Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

Host: Brooke Richie-Babbage

Episode: How To Know When Planning To Pause Is The Right Strategic Move

Date: September 2, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Brooke Richie-Babbage explores an often-overlooked and misunderstood aspect of nonprofit growth: the strategic importance of pausing after a period of rapid progress. She reframes the “flat part of growth”—those moments when organizations stabilize rather than continually accelerate—as essential to building sustainable, high-impact nonprofits. Brooke challenges the myth of continuously upward growth and provides actionable insights on when, why, and how to hit “pause” for the health and maturity of an organization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Challenging the Growth Mindset

• Linear Progress Myth: Brooke debunks the expectation that successful organizations should always experience year-over-year, upward progression.

  • “Healthy growth is never linear. The idea of steady growth up into the right all the time is a fiction.” (06:20)

• Normalize the Flat Part: She emphasizes that periods of stability or less visible progress are integral, not indicative of stalling or failing.

  • Visualizes growth as a staircase, where each “up” is progress and each “flat” is a necessary pause for recalibration and consolidation. (07:00)

Disorientation During Pauses

• Feeling Wobbly: After scaling up—more staff, board members, or funding—leaders may feel unsettled or unsure about next steps.

  • Brooke notes it’s common for leaders to experience anxiety or confusion, mistaking stabilization for loss of momentum. (03:30 - 05:30)

• Internal vs. External Expectations:

  • “It can feel like we should be moving faster… it also can feel like somehow things are harder now than before. We got the bigger team, the new funding, the bigger board.” (03:45)
  • External stakeholders expect constant “wins,” while internally, you sense a need to regroup.

The Strategic Value of Pausing

• Organizational Maturation:

  • The flat period is when the organization matures, designs for getting to the next level, and prevents collapse under its own success. (07:30 - 09:00)
  • Skipping this phase increases organizational fragility.

• Leadership Mindset:

  • It’s crucial for leaders to see the pause as positive, not a failure—otherwise, they risk burnout and self-doubt.
    • “If in your mind, in your heart, you expect non-stop acceleration, then you’ll misinterpret the pause as a problem.” (08:45)

Story: Maya’s Pause for Growth

• Case Study (12:35 – 16:55):

  • “Maya” leads a nonprofit through a wildly successful fundraising campaign.
  • Post-victory, Maya feels pressured to replicate the success, sensing underlying fragility—systems still lack behind-the-scenes capacity.
  • Brooke helps Maya shift from constant acceleration to a purposeful build phase:
    • Developing a donor stewardship system, automation, board engagement, and clear roles.
    • Result: A later campaign outperforms the first, now on solid footing, and Maya feels sustainable success.

• Memorable Moment:

  • “We decided to hit pause, not to slow down, but to build.” (16:20)

What Does a Build Phase Include?

Brooke outlines four essential components of an effective strategic pause:

1. Reflection (18:32):
   • What worked and what broke in the last growth sprint?
2. Redesign (19:05):
   • Are current roles aligned with actual needs? Is your strategy still relevant?
3. Infrastructure (19:35):
   • Systems, workflows, communications, financial models—are they fit for current and future demands?
4. Cultural Recalibration (20:10):
   • How to reinforce or update team norms and values in the context of change.

• “Reflection, redesign, infrastructure, and cultural recalibration—these are not optional. They are required if you want to grow in a way that is healthy.” (21:00)

Leading the Narrative—With Your Team and Board

• Normalizing the Build Phase:
  • Use intentional language with boards, funders, and the team:
    • “This is a strategic infrastructure year.” or “We’re building for what’s next.” (22:20)
  • Remind yourself:
    • “I’m not slowing down. I’m building depth. This isn’t stagnation. This is maturity.” (23:00)

Key Reflection Prompt

• “Where in your organization are you or your team holding on to hustle when what you really need is a redesign? How might your leadership shift if you saw this season as strategic, not stalled?” (25:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Healthy growth is never linear. The idea of steady growth up into the right all the time is a fiction.” (06:20)

• “That feeling of being unsettled, pay attention to it and give it the attention it's due because it is a necessary strategic part of a healthy growth process.” (07:15)

• “We decided to hit pause, not to slow down, but to build.” (16:20)

• “Reflection, redesign, infrastructure, and cultural recalibration—these are not optional. They are required if you want to grow in a way that is healthy.” (21:00)

• “I’m not slowing down. I’m building depth. This isn’t stagnation. This is maturity.” (23:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – 03:30: Introduction; challenging the “always up” growth chart
• 03:30 – 06:30: Disorientation and slowdowns after big wins
• 06:30 – 09:30: Growth as a step-function; importance of stabilizing
• 12:35 – 16:55: Maya’s story—case study of pausing to build
• 18:32 – 21:25: The four elements of a build phase
• 22:15 – 23:15: How to lead and communicate the strategic pause
• 25:20: Reflection prompt for listeners

Conclusion

Brooke Richie-Babbage encourages nonprofit leaders to reframe and embrace the quiet, messy, “flat” parts of their organization’s growth story. Strategic pauses—where organizations reflect, redesign, build infrastructure, and recalibrate culture—aren’t signs of stagnation but are key moments of maturation, sustainability, and future impact. By leading this narrative internally and externally, nonprofit leaders can foster organizations built to last, not just to grow.

For more resources and related content, visit brookerichiebabbage.com/podcast.