To be an entrepreneur and a woman can be like scaling a mountain without the appropriate climbing gear. Launching a successful business requires adequate funding — funding to invest in technology, to train workers, to cover fixed costs during the early years while the business finds its market, and other startup capital needs1. Some entrepreneurs depend upon their own savings to finance the early years of the business while most entrepreneurs rely on either lenders or investors to fund their vision. Frustratingly, women struggle to find lenders and funders more than men do.

A democracy only works when it reflects the shared values of its people - the values of equality, freedom, fairness, and self-governance.

This article presents 15 strategies that can be implemented within nonprofit organizations and boards to enable courageous accountability toward the mission. These recommendations were developed through a systematic review of scholarly research on nonprofit leadership and followership, application of the core concepts of Chaleff’s (2009) courageous followership model, and inclusion of the authors’ practical experience as nonprofit founders. By integrating theoretical frameworks with real-world insights, four central themes emerged that inform meaningful board engagement and organizational sustainability: board member selection, board training, board structure, and director and board chair behaviors. Each recommendation is grounded in both empirical research and practitioner experience, collectively offering a clear pathway for nonprofit organizations to address challenges in sustainable leadership models and ensure long-term mission impact.

My fall Leadership class collaborated on this list of behaviors that build their leadership influence. Together, they highlighted behaviors that can be enacted TODAY even if without the title of “leader.” Well done, class! Do you agree with their list? What would you add?

I just published the second edition of my OER book - Global Issues in Business Today and you are welcome to use it! It is published under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-SA, which means that you can use it and/or remix it for non-commercial purposes, as long as you publish it under the same license.

Your work is part of your mission field, but that doesn’t mean that you are preaching and teaching at work. Your first step is to show up with the light of God’s love inside of you.