenging issues they face regularly.

Based on an internationally known process called Action Learning, each Leadership Circle comprises 6-10 nonprofit leaders committed to supporting one another. A trained and experienced facilitator helps participants identify goals and resolve individual challenges using the Circle. Discussions in the circles are confidential, supportive, and focused on learning and action.

Participants typically meet once a month to:

  • Share insights and materials.
  • Support and challenge each other.
  • Develop and keep action plans on track.

Goals

Nonprofit Leadership Circles aim to:

  • Focuses on the needs of nonprofit Executive Directors, Emerging Leaders, and HR Managers, supporting the top-level oversight of nonprofit organizations of various sizes and missions.
  • Build relationships among leaders who may not always have the opportunity to work together and reduce feelings of isolation and “loneliness at the top.”
  • Promote emotional and moral support uniquely found in a safe and confidential setting with emphatic peers and provide a greater depth of learning through resonance and reflections from the peer group members.
  • Provide an opportunity for information and resource sharing, professional development, and skill-building.
  • Foster leadership development by providing a structure for pursuing goals that include accountability and expanding learning resources via peer group members.
  • Tap wisdom from each other’s experiences and expertise rather than outside experts.

Coaches

Our Executive Director Nonprofit Leadership Circles are guided by experienced coaches who create a confidential, supportive space for nonprofit leaders to reflect, learn from one another, and turn challenges into practical action. The program leaders bring skilled facilitation and a commitment to strengthening leaders, organizations, and communities.

Format

Like other Leadership Circle programs, participants will meet monthly in groups of 6-10, facilitated by an experienced coach, for nine months throughout the year (September – May). Circle participants complete a brief application to help match them with a cohort of leaders with similar leadership responsibilities and life and work experiences. The number of Circles convened will be based on the total completed registrations.

Past Member Organizations

  • Adaptive Community Approach Program, Inc. (ACAP)
  • Adoption Choice, Inc.
  • African American Breastfeeding Network Inc.
  • Alliance Française de Milwaukee
  • Arts @ Large
  • ArtWorks for Milwaukee
  • Autism Society SE WI
  • Bay View Community Center
  • Benedict Center
  • Betty Brinn Children’s Museum
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
  • Broadscope Disability Services
  • Bublr Bikes
  • Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Inc.
  • Centro Legal
  • City Year Milwaukee
  • COA Youth & Family Centers
  • Community First, INC
  • Community Smiles Dental
  • Conservancy for Healing and Heritage
  • Crivitz Youth, Inc.
  • Danceworks, Inc
  • Ex Fabula
  • Fathers Making Progress
  • Fresh Start Learning Inc
  • Goodman Community Center
  • Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation
  • House of Hope Green Bay
  • Independence First
  • INPOWER
  • J. K. Lee City Youth Martial Arts Program
  • Jewish Family Services, Inc.
  • Kathy’s House
  • Kellogg PEAK Initiative
  • Kindred MKE
  • Life Navigators
  • Living Our Visions Inc.
  • Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan, Inc.
  • Menomonee Valley Partners
  • Milwaukee Christian Center
  • Milwaukee Justice Center
  • MTEF – Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation
  • NAMI Racine County
  • Newcap, Inc.
  • PEARLS For Teen Girls
  • Penfield Children’s Center
  • Pierce County GrassRoots Organizing
  • Radio Milwaukee
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities Eastern WI
  • Safe & Sound
  • Silver Spring Neighborhood Center
  • Sophia Transformative Leadership Partners
  • St. Francis Children’s Center
  • The Difference Principle
  • The Friendship Circle, Inc.
  • The Gathering of Southeast WI, Inc.
  • The Peace Learning Center of Milwaukee
  • United Methodist Children’s Services (UMCS)
  • United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee
  • Urban Ecology Center
  • Walker’s Point Center for the Arts
  • Washington Island Community Health Program (WICHP)
  • Waukesha Civic Theatre
  • Waukesha Free Clinic
  • Wellpoint Care Network
  • Wisconsin Humane Society
  • Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc.
  • Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance
  • World Council of Credit Unions
  • YWCA Southeast Wisconsin

Questions? Contact Bryce Lord, Associate Director, at balord@uwm.edu.