Nick Grono Wrote the Leadership Book He Himself Missed. It’s a Manifesto for Purpose and Impact

You could pave Denmark with leadership literature. But the portion that deals with leading NGOs wouldn’t even cover a sidewalk in Tilst.

Nick Grono has now done something about that. After 20 years in leadership roles in various nonprofit organizations, he has written the book he himself missed when he became a leader and has needed ever since.

“Every time I meet with other nonprofit leaders, we end up talking about how we struggle with fundraising, board relations, or an activist staff. And we all feel like we’re facing it alone,” says Nick Grono.

“But we’re not. We’re all grappling with the same issues. There just wasn’t a book that seriously addressed these challenges.”

A foundational book for NGO leaders

Nick Grono is the CEO of The Freedom Fund, an organization that works globally to eradicate all forms of slavery.

He has previously held senior leadership positions at the International Crisis Group and has a long track record as a board member in charitable organizations.

So what kind of book has he written?

First and foremost, How to Lead Nonprofits is a foundational book that methodically covers the key disciplines an NGO leader must master. It includes ten areas under the main categories of Purpose, People, and Partners.

Together, these form a compendium that is not reflected in the rest of the leadership literature, which typically stems from the business world.

And, as Nick Grono points out, there’s a big difference between running a company and an NGO. The latter is much more complex.

“When you work for a company, you have very clear goals, which are often about financial returns. In an NGO, it’s about driving change. Success is measured by your ability to contribute to change, which can often be unclear and very difficult to measure,” says Nick Grono.

Furthermore, an NGO leader has more stakeholders to consider than a business leader, he notes.

“You have your staff, who hold significant power in an NGO, your target audience, your funders, your board, and all the organizations in your field. This often results in a very murky leadership environment,” says Nick Grono.

How do you measure success?

Nick Grono is deeply concerned with measurement, as it holds the key to understanding whether an NGO is achieving its purpose.

How, for example, do you measure whether his own organization, The Freedom Fund, is successfully reducing slavery in regions with high prevalence of human trafficking and exploitation?

“Imagine that we work hard and help 1,000 people out of exploitative conditions; is that good or bad?” asks Nick Grono.

Because The Freedom Fund may have met a goal of helping 1,000 people, but the target might have been set too low. Or what if the organization has helped 1,000 people out of slavery, but during the same period, 2,000 others fell into terrible conditions?

“So how do you compare my organization with another one that might be working on changing legislation around slavery and human trafficking? And how do you compare our performance with, for example, an art gallery or an NGO that is working to combat food insecurity?”

That’s a problem, Nick Grono believes.

“Because we struggle to measure our progress, it’s difficult to say whether NGOs are successful or not. We tell anecdotes, but we struggle to compare actual progress. And that can lead to a lack of accountability,” he says.

A manifesto for driving change

And here we touch on the core of the book.

Because in addition to being a leadership book grounded in the realities of an NGO, How to Lead Nonprofits is a manifesto for driving change in the world – clearly stated in the subtitle “Turning Purpose into Impact to Change the World.”

This, Nick Grono believes, is an NGO’s highest calling. And it’s a responsibility an NGO leader must take very seriously.

“There is nothing more important than the causes we work for in the NGO sector. In my case, it’s about ending slavery. That’s a pretty important cause. And there are people who give us money so we can succeed,” says Nick Grono.

This, he points out, is an obligation.

“We can’t afford to say, ‘Let’s try this. Or how about that?’ We are entrusted with resources so we can create the greatest possible change. It’s our responsibility to make a real difference.”

He believes it’s up to NGOs to demonstrate their dedication in everything they do – and to turn that dedication into tangible results that make a difference.

“It’s not about growing your organization but about creating the greatest possible change with the resources you can mobilize,” he says.

Size isn’t the important thing.

“Maybe you’re running a shelter or a food bank or a crisis center for women who have been subjected to domestic violence. That doesn’t mean you have to run 50 of them, but the ones you do run should be run effectively. Your obligation is to do it as well as you possibly can. And it’s very rewarding when it succeeds,” says Nick Grono.

Purpose as a source of strength

For Nick Grono, working for a purpose is a constant source of strength.

A little over 20 years ago, he was hired by the International Crisis Group, responsible for advocacy and research. Before that, he had worked as a lawyer for Goldman Sachs and the Australian government. And he was immediately struck by how different purpose-driven work felt.

“I was working for an organization that prevents crises, so I traveled to countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan. And you see some pretty confronting things,” says Nick Grono.

“It was, of course, tough, but I never doubted the significance of my work. There is rarely any doubt that what you’re working for is positive – which is especially different from working in a private company.”

Purpose provides clarity

The fact that NGOs are born with a purpose provides nonprofit leaders with a great advantage, Nick Grono points out. If you protect that purpose, you have a strong force you can always turn to when facing difficult questions.

“I get a lot of clarity by thinking about what our purpose is,” says Nick Grono.

One example is how his organization, The Freedom Fund, should respond to the situation in Gaza. Impact Insider has described this in an analysis.

Another example is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Freedom Fund wasn’t active there, but when the war forced millions of women and children to flee, making them potential victims of human trafficking, the organization had to respond.

“We issued a statement saying that we were looking into the situation and would investigate whether we could add value,” says Nick Grono.

“But our conclusion was that European governments had responded appropriately to the problem and that we couldn’t add anything of value.”

Nick Grono notes that The Freedom Fund could have raised large sums because interest in supporting Ukraine was overwhelming. The organization chose not to do so.

“To me, it didn’t reflect the core of our purpose, which is to work in countries with high prevalence of human trafficking and low levels of support for the work. So my conclusion was that there were more resources available – compared to, for example, Myanmar and India – and that others were better positioned to help,” says Nick Grono.

In this way, purpose provides a clear direction that brings coherence to daily decisions.

“Focusing on purpose doesn’t answer all questions, of course, but it helps create clarity,” says Nick Grono.

And he emphasizes the importance of turning purpose into concrete change:

“Purpose and impact are the threads that run through everything NGOs do. And I believe it’s your responsibility as a leader to focus on the purpose and the change your organization was created to achieve.”