Blog

Brand New Classic: The Positioning Every Social Entrepreneur Needs

If your work doesn't lodge itself in people's minds as something both meaningful and recognizable, it doesn't matter how brilliant your model is.

27 Oct 2025

How to Write SOPs That Actually Get Used

Have you ever been in a role where you're afraid a colleague will leave and all the knowledge in their head will go with them? Depending on the context or timing, this scenario could either be a small hiccup in operations or the reason an organization closes its doors.

21 Aug 2025

The Transformative Power of Community: A Personal Journey

Our communities are vital to our well-being. I used to think of community as simply a physical space—a neighborhood or a building for gathering. Now I understand that community is truly about the people who inhabit those spaces.

15 Apr 2025

At the Pace of What is Real

When is the last time you felt truly awake to the person, moment, or task before you? Wakefulness to my life comes in waves. There are times when I bring my energy and focus wholeheartedly, senses alert and engaged, to what is unfolding as it is unfolding.

18 Dec 2024

Because We Care

When my team is working on a strategic plan with a client, we typically start with a process called "Formation". I use that term because whether the organization has been established for 6 months or 60 years, the strategic plan represents an opportunity to imagine something new and different, and nurture it to life through strategic actions.

28 Aug 2024

Choosing What You Want Most

In nonprofit work, we often experience bursts of motivation. Do you know that feeling you get after a successful fundraiser? Or a meaningful interaction with those we serve? While these moments are welcomed and can fuel us for a time, the day-to-day realities set in again as we sit down to answer our 37th email. Motivation begins to wane, and feelings of busyness and burnout start to surface again.

05 Aug 2024

Amplifying Assets: Beyond Deficit Narratives

In any given society, the dominant culture often dictates what is considered good, normal, or worthy. When that cultural belief system translates into the way that we communicate about different people and what they need or what they deserve, we end up categorizing people in really damaging ways: uneducated, disadvantaged, at-risk, etc.

03 Jun 2024

Five Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Board Chair

While board membership alone carries great responsibility, the pressures intensify when you step into a leadership role. From personnel issues to understanding and approving the annual budget, there is a lot of pressure to make the right decisions so the organization functions smoothly and is able to provide essential services to the community.

10 May 2024

To Meet or Not To Meet?

I can’t count how many meetings I’ve been to where most of the meeting is spent figuring out what the meeting is supposed to be about. And by the time you agree on why you’re meeting, the meeting time is over and you have to schedule another one to talk about what you should’ve talked about at THIS meeting. By the time THAT meeting rolls around, you’re back at square one.

08 Nov 2023

I Have Questions

People are always telling me that I ask good questions. It’s quite a compliment, but it’s not something that comes automatically. I’ve gotten good at asking questions because I learned a long time ago that I don’t know very much.

15 Aug 2023

Make Space

Last week I had a charmingly inane conversation with my physical therapist. I’m laid on his massage table. He’s smashing on my leg with his hands. The smashing business is going to take a while, and we’re small-talking about our podcast listening habits, and he asks, if I had a podcast, what would it be about?

11 Aug 2023

Move at the Speed of Trust

At Rooted Strategy, we often call in adrienne maree brown’s principles of Emergent Strategy. One of these principles is move at the speed of trust. When I’m in relationship with people or organizations that are undergoing crisis, tension, or stagnation, lack of trust is usually at the core of it.

31 May 2023

Your Existence is A Miracle

I have always struggled with New Year's Resolutions. I inwardly reflect on how I want to change my behavior as a new year approaches, or what I hope to do more of / less of. Usually, too many things come to mind and I’m left trying to prioritize a list of goals that I think I can “stick to” for the full year.

31 Jan 2023

FAQ: Values and Decisions

We often get questions from our clients and community who are working every day to grow their teams and advance their good work in the world. Today, we’re answering a couple of questions as an offering to our readers.

08 Oct 2022

Passing the Torch

As facilitators and coaches at Rooted Strategy, we are often in the position of holding space for others to grapple with complex ideas, challenges, and opportunities. But every once in a while, on very lucky days, we get to be held. These facilitated spaces remind us that learning and growth are constant processes and that there’s always more to discover.

25 Aug 2022

Culture Shaper

In my practice as a coach, consultant and facilitator, I do a lot of work around this concept of culture. I happen to believe that culture is shaped by whomever is in it, and those with power get to determine what is considered true, good, right, and acceptable within that cultural container - and what to push down, ignore, and make irrelevant.

29 Jul 2022

Time Boundaries

The beginning of this new year represents an important transition for me: the end of my first year at Rooted Strategy. I started this business because I wanted to provide support and encouragement to leaders as they navigate change, both large and small, in their organizations.

04 Jan 2021

The Inner Circle

I was invited to participate in a meeting of “Network Weavers” in Bastrop County - people who are aware of the networks around them and explicitly work to make them healthier and more connected. Network Weavers do this by helping people identify their interests and challenges, connecting people strategically where there’s potential for mutual benefit, and serving as catalysts for self-organizing groups.

17 Jan 2020

Grow and Thrive

onprofit organizations are founded and managed by people who possess great enthusiasm for the mission. But too often, they are not well equipped to sustain and grow a healthy organization, leading to disappointing outcomes.

04 Nov 2019