We’ve all heard it:
“Leadership is lonely.”
And for many of the nonprofit CEOs and executive leaders I coach, that statement feels painfully true.
But I want to ask a deeper question — one that’s both strategic and personal:
Is leadership isolating… or do leaders isolate?
The Isolation Is Real — But It’s Not Inevitable
There’s no question that leading an organization, especially in the nonprofit sector, can be profoundly isolating. The expectations are enormous. You’re navigating competing priorities, managing complex relationships with boards, staff, and funders, and trying to hold the vision steady — even when things around you are shifting.
You’re expected to know the answer to every question. To be the calm in every storm. To “figure it out” while keeping everyone else feeling seen and secure.
And when you’re at the top, there’s no one else to “run it by” — at least, not internally.
But here’s the nuance:
Sometimes isolation happens to us. Sometimes we create it ourselves.
When Leaders Isolate
In the face of pressure, many leaders retreat.
They disconnect from their teams and lean into spaces where they feel understood — often peer groups or leadership cohorts filled with people “at the same level.”
Those spaces can be helpful — until they become echo chambers.
I’ve seen leaders use these rooms to vent about their staff, dismiss the concerns of direct reports, and reinforce outdated leadership styles. The same “us vs. them” energy that they experience from above — they unintentionally recreate below.
The result?
❌ Disconnection
❌ Burnout
❌ A culture that stops growing
Rebuilding Connection Through Leadership
The antidote to isolation isn’t just more confidence.
It’s connection.
But not just any connection — the kind that invites courageous collaboration, cross-functional trust, and shared accountability.
In my coaching work through Connecting Forward, I help leaders build systems of collaborative accountability — where senior leadership teams become true partners, not passive recipients of direction. Where vision isn’t just held by the CEO, but lived throughout the organization. Where culture isn’t inherited — it’s redesigned.
And yes, that work is hard.
Especially if the culture you inherited is deeply tied to a previous leader, or if your team has grown used to deferring responsibility upward. But change is possible.
You just don’t have to do it alone.
Leadership Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely
If you’re leading in a high-stakes environment — whether you’re a first-year executive director, a longtime CEO ready to scale, or someone who’s simply feeling the weight of the work — I want you to know this:
You are not alone.
There’s a different way to lead. A connected way. A courageous way. A more human way.