Most Leaders Are Underdeveloped and Underspending

What To Do With Development Dollars

Last year our team hit a goal we had been chasing for a while.

The reward was real. As part of the bonus, every staff member received a significant bump in their leadership development budget for this year. It was something we had all been wanting and it felt great to deliver it.

But when I sat down with my team to talk through how to spend it, I noticed something. Almost everyone was thinking about the same thing. A week-long conference out of town. One option. One week. Done.

I get it. Conferences are great. I am not throwing them under the bus. But a week away is hard to coordinate when you have kids at home. And when you run lean as an organization, a week of lost productivity has its own cost. So the development dollars sat there, underused, because nobody had a better way to think about it.

That is a real problem.

Leadership development in the nonprofit world gets pushed to the side constantly. Not because leaders do not value it. They do. But the mission is urgent, capacity is thin, and it is easy to keep saying "I will get to that." The annual conference becomes the only tool in the toolkit. Which means most leaders go eleven months without adding a single brick to their bridge.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

A few years ago I came across a framework from entrepreneur and educator Alex Hormozi that I have adapted for our world. Imagine you are standing on one side of a bridge. On the other side is the version of you that leads with clarity, develops your team well, communicates your mission compellingly, and builds something that lasts. Between you and that version of yourself is a bridge made of individual skills and perspectives not yet acquired.

Missing bricks are why you cannot cross.

Every legitimate learning experience lays another brick. Some feel like a waste because you still cannot see the other side. But just like you need arithmetic before algebra, each brick is a prerequisite for the next. The question to carry into every development decision is simple. What bricks are missing and how do I add one this year?

Here is how I think about the options.

Level 1: Free or Almost Free

Podcasts, YouTube, audiobooks, AI, online communities like Skool where practitioners gather. There is more high-quality free content available today than at any point in history. I have never met Alex Hormozi in person, but a few years ago I wrote him a letter thanking him for his free content and told him it had helped me think and lead differently, which helped us get more kids into families. That is a brick. Free.

I am rarely in the car without a podcast or an audiobook on. Making the most of this downtime commuting between meetings or events is a great way to maximize this level. Maybe you like to blare the music and feel the wind in your hair. Go for it. But where else are there moments in your day to day where you can capitalize on development opportunities? It is an easy add that pays off over time.

The limitation at this level is the absence of feedback. Nobody is correcting you or helping you apply what you are learning to your specific situation. Start here. Do not stay here.

Level 2: Low Cost Lunches, Communities, and Programs

Early in my leadership I started buying lunch for people who were further down the road than me. Business leaders, executives, people solving problems I had not encountered yet. One of them, an executive named Neal Ferry, told me something I still carry. "Leaders run at problems." When a problem is identified, they do not brush it under the rug or run from it. They get the right people on it, the right resources around it, and they remove the barriers to success. That came from a lunch.

For your team this could be a board member, a peer ED at another organization, or a donor who has built something meaningful. The cost is a meal. The return can last decades.

Level 3: Hire to Learn, Not Just to Get It Done

This one requires a mindset shift. When you bring in an expert or contract to get something done, negotiate to learn while they work. When I needed a website built for NGOJoe, I hired someone and asked him to show me what he was doing as he went. He gave me screen access, walked me through his process, and made step-by-step instruction sheets. I walked away with a website and skills I did not have before. A deliverable and a brick.

You do not have to master everything they do. One or two new bricks might be enough.

Level 4: In-Person, Structured, with Feedback

Early in my time leading my first church I joined a coaching cohort led by Nelson Searcy. I flew to Tampa once a month for eight months. There was homework. The feedback was direct and sometimes uncomfortable. But I built every system we had during that season and it propelled me forward in ways I still feel today.

These programs cost more. But the speed to growth is also greater. At some point it may be worth a conversation with your board about getting this kind of investment into your development budget.

Here is the thing about all four levels. None of them require a week away from home.

And here is the other thing. This framework is not just for you.

When your staff, board, or key volunteers grow, your organization grows. When they develop their skills, they bring more to the mission. Print this out. Talk through it at your next team meeting. Ask your team what bricks are missing from their bridge and help them think through how to add one this year.

Development gets crowded out because the mission always feels more urgent. But investing in the people doing the mission is one of the most strategic things you can do.

I am cheering for you.