April 9th, 2025 by Kelly Kienzle
If you’re leading a mission-driven organization right now, you are all too familiar with the stress and uncertainty swirling through our economy. Between tightening funding streams, increasing constituent needs, and the relentless pressure to do more with less, this additional volatility can feel overwhelming. You’re not alone—and it’s not…
March 26th, 2025 by Kelly Kienzle
As a leader, when you are in chaotic and fast-changing times, what do you most crave? I wondered about this question during the darkness of late winter this year. So I set out to discover the answer to that question and a few more. The Interviews…
January 9th, 2025 by Kelly Kienzle
“I want to contribute to something important.” This goal, as described by Adam Grant, rings true for me. I can set goals, define KPIs, make commitments and articulate aspirations. But all of that work boils down to this one simple desire: I want to contribute to…
November 21st, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
“Kindness eases change.” I read these words for the first time several months ago. Octavia Butler, one of the first published African American and female writers of science fiction, wrote them almost 50 years ago. Our Capacity for Kindness I was struck by the simplicity of…
October 22nd, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Do you feel you have done enough good in the world? I don’t yet. I’m working on it (literally, through my coaching and facilitation). Yet sometimes I wonder where else I can do good. I recently read the historical fiction novel, The Good Left Undone by…
July 31st, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Does optimism ever feel like a risk? Whenever I consider tackling a big project, I sometimes shy away from believing in it wholeheartedly. I temper my optimism because I fear disappointment or regret if it fails. I worry that having too much exuberance will cause me…
May 30th, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
For the last few weeks, I have felt deeply vulnerable. As Zoe Keating, a genre-defying cellist has described, I have been “being without skin.” I feel vulnerable because I put a draft of my writing out into the world. Specifically, my coauthor and I have shared a…
April 19th, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
Below is a post, different from my typical essays. I was thrilled to be invited to include the following essay in The Shadow Anthology, a collection of works that explores the question: What happens when we finally address the darkness we have tried to hide, avoid, and…
February 2nd, 2024 by Kelly Kienzle
As I enter the back nine of my life, I am deeply focusing on how to age well. I am focusing on not necessarily extending lifespan, but instead extending healthspan. I love the idea of increasing my number of healthy years, instead of just any-old-type of years. But…
December 5th, 2023 by Kelly Kienzle
We have spent our whole lives adding. We have added expectations, goals and beliefs to our plans for the future. We have added jealousies, regrets and unfulfilled desires to our evaluation of our pasts. The sum result of these additions is an overbearing load that we…