When Strategy Meets Organization Design for Nonprofits with Jeanne Bell
From Nonprofit Mission: Impact by Carol Hamilton
February 10, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 142
About this episode
Carol Hamilton and Jeanne Bell discuss the importance of organization design in nonprofits and how it can help operationalize strategy and values.
Nonprofit organization design is about how an organization works: how decisions get made, how power flows, how people collaborate across boundaries, and how strategy actually gets translated into day-to-day action. In episode 142, of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Jeanne Bell dig deeply into why organization design—often overlooked or reduced to org charts—is actually a missing discipline nonprofits need to truly operationalize their strategy and values. They discuss: How nonprofits are too often stuck in false dichotomies (flat vs. hierarchical), Why too many organizations are burdened by overly complicated compensation systems, and hindered by management team structures that don't reflect how strategy actually needs to happen. How by aligning Galbraith's STAR model elements—strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people, nonprofit organizations can genuinely act on their missions. This episode offers nonprofit leaders a grounded, liberating framework for rethinking how their organizations make decisions, how people collaborate, and what it really means to design for impact. Episode highlights: 09:05 | Why the STAR Model Matters in Nonprofit Life 13:20 | A…
People in this episode
Host: Carol Hamilton
Guest: Jeanne Bell
Topics covered
- organization design
- nonprofit strategy
- collaboration
- decision making
- management structures
- compensation systems
Keywords
- nonprofit
- strategy
- organization design
- collaboration
- STAR model
- decision making
- management
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Galbraith's STAR model
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