Life & Leadership with Kim Williams

In this episode, I share how I navigated a packed schedule filled with leadership demands, unexpected challenges, and external disruptions—all while striving to maintain focus and peace. From adjusting strategies in response to unforeseen changes to managing weather-related closures and political shifts impacting my team and clients, January was anything but smooth.Despite the chaos, I found ways to regain clarity, sift through distractions, and ensure that I stayed aligned with the right opportunities. Tune in as I discuss the strategies I used to maintain focus in a season of uncertainty and how you can do the same in your leadership journey.

As we kick off 2025, I’m excited to introduce a new monthly feature on Life & Leadership with Kim Williams: “Ask Kim.” Once a month, I’ll dedicate an episode to answering listener questions about leadership, strategy, and everything in between. If you have a question, I’d love to hear it! Send me a direct message via Instagram at Leadwithkim or on my Kim Williams Consulting LinkedIn page.This month’s question came from a leader friend who reached out during the holiday break. She’s in the process of disbanding and restructuring an advisory group that has played a key leadership role in her organization for years. After prayerful contemplation and consulting her leadership team, she decided it was time to move forward with the change—but wasn’t sure how to communicate the decision.Here’s her question:“Should I send an email to the advisory group informing them of the disbanding of the group, host a group meeting, or schedule individual calls? I do not want this to be a debate or major discussion because I am confident in my decision. However, I do value their partnership and contributions and I fear a letter may be too informal. What is the best way to go about informing the advisory group that I am ending it?”In this episode, I explore her question and provide practical strategies for navigating difficult leadership conversations with clarity, respect, and confidence. If you’re facing a similar situation, tune in for actionable advice on handling these transitions with grace and professionalism.Listen now to Episode 40 of Life & Leadership with Kim Williams: Navigating Tough Leadership Conversations on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

In this episode, I reflect on the challenges of casting a vision in the face of uncertainty. At first, I hesitated to create a long-term strategic plan for the next five years—a practice we’ve traditionally followed—due to the unpredictable landscape shaped by the pandemic and a new administration.However, I recognized that the absence of a clear and compelling direction could harm organizational culture and productivity. To address this, I immersed myself in research, studying industry trends, future predictions, and the evolving needs for our services. I also took time to pray and seek clarity about the path ahead.Through this process, I realized that in unprecedented times, a refined approach to visioneering is essential. In this episode, I share my updated strategy for creating and casting a vision that aligns with today’s challenges and opportunities.Let’s talk strategy and how to lead boldly into the future.

Do you know your leadership superpower? Most leaders struggle to confidently and quickly articulate what they bring to the table—myself included, even a decade into being a CEO. In this episode, we’ll explore why this is a problem and how getting clear on your unique strengths can transform not just your confidence but your entire organization. I’ll share my journey and help you step into 2025 with a stronger sense of who you are as a leader. Don’t miss this game-changing conversation about identity and impact!

Let me let you in on a little secret. Not everyone is optimistic at the start of the new year. Social impact leaders in particular may be overwhelmed with the sense of uncertainty, lack of clarity, and even self-doubt regarding whether or not you have what it takes to lead your agency into the unknown. Your first instinct may be to hide that insecurity by putting on a brave face for your team, board, and donors. I've done that before and I'm going to tell you something it's a mistake. In this week's episode of life and leadership with Kim Williams, I'm going to challenge you to face your fears. I have found that admitting, exploring and addressing your greatest fears is not only liberating but, it can be the catalyst for some of your greatest achievements.

As we approach the end of the year, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the incredible journey of leadership that 2024 has been. The thing about leadership is that no two years are alike — each year brings its own unique challenges and valuable lessons. And 2024 was no exception.In this final episode of the year, I'm excited to share lessons 6 through 10 of my Top 10 Leadership Lessons for 2024. Whether you’ve been on this journey with me throughout the year or you’re just tuning in, these insights will serve as a powerful reminder of the growth, adaptability, and resilience that leadership demands.Tune in for a thoughtful reflection on the lessons that have shaped my leadership journey this year, and let’s continue to grow and lead with intention into 2025.Happy listening!

In this powerful episode, leadership expert Kim Williams shares her top 5 leadership lessons to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2024. These lessons are designed to foster growth, clarity, and authenticity—empowering leaders to thrive both personally and professionally in the year ahead.Whether you’re in a leadership role or aspiring to be, Kim’s insights are filled with practical advice for leading with integrity, self-awareness, and a deeper connection to your team.Tune in to this episode for a refreshing perspective on leadership that balances ambition with self-care and wisdom!

If you are visionary social impact leader who is committed to making a real and significant change in your community, now is NOT the time to faint. I know you may be tired, discouraged, and may even a little afraid of what the future holds.  I know you want a break from the relentless and continuous fight for change. I get that. Believe me, I feel that.  It’s okay.  Take a break my friend. But, whatever you do, don’t quit.  Now is not the time. We often talk about the burden of leadership, but today, I want to remind you of the blessing of leadership.  I want to remind you of the power you hold and I want to encourage you to take the next few weeks prepare to make the post of it.   Let’s talk Life & Leadership!

Ask any leader, and they'll tell you: managing people is one of the toughest parts of leadership. And it’s only getting harder. Recruiting and retaining great team members is a growing challenge. In fact, according to the National Nonprofit HR survey, nonprofit turnover is averaging between 20-25% annually, and development professionals, on average, stay in their roles for just 18 months. So, how can we as leaders create a stable, thriving culture when the workforce is so unpredictable? It’s stressful, but don’t worry—there are strategies that can help you navigate these challenges. Join me as we discuss turnover. Let’s talk life and leadership!

The thing about leadership is that we are expected to lead regardless of what we are experiencing. We have to lead on good days and lead on bad days. I had to lead during times of family crisis. I had to lead during times of personal illness. I had to lead while my mom was dying and lead during my grief. We have to lead when we are optimistic and lead when we are in despair. In fact, many of you are smiling on the outside during your board meetings, media interviews, and donor meetings while battling the burnout and even depression. Well, today I want to provide a safe space for you. I want to share a few of my stories about leading through doubt and despair and the life lessons that got me to the other side. Let’s talk Life & Leadership!

Change is on the horizon for social impact organizations and change is always challenging for leaders. But here is the good news: We’ve been here before and not too long ago.  Just five years ago, we lead through a once in 100 years worldwide pandemic.  If we spend a little time reflecting on that and other challenging times, we can develop an agile game plan for moving forward.   This episode explores how to lead through uncertainty.

One of the most difficult things about being a leader is sharing bad news. It is stressful and frankly, it sucks. However, it is a part of the job, and it requires sensitivity and strategy. In the last podcast, we talked about how to deal with significant funding loss strategically.  In this episode, we will talk about how to deal with it publicly. 

After over 25 years in the nonprofit industry, I’ve experienced sudden funding loss several times throughout my career and as a consultant I’ve helped dozens of clients navigate it as well.As a consultant, far too many organizations, contact me when it’s nearly too late to reverse the course. Far too few have contingency plans in place for sudden funding loss. It is my hope that this episode will help you to either quickly minimize the impact of sudden funding loss or create a contingency plan to do so when and if it happens to you.

It's been a while since my last episode. Why the absence? Well, life took a turn. Listen to this mini-episode to hear my brief explanation and receive a little encouragement in the process. With that being said, I am taking a break and I will be back with new content and new podcasts on April 2nd. - Kim

Leadership draws criticism, most of which comes from people who have never led. They don’t see what you see from the leader’s vantage point, nor do they understand the pressures you face. They don’t know that every “yes” means saying “no” to something else. They don’t know that you were up when they were sleep and that you were working when they were resting. They don’t accept that leaders are people with feelings, faults, bad days, and breakdowns. When we express the discomfort of leadership, they are quick to say, “To whom much is given much is required.”  But, unless they’ve paid the cost of being the boss themselves, that truth feels like criticism when what we need is compassion. As a leader, I get it and, in this episode, we are going to talk about it. 

Today, we are going to talk about one of the most difficult yet common questions that every leader faces, “To fire or not to fire.”  No matter how many questions you ask in an interview, no matter how great a candidate’s references are, and no matter how much you thought you knew about the candidate before you hired them, employees will surprise you.  Whether it is the inability to get to work on time, excessive absences, poor work quality, or the inability to get along with coworkers, issues will arise that have you asking, “Should I let them go or keep trying to work with them?” 

After over 25 years in leadership, I know that growth, without the infrastructure, systems, and culture to support it, will ultimately lead to disaster. So, how do you know when to expand and when not to expand? In today's episode, we will discuss five questions that Kim ask herself and her clients before considering expansion. Let’s talk about it. 

Everyone wants to lead . . . until they have to lead. Leadership is not for the faint of heart. There is a critic and counterpoint for every choice that you make. There is an opposing opinion for decision. There are risks associated with every strategy and new stressors that come with every success. Sure, perks, privileges, and good pay that come with promotion. But, every leaderswho has sat in the C-suite will tell you that benefits of leadership will not always outweigh its burdens. In good times, it will balance them out. Now, when you say these things to an aspiring leader, the first thing they tend think that you are hating on them or that you don’t want to see them succeed. And, that could be the case for some people. But, most leaders tell you about the challenges of leadership because they are trying to keep you from making the same mistakes that we have made – the mistake of assuming that it won’t be that hard. In today's epsiode, we will explore five questions to ask before stepping into the C-Suite. 

Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited to be back in my office recording podcasts. I can’t believe that this is my 23 episodes. I have really enjoyed sharing my leadership journey with you and I’ve been so appreciative of your support and feedback. I am honored that you would listen and join me for discussions on life and leadership.Your questions have inspired the theme for January’s episodes which is Crucial Questions. That’s right, I am dedicating this month’s podcasts to answering the four most common questions, asked by other leaders and if you have a question that you want me to answer on this podcast, visit my Instagram page, @leadwithkim, and send me a DM. So, let’s get started with this month’s crucial question. It is one that many leaders are asking at the start of the New Year, "To Stay or Not to Stay."

Have you ever pondered why things have been feeling off at the office? Have you felt like things were out of rhythm and you didn’t feel that your team was productive as it could or should be?  Have wondered what the problem is?  Asked others and asked yourself, only to realize that the problem is you.   Let's talk about it.

Contrary to popular employee belief, most leaders are not sitting in their offices dreaming of ways to make your life difficult. We don’t prefer to do things the long way. We don’t enjoy the time we spend writing policy, creating guidelines, or giving instructions and we certainly get no thrill out of disciplinary conversations. We just want to get things done as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as possible in a manner that aligns with our mission and mitigates risks.  As nonprofit leaders, we do what we do because we want to make a difference. We advocate for clients in spacing that aren’t always the most welcoming for us. We ask for support to serve our clients and pay our employees.  We look for partnerships, processes, and platforms that will make all of these easier for everyone. But, we are also human. We get tired, frustrated, and discouraged.  We can’t always ensure that our emotions won’t influence perspective, choices, or words . . . or at least I can’t.  It’s a fact of life.  However, there is a difference between being ruled by your emotions and occasionally effected by them.  There’s a difference between being justifiably frustrated by poor performance and just being a jerk.  But, the most poor-performing employees will assume you are the latter, regardless of how inconsistent the behavior is when compared how you’ve engaged them in the past or when you were not under so much professional or personal stress. So, how do you know which is which – whether you are justifiably frustrated or being a jerk? And, how do you maintain composure in either instance.  Let’s talk about it. 

It is the responsibility of the nonprofit organization or social enterprise to provides a path to the fulfillment of its mission in a manner that is appealing to the client, aligned with their goals for themselves, and accountability-driven to help increase the likelihood of reaching the goals. So, where do you begin? Let's talk about it in today's episode.

Last week, Kim shared the story of how Interfaith Family Services narrowed our target demographic from homeless families to working class single moms who are experiencing homelessness.  Then, she provided tips for how you can define and refine your target demographic. This week, Kim talks about understanding the needs and nuances of your target demographic in order to create an organizational methodology or logic model to address those needs. 

“You’re doing too much.” That’s one of the most common discoveries of the agency analysis that I provide for nonprofits. Far too many, well-meaning organizations are spreading their staff and budgets too thin by attempting to have a Cheese-Cake Factory like menu of services that offer a lot of variety but very little impact. In this episode, Kim shares the danger of not refining your target audience. she also provide strategies for doing so. 

Anyone who says that a nonprofit CEO or a CEO of any kind for that matter should have an “open door policy” has never been a CEO. You can be accessible without an open door but, it’s hard to be productive with one. In this episode, Kim Williams shares how. 

Wow! Can you believe that we've completed the first season? I can't believe I've recorded 16 episodes! As I prepare for the next set of episodes, I'm taking a little break.  But, I'll be back in September with some new episodes and a few surprises! 

In today's complex work environment, how do you create a culture that accounts for all of the needs and nuances of today's workforce? In this week's episode, Kim discusses the challenges she faced earlier in her career understanding the needs of her employees and the revelation that changed her organization's culture for the better. 

Roughly 85% of the nonprofit leaders that I know have been blind-sided by a disgruntled staff's complaint to the board. In this episode, we talk about why it happens and what to do when it does. 

I knew that something had to change. My board and fellow leaders recommended spending more time with team building and bonding and I tried. But, it simply made my already crowded plate more crowded and my frustration was growing into resentment.  Then, taking some time off for much prayer and reflection, I realized where I’d made my mistake.I didn’t need to work harder. I needed to work smarter.  I didn’t need to work more. I needed more rest. I didn’t need team bonding. I needed team boundaries.  Learn more in this episode. 

My performance-based value system pushed me into promotions in the first half of my career. But, it almost become my undoing in the second half. As a young professional, my ability to execute under the toughest of circumstances helped me to avoid the need to make significant adjustments to my leadership style. However, my first three years at Interfaith demanded that I change. I discuss this change and what led to it in this week's episode. 

For years, I did not have an effective strategy for hiring employees. I looked at what their resume said and the requirements of the job to determine if I should interview them. Then, I listened to their words and references to make the final decision. It wasn’t until years into my tenure that I began to be more strategic and I began to hire people based not only on the competencies that the job requires but on the culture of our organization. In this episode, I share what I learned. 

One of the things I enjoy doing at least once per month is answering a listener question. I recently came across this one from a new leader that I thought would be a great one for the podcast. A new leader asked, “As a new leader who inherited an organization full of employees, how can I determine who is loyal to me and who is not?” What a great question and I can’t wait to talk about it!

Kim answers a listener's question, “How can you keep your team engaged when your organization is growing rapidly, and you can’t be on the front lines with them like you were when you began the organization?” If you or a leader you know is experiencing growing pains, you do not want to miss this episode. 

Have you ever been inspired and excited about a new career journey? You prayed, researched, did the work, and got confirmation. You were so excited to get started and you finally launched. Things were good for a while. Then, things got real. There was issue after issue and before you know it, you were wondering if maybe you weren't supposed to do this after all.Well, Kim's been there and she has a word for you.

In this episode, Kim talks about the uncertainty and insecurity that accompanies life as a new CEO and the benefit of using silence as a protection mechanism as you wait on your self-esteem to catch up to your success.

In episode 7, Kim discusses the challenges facing nonprofits in this new season of economic uncertainty. Times are changing and the way nonprofit CEOs face the annual budget process needs to change with it. Kim dives into some of the issues that we will face in the season ahead and how to prepare to succeed despite them.

In episode 6 of Life & Leadership with Kim Williams, Kim explores the relationship between self-esteem and successful leadership. She talks about how insecurity diminished her abilty to create the culture and build the team that she desired in her early years as CEO and how learning to love herself, empowered her to lead others. As always, she ends the episode with three practical strategies to improve your self-esteem and leadership success.

Every nonprofit CEO dreams of securing six and seven figure donations. But, few are aware of the phenomenon known as "donor dependence" that can lead to real problems and even closure in the years following a significant donor investment.

In this episode, nonprofit fixer and CEO, Kim Williams shares her personal experiences with the crisis of sudden funding loss as well as the five steps she uses to help her clients transform crisis into a catalyst for success. If you are a nonprofit leader facing any type of significant challenge or crisis, you do not want to miss this informative and encouraging episode.

My guest, Lenita Dunlap, and I talk about “Battling Burnout.” We talk about the propensity of female leaders, particularly leaders of color, who give themselves fully to the work and expect little in return. We also share a light on what happens in the long-term when we do that.

Have you ever been so busy that your days, weeks, and months seem like a blur? You have a hard time remembering when you had a really good time and your body is starting to rebel with signs of anxiety? If you have, my guest, Tamara Williams, and I can definitely relate. We are going to share our struggles with anxiety and stress as well as our testimony and tips for overcoming.

Kim Williams, and special guest, LaVeeta Hamilton (CEO of Family Promise of Collin County) discuss the challenges and triumphs of their first year as nonprofit CEOs. They explore the issues associated with being a change-agent who disrupts the way the organization has historically operated and the response to those changes. Finally, they offer five tips for new change-agents who are stepping in the role of nonprofit CEO.

In this introductory episode, listeners will meet Kim Williams, CEO of Interfaith Family Services and principal of Kim Williams Consulting.  Kim will summarize the hills and valleys associated with her 26 years of leadership experience and tell you what inspired this podcast.  She gives a little insight on how it feels to be an unlikely, insecure, and visionary leader and how this podcast will benefit you regardless of what stage or season you are in on your leadership journey.