We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits 687. The Path Forward: Leading With Purpose in 2026 - Seth Godin
This one is a grounding exhale.
Today, we’re bringing you a powerful conversation from the We Are For Good Summit with our friend Seth Godin — it's for anyone carrying the weight of leadership in uncertain times.
Because here’s the truth: uncertainty isn’t a season anymore. It’s the environment. And if you’re feeling the pressure, the risk, the emotional toll of caring deeply about work that matters… you are not alone.
Seth challenges us to rethink what risk really is (hint: it’s the feeling of risk that trips us up), why attachment fuels burnout, and how trust is built — and burned — through small, consistent actions. We talk about belonging and leadership, and about the courage it takes to stay in the arena when the outcomes aren’t guaranteed.
We also dig into:
- How to innovate when nothing feels stable
- Rebuilding trust through behavior, not branding
- Using AI as a tool (without losing our humanity)
- Communicating experimentation and risk to donors
- Letting go of entanglements that keep us stuck
- And why agency — not compliance — is the future
Seth reminds us that we didn’t sign up for perfect — we signed up to keep moving toward better. To feel the fear and move forward anyway, tell the truth, bring people together, and stay responsible to the work we care about. If you’re tired but still called, questioning but still committed, this conversation is for you. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
- Tribes & belonging: organizing the table you wish existed (4:42)
- Burnout, attachment & the cost of caring (7:25)
- Risk vs. the feeling of risk in nonprofit leadership (14:43)
- AI, automation & why decisions—not tasks—are the real work (23:42)
- Telling the truth inside your organization (32:30)
- Communicating experimentation & risk to donors (33:50)
- Agency in the age of AI: undoing indoctrination (37:21)
- The lifeguard story: courage isn’t about credentials (27:59)
- Seth’s One Good Thing: “Find the others. This is the point.” (39:30)
Episode Shownotes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/687
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