Ep 146: Why Unbecoming Is the Key to Innovative Leadership (with Kerri Hoffman)

by Joan Garry

In this episode, my guest Kerri Hoffman (CEO of the nonprofit media company, PRX) and I discuss what innovative leadership really looks like in the post-Covid nonprofit sector.

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Innovative leadership involves more than just figuring out which new ideas or technologies will propel your nonprofit organization toward its mission. It also involves determining which old ways of doing things need to be left behind in order for your org to thrive in the present moment.

This has never been more evident than right now.

As our post-Covid world emerges, many of us are finding out that the changes that we once thought were temporary are here to stay — and that many of the systems, processes, revenue models, and leadership styles that used to be so “normal” to us were actually quite flawed.

So we are left with two choices. We can keep hoping that things will return to what we used to call “normal” or we can innovate in (and around) how we do things.

Today’s guest, Kerri Hoffman (CEO of the nonprofit media company, PRX), credits this philosophy of “unbecoming” one thing to become “something else” as a catalyst that has helped her lead her organization gracefully through a transformational merger.

But what does this process of “unbecoming” look like for today’s nonprofit leader? And how can it help your organization emerge stronger than ever in our post-Covid world?

Kerri has some very valuable insights on this subject. Listen in as we discuss why “unbecoming” just might be the key to innovative leadership in the “new normal.”

Listen to learn:

  • How does the process of “unbecoming” foster innovation?
  • Why is it important for today’s nonprofit leaders to embrace the “new normal”?
  • What is the definition of innovative leadership?
  • What is the role of innovation in nonprofit leadership?
  • How has nonprofit leadership changed since the onset of the global pandemic?

Resources

Contact Kerri Hoffman

About Kerri:

As CEO of the nonprofit media company PRX, Kerri Hoffman has played a key role in the building and evolution of PRX, and led the launch of the Radiotopia podcast network, ‘The Moth Radio Hour,” “Reveal,” and recently managed all aspects of PRX’s merger with Public Radio International. She was recently named Podcast Executive of the Year by Adweek. For 15 years, PRX has operated public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of shows including “This American Life,” “Snap Judgment,” and more. Named one of Fast Company’s “Ten Most Innovative Companies in Media” in both 2015 and 2017, the company has pioneered new approaches to content, talent, and technology.