The Nonprofit Leader's Guide by Boundless
We want to bring you the thoughts of some of the most impactful leaders in health and human services. Their real-world experience in driving growth and impact and leading in hard times might be just the extra dose of motivation and common sense you need to bring to your organization whether you are an Executive Team member or the Board President. We think that leading the conversation about the nonprofit business sector and what nonprofits should think about now is part of our mission, “Building A World that realizes the boundless potential of all people.”
Our purpose in this podcast is to make your mission, our mission.
The Nonprofit Leader's Guide by Boundless
What If The Real Wellness Benefit Is Psychological Safety
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Burnout is still everywhere, even though workplace wellness spending and mental health benefits keep rising. So, we ask the uncomfortable question: are we solving real employee well-being problems, or just adding more programs that people do not trust enough to use?
Host, Scott Light, sits down with Melanie Huffman (VP of People and Culture at Boundless), Dr. Natasha Prince (mental health professional and nonprofit founder), and Bryan Blair (Chief People Officer and founder of the HR Council) to unpack what the data keeps shouting back. Benefits do not create well-being, culture does. We talk candidly about EAP utilization, stigma, confidentiality fears, and the subtle ways teams reward burnout like it’s a badge of honor. If taking PTO makes you worry about credibility, your “wellness strategy” is already failing.
Then we bring it home for nonprofit leaders. Without big corporate budgets, the win is focus and prevention: listening to staff, building psychological safety, training frontline managers in emotional intelligence, and calibrating workload so people can actually disconnect. We also share the one wellness metric we think leaders should watch this year.
If you want a practical, culture-first approach to workplace mental health and burnout prevention, subscribe, share this with a people leader, and leave a review with the one manager behavior you want normalized at work. Enjoy!
Wellness Spending And Burnout Paradox
SPEAKER_04Organizations are spending more than ever on workplace wellness. And yet the data tells us a more complicated story. According to the 2025 workplace wellness statistics, nearly 60% of employees report ongoing burnout, even as over 80% of employers now offer mental health benefits. At the same time, fewer than half of employees actually use those benefits. There's something else we know. Manager behavior continues to be one of the strongest predictors of employee well-being. So today we're asking a bunch of questions, but here's really one of the prominent ones. Are organizations out there solving the right problems or just offering more programs? Welcome to the nonprofit leaders' guide podcast brought to you by Boundless. Let's get into it. But first, let me introduce you to some terrific guests that we have today. Joining me here in studio on the Boundless campus is Melanie Huffman, VP of People and Culture at Boundless, also the founder of Aspire for Change. Melanie is a transformational HR and people strategist with over 15 years of executive experience leading culture, inclusion, and workforce transformation. Dr. Natasha Prince is a mental health professional, organizational strategist, and nonprofit founder and leader as well. She is the founder and board president of the Rooted Wellness Institute. And Brian Blair joins us as well. He is the founder of the HR Council and Chief People Officer at Brian from HR. The HR Council is a new professional body for HR, built by people leaders for people leaders. To my three guests, welcome. It's good to see you all.
SPEAKER_03Great to be here. Thank you for that introduction.
SPEAKER_02Thank you.
Programs Versus Culture Integration
SPEAKER_04All right. So out of the gate here. And Melanie, um, you and I, as I mentioned, we're right here on the boundless campus. Why don't you start us off? But this goes out to everybody. I want to come back to that question uh I posed off the top. Are organizations solving real wellness problems, or are they just offering more programs?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think that is a really interesting question. Um I would say wellness over the last decade or so has evolved from a perk perspective, right? So you'll see like now we're offering flexible work schedules, yoga sessions, et cetera. So I think like we're offering more of the same thing. Um, but we really haven't solved for how do we integrate wellness into the workplace. So I feel like wellness today still sits as a separate program instead of a people program, right? So we we've invested heavily in wellness as a benefit, um, which is really great. It speaks to leaders paying attention to the right things, but we really haven't solved for what parts of our system are broken and causing fractures from a wellness perspective from our leaders. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I agree. Um, I think that it truly needs to be embedded into the organizational culture, into the personality of the organization. Um, if, you know, at the end of the day, most organizations technically have the right tools for the most part, um, EAPs, counseling access, things like that. Um, but employees don't engage with them unless it's believed to be safe to do so and it's embedded within the culture of the organization. So um, you know, if the management team isn't talking about it or never mo never models those boundaries or never takes time off, um, then what they are doing is displaying these signals to their staff loud and clear that um perhaps wellness isn't as embedded within the organizational culture as we think it is.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_04Natasha, how about it?
SPEAKER_02Um, I would say too often we're seeing organizations respond to burnout and stress by adding even more programs, more things to people like workshops, self-care days, or even short-term initiatives for using those wellness programs. While those efforts can be helpful, they don't always address their root cost that we don't talk about safety, um, burnout, all of the things. So in mission-driven organizations, we're seeing the real change is often structural, like high expectations, limited resources, emotional labor. Um, but is it always sustainable? That's the question.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Let me ask all three of you. I want to follow up a little bit. I was really trying to dial in on what you were saying. It sounds like all three of you were saying that it's still a more tactical world out there instead of addressing everything holistically.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I agree with you 100%. I think that's the gap when you think about integration.
SPEAKER_03Agree.
SPEAKER_01Agree, I think.
Stigma And Why Benefits Go Unused
SPEAKER_04Let me get to a couple of specifics with all of you here. So, Dr. Prince, uh, despite increased awareness out there, we've already talked about it, stigma and fear around mental health still exists at work. When you think about this, why do you think culture has been kind of slower to move than that change to a lot of benefits maybe for organizations out there?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, good question. I think culture has been slower to change because benefits are decisions leaders can make all at once, right? Like adding again those mental health days or even counseling support. Now, while culture is shaped by our everyday behavior, an organization can offer those benefits. But if people see it as if they take those, if they utilize those benefits rather, let me back up. Um, sometimes people feel fearful because if I'm falling behind on my work or if I'm taking too many mental health days because I'm not pushing through on stress, will I lose my credibility? Will I lose my job, especially in this economy, or do I just push through? Um, I would say people learn what's safe by watching what's rewarded, tolerated, or even model within their organization.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Uh, Brian, we know that a lot of organizations out there now offer EAPs and and again mental health benefits. And yet the research tells us that utilization rates are still between 30 and and 40 percent. What can you can you talk about that disconnect?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um, the research isn't wrong. I experience it every day. Um, and I think that the statistic itself tells us something really important that benefits in and of themselves do not create well-being. Um culture, again, we're going back to culture. Culture does embedding that into the organizational structure. Um, the EAP is a great tool. Um, it offers, you know, all kinds of resources to people going through all kinds of different things within their uh personal lives and work lives. But again, employees are not going to engage with them unless they see that it's safe to do so. And so back to Dr. Prince's point about psychological safety. Um I'm in a healthcare setting, and so I see this often. Um, nurses and social workers and therapists every day, the people who are carrying that um uh emotional load for everybody else are often the least to seek help themselves. Um, and so they do that because, again, to Dr. Prince's points, they're worried about stigma and confidentiality. And am I going to be seen as unable to handle the work um that I am uh supposed to be doing? And that is actually my craft. And so it's not just awareness of the EAP or these um benefits um or resources to people, it's the psychological permission, right? Being able to um talk about it candidly, openly with your coworkers, with your teams to model um healthy boundaries and behaviors. Um because what actually drives utilization isn't the benefit design, in my opinion, at all. It's whether leaders actually normalize using those resources. Um, and so when you know, I can sit down and have a conversation with somebody who's going through something, and I can say, you know what, I've sort of been through something like this, and here's what I've done, and here's what I've used, and here's an opportunity or resource that I know has worked for other people. Um, that's when I think numbers start to change when you have more candid human conversations about what is reality.
SPEAKER_04Let's explore that a little bit because I'd be curious about um some of all of your uh past experiences. Um mine was uh journalism for 28 years, and in newsrooms, it's still today, it's looked at like, oh, you know what? She doesn't even take all of her vacation days. I mean, she is just a rock star. And that is the wrong way to approach wellness. Uh have the three of you had experiences like that again with maybe uh previous workplaces or other organizations.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I think we see that a lot, even um still today in the workplace for sure. Like um, we are literally rewarding um staff who demonstrate burnout, right? Like they're like, oh, I'm not gonna take time off, or I'm gonna respond while I'm on vacation, or like we have leaders telling their um staff, like, oh yeah, you can still call me, right? And so um there's a lot of reward for that. And so I think it's um unconscious or or maybe subconscious, I'm not for sure, but I definitely think that's still a real thing that we gotta work through. I think from an HR perspective, as an HR professional, that's something that we really need to own as a profession. Um I think um a lot of that has started with us, right? Um, we demonstrate that often, like, hey, HR is always available, call us after hours, et cetera. But I think it's um, I think it's an opportunity for us to take a step back and really think about that differently.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I experience it all the time and I'm guilty of it myself. I'll definitely say that, right? I'm not gonna lie about that. Um, it's almost like a badge of honor. I work in a nonprofit and mental health space to um what we were talking about earlier, it is rewarded because we're we're highlighting or we're uplifting folks who spent the weekend finishing up a major task. Um, we're sending emails late at night. All of that is rewarded. Um and I think COVID kind of shifted that dynamic because now, at least in the spaces I'm in, we're still primarily working remote or hybrid. So the lines are blurry, right? We don't know when it's really time to close the computer and just be off and stop working because you're trying to manage all the things personally and professionally. So you're saying, oh, I can still do this. I'll just do it later on at night after I go to the grocery store or something like that. So it's like you're working constantly and you're ignoring those burnout symptoms that you're showing, whether internally or externally.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, definitely. I agree 100% with both of you. And the the biggest problem that I see come out of this is that it becomes the expectation. Right? It is um now expected of us. Um, not only are we displaying it and promoting it to um others to encourage burnout in some way, um, but now it's just part of the culture. And so um I always go back to this mantra that I say over and over and over over the last two decades doing this, and that the organization behaves how we allow it to behave. Um, and we are allowing it to behave that way. Uh, if we do not model that behavior, the culture that we want to see, then as leaders, and to your point, Melanie, it starts with us. Um, it's our fault if we are letting that happen in in a lot of ways. And so uh if we are you know able to model good behaviors as it relates to what it truly means to um foster well-being in the workplace, um, then I think we'll see engagement change, numbers change, utilization change for EAPs and resources and things like that.
Nonprofit Budgets And Smarter Benefits
SPEAKER_04Melody, let me drop the nonprofit lens over this in in in this way. So I I looked at a recent list of you know best places to work in America, right? And you see it's American Express, Nvidia, uh Cisco, Procter and Gamble headquartered here in Ohio, by the way. Um but let's be honest, Boundless and uh and Boundless is a big nonprofit, but there are a bunch of nonprofits out there, and let's be honest, they don't have Procter and Gamble money.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So how how do nonprofits manage this minefield of of challenges trying to expand benefits, but yet uh, you know, nonprofits always have to watch that bottom line.
SPEAKER_01For me, it's less about offering more benefits. Um, I think it's more about being intentional about what benefits we are offering. So um, so from that perspective, I don't think it's a big hit to the bottom line. Um, I think we just gotta get more intentional about having real conversations and finding out what our staff actually need. I think what I am seeing right now from an EAP perspective is those services are always offered too late, right? Like the burnout has already occurred. We're not watching for um preventative signals, right? And so um I think we just gotta do a better job at that. I don't think we need to offer more benefits. I don't think we need to invest in more benefits. I think we just need to slow down um and really hear from our staff and see what those needs are. And as an HR um professional, we need to lean in um to those conversations because over the years, we've I mean, we've led trainings that say, like avoid these conversations, right? Um, don't ask the hard questions, don't get involved in um your staff's um personal lives, but we actually need to to know a little bit more so we can be more preventive.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Melanie is on point uh when it relates to um being hyper-focused on what we do have, um, because what I have learned over the years is that if we have a bunch of different things, there's going to be some participation, but it's not going to be executed very well. And so if we have, you know, a handful of really good tools and resources, um, programs that we know actually work, that we have seen data, that we can actually take those insights and deploy them. Um if we have individuals who are focused on those very specific things, I feel like we are far more likely to see higher engagement. Um and as it relates to the financial responsibility of implementing things, doing one or two things really, really well certainly outweighs doing 10 or 12 things with mediocrity. Um, and so um if we want to aim for excellence and well-being within the workplace, I think Melanie is on point with that strategy. Um not getting too far into the weeds with all of these, you know, uh perhaps trendy things that organizations like to see the bigger places that have the money to do those kinds of things, to your point. Um and so being hyper-focused on what actually works.
SPEAKER_02And I agree um exactly what Melanie said, as well as you, Brian. Um, in my experience in nonprofit spaces, oftentimes we know we're understaffed, right? And in this economy, funding is definitely shifting. So unfortunately, nonprofits are having to downsize. So you may have to take on a little bit more. We call it the all hands approach, right? You're gonna take on a little bit more. Um, we're gonna still highlight our benefits, but to Melanie's point, I don't think we need more services. We do need leaders to continue to model, um, you know, that you should take your PTO if you're feeling a certain type of way. Um, we should also have leaders, I encourage leaders to tap into more of that emotional intelligence, right? Pay attention to the silence that's in a room. Is it because your team is stretched or is it because they're disengaged, right? Um, so again, I agree with what everyone was saying, but I do think leaders, this is an opportunity for us to tap into that emotional intelligence, but not just keep adding the things. We should also model the things so our employees or our staff feel safe.
SPEAKER_01What are we taking off people's plates, like from a workload capacity, so that they can even be off? Like, I don't think that's something that we've built into our system for people to even feel encouraged to take off. Because I know, like, even as a leader, I take a week off, I'm coming back to a thousand emails, right? And you spend a whole day before you return from vacation just trying to get caught up. And so I don't think we've figured that out yet.
SPEAKER_04You know what? We haven't. And I I just took a vacation not that long ago. And at about Thursday or Friday of the week, to your point, Melanie, I started thinking about my inbox. And I did not tell my wife this, but I started cleaning it out kind of surreptitiously. I did. And and that's no good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's just no good. Dr. Prince, if you want to jump in, please do.
Coaching Leaders To Keep People
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I was thinking about it from a psychological perspective about the executive, right? Um, I'm wondering, is it a fear of just have thinking that constant visibility equals like value to the company? So if you don't see me, am I still valuable, especially a younger executive? We're not even just a younger executive, um, because you know, underneath that, you think, okay, will it signal a lack of commitment? Um, will it signal maybe I'm no longer able to do the things for the organization? But I think leaders have an opportunity to reframe their thinking or reframe their thinking as it relates to PTO from is it a leadership practice versus being selfish or personal um indulgence? Because we talked about modeling earlier. If you're able to take off, you're modeling that for everybody else that you're around, that it's okay, I still have a job, I'm still credible, I'm still visible. Um, and also we know that rest protects judgment, right? It protects our decision making, long-term effectiveness within an organization, because we all know when we're burnt out and we're tired, sometimes it's hard to have some really thoughtful um, you know, decisions or whatever the case is. So I think, well, I'll stop right there. That's my perspective. I don't want to go on a tangent.
SPEAKER_04No, no, no. It's great. And I love it when guests tee up uh organically, my next question, because I was thinking about leadership. Uh, to your point, Dr. Prince, I was thinking about modeling. And uh, and Brian, you've been talking about this as well. The data also shows us this that employees often leave managers, not necessarily the organization. So, to all three of you, how how do you counsel, how do you coach your executives to be that leader that, you know, their department goes, oh my gosh, I've just got the best boss.
SPEAKER_03Let's let's start off by saying that leadership is often a lonely place um for a lot of people. Um, I have been told throughout my career that the CEO and the head of HR are the two loneliest people in the company. Um, and there are reasons for that. Um, because and most of them come back to the fact that um people in those capacities don't generally get the same social interaction with the workplace, with the workplace dynamics, work with the workplace community. Um they're held to a different standard, you know, right out of the gate. Um that said, I think that being a leader is, excuse me, an honor and a privilege. And there's a certain set of core expectations um of a leader that must be displayed in order to build that sort of culture and that dynamic amongst the team. Um, and to be able to coach and guide and mentor that and foster that sort of environment takes somebody that's been through it. And so um my little sister actually asked me not terribly long ago. She was working on a class project, and she asked me, um, I have that, she said, I have this question that my professor wants me to write a paper about. Um, and I said, Okay, what's the question? And she said, Is leadership innate or do you build it over time? Or can it be acquired? And then you weren't so you weren't allowed to say both. It was one answer or the other. Yes. It's one and you had you had to stand on your point. It was one answer or the other, and you you couldn't say both. And of course it made me mad because the right answer is both. And um, so it it is uh it It takes a um a number of years of experience of fundamental human interaction, I think, to build the skill set necessary to display excellent leadership. Um, and in order to do that, you do it through very human, candid conversations because we don't have to, you know, be angry or ridicule or um build this culture of you know strict accountability to get things to behave the way we want them to behave. We can have candid conversations just like this, right? And have an expectation on the other side of that conversation that we're going to go out into our craft and deploy our craft, execute the duties of what we're supposed to be doing, what is expected of us, and do it really, really well. Um, and when you have the support behind you um to continue through that to help you to coach and guide and mentor you through all of the little intricacies that actually make that happen, um, I think that's where you find that success in creating a leader like that and fostering their um their success towards being an excellent leader.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree, um Brian, with everything you're saying. When I take a step back and I think about the great leaders that I've had over my career, the one thing that really stands out for me with all of them is their ability to um be authentic, right? And I think um when you first step into leadership or at some point in your leadership journey, you feel like you have to have all the answers. Um, but the leaders that I respected the most were the ones who was like, you know, I don't know, or you know, I'm I'm afraid. Um and so I think um the most undervalued um and unapaid, um, not a paid attention to trait of a good leader is emotional intelligence. And I think um so as an organization, how do we support leaders? How do we develop that skill for them? Um, how do we make space for them to be able to show that?
SPEAKER_02I agree exactly what you're saying, Melanie, that emotional intelligence is extremely important because when you think about employees, they really understand or their experience is really shaped by what they experience through their manager, right? So if their manager is not paying attention to that workload or they're having an issue if the employees constantly taking PTO and things like that, you're not tapping into that emotional intelligence, especially like the empathy and things like that. So it's important for managers to listen, not only what their employees are saying verbally, but listen and pay attention to those nonverbals, because I mentioned the silence earlier. That that can mean a whole host of things. So it's really just getting a pulse check occasionally and seeing how your employees are doing, um, because that can also help to retain and also build that trust, that psychological safety and a sense of fairness within your team. Um, but I would say when employees feel respected, supported, and confident that their managers do care about their well-being, workload, and growth, they are more likely to stay within an organization.
SPEAKER_04Let's continue to talk about um current where we are right now in 2026, kind of at the beginning of a new year, right? What are each of you looking at? What HR trends are out there that may be redefining what success looks like?
SPEAKER_03The ability for flexibility to become a strategic tool rather than a perk is probably at the top of my list. Um I think that you know, workplace mental health conversations, you know, five, eight, ten years ago were um to Melanie's earlier point on almost taboo, um, where you know, we didn't talk about it with Dr. Prince, we didn't talk about those things in the workplace. Um, don't talk about, you know, your personal lives and all of that was the message that we were delivering. Um, and so seeing executives leaders discussing burnout and trauma exposure and compassion fatigue and um really looking at um flexibility as a strategy, um, where culture is a strategy. It's an operational thing, not just something that you know happens by itself organically throughout the organization, uh, with the organization, leading with intent um in those areas, I think is what stands out to me.
SPEAKER_04Okay, Dr. Prince?
SPEAKER_02Um, I would say organizations trying to become more mentally healthy. So tapping into that emotional intelligence, trying to create space where people can be honest about their capacity without, again, like we talked about earlier, without worrying about damaging their credibility, right? Um, I think that's what I'm seeing as a trend that has been coming up for me in conversations. And of course, that's tapping into that psychological safety, organizations trying to cultivate spaces where their employees feel safe. Um, and I think that also helps with um their workload as well. You see more productive employees as well.
SPEAKER_01I agree with um both of you. I think um something that we're seeing as a trend in our organization and even with um the individuals that I'm coaching is around that workload um calibration, right? So knowing when the stretch is too much, um, and it's creating like a chronic strain, right? So that's even helping managers identify when they're doing too much, they're requesting too much of their staff, right? Um, and really encouraging managers to ask the question, like, here's something urgent, what can I take off of your plate? So that you can focus on that urgent thing. And um, yeah, and as a leader, just being okay with some things just not being done.
SPEAKER_02We do hear a lot of leaders asking their employees, what can they take off their plate, right? Which is a great thing to ask their employees. But then how do we encourage managers or leaders to not take on too much, right? Because then their cut, so to speak, is overflowing. They are maxing their capacity because they're trying to make sure that they keep their employees, retain them, and that they're not overworked. So how do we continue to encourage leaders to make sure that they are managing their own workload as well?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, that's a great question and a good call out. Um, this is something that we are talking about at our organization um a lot, actually. So it's like as an executive, how do you zone out and say, what's not important to us anymore? Right? What are those priorities that we set at the end of um last year or even the beginning of this year that we can walk away from because the like we just we don't have the capacity. Um, and so I think your your executive leadership has to have that conversation, right? In order for managers not to um get overwhelmed and bogged down in the day-to-day and taking on things that they shouldn't.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, 100% agree. And um, Dr. Prince, her her statement triggered some things in my mind as well about that. Um and one trend that I would like to see is organizations recognizing that frontline leaders are the ones who shape the day-to-day. Um, and so we have to teach that. And so perhaps the trend that I'm looking for is more investment in learning and development, um, particularly for first-time supervisors, first-time leaders, um, where we're actually teaching emotional intelligence, right? Where we're actually engaging in conflict management and trauma-informed leadership, because that's where that's the direct impact, right? If it's coming, you know, from the horse's mouth, so to speak, um, that being able to transfer that information um that is critical to successful leadership from the get-go, I think is paramount. And so maybe I'll change my trend to what I want to see is some more investment in learning and development in that capacity.
The Wellness Metric That Matters
SPEAKER_04All right. Well, let's explore this a little bit. Let's see if the three of you can create your own trend here collectively. What is one wellness metric that leaders should really be paying attention to this year?
SPEAKER_02Our famous buzz phrase for the day, psychological safety. Um, I mean, psychological safety, it really tells you whether the people around you feel comfortable, right? Comfortable speaking up, setting boundaries, and using support without worrying about consequences. So I would say that would be minds.
SPEAKER_01That is the foundation of everything, right? That's the foundation of lowering turnover, um, building um capacity, right? Um, and avoiding that chronic depletion that we're seeing in the workplace because people are burnt out. So I agree, psychological safety for sure.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, I I can't disagree with any of that. If the workforce is exhausted, the mission eventually suffers. Yeah. Right. And so um, if organizations are able to recognize that people are the infrastructure um of our mission, and if all of those people are working in the direction of truth and love to execute that mission, um, then we're creating a workplace community that supports that ideology. And so um then we naturally deploy the methodologies that come with creating psychological safety. So if we can imagine our entire workforce showing up every day um as the best versions of themselves, all leading in that direction, um, all knowing and understanding that they can do that without hesitation um in the workplace, then um, you know, our mission's gonna be a heck of a lot easier to achieve.
SPEAKER_04Final question, getting toward that mission that you just mentioned, Brian. Um, Dr. Prince, why don't you start us off? We'll go around the horn. If organizations truly got wellness right, and and nobody's perfect, right? Whether it's an organization of five, five hundred, or five thousand. But if an organization is really getting it right, what does that look like to you?
SPEAKER_02Success would look like people showing up um authentically them, meaning they can tell you how they feel. Um, they are not just showing up in how the organization functions. So, what I mean by that is you would see teams more engaged and it would be sustainable over time. So they're not cycling through burnout, right? And you wouldn't have that high turnover rate. Um, I would also say people would be able to contribute at a higher level without constantly um, you know, being in that survival mode that a lot of people, especially in mission-driven organizations, experience, unfortunately. And I think leaders would have the capacity to think more strategically because they wouldn't be thinking about what we said earlier, trying to manage the workload workload of the people that they support as well.
SPEAKER_03I think that um success wouldn't mean would not mean that people don't feel stressed because we're human beings, we're going to. Um but I think that if employees feel supported enough to sustain the work, to sustain the mission, then that's what success would look like to me. I think that it would be leaders who model boundaries and um that it would be managers who actually understand what emotional labor is and how to resolve it within the workplace, teams where people can speak up without fear, without hesitation. Again, to Dr. Prince's point, showing up authentically as themselves to execute their craft.
SPEAKER_01I think success would look like people being able to do the work that matters without having to sacrifice their health to sustain the mission. Right. So especially in the nonprofit space, it would mean that um mission sustainability um doesn't come at us sacrificing um ourselves just to um to keep the mission moving forward, right? Wellness isn't just about comfort, it's about our ability to build capacity and reliance. Um, and so I think that's what that would look like.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Folks, this has been a terrific conversation. Melanie, good to see you.
SPEAKER_01You too.
Mission Moment Gia’s Boundless Story
SPEAKER_04Good to have you here and and joining us virtually, Brian, Dr. Prince. Thank you both as well. Come back anytime to the podcast, okay? Just terrific.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for having me. It's been a blast.
SPEAKER_01Thank you guys.
SPEAKER_04We end our episodes now with what we call our mission moment. So I want you to meet my new friend, Chia.
SPEAKER_00Hello. Um Boundless actually saved my life about almost three years ago now. I found myself homeless after having been uh very sick with diabetes and not being able to um keep a job. I didn't get fired. Um they just have a way of letting you know you're not wanted there the next year. So I applied at Boundless and I told them right away that I was homeless. And I had also applied for another job too, and I told them that I was homeless. And the other job said, you know, no way, you're gonna be dirty, you you're not gonna be arrested, there's no way you can work here and be homeless. And so I called Boundless and said the same thing, and they were very, very welcoming and compassionate and said that that would never be held against me. And I the I had three interviews with Boundless all while I was homeless. And um the third interview was actually in person here, and I wasn't even living inside yet. Um, but uh everybody was completely compassionate, always asked me what I needed. Um it was pretty great. And being homeless was terrifying. So I had all summer was just waiting to get inside into a place to live and to start this job. And the person who helped me outside of Boundless um was with Jordan's Crossing, a homeless resource center. And her son actually used boundless services. So all of these things coming together just seemed like uh it was meant to be. And what I remember about the boundless logo and looking up and looking at their mission and things like that was they believed that in the um boundless potential of all people. So I made that mean me and that at that time, and I held on to that until I just got through. I barely made it, but I made it, and I was just so thankful for boundless.
SPEAKER_04How's life now, Gia?
SPEAKER_00Uh, much better. I mean, I'm inside. Me and my dog, we lived in my um vehicle for about five months. Wow. Um, and I'm so thankful for every little small thing on this earth that I have being inside. And a job especially.
Thanks And Closing
SPEAKER_04Thanks for sharing the mission moment. Thank you very much. And again, thanks to all of our guests today. Just a great conversation all around. And we thank you, our listeners, because you're the ones who helped propel all of our episodes and to get all of its education, its advocacy, and such great information out there. So thank you as well. Until the next time, this is the Nonprofit Leader's Guide Podcast brought to you by Bell.