Episode
Joan Garry on Being a Successful Leader
- Published
- Feb 4, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3045
- Processing state
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- https://episode.flightcast.com/01KGJRTCKQWB5GD3YCRNVTA9Q6.mp3
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Summary
When the world’s on fire, who shows up? Nonprofits. Yet few people know exactly how deeply embedded they are in daily life. They make our communities the special places they are, from animal rescues to food banks, schools to places of worship. But how can they survive, much less thrive, especially when the world around us is so chaotic and adversarial? There is perhaps no better person to answer this question than Joan Garry (https://joangarry.com/). On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nonprofit Leadership Lab (https://nonprofitleadershiplab.com/) founder Joan Garry for a candid and insightful conversation about why some organizations succeed, so many fail, and how all leaders and nonprofits can enjoy more success. Joan reconstructs her delightfully twisty career arc from working at MTV in the early 1980s to leading GLAAD in the late 1990s, to later realizing that her highest and best purpose was helping other nonprofit leaders succeed. She shares how she fell into activism by simply wanting to protect her young family from laws that weren’t inclusive of them, and how her membership-based business grew out of a decision to devote herself more fully to her family. She breaks down the common pitfalls that hold leaders from accomplishing their worthiest goals, and reveals hidden secrets to nonprofit success (hint: better board relations and better marketing!). This episode explores themes of leadership, purpose, scarcity, legacy, growth, and transformation. Guest: Joan Garry Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Chapters: Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:53 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:05:46 From MTV to Don King 00:08:12 Taking the Leap to GLAAD 0…