GlobalGiving Builds a Shared Language of Leadership
The Challenge
A cohort of 12 mid-level leaders at GlobalGiving — a global nonprofit connecting donors with community-led organizations worldwide — arrived at the Exploration Leadership Accelerator at a genuinely hard moment. The sector was demanding more than ever: tighter bandwidth, higher stakes, and the particular tension of living in the “messy middle” between executive strategy and frontline teams.
Their goals were varied but interconnected — delegating more effectively, navigating ambiguity, communicating upward, and holding onto strategic thinking when daily pressures pulled them into the weeds. What many hadn’t yet named: they were doing this largely alone, without a shared language for the experience of leading at GlobalGiving.
The Approach
The cohort moved through the Exploration Leadership Accelerator — a combination of group coaching sessions and individual 1:1 coaching built around the HABIT framework (Humility, Aspiration, Bravery, Inquiry, and Transformation). The design was intentional: group work built context, connection, and the relief of shared recognition; individual sessions created space to go deeper on what each person was actually navigating.
Because the cohort came from the same organisation, the group dynamic carried an added dimension — participants could name challenges specific to their shared workplace, develop a common vocabulary, and build the kind of trust that outlasts any single program.
The Results
Across 10 participants who completed both the preliminary and closing surveys, average competency confidence rose steadily throughout the program. Nine out of ten participants improved their overall scores.
Transformation: Long-term Goals showed the single biggest shift — at the start, no participant rated themselves “Quite” confident or higher; by close, 7 out of 10 did. Every participant improved on this dimension.
Aspiration: Reframing Challenges jumped from 5/10 to 9/10 rating “Quite” or higher.
Bravery, Inquiry, and Transformation: Use Feedback all moved from 4–6 out of 10 to 8 out of 10 rating “Quite” or higher.
100% of closing survey respondents rated Instructor Effectiveness a 5 out of 5.
All participants said they would recommend the program to other leaders.
“Maura is exactly the person you want in your corner when it comes to expanding what is possible as a leader. In a world of immense uncertainty, she has an innate ability to bring focus, calm, and intentionality — I am walking away feeling like I have about 100 new tools in my toolbelt.”
“The Exploration Leadership Accelerator single-handedly changed the way I think about leadership. Maura’s superpower is getting to the root of the problem and identifying solutions that are both easy to understand and easy to implement.”
“Participating alongside my colleagues helped us build stronger relationships and develop a shared language for addressing challenges together. I’m leaving not only more confident, but better equipped to be a thoughtful, effective leader.”