It may feel like you have to focus so much on the every day operation of your non profit, that you simply don’t have time for personal development. However, if you are not growing as a leader, how can you expect to grow your team? If you still feel you do not have time to attend conferences or even read books, podcasts are a great way to get some time back for yourself. Listen while you are at the gym, on your way to work, on road trips, etc.  They have been personally crucial to my own growth – in particular, these 5. I listen to these regularly, sometimes for years. If you are not a regular podcast listener, pick the one that sounds most appealing and try a recent episode.

For interviews of leaders: Entreleadership Podcast

Stemming from Dave Ramsey’s team, host Ken Coleman has lively discussions with the top minds in business. If you want a good mix of tips and stories/ideas this is a good podcast for you.

For non profits leaders just starting a non profit: How to start a start up

It is a phenomenal course from Stanford and the people from Y Combinator. There are plenty of powerful speakers who have gone through the start up process. This is more focused on tips and there are 20 episodes on different topics needed to start up (management, team building, etc.)

To keep up with interesting ideas and entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial Thought Leadership
Another one from Stanford, with a weekly seminar sponsored by a student entrepreneurship group. This is more thought leadership than tips. You will hear about some very current great innovative ideas and some interesting theories.

To help you craft a content strategy: Content Warfare

This podcast comes from Ryan Hanley and features interviews with all the big names in content creation and marketing. It is chalk full of actionable tips.

For those who find social media essential: Social Media Marketing

Social Media Examiner’s Michael Stelsner brings on some excellent guests from a variety of social media sites and beyond. There are always some very good nuggets of advice you can apply to your strategy. In the more recent episodes, he also starts the show with a tool that could help you in your non profit and personal productivity.

One show that is no longer sending out new episodes, but has a lot of quality interviews specifically for non profits is Non Profit Spark. Give it a try if you want more non profit specific advice. Whatever you choose will bring strong professional development. A good way to thank them for the free content (advice that could cost hundreds if you went to a conference) is to take a minute and give them a rating. Thousands of people listen but few give ratings and so it really helps the shows out.

Pro tip – On iTunes you can listen at 1.5 or even 2x speed. You can get used to this, but you will hear some very actionable steps that are difficult to write down (please don’t if you are driving). Thankfully, most podcasts have shownotes so you can easily access tips later.

Image from Colleen AF Venable.

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