Habits Holding Back Your Social Impact: How to Create Change
Leadership and marketing strategist Leigh Mitchell shared a practical, human-centered framework for changing the habits that drain our time, energy, and confidence. The Good Growth Company’s session with Leigh focused on how nonprofit leaders and teams can make change feel doable — without burnout or perfectionism.
The big idea: transformation is compounded by small, consistent actions aligned to your values.
Leigh shared her CHANGE framework (and how to use it).
Top Takeaways
1) Capacity for change: say “yes” with foresight
Leaders often overcommit from passion. Build capacity by “playing the tape forward” before you accept new work. Ask: Will Future Me have the time and energy to deliver this well? Practice saying no (or “yes, but”) to protect focus.
Try this: Before adding anything to your plate, write the downstream tasks and time needed. If it conflicts with current priorities, decline or renegotiate scope.
2) Habit design beats willpower
Don’t overhaul everything. Start tiny, repeat consistently, and design your environment to make the habit easy (gym shoes by the door, healthy snacks at eye level). Shift identity talk: “I’m a runner,” “I’m a finisher,” “I’m the kind of ED who blocks thinking time.”
Try this: Pick one micro-habit you can do in <2 minutes and repeat it daily for two weeks.
3) Human-first design: bring joy into serious work
High-stakes work still needs psychological safety and play. Joy and levity lower stress and improve performance (think Chef-level kitchens that still make time for camaraderie).
Try this: Start team meetings with a 60-second check-in or a quick “rose/thorn/bud.” Rotate who opens.
4) Authentic allyship (and ethical AI awareness)
Allyship is an action, not a slogan. Audit the diversity of your five closest professional relationships; seek voices that challenge your thinking. Remember: AI tools tend to surface dominant perspectives—proactively look for under-represented sources.
Try this: Each month, meet one person outside your sector or identity group; add at least one non-dominant source to your research stack.
5) Growth mindset for impact
Adopt a beginner’s mind. Run quarterly retrospectives: What worked? What didn’t? What will we try next? Normalize learning by celebrating small experiments and—yes—useful failures.
Try this: Host a 30-minute “mini-retro” after your next campaign with three prompts: Start / Stop / Continue.
6) Empowering enoughness
You are “enough” in the present moment. Fear spirals drive reactive decisions; grounding practices restore capacity and judgment.
Try this: Use the 5-senses reset (name 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste) before tough conversations.
7) Nature as a leadership tool
Walks, water, and green space lower stress and clear mental clutter. Even 20 minutes outdoors can help you shift from reactivity to strategy.
Try this: Schedule one walking 1:1 or a “walk-and-think” block this week. Bonus: try a near-water route.
8) From survival mode to strategic mode
Create urgency without panic. Borrow from Kotter’s change model: set a clear why, communicate early/often, sequence wins, and keep focus tight.
Try this: List your top 3 priorities. Delegate one task today that doesn’t ladder up.
9) Communicate change with “yes-and”
Comms teams can reduce resistance by reframing change as a pathway to benefits (connection, learning, wellness) rather than a punishment. Align on mindset first; then message.
Try this: For your next change announcement, draft two columns: What we’re changing / What you gain. Lead with the gains.
10) Lead (and brand) with authenticity
Your personal brand is how people experience you—on good days and hard ones. Choose one anchor word (e.g., steady, bold, empathetic) and evaluate decisions against it. People follow leaders who are real, not perfect.
Try this: Pick your anchor word and add it to your meeting notes and 1:1 agendas for a month.
Most impactful lines from Leigh
“No one is perfect—we’re all a work in progress.”
“You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Start small. Repeat consistently.”
“Allyship isn’t just a value; it’s an action.”
“Leadership isn’t just giving directions—it’s asking better questions and engaging authentically.”
“Small habits create big change.”
“People follow leaders who are real, not perfect.”
“Create urgency without panic.”
Your Questions, Answered
How do we get out of survival mode?
Differentiate crisis from challenge. Re-prioritize by values, over-communicate context, and narrow focus to the few things that matter most.
How can comms teams support habit change?
Reframe change positively (“yes-and”), show behind-the-scenes benefits, and give time to adapt. Celebrate progress, not just endpoints.
Day-to-day resilience tips?
Walking meetings, micro-breaks, play at work, transparent timelines for change, and clear “why now.” Use grounding exercises to reset.
Build awareness and turn habits positive?
Time-audit a week, then habit-stack: pair a less-loved habit (elliptical) with something you enjoy (audiobook).
Starting from scratch: how to grow an audience?
Pick the medium you love (writing, photos, events), set realistic goals, and show up consistently. Align growth tactics to your values and energy.
What’s next?
Leigh’s message is refreshingly doable: lasting change starts with tiny, values-aligned steps — stacked, repeated, and supported by human-first teams. Spend more time in nature, invite diverse voices, reframe change with “yes-and,” and lead with realness over polish. When your habits reflect who you are and what you value, strategy (and sanity) follow.
Want the full recording?
This session is part of The Good Growth Company’s 10 Things series. Library subscribers get access to all past trainings, templates, and upcoming sessions. Access the full Library here.
