With federal, state and local funding in flux and philanthropic / corporate giving less secure, leading nonprofit organizations has been challenging in 2025. Layer on major shifts in language, policy, and a general sense of anxiety, and managing programs feels a bit like trying to drive a bus on a bumpy road during a minor earthquake! There are days when everything feels out of control. And if you don’t feel like this, chances are people on your team do.
In our first installment of the Jordan Institute’s new Leadership Initiative, we hosted a conversation with social work leaders from across North Carolina to share strategies for navigating times such as these. For this session, we focused on the feeling of “overwhelm” which can be paralyzing. To begin, we all spent a few minutes taking some slow deep breaths. In fact – maybe you should pause for a few minutes and do the same! Are your shoulders tight? Give them a stretch. Taking a few minutes to check in with how your body is moving and breathing during the day is essential.
Next we explored the 15% Solutions method, which is a helpful strategy described by Liberating Structures. Essentially, this exercise prompts participants to move away from a sense of powerlessness and focus on what can be changed. This work can help people remember unused capacity and resources and discover collective power. The exercise, which can be done individually or in small groups or even coalition meetings, begins with some simple questions – What 15% of the work can you control? Where do you have discretion and freedom to act? What can you do without more resources or authority? The focus of “the work” can be specific to something you are trying to achieve as a group or can remain general. Interested in trying this with your team? Give people quiet time to respond to the prompt. Then create space for some small group sharing. End by making a list of the strategies and action steps. While the 15% itself isn’t based on any particular science, the concept behind the method is to get yourselves and teams to focus on what you CAN control.
A second approach was developed Dr. Lisa Hanasono with the National Center for Faculty Diversity and Development. (Re)Claiming Agency – Building on What We Can Control is a method that begins with the individual setting one or two goals they would like to accomplish in the next month. The goal should be SMART and something you really want or need to do. Once you have the goal, brain dump the stressors, strengths and support you face and need to achieve the goal. Then activate your agency – cross out the items out of your control, circle those that can help you and write “T” for those you want to think about / tackle / get therapy for later. Finally, create your plan – ACT = Action. Context. Time. Pick one action and make it happen.
Underlying both approaches is the opportunity to zoom in on the work you can do and the goals you can achieve. Stepping away from the swirl of overwhelm with a focus on a small win can ignite different energy and bring back a sense of satisfaction and forward momentum. These techniques can be applied in your personal or professional life. You can use them for yourself or offer them to a member on your team who is struggling.
The highlight of our first session was the realization that no one is in this alone. Connecting with others who are leading important work during this moment in time is likely the best way to feel seen, heard, and held in a community of others who spend their day in service to others.
