Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

Episode: How To Evolve Your Role as Executive Director As Your Nonprofit Grows

Host: Brooke Richie-Babbage
Date: January 20, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Brooke Richie-Babbage explores a crucial—yet often unspoken—transition that nonprofit executive directors face: moving from the role of the hands-on “doer” and glue holding everything together, to the organizational “architect” who designs the systems, structures, and leadership that sustain impact as the nonprofit grows. Drawing from a coaching conversation with a client (pseudonym: Dylan), Brooke unpacks the emotional challenges, leadership mindset shifts, and practical strategies needed to thrive as a CEO at this next level of growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recognizing the Transition Point (00:40–05:30)

• Situation: Dylan, leading his nonprofit through rapid growth, hires four director-level leaders, distributing ownership and decision-making beyond himself for the first time.

• Emotional Response: After his team’s strategic plans are in motion, Dylan admits to feeling “a little lost” and unsure of his role in the new structure.

  • Quote:

    “Now that they have their plans...and they’re pretty good, I feel a little lost. What am I supposed to be doing now? Who am I in this new structure?”
    — Dylan (recounted by Brooke, 02:43)

• Brooke identifies this moment as a pivotal inflection that many leaders encounter—no longer the sole glue, but unsure what leadership looks like without holding all threads.

2. Emotional Realities of Letting Go (05:30–09:20)

• Mixed Emotions: Growth brings both relief (less daily burden) and a shifting sense of identity:

  “It is also a quickly evolving shift in your identity, right? I was the one who made the decisions…and now I have these amazing people making decisions in my stead. And so now what, right?”
  — Brooke (06:30)

• Leaders may fear losing control and question their centrality to the organization.

• Brooke reframes: If teams still boomerang every decision back to you, it's not a personal failing—it’s a capacity design deficit:

  “If you’re still functioning as the bottleneck, then you have what I call a capacity design deficit. Not a you problem. It’s usually not a team problem. It’s a structure problem.”
  — Brooke (07:20)

3. The Shift: From Doer to Architect (09:20–13:00)

• Core Insight: The executive’s job evolves from operator to architect:
  • Architect: designs the systems, structures, and containers so the organization thrives beyond any one person’s constant intervention.
  • Vivid metaphors:

    “You are no longer the person pushing the boulder up the hill…You are now the person designing the hill, designing the path, crafting the map, designing the systems that allow for the boulder to be moved up the hill.”
    — Brooke (10:13)

4. Brooke’s Framework: The Three Core Responsibilities of an Architect CEO (13:00–27:30)

I. Define Success (13:30–17:50)

• The CEO’s primary job is to ensure clarity: what does excellence look like for each work area?
• Avoid vague aspirations—provide concrete, tangible KPIs and success indicators.
• Tactic: Build a simple dashboard with 2–3 KPIs per strategic priority, using a red/yellow/green status for quick reference.
• Memorable advice:

  “You’re not relinquishing control. You’re shifting what control looks like, the altitude at which you ensure success…You do that by defining success.”
  — Brooke (15:10)

II. Equip for Ownership, Not Just Execution (17:50–22:10)

• Clarity of who owns outcomes—not just tasks—is key.

• Practical tip: Each goal needs a single, named owner who is not the CEO. This enables true accountability.

• Example: Cross-functional leadership development initiative; Director of Operations is clearly named as outcome owner.

• Ownership moves from being “a vibe” to “a structure you can see on paper (a dashboard).”

• Quote:

  “Architect level leadership requires you to trust the system you’re designing, not just the people in it. Ownership isn’t a vibe, it’s a structure.”
  — Brooke (20:55)

III. Monitor & Coach from the Right Altitude (22:10–27:30)

• Set up intentional check-ins—quarterly reviews, monthly pulse-checks, weekly as-needed meetings all aligned to dashboard signals.

• Move away from ad-hoc updates and feeling the need to be in every detail.

• CEO’s time shifts to monitoring the organizational map and only diving in where red/yellow signals emerge.

• Quote:

  “He [Dylan] had to trust them, trust that they were working towards their shared definition of success. That when they were off track, they would let him know. It’s not just that he’s doing less. He’s actually just doing things differently.”
  — Brooke (25:50)

5. The Emotional Side of Stepping Back (27:30–32:00)

• There can be grief and “identity loss” as leaders cede roles they’ve held tightly, and discomfort with not being “the expert” in every room.
• Ultimate realization: relief, spaciousness, and even joy come from enabling others to succeed:

  “Being able to turn to my director of programs…who was far better at our program work than I ever had been, and say, I trust you to get us up this mountain…and you are the better person to get us up this mountain than I am. And that means I need to get out of your way.”
  — Brooke (31:02)

6. Embracing the Shift: Control by Design (32:00–36:00)

• “Shedding and building” at the same time: letting go of “I do it all” in favor of creating systems that work without constant CEO intervention.

• “It can feel like a loss of control, but it’s not. It’s actually an evolution of control. It’s control by design, not control by effort. Because a truly resilient organization doesn’t rely on you. It relies on your architecture, on your design.”
  — Brooke (32:45)

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 02:43: Dylan voices uncertainty: “What am I supposed to be doing now?”
• 07:20: On "capacity design deficit," not personal failure.
• 10:13: “You are no longer the person pushing the boulder up the hill…” (the architect metaphor)
• 15:10: Shift from direct oversight to systems-level definition of success.
• 20:55: "Ownership isn't a vibe, it's a structure."
• 25:50: Re-learning to trust team and focus only on key signals.
• 31:02: Brooke reflects on the joy of seeing others lead better than oneself.
• 32:45: “It’s an evolution of control. It’s control by design, not control by effort.”

Actionable Reflection (36:00–37:30)

Brooke closes the episode with a takeaway exercise for evolving leaders:

“What are the three signals I need to see every week or every month to know we’re on track, to feel safe letting go? Not all the metrics, not all the updates, just the top three. …Define it for yourself, build it into a dashboard, make it visible, talk to your team about it, and then design everything around it. That’s your CEO role now.”
— Brooke (36:18)

Episode Tone & Takeaways

Brooke brings empathy and directness, underscoring the reality that the growth journey as a nonprofit CEO involves both logistics and letting go. The episode is generous with frameworks and practical tips while repeatedly normalizing the emotional discomfort of stepping into “architect” leadership.

Key Takeaway:
Moving from “doer” to “architect” is both the challenge and the necessity for scaling nonprofit leaders. The keys are to define success, create clear ownership, and coach at the right altitude—trusting the systems you build, not clinging to every detail.

For More

• Brooke invites listeners to connect about dashboard design, leadership coaching, or her Nonprofit Mastermind program.
• Final encouragement:

  “You don’t have to hold everything together with grit. Resilient organizations are about intentional design.” (37:20)