Why Well-Being Is The Secret Sauce to Change Management with Mandy Sharp Eizinger

We keep hearing that burnout is at an all-time high, yet changes are still happening and can sometimes add to our stressors in the workplace. That's why today I've invited Mandy Sharp Eizinger to talk about staff well-being and what nonprofit organizations can do to help prevent burnout even in the midst of a change.

Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓

Key Points:

05:01 The start of Mandy's interest in well-being within the non-profit sector

08:32 Burnout, busyness, well-being, and rest: shifting narratives we’ve been reproducing for decades

15:51 How staff well-being impacts things happening across nonprofits and other organizations

18:10 Simple questions you should ask your staff to increase well-being and productivity 

20:39 8 Tips to improve staff well-being in your organization

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Well-Being: The Secret Sauce to Change Management in Nonprofit Organizations

We keep hearing that burnout is at an all-time high, yet changes are still happening and can sometimes add to our stressors in the workplace. That's why today I've invited Mandy Sharp Eizinger to talk about why staff well-being is the secret sauce to change management in nonprofit organizations – and what nonprofits can do to help prevent burnout even in the midst of a change.

My guest Mandy is an advocate for well-being in the nonprofit sector. She works at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University and facilitates sector-wide learning and professional development programs as part of the center's Learning Services Team.

Mandy’s fieldwork on nonprofit well-being is recognized in Nonprofit Quarterly, Nonprofit Hub, the WGVU Morning Show with Shelly Irwin, Giving Compass, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. 

What drives Mandy is global to local connectedness. 

She served twelve years in nonprofit program management in Chicago, leading regional community engagement strategy with UNICEF USA’s education, advocacy, and fundraising programs. She led UNICEF USA’s Global Citizenship Fellowship program in national recruitment, training, coaching, and professional development — and is humbled to be among more than 75 fellows and alumni working in the social impact space around the world. She now serves on the Board of Directors at Treetops Collective, a cross-cultural organization that co-creates spaces of belonging for New American Women in West Michigan.

And I had the pleasure of talking to her on episode 30 of Learning for Good, and we had the chance to go deeper into the subject of nonprofit staff well-being.

Like many of us, she has “experienced and witnessed that deep burnout in the nonprofit sector.”

Mandy’s hope is to shift from a conversation on self-care to truly redefining the nonprofit sector. And “to find an opportunity for nonprofit well-being to be infused in the way that we lead nonprofit organizations, in the way we fund nonprofit organizations, and in the way we drive policy change across the nonprofit sector.”

But Why is Well-being The Secret Sauce to Change Management in Nonprofit Organizations?

Mandy brought up some important facts and stats about well-being and burnout during our conversation in episode 30 of Learning for Good. 

“In the year 2019, burnout was named in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases [...] and I think well-being and the buzzword ‘well-being’ is in response to that. But it's also in response to the trauma of COVID. The trauma of racial inequity [...] and knowing that well-being practice is something that has often been lacking in the nonprofit sector.” - Mandy Sharp Eizinger, episode 30 of Learning for Good

“We know that burnout affects the bottom line.”

- Mandy Sharp Eizinger

According to Mandy, there's a statistic that turnover at an organization can cost anywhere from 16% to 213% of an annual salary. 

Turnover not only impacts the bottom line, it also impacts morale and culture.

She emphasizes that there’s a huge loss of talent due to the great resignation and quiet quitting. 

“Turnover is high. And it's very much linked to burnout. But we can now also acknowledge that well-being is not just about the bottom line. It's not a box to check. It's not about offering yoga, ping pong, and flexible office hours. The bottom line is that well-being is rest. And this means that organizations must see rest as a human right, not as a reward.” (Click to tweet)

This is why well-being is the secret sauce to change management in nonprofit organizations. 

She gives a perfect example during our conversation, vacation time, and how often times it is seen as a reward. You put in the time, you put in the hard work, and you get to go on a well-deserved vacation, right?

Not quite.

Mandy does not believe a vacation is a reward. It’s rest. It’s a human right. This is an important distinction. 

Sociologist Adam Grant pointed out that vacations and perks aren't cures for exhaustion. Mandy refers to him during our conversation and says “The major issue is that we’re so overloaded with complex jobs – perhaps even multiple jobs – and stressful tasks that it is not something a vacation or a benefit can solve.”

And according to her, this overload is often distributed to those who are historically or systemically marginalized from the BIPOC community. 

Advocate Tricia Hershey from the Nap Ministry is also an advocate for rest and her work was also mentioned by Mandy during our interview. In her book, she says that at the end of the day, for us to imagine a new world that centers on liberation, quality, and justice, rest is going to have to be our center foundation. 

How Staff Well-being Impacts Other Things Happening within The Organization

A bubble bath, a yoga session, or a cup of tea is often the image that comes up for people when they think of self-care. But Mandy proposes we challenge that narrative as well. 

She brings up a TED Talk by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski’s – The cure for burnout (hint: it isn't self-care) – where they mention that the cure for burnout is not self-care, it’s all of us caring for each other.

According to Emily and Amelia Nagoski, there's a community approach.

“The workplace is a community where we spend so much of our time, whether that is in person, virtually, in a remote or local environment. This means that a community approach, especially in the workplace, is the way forward. And this is where we can see where workplace culture must move with intention.” - Mandy Sharp Eizinger, Learning for Good Podcast (Click to tweet)

But, as a nonprofit, how do you know if your programs are doing their jobs and actually promoting the well-being of your staff? 

How do you bring well-being to the center of change management in your nonprofit organization?

7 Questions to Ask Your Staff to Increase Their Well-being and Improve Culture

Mandy shared a few questions during episode 30 that she encourages nonprofit leaders to ask their staff to really challenge whether their well-being programs are embedded in their culture. 

Here they are:

• Do your staff show up with clear expectations of their role? 

• Are they able to complete their task in a healthy environment? 

• Do they have access to the resources they need to be successful? 

• What is the accountability framework? – Are we held accountable? And if we aren't held accountable, what needs to shift? 

• What do you need to be successful? 

• What do you need for your own self-care and well-being in your workplace? 

Mandy asked those two last questions early on in her research at the Johnson Center, and the responses were eye-opening.

“For some, it was as simple as a comfortable desk chair, a set of noise-canceling headphones, to have greater flexibility during the day, to have access to sunlight. Basic human needs that the workplace can and should offer – not simply to increase productivity or to increase profit, but to support the people's power behind the mission”. - Mandy Sharp Eizinger 

Some of these innovations are very simple and low-cost. And it all started with asking them what they wanted or what would help them.

8 Things a Nonprofit Can Do to Improve Staff Well-being

Mandy was kind enough to share some recommendations based on the research that she has done and what she’s heard from sector leaders across nonprofits. 

1. Ask staff what they need

Asking employees what they need is not a one size fits all approach, but it’s the first step. Many organizations have something called an EAP – an employee assistance program – but in most cases, they’re rarely being used. 

Mandy: “There is absolutely a disconnect between participating in the well-being programs and their effectiveness. So that means we're doing it wrong. We need to determine what we can do differently and ask employees what they need.” 

She also thinks there's often fear or lack of understanding about the employee assistance programs as well – employees might not know how or when to use it, and they might fear some type of punitive response or a lack of confidentiality. 

So that's the first tip, ask them what they need, offer it, and ensure there’s an understanding of how the program works. This will make a big difference when it comes to change management in nonprofit organizations.

2. Model well-being at the leadership level. 

“We want to keep talent – and leadership modeling that well-being is such a critical step.”

A practical example she shared during the interview was receiving an email from your supervisor when they are on vacation. 

If that happens, you are more likely to think that you have to model that behavior and check your inbox when you’re on vacation – when rest is truly what is needed during that time. 

The leadership needs to set the communication norm. 

3. Be flexible and communicate expectations

We see this happening a lot right now as we return to the office and shift the way we’ve been working since COVID. 

“Many organizations will have to ask, what is the value of in-person collaboration versus remote collaboration? There are benefits to both. One piece of evidence that we have seen that has improved well-being is not commuting to work [...] it's better for well-being and it's better for the environment.”

Mandy believes there are tremendous benefits in many nonprofit organizations that offer that flexibility and therefore are able to retain talent by fostering that well-being.

4. Build relationships with funders

This is a big one; building relationships with funders that understand unrestricted operational support – and who no longer believe that nonprofit staff must be scrappy and even self-sacrificing to be effective in their organizations. 

According to Mandy, more organizations need to see that the people's power is where they want to invest. 

5. Put well-being in the budget

Similar to number four, number five is to simply add well-being to the budget.

Mandy: “Your budget is where your values show up. So consider how you will put well-being in your budget. Is it a paid staff well-being day off? Is it taking a closer look at your family leave policy? Where will you put well-being in your budget? Where will you prioritize and invest in well-being?”

6. Consider new models of working

This stems from the Johnson Center’s 11 Trends and Philanthropy Report that Mandy and her team launched this past winter, and that is to consider new models of working. 

They’ve discovered through that report new organizational structures and models that are toppling the traditional staff pyramid. 

They've seen an emerging trend of co-leadership and distributed leadership models and their benefits. 

“Imagine what it would look like to have co-leadership across a high-performing nonprofit organization where there's not just one person that is leading the charge, but two to three [...] and carried in a strengths-based manner, where individuals can truly lean into what they do well, and allow their peers and colleagues to support them in the areas where perhaps they might not be as strong.” -  Mandy Sharp Eizinger 

Breaking down what it looks like to lead a nonprofit is another step toward well-being and successful change management in nonprofit organizations. Shifting that responsibility in a distributed manner, so that it is not just one person in an often lonely under-resourced and multi-hat-wearing role. 

7. Expect to iterate

A well-being practice or a well-being program is not a one size fits all. And Mandy recommends looking at your existing programs, looking at where you are today, and starting there. 

8. Start small

Mandy’s final tip is to just start small. Start where you are, and center equity in the decisions that you're making. That is the first step and the best one to take. 

So, even if the learning and development leader reading this is thinking, well, we don't have unrestricted funding right now, or it's not in the budget at the moment, keep in mind there are still smaller steps that you can take. 

Start by asking those questions we mentioned at the beginning. Center equity in those conversations. 

To hear the full conversation I had with Mandy Sharp Eizinger on the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 30.

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.