Stall Pattern 1: Operating in Reactive Mode
When every day feels like putting out fires, it's really hard to move forward. You spend your time responding to emails, handling last-minute requests, and jumping from one urgent thing to the next.
Before you know it, the week is over, and the big picture work, the strategy, the planning, the relationship building, never happened. And it suuuuucks.
This is the reactive mode.
The fix: This sounds like a small thing but it was a game changer for me – Block 2-3 hours per week specifically for planning and strategy. Put it on your calendar like a meeting you can't cancel and protect that block of time like a mama bear protecting her cubs. Let folks know you are unavailable and unreachable during that time. Use that time to think ahead, work on your fundraising plan, or map out your next program.
Stall Pattern 2: Doing Too Many Things at Once
It's easy to say yes to everything when you care deeply about your mission. A new program idea here. A special event there. Another initiative that sounds really promising. Before long, your team is stretched thin, nothing is getting the attention it deserves, and everything feels halfway done.
Doing too many things at once doesn't just burn out your team; it also undermines your team's effectiveness. It actually slows your growth because nothing ever fully develops, streamlines, or scales.
The organizations that grow the fastest aren't doing the most things. They're doing the right things really well.
The fix: Choose 1-2 priorities and go deep. Decide what they should be based on what’s gaining traction and most effectively moving your work forward. Resist the urge to add more until those things are running smoothly and have clear systems behind them. Focus is not a limitation. It's a growth strategy.
Stall Pattern 3: No Clear System to Turn Interest Into Support
People are finding your organization. They're following you on social media, visiting your website, maybe even showing up to an event. But then the connection fades. They don't end up donating, volunteering, or staying engaged. 😐
This is one of the most frustrating stall patterns because the interest is there. The problem is that there is no clear path guiding people from curiosity to commitment.
There’s some kind of invisible bottleneck – so we’ve got to tackle that.
The fix: Find the bottleneck by mapping out your audience journey. Here's a simple way to start:
- Awareness: How do people first find you? Social media, word of mouth, events?
- Interest: What do you offer them next? A newsletter signup, a follow, a free resource?
- Engagement: How do you keep them connected? Regular updates, volunteer opportunities, events?
- Action: What's the clear ask? Donate, volunteer, or become a recurring supporter?
When you can see the full journey, you can spot exactly where people are falling off and fix it.
Ready to Break Through Your Stall Patterns?
If any of these patterns hit close to home, I want you to know there's a place where we work through exactly this kind of stuff together.
The Changemaker Accelerator is my private membership community for nonprofit and social impact leaders who are ready to stop spinning their wheels and start making progress. We've got dozens of templates and tools, extra courses, peer discussions, and monthly group coaching where we cover everything from fundraising and strategy to marketing and leadership.
Enrollment is open right now, and we'd love to see you there!
Try it this week 🚀
Pick one of these three stall patterns and ask yourself, " Is this showing up in my organization right now?” Then take one small step toward fixing it this week. You don't have to solve everything at once. Just start with one thing.
