I have no idea how our project will end
I used to know exactly how to fix your organization. Now? I have no idea how our project will end.
Here is a confession that only comes with years of trial and error.
After 10 years in the non-profit sector and 6 years of consulting, training, and facilitating strategic sessions, my perspective has shifted entirely. Having worked with dozens of teams (and currently advising 8 organizations) I’ve come to a paradoxical conclusion:
The more I learn about how NGOs actually function, the fewer ready-made answers I have.
When I first started out as an organizational consultant, I carried the classic confidence of a young expert. I would walk into a new organization, instantly "diagnose" the issue, and mentally write a prescription. I genuinely believed there was a single "right" way to run things, and my job was simply to align every unique team with that standard textbook model.
Today, balancing many completely different organizations at the same time, I realize how naive that approach was.
Three Insights that redefined my practice:
1. The presenting problem is rarely the real one.Organizations usually reach out with a clear request: “We need a new fundraising strategy” or “Help us fix our internal communications.” But once we start digging, the surface-level issue turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg. The real root cause is often buried deeper: founder burnout, unaligned core values, a fear of delegation, or a hidden conflict paralyzing the team. A MailChimp setup won't fix that.
2. There are no universal remedies. NGOs are living, breathing ecosystems. A strategy that works flawlessly for one media outlet or human rights group might completely disrupt the organizational culture of another. True impact lies in finding what organically fits this specific group of people, not in blind copying "best practices."
3. Certainty blinds you. The moment a consultant decides they "know it all," they stop listening. They stop seeing the actual organization and start forcing reality into their favorite theoretical framework.
For me, professionalism is no longer about playing the all-knowing guru. It is about the willingness to step into the zone of uncertainty alongside the team. I no longer promise neat, predictable outcomes during our first discovery call. Instead, my job is to ask the right (and often uncomfortable) questions, illuminate blind spots, help the team safely unpack their core challenges, and co-create a solution that belongs to them.
Being a consultant who doesn't rely on templates is much more demanding. But it is the only way to spark real change.
To my fellow consultants and NGO leaders: Have you ever had an initial project request flip 180 degrees once you actually started working together? What did the client ask for, and what did you actually end up solving?
