Discord Isn’t the Problem. It’s the Symptom.
Recently, I was part of a discussion where the group was asked to share hard truths in the nonprofit sector. While I am sure that you are already compiling a list in your head, I want to dig deeper into one that people expressed a lot of passion about.
Discord and in-fighting.
Not what you were thinking that I was going to say, right?
I ask that you hear me out because for me, discord and in-fighting encompass so many different issues that are preventing organizations—and maybe even the entire sector—from advancing.
What I hear underneath it is this:
A lack of clear vision
Misaligned teams
The perpetuation of scarcity mindsets
Rigid or broken systems
Groupthink
Confusing, or missing altogether, decision-making frameworks
These are not surface-level problems. These are structural.
And while this may feel overwhelming (and may even make you want to put your head on your desk and give in to the exhaustion) these are challenges that can be resolved.
But not with more busyness.
Not with another reactive fix.
It requires human-centered, strategic leadership.
And I think that is why you’re here.
Step One: Diagnose What’s Actually Happening
Before you can fix discord, you have to stop mislabeling it.
Conflict is not the problem. Misalignment is.
Start by asking sharper questions:
Where are decisions getting stuck—or made inconsistently?
Where do teams interpret priorities differently?
Where does tension show up repeatedly (not just once)?
What conversations are people avoiding?
This is less about personalities and more about patterns.
Leadership move: Map the friction.
Not who is involved—but where and why it keeps happening.
When you do this well, you stop managing people and start addressing systems.
Step Two: Reclaim Clarity (Because Most Teams Are Operating Without It)
Many organizations believe they have clarity because they have a mission statement.
That’s not clarity. That’s a placeholder.
Clarity answers:
What future are we actually trying to create?
What does success look like in 3–5 years?
What are we not prioritizing right now?
If your team cannot answer these consistently, misalignment is inevitable.
Leadership move: Create a “decision filter.”
A simple framework your team can use to evaluate:
Opportunities
Partnerships
Program expansion
Funding alignment
When clarity is operationalized, conflict decreases because decisions are no longer personal—they’re directional.
Step Three: Build Real Alignment (Not Assumed Alignment)
Alignment is not a one-time meeting. It is an ongoing discipline.
You do not have alignment if:
Your leadership team agrees, but staff are confused
Your board is operating from a different set of assumptions
Your programs are evolving faster than your strategy
Alignment requires translation.
Leadership move: Pressure-test alignment regularly.
Ask different levels of your organization:
What are our top 3 priorities right now?
How does your role connect to them?
What feels unclear or in conflict?
If the answers vary widely, you don’t have alignment—you have fragmentation.
Step Four: Interrupt the Scarcity Mindset
Scarcity thinking shows up everywhere in the sector, often disguised as realism:
“We don’t have enough funding.”
“We can’t afford to invest in that.”
“This is just how it’s always been.”
But here’s the truth:
Scarcity is not just about resources. It’s about decision-making.
It leads to:
Short-term thinking
Overextension
Competition instead of collaboration
Resistance to innovation
Leadership move: Shift from resource-based thinking to strategy-based thinking.
Instead of asking:
“Do we have the resources?”
Ask:
“Is this aligned with where we are going—and if so, how do we build toward it?”
This is how you move from survival mode to future-building.
Step Five: Build Strategies That Reduce Friction (Not Add to It)
If your strategy creates more confusion, it’s not a strategy—it’s a document.
Strong strategies:
Prioritize clearly
Define trade-offs
Guide decision-making in real time
Weak strategies:
Try to do everything
Avoid hard choices
Live in slide decks, not in practice
Leadership move: Make your strategy usable.
Every team should be able to answer:
What are we focusing on?
What are we deprioritizing?
How do we make decisions when something new comes up?
If they can’t, your strategy isn’t working.
Step Six: Invest in Systems That Support the Future (Not the Past)
Many organizations are trying to operate in a future they want—with systems built for a past they’ve outgrown.
This is where frustration becomes chronic.
Broken systems look like:
Decision bottlenecks
Unclear roles
Inefficient workflows
Over-reliance on a few individuals
And over time, this becomes culture.
Leadership move: Audit your systems through a future lens.
Ask:
What is slowing us down unnecessarily?
Where are we relying on workarounds instead of solutions?
What would need to change to support the organization we’re becoming?
Then invest accordingly.
Not just in tools—but in structure, clarity, and capacity.
The Real Work of Leadership
Discord and in-fighting are not signs that your organization is failing.
They are signals.
Signals that something deeper needs attention:
Clarity
Alignment
Mindset
Strategy
Systems
The leaders who will move this sector forward are not the ones who avoid conflict.
They are the ones who know how to interpret it—and redesign what’s underneath.
So the question becomes:
What is the discord in your organization trying to tell you?
And more importantly:
What are you ready to do about it?