You don’t need positional authority to be an influential change leader. As a grants professional, you sit in one of the most influential seats in the entire philanthropic ecosystem. Your work connects to legal, finance, senior leadership, and decision-making processes and to the partners on the ground doing the work of social change. When your organization moves through change, you’re not on the sidelines. You’re at the center of it.
Your job isn’t to decide the strategy. It’s to help make the strategy succeed. This requires a different kind of leadership. It’s less about having the answers and more about how you show up in the room, on the team, and inside the system when things are shifting underneath everyone’s feet.
Change is a human experience before it’s a strategic one. Most change management training treats change like a project plan: milestones, timelines, sign-off. This course starts with the truth that change is felt long before it’s implemented, and if we don’t tend to that human layer, no strategy survives contact with the people meant to carry it out.
Through the tools and practices shared in this self-paced workshop developed in partnership with Daniel Weinzveg of The Meeting Guru, you’ll cultivate a grounded, curious, courageous leadership stance that doesn’t require a title to be felt. You’ll leave with real tools for navigating conflict with curiosity and a clearer sense of your own role as a change agent inside the work you already do every day.
Learning Objectives
- Distinguish between organizational change and personal transition and better understand why people respond differently to change.
- Develop practical strategies for staying grounded, resilient, and adaptable during periods of uncertainty.
- Increase your influence by building trust, communicating effectively, and supporting colleagues through change—even without formal authority.
- Navigate resistance with greater curiosity, empathy, and confidence.
- Create your own Change Leadership Playbook with practical tools you can immediately apply to your work.
This course is designed for grants professionals who are helping their organizations navigate change from the middle.You don’t need to be a director or executive to lead meaningful change. In fact, grants professionals often play one of the most influential roles in helping organizations successfully implement new ideas, systems, and ways of working.
This course is ideal for those:
- Supporting organizational changes that you didn’t necessarily initiate.
- Looking for practical strategies to immediately apply, build buy-in, and influence across teams.
- Navigating new technologies, policies, or organizational priorities.
- Preparing for difficult conversations around change.
- Interested in becoming a more trusted, confident, and resilient leader.
Whether you’re relatively new to grantmaking or an experienced practitioner, this course will help you strengthen your capacity to navigate change with confidence, compassion, and clarity.