Building Shared Values and Collective Governance with Sumona Majumdar

07/09/24 • 44 min

The Hive Collective Podcast: Shifting Power in Nonprofits

In this episode of The Hive Collective Podcast, we sit down with Sumona Majumdar, the CEO of Earth Island Institute, to explore her journey and the significant changes she has introduced since taking on the role in March of last year. Sumona shares the thoughtful approach she took in her initial months, starting with a two-day retreat designed to foster shared values and build strong relationships within her team.

Sumona discusses how these retreats, held every four to five months, were instrumental in creating an environment of trust and open communication. The process involved engaging activities that allowed team members to connect on a personal level, which paved the way for honest discussions about values and future goals.

A particularly memorable activity was envisioning the impact of their work seven generations into the future, as well as reflecting on their ancestral histories. This exercise helped team members connect on a deeper level, acknowledging their diverse backgrounds while uniting around a common vision for the future.

Central to their transformation was the implementation of collective governance. Earth Island Institute adopted values such as community, adaptability, justice, equity, and power sharing, which have become the guiding principles for their decision-making processes. They established decision-making circles for critical areas like compensation, hiring, and DEI, involving a broader range of staff in these decisions to distribute the leadership load more equitably.

Sumona also reflects on the challenges of this transition, including the initial excitement and the practical concerns of managing increased workloads. Despite some ongoing adjustments, the shift to collective governance has been a positive step towards a more inclusive and collaborative work environment.

Tune in to hear more about how Earth Island Institute is navigating these changes and the impact of shared values on its organizational culture.

Connect with us:

Visit Earth Island Institute: https://www.earthisland.org/
Visit our website: Hive Collective
Follow Beth Ellen Holimon on LinkedIn for more insights and updates.https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-ellen-holimon-cfre/

@Beth Ellen Holimon

The Hive Collective is a strategic partner to nonprofits and NGOs all over the world. Reach out to us at [email protected]
Hivecollective.net
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Tune in to hear more about how Earth Island Institute is navigating these changes and the impact of shared values on its organizational culture.

Connect with us:

Visit Earth Island Institute: https://www.earthisland.org/
Visit our website: Hive Collective
Follow Beth Ellen Holimon on LinkedIn for more insights and updates.https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-ellen-holimon-cfre/

@Beth Ellen Holimon

Previous Episode

Harrison Brookie: Improv Comedy for Organizations

In this episode, we dive into the world of improv with Harrison Brookie, the Executive Director of Alchemy Comedy Theater. Harrison shares his journey into improv, starting from a theater requirement in college to leading a successful comedy theater in Greenville, South Carolina. He explains the essence of Alchemy Comedy, highlighting their weekly shows, classes, and corporate training programs.
Harrison's journey began with a simple requirement: participate in a theater production during his time as an education major at Clemson University. Seeking the least demanding option, he stumbled upon improv. What started as a convenient choice turned into a passion that has now spanned two decades.
Alchemy Comedy Theater, named after the concept of transforming the mundane into something precious, offers a range of classes from beginner to advanced levels. These classes teach students how to create something out of nothing, turning audience suggestions into comedy gold. The theater also engages in corporate training, demonstrating the practical applications of improv in the workplace.
Harrison delves into how improv skills are relevant to management and working with people. He emphasizes the importance of the "Yes, and" principle, where accepting and building on ideas fosters creativity and collaboration. This mindset encourages teams to explore the potential in every idea, leading to innovative solutions that no one person could have conceived alone.
One notable concept Harrison shares is the idea of adding "1% weird" to interactions. This principle encourages participants to spot and highlight unique, interesting aspects of a situation, making interactions more engaging and memorable. This approach not only makes business processes more enjoyable but also helps in identifying patterns and generating creative solutions.
Harrison also discusses the importance of ensemble thinking in improv, which parallels effective teamwork in any organization. He draws from his experience as a high school U.S. history teacher, illustrating how improv techniques enhance storytelling and engage students. He highlights the value of collaboration, where multiple perspectives and contributions lead to a richer and more dynamic outcome.
In a nonprofit context, Harrison explains how improv principles can be applied to team meetings and problem-solving. By fostering a culture of openness and humor, nonprofits can tackle serious issues like hunger with a fresh perspective. He encourages leaders to take themselves less seriously, allowing for a more relaxed environment where creativity can flourish.
Finally, Harrison underscores the role of leadership in creating a trusting and collaborative environment. He shares an anecdote about a CEO learning to accept feedback, illustrating the impact of genuine openness and the willingness to let others take the reins.
Tune in to this insightful episode to learn how the art of improv can transform your approach to leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving in the nonprofit sector.
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**Credits:**
Guest: Harrison Brookie, Executive Director of Alchemy Comedy Theater
Host: Beth Ellen Holimon
Podcast: The Hive Collective Podcast
Find us on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-ellen-holimon-cfre/
For more information about Alchemy Comedy Theater, visit: http://alchemycomedy.com/
@Beth Ellen Holimon
https://hivecollective.net

Next Episode

Building Community Power: From Trauma to Transformation with Camryn Smith and Jen Zuckerman

Welcome to The Hive Collective Podcast with your host, Beth Ellen Holimon. In this episode, we explore how nonprofits can shift power dynamics by centering those directly impacted by systemic injustices. Today’s guests are:
Cameron Smith – Writer, anti-racism activist, and co-founder of Communities in Partnership (CIP) in Durham, NC. She shares her powerful story of how a tragic event led to the creation of a "community-rooted" organization.
Jen Zuckerman -Advisory board member at CIP, consultant on power reorganization, and former philanthropy executive. She discusses her journey from traditional power structures to understanding and supporting community-rooted movements.
Join us for a deep dive into how these leaders are reshaping narratives, building relationships, and rethinking the role of nonprofits.
Full Bios:
Camryn Smith is a proud resident of Old East Durham and a community activist & organizer. She has been serving in place-based development work for over 23 years both stateside and abroad. Camryn is one of the founding members of Communities In Partnership (CIP), a community-rooted organizing and education group based in Old East Durham and serves as the Founding Executive Director. CIP focuses on addressing policy and systemic inequity for BIPOC and materially poor people within Durham focusing on social determinants of health, economic development, gentrification, and housing. Camryn is a RWJF Culture of Health Leader (Cohort 3), and an Aspen Institute Healthy Communities Fellow (cohort/2022). She also serves locally as co-chair of Organizing Against Racism-Durham as well as serving as a member of the Racial Equity Taskforce for the City of Durham and the Built2Last/Durham Compact Board of Advisors. She also serves on the Executive and Steering Committees for the Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD) which is a national collaborative of food systems organizations run by black and brown communities to reshape the narrative surrounding food, community and economic development centered in black and brown liberation. To see more, go to the CIP website.

Jen Zuckerman is owner of Zuckerman Consulting, working with philanthropic, academic, and community organizations on issues of power, connection, and authentic relationship building. As part of her work with Zuckerman Consulting, Jen contracts with the DEI Works Collective. Her work focuses on institutional organizing, concentrating specifically on recognizing power and operationalizing power shift strategies.

She previously served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Duke University’s World Food Policy Center, focusing on people-first policy development for equitable food policy in the US. There, she supported research to demonstrate the racialized history of policies that have created the inequities in the food system of today, identifying strategies that shift power and decision making to community leadership.

Jen’s background is in philanthropy, spending twelve years at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation as the Senior Program Officer for Healthy Living and the Director of Strategic Partnerships and as a Board member/Board Chair of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders Network.