The Nonprofit Red Flag Series
The Renegade Nonprofit Red Flag Series
Seeing the Signs. Challenging the System. Leading Differently.
Every week, nonprofit leaders are joining a growing conversation sparked by The Renegade Nonprofit — exploring the hidden patterns that keep organizations stuck and the courageous shifts it takes to lead differently.
Each Red Flag reveals a mindset, habit, or assumption that keeps our sector surviving instead of thriving.
Read the latest Red Flags below, join the discussion on LinkedIn, and start noticing which ones might be showing up in your own organization.
Red Flag #1: Thriving, Not Starving, Should Be the New Standard
Exhaustion isn’t excellence — it’s erosion.
The first Red Flag calls out how our sector celebrates “doing more with less” as a badge of honor, even as it wears down the very people keeping the mission alive.
Red Flag #2 – The Comfort of Silence:
When fear of disruption keeps us quiet, courage becomes the missing ingredient in authentic leadership.
Red Flag #2 explores how fear can masquerade as diplomacy and why courageous leadership begins the moment we choose to speak what’s real, even when it’s uncomfortable.
This isn’t about confrontation; it’s about connection rooted in truth — the kind that allows trust, growth, and genuine impact to take root.
Red Flag #3 — The Cycle of Overcommitment
Short description:
We wear overcommitment like a badge of honor — saying yes to everything while quietly burning out ourselves and our teams. This Red Flag exposes how constant busyness masquerades as productivity and how breaking the cycle begins with reclaiming focus, time, and trust.
→ Read the full LinkedIn discussion
Red Flag #4 — The Hero Complex
Short description:
Our sector loves a savior—whether it’s a charismatic leader, a new system, or the latest data tool. But when we chase heroes instead of building shared strength, discernment gives way to dependence. This Red Flag explores how idolizing individuals and quick fixes undermines authentic leadership and collective wisdom.
→ Read the full LinkedIn Discussion
Red Flag #5 — The Feedback Void
Nonprofits say they want honesty, but many create cultures where feedback feels risky, softened, or silent. This Red Flag exposes the moments where honesty starts to shrink long before it disappears, why trust—not communication—is the real barrier, and how the sector’s fear of being judged fuels confusion, burnout, and performative transparency. A look at how clarity becomes dangerous—and what it takes to make it safe again.
→ Read the full LinkedIn Discussion
Red Flag #6 — Invisible Leadership
Too many nonprofit leaders are everywhere in the work except where leadership actually happens. Born from passion rather than training, they stay busy fixing, doing, and filling gaps—while the strategic work only they can do goes untouched. This Red Flag explores why leaders become invisible, how it creates organizational chaos, and what shifts when leadership becomes visible, grounded, and aligned.
→ Read the full LinkedIn Discussion
Red Flag #7 — Partnerships Built on Panic
Some partnerships look like opportunity — big grants, collaborations, new funding streams — but quietly become anchors. Not because leaders are careless, but because they care so deeply that caution feels selfish. This Red Flag exposes the hidden pressure behind reimbursement grants, mission-creep proposals, and “seed funding” that isn’t truly sustainable. Healthy alliances build capacity; panic partnerships drain it.
→ Read the full discussion on LinkedIn
Red Flag # 8: Territorial Thinking
When protecting our role, reputation, or relevance becomes more important than advancing the mission, collaboration quietly breaks down.
Red Flag #8 explores how territorial thinking shows up in nonprofits — not as ego, but as fear — and why true collaboration requires leaders to loosen their grip on control in service of something bigger than themselves.
Red Flag #9: The Myth of Shared Vision
Speaking the same mission doesn’t mean we’re making decisions the same way.
Red Flag #9 challenges the assumption that agreement equals alignment, revealing how organizations can share language while still pulling in different directions — and why real alignment shows up in actions, priorities, and boundaries under pressure.
📖 [Read the full discussion on LinkedIn →]
Red Flag #10: Funding at Any Cost
When money becomes the goal instead of a tool, sustainability quietly erodes.
Red Flag #10 examines how nonprofits are conditioned to say yes to funding even when it’s misaligned — and why discernment, not acquisition, is the leadership skill that protects missions, people, and long-term impact.
Red Flag #11: Burnout as a Badge
When exhaustion is praised, warning signs are ignored.
Red Flag #11 explores how nonprofit culture often rewards overwork and self-sacrifice, mistaking burnout for commitment — and why sustainable leadership requires redefining what dedication actually looks like.
Red Flag #12: Resilience Theater
Looking strong has replaced being supported.
Red Flag #12 names the quiet pressure nonprofit leaders feel to perform resilience instead of ask for help — and how this expectation keeps real challenges hidden, unaddressed, and unnecessarily heavy.
Red Flag #13: The Real Flag
The biggest red flag isn’t any single behavior — it’s what we’ve been taught to normalize.
Red Flag #13 brings the series together, revealing how many nonprofit leadership struggles are not personal failures, but predictable outcomes of broken systems — and why seeing that clearly is the first step toward leading differently.
Growth starts with awareness.
This free guide helps you see where your board truly is — and what “real” progress could look like next.
Stop guessing. Start learning what’s real.
👉 Download the free guide
The Renegade Blueprint: Building the System Within
Stabilize. Simplify. Redefine What Works for You.
The Renegade Success Network is a 10-week guided experience for nonprofit leaders and board members ready to rebuild how they lead and operate.
You’ll join a live cohort, reflect through The Renegade Nonprofit book and workbook, and create your personal Renegade Blueprint for sustainable impact.
Whether your organization is all-volunteer or established with staff, you’ll find clarity, confidence, and community to lead differently — not louder.
Core Outcome:
Participants walk away with their own Renegade Pathway to Success — a customized blueprint aligned with the 5 Pillars and grounded in what’s real for their organization and leadership.
