RKD Group: Thinkers

Episode Title: Finding Balance and Setting Boundaries with Katy Jordan
Date: April 14, 2025
Host: Justin McCord with co-host Ronnie
Guest: Katy Jordan, Principal & Founder, Katy Jordan Consulting

Episode Overview

This episode features a candid conversation with Katy Jordan, a seasoned nonprofit marketer turned executive coach. The discussion centers on carving a unique career path in nonprofit marketing, the power of openness and adaptability, and, most notably, the importance of setting boundaries for personal and professional fulfillment. The hosts and Katy trade stories about circuitous career journeys, agency life, leadership lessons, and how to truly steward well-being in a high-impact, mission-driven sector.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Katy’s Nonlinear Career Journey

[01:00–10:11]

• Background: Katy outlined her career trajectory—from starting as a chemical engineering major to earning a music degree, then moving into arts administration and nonprofit marketing.
  • "I had quite a well rounded educational portfolio... 15 years in agency life was very formative. It was my first opportunity to build and lead a team." (Katy, [05:24])
• Pivotal Moment: Internships with the Baltimore Symphony and a theater sparked an interest in arts management and revealed nonprofit fundraising and marketing as viable career paths.
  • “Oh, we need to sell tickets to these things and raise money for these organizations. And so arts administration, arts management sort of came into focus.” (Katy, [08:31])

2. Lessons from Agency Life

[11:14–16:51]

• Constant Learning: Katy emphasized the need for curiosity and a willingness to question the status quo.
  • “You can’t really teach that curiosity. So, that’s something that I learned pretty early on and definitely tried to instill that in the teams that I worked with.” (Katy, [11:38])
• Boundaries as a Survival Skill: The constant demands and scope creep of agency work necessitated learning to set—and stick to—personal and professional boundaries.
  • “I was the biggest perpetrator of not respecting my own boundaries. But if I would set them and adhere to them, my colleagues, my supervisors, my clients would respect those.” (Katy, [13:33])
• Specialization vs. Generalization: Agencies often try to “do it all,” but Katy found that specialization and clear boundaries lead to deeper expertise and more sustainable work.

3. Strategic Consulting & Navigating Change

[15:00–17:25]

• Katy guides nonprofit clients in evaluating their readiness and strategy for digital and direct mail channels, emphasizing the importance of aligning channel selection with organizational goals and resources.
  • “What are we chasing this year? Is it short term, net or growth for the long term? Those things can’t exist equally in every moment in time.” (Katy, [15:45])
• The unpredictability of costs and digital adoption means strategies must adapt rapidly.

4. Boundaries in Nonprofit Work & Consulting

[17:26–22:15]

• Many in nonprofit roles are purpose-driven—leading to a heightened risk of burnout due to blurred boundaries.
  • "That burnout, that compassion fatigue... exacerbates the need for boundaries because you make that sort of mental agreement that you’re willing to sacrifice some of your free time or well being to go the extra mile..." (Katy, [18:10])
• Katy encourages nonprofit leaders and clients to own their programs and data, advocate for themselves, and design relationships (with agencies or teams) based on trust and mutual expectations (“designing our alliance”).
  • “The client should feel that ownership and at least maybe not today, but what is their plan for understanding their data, the full extent of their program and not having to rely on external parties…” (Katy, [18:46])
• Healthy agency-client relationships require open communication, mutual trust, and clear onboarding processes.

5. Influential People & Leadership Models

[23:42–27:19]

• Katy reflects on formative (and less positive) leadership examples that shaped her approach, including being doubted about seeking further education and inspired by managers who championed team well-being.
  • "That kind of lit a little bit of a ‘don’t tell me what I can’t do’ fire." (Katy, [24:11])
• She pays tribute to her late grandmother as a personal role model of positivity and resilience.
  • “She has always just been a shining light and just so positive and really the crystallization of what love is...” (Katy, [26:16])

6. Work/Life Balance, Family, and “Coach Katy”

[27:19–31:18]

• Katy describes her life as a mother, family activities, and her alter ego as “Coach Katy,” coaching her sons’ sports teams.
  • “I live as coach Katie in my free time I’m coaching my son’s 6 year old baseball team and I’ve helped with both boys on the soccer and baseball team.” (Katy, [27:46])
• Family music sessions play an important role; both Katy and her husband are musicians, and their children are learning instruments.
• The segment features a lighthearted discussion about sports parent hats, family music collaborations, and the blending of roles as coach and parent.

7. The Impact and Philosophy of Coaching

[31:18–34:55]

• Stepping Into Coaching: Katy reflects on her shift from agency work to executive coaching, finding fulfillment in helping individuals grow, navigate career changes, and establish fulfillment and balance.
  • "What got us to here isn’t what’s going to get us through the future...I think just constantly centering myself in that..." (Katy, [32:29])
• She emphasizes her ongoing learning, adaptability, and the parallel growth she witnesses in her children and her clients.
  • “It’s not for me to fix or me to direct, it’s them to find what’s exciting and fulfilling and does it for them. So that’s the gift I hope to pass on to everyone.” (Katy, [34:21])

Notable Quotes

• On the shift from fixing to coaching:
  "Coaching is very much the opposite of that. It’s helping people through that. But anytime you kind of feel that need to jump in and just give advice...that’s like wrist slap, hand slap." (Katy, [04:04])
• On boundaries:
  "If I would set them and adhere to them, my colleagues, my supervisors, my clients would respect those. So learning how to say no...is something really important." (Katy, [13:33])
• On leadership influences:
  "She really came in hyper focused on improving our culture and really seeing everyone and playing to their strengths." (Katy on Angela Strubing, [25:33])
• On openness and learning:
  "Having that openness and that willing to learn, willing to adapt plays well across all of those spaces." (Ronnie, [34:55])
• On adapting strategies:
  "There’s things that I was selling and preaching a year ago that don’t make sense anymore and I’m okay with that and I will own that." (Katy, [32:46])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Katy’s path to nonprofit marketing: [01:00–10:11]
• Agency life lessons and boundary-setting: [11:14–16:51]
• Strategic consulting & program focus: [15:00–17:25]
• Boundaries and agency-client relationships: [17:26–22:15]
• Leadership stories and mentors: [23:42–27:19]
• Work-life balance and “Coach Katy”: [27:19–31:18]
• Coaching as a vocation and philosophy: [31:18–34:55]

Memorable Moments

• “Coach Katie” Persona: The spirited discussion about playing dual roles as coach on the sports field and at work, and the blending of parenthood, leadership, and mentorship.
• Family Music Sessions: Insightful and heartwarming stories about family piano and guitar duets, showcasing Katy's belief in building joy and balance outside of work.
• Boundaries as Empowerment: The episode’s core message that boundaries are not just protective, but enable deeper fulfillment, greater agency, and healthier organizational cultures.

Takeaways

• Nonprofit leaders and marketers benefit from intentionally setting personal and professional boundaries—both to avoid burnout and to model sustainable work for their teams.
• Coaching, in Katy’s view, is about guiding, not fixing; it requires resisting the urge to always give direct advice and instead empowering others.
• Openness to change and a willingness to pivot is essential, both in career growth and in crafting effective nonprofit strategies, as the landscape shifts rapidly.
• Healthy agency-client relationships are built on transparency, designed trust, and mutual ownership of programs.