Navigating Power Dynamics in Nonprofit Leadership
In May, I had the joy of speaking at the 2025 New Horizons in Conservation Convening at Yale University on a panel titled Nonprofit Leadership: Navigating Power Dynamics. Alongside some brilliant colleagues Amali Tower, Marcelo Bonta, and Marilynn Marsh-Robinson, we dove into the complexities of power. Our moderator, Jumana Vasi, did an amazing job guiding a conversation that could have gone in a dozen different directions!
Power dynamics are everywhere, and many folks think of it as a good or bad, black or white kind of issue. Power isn’t inherently positive or negative, but when imbalanced power dynamics are left unacknowledged or unchecked, they can definitely erode trust, block innovation, and exhaust the people you need to work with for the good of your mission.
What Comes to Mind When You Think About Power Dynamics?
Jumana kicked off by asking the room that question. Responses ranged from relationships with donors, supervisors, executive directors, and boards. But if you leave this article with just one thing, it’s that everyone has power. Even if you don’t want it, you have it.
Whether you’re leading a team, managing a grant, or facilitating a staff meeting, you have influence. How you wield that influence (power) either contributes to a culture of fear and control or a culture of trust and collaboration.
As I shared on the panel, one of the tools I use to navigate power is a principle I share with Keecha Harris, DrPH, RD: relationship before task. Before asking someone to do something, I get to know them. I ask about their story, their goals, and their working style. That way, when things get hard (as they inevitably do), we’re not trying to solve a high-stakes conflict without any foundation of trust.
Marcelo Bonta added a similar insight: define the relationship before it becomes transactional. In other words, don’t just connect with people when you need something. People will often invest more deeply in relationships with leaders and others they perceive have power. But navigating power dynamics requires a 360° approach and people should build relationships up, down and across. Because again, when power shows up in problematic ways (from gatekeeping, manipulation, or holding on to control) relationships are what allow you to intervene.
If someone is misusing their power and you have a solid relationship with them, you can “call them in” and shift the dynamic in ways others might not be able to. Alternatively, if someone has the power to do something positive and you have a relationship with them, you can support and encourage that change. Relationships allow us to influence each other, which is an incredibly important leadership skill.
Unlearning The Silence of Survival
Let me get personal for a minute. I shared on the panel that, growing up, I heard a lot of: “Be quiet.” “Don’t talk back.” “Stay in your place.”
So of course, that shaped how I showed up at work. Even when I had something to say, I would hold back because deep down, I still believed that using my voice would get me punished. One day, I was in a meeting where a Black woman colleague said something the leader of the team disagreed with. I’ll never forget what happened next.
She stood up, looked him in the eye, put her finger on the table and said: “I said what I said.”
Y’all … nothing bad happened. He didn’t yell or retaliate. He just said something like, “You’re really committed to this. Okay, that’s the direction we’ll go.”
I was stunned. In that moment, I saw a version of Black woman leadership I hadn’t witnessed before or even knew was possible. That moment, along with many other incidents along the way, gave me permission to start owning my voice. It also taught me that power isn’t always what we think of. Sometimes it’s just having the courage to say what needs to be said.
Vulnerability, Humility, and the Power of "I Don’t Know"
We also talked about vulnerability as both a value and a strategy. Power dynamics often get worse when people try to look strong all the time. CEOs and Executive Directors are often in positions where they feel they can’t show uncertainty. This may prompt them to double down or create negative power dynamics but sometimes, expressing your power well may look like saying, “I don’t know.” Or: “That was the wrong call. Here’s what I learned.” Or: “What do you think?”
Those simple statements can change the energy in the room. They model humility and make space for other people’s gifts to emerge.
Knowledge is Power, But Only if You Share It
Another dynamic we discussed was how information itself becomes a source of power, and how gatekeeping that knowledge maintains inequities. When I first stepped into higher levels of leadership in the nonprofit field, I got a front seat into how decisions were being made:
People negotiating for bonuses when they took on new roles. I hadn’t known that was possible.
People getting stipends for extra responsibilities placed on them. Again, brand new information to me.
People having access to coaching (fully paid for by the organization) to help them succeed.
No one had told me these things. I had to discover them … and you can bet that once I did, I shared that information with others. Part of how I use my power now is by removing the mystery. If I learn something that could help someone else be a better leader, you better believe I’m passing it on. What’s the point of hoarding knowledge/power when by sharing it, you can ensure the conditions for everyone to thrive?
One Final Story: The Donor Dilemma
During the panel, someone in the audience brought up a relatively common but still tricky situation: a donor wants to fund something, but has stipulations that don’t align with the mission. What do you do?
Some people said, “just say no.” Others were more hesitant. Here’s what I think: go back to the relationship.
Before you respond with a hard no, invite them into a conversation. Learn about what they care about and see if your visions can possibly align. More often than not, the disconnect isn’t rooted in malice and again, relationships are the bridge to getting clarity.
I walked away from the New Horizons Convening deeply grateful, for my fellow panelists who shared their truths and the participants who shared their own stories about navigating power dynamics.
In summary:
Power is everywhere.
We all have it.
How we use it matters.
Whether you lead a team, manage a board, or simply show up to work on a mission you care about, you get to choose how your power and influence shapes the people and systems around you. So, let’s build organizations where power becomes a tool for both innovation and liberation.
