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Playbook for Changemakers
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30 November 2026
Nonprofit organizations face significant financial pressures as the landscapes in which they operate rapidly evolve. They have a constant feeling of too much work to be done with too few resources. Nonprofit teams must adapt their approach or risk failing to support and strengthen the communities they serve.
Empowering nonprofit professionals to create greater change for those they serve, Playbook for Changemakers guides them through adopting proven Agile approaches, one tactic at a time.
With concrete steps for enhancing the way teams work and thrive together, and with practical examples of Agile techniques in nonprofit organizations as well as helpful templates and guides, it allows nonprofit leaders and anyone committed to changemaking, including ESG programs, to break the cycle of frustration and exhaustion.
Playbook for Changemakers is the definitive source for all mission-driven organizations to boost employee engagement by identifying and implementing proven Agile ways of working, empowering them to achieve their mission
Diane H. Leonard, GPC, RST, is the founder of the world's premier Agile consultancy focused exclusively on supporting nonprofits, charities, and NGOs in adopting and practicing Agile ways of working to achieve impact in their communities more quickly, yet at a sustainable pace.
Since founding the company in 2006, Diane and her team have secured more than $177.92 million in competitive grant awards using Agile methodologies, which they now train organizations to use as well. Diane and her team have trained nearly 100,000 individuals in grant writing and nonprofit capacity building, and nearly 7,000 in Agile ways of working in any nonprofit team setting.
The co-host of Agile Driven Impact, a podcast for changemakers, Diane is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and trainer. Diane is a Grant Professional Certified (GPC), Approved Trainer of the Grant Professionals Association, and a Registered Scrum Trainer (RST) through by Scrum, Inc.
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Introduction – Agile Plays for Nonprofits
Part I – Build Healthy Teams
Chapter 1. Warm Up Your Team for Agile Ways of Working
Chapter 2. Build and Maintain a Psychologically Safe Environment
Chapter 3. Create a Team Working Agreement
Chapter 4. Celebrate Your Unique Skills and Qualities
Chapter 5. Measure Your Team’s Happiness
Chapter 6. Know Your Team’s Stress Levels
Chapter 7. Check In on Team Well-being
Chapter 8. Minimize Heroic Efforts
Part II – Make Work Visible
Chapter 9. Agree on the Long-term Goal for Your Team
Chapter 10. Identify Small Goals on the Way to the BIG Goal
Chapter 11. Align Team Goals with Individual Professional Development
Chapter 12. Avoid the Duplication of Effort
Chapter 13. Understand the Relative Size of Your Work
Chapter 14. Use Past Performance to Set Future Work Commitments
Chapter 15. Learn How to Best Help Each Other
Chapter 16. Give and Receive Meaningful Feedback
Part III – Improve the System
Chapter 17. Operate at a Sustainable Pace
Chapter 18. Identify Your Unique Factors that Create Success
Chapter 19. Celebrate the Achievement of ALL Milestones
Chapter 20. Customize the Recognition of Individual Contributions
Chapter 21. Improve the Way the Team Works Together
Chapter 22. Use the Question “Why?” to Get to the Root Cause
Chapter 23. Identifying Your Future Desired State
Chapter 24. Ask "How Might We?"
Conclusion – Putting All the Plays Together
Resources
Glossary
Sources