An Inside Look at a Learning and Development Consulting Business
We made it! Today is the 50th episode of the Learning for Good podcast and we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at Skill Masters Market, my consulting business that powers this podcast and helps nonprofits all over the country achieve their staff development and training goals.
I’m also giving you a sneak peek into my plans for the future!
Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓
Key Points:
03:30 Why I do what I do
06:30 The Learning for Good Podcast
09:09 The top 5 podcast episodes
10:56 Plans for the future
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An Inside Look at a Learning and Development Consulting Business
We made it, friend! Today is the 50th episode of the Learning for Good podcast. Today we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at Skill Masters Market, my consulting business that powers this podcast and helps nonprofits all over the country achieve their staff development and training goals.
In this blog post, we’re covering the following:
1) Skill Masters Market - Your Nonprofit Training and Leadership Development Consultants
I want to start by sharing a little bit about myself and my team and what I believe in.
I believe people excel when they know what is expected of them and they can show up authentically at work. I also believe that people are worthy of investment. I believe investing in your people makes them feel valued and gives them new skills and a new passion for their work. And then I also believe that organizations are better when they empower their people to operate from their strongest capabilities.
And I love nonprofit. I love how much you care about your people, and I love how much your people care about your mission.
When it comes to your organization, you have unique training needs that off-the-shelf training wasn't necessarily designed to fulfill. So not only do you need someone who understands the nuances of running Learning and Development in a nonprofit organization, but you also need a customized strategy that benefits your organization long term and serves the people who work so hard for your mission.
That's why I assembled an amazing team of instructional designers, change management leaders, organizational development consultants, and coaches just for my nonprofit clients.
Some of us focus on creating custom competency models. Some of us focus on listening to you and interpreting your learner's needs. Some of us are really focused on creating engaging training, or even coaching your executive teams. Some of us bring special skills or areas of expertise, such as diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Some of us are dual language. Some of us have expertise in human-centered design.
We bring all of these skills and all of this expertise to our nonprofit clients so that we can serve them well.
Together, we have over 75 years of combined experience in our fields with a proven track record in our areas of expertise. And we all have a heart for nonprofit.
We work relentlessly to create dynamic people-centric solutions for your organization's most important asset - your people - so that you get a customized strategy tailored to your organization's needs. So you can train and develop whoever you're serving.
We are committed to creating solutions that help you create an inclusive organizational culture built on trusting relationships, your organizational values, and all the things that make you, you.
So that's a little bit about me and about Skill Masters Market, how I got started, and why I do what I do.
2) Learning for Good - A Nonprofit Training and Development Podcast
I started this podcast in April of 2022. It originally launched on YouTube and as an audio podcast.
Honestly, I had a slow start to the podcast. I began marketing the YouTube channel more than the audio version. But over time, I began to fall in love with the podcast more than the YouTube channel.
While I started in April of 2022, I actually took two breaks. One that summer when I had a baby. As hard as I tried to get ahead of it and record episodes in advance, it just didn't happen. And then one over the holidays for similar reasons.
So then in January of 2023, I made a new commitment to myself into this podcast, and I began to really learn about podcasting and what it takes to be a good podcast. Within just a few weeks, I was ranking in the top 5% of podcasts globally. And I've made the top 50 for nonprofit podcasts multiple times. Though I'm going to be honest, that list changes pretty drastically from week to week.
I have learned so much since starting this podcast, not just about podcasting, but also about myself, and about Learning and Development.
I use this podcast to push myself, to put my own experiences into words, and to share stories and lessons learned. I use it to stay on top of industry trends and I try to bring you the best guests about topics you want to learn about. I didn't realize it at the time, but starting this podcast was one of the best decisions I've made. It's fun, I learned a lot and I share what I'm learning.
3) Top 5 Episodes for Learning and Development Leaders
You may be wondering what my favorite episodes have been. It's so hard to choose because I love them all. So I went to the data. I'm going to be honest, this data is actually from July, because I record my episodes in advance. I recorded today's episode which is out in October in August. But here are the top five episodes as it currently stands:
Episode 26: From Poor Performer to High Achiever? Three Staff Development Solutions to Create Behavior Change
Episode 10: Two Virtual Learning Activities to Develop Collaboration Skills
Episode 30: Why Well-Being Is The Secret Sauce to Change Management with Mandy Sharp Eizinger
Episode 27: 4 Easy Habits to Improve Employee Performance and Culture with Veronica LaFemina
I love that those are the top five; they’re all so different.
One of them is about staff development solutions that create behavior change. One of them is incredibly tactical. One is focused on change management, one on employee performance and organizational culture, and one about accessible learning. They're all so different yet they’re so relevant and so needed.
4) Future Plans - Leadership Resources for Nonprofit Learning and Development Leaders
You may be wondering about my plans for the future. Now that I've shared a little bit about what I do and a little bit about the podcast, I wanted to also talk about things I have coming up, things I'm thinking about, and things I'm focused on.
I'm continuing to focus on the podcast; I want to increase my reach and resonance. Thank you to fellow consultant, Tanya Bhattacharya, for this phrase. It means I want to reach more people with this podcast. AND I want it to truly resonate with those who choose to spend their time listening to it.
I also want to continue to build the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective. This one is big for me. Right now, it's a small group, which means I'm posting a lot of the content and questions. My hope is that as the Collective grows, it becomes a place where you post ideas, challenges, lessons learned, and resources for each other. So that you can learn from each other and make the nonprofit space even stronger.
I'm spending a lot of time reading about building and managing online communities because I want to get this right for you.
And then, of course, I plan to continue delivering high-quality products to my clients.
I have a lot of great plans for the future. And I look back and I can see how much I've accomplished in business. I'm so incredibly thankful because I could not have done this without you. So many of you listen to this podcast regularly. And you've shared it with others. You've joined the Collective. You've referred me to your colleagues and other nonprofits, or you've hired me as a consultant for your own nonprofit. You've been a guest or you've suggested a guest. You've just been the very best support network I could ask for. And I wouldn't be celebrating episode 50 without you. So thank you.
To hear the full episode of the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 50.
The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective
Do you wish you could connect with other nonprofit learning and development leaders?
I know what it feels like to want someone to bounce ideas off of and to learn from, someone who really understands you and your work. Imagine if you could have a simple way to meet people in the field, ask questions, and share information.
That's why I created the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective – so nonprofit L&D, talent management, and DEI leaders can connect with each other quickly and easily in a virtual space.
When you join this community, you will walk away with a new, diverse, and powerful network – and a sounding board for your staff development needs.
So if you're ready to exchange ideas and collaborate with your peers, come join the Nonprofit L&D Collective.
