How Nonprofit Leaders Can Create Cultures of Trust and Belonging

What does it take to lead with courage when the work of building equitable and inclusive workplaces feels more fraught than ever? That’s the question at the heart of our recent Leader Salon Fireside Chat, where Brooklyn Org welcomed executive directors from over a dozen local nonprofit organizations for a conversation with author and workplace strategist Daisy Auger-Domínguez.

Brooklyn’s nonprofit leaders—and leaders everywhere—are navigating complex challenges every day, often with limited resources and high stakes. At Brooklyn Org, we believe that supporting nonprofit leadership is essential to strengthening the organizations that offer lifelines to communities across our borough

In dialogue with Brooklyn Org Board Member Lesleigh Irish-Underwood, Auger-Domínguez shared practical tips on building workplaces that thrive. She also offered a powerful call for nonprofit leaders to root their equity work not only in values, but in action.

“Inclusion is not a ‘nice to have,’ It’s a leadership competency of the future.” Auger-Domínguez shared.

Drawing from her years of experience leading people and culture teams at organizations like Moody’s, Disney, and Google, Auger-Domínguez named what many in the room already knew to be true: creating inclusive workplaces is deeply personal, often emotional, and always strategic.

Thinking critically about inclusion is essential for organizations that seek to reflect and serve their communities more effectively.

Here are a few of the insights and questions that emerged from the conversation:

1. Inclusion starts with reflection.

   If you want to embed equity in your organization, start by asking yourself why it matters to you. What excites you about it? What scares you? “The work begins with self,” Auger-Domínguez said. Understanding your own relationship to power, discomfort, and identity is what makes it possible to lead others through change.

2. Courage doesn’t have to be loud.

   “Pragmatic courage,” as she calls it, shows up in many forms. Sometimes it means speaking truth in a boardroom. Other times it means having a quiet conversation before a meeting to ensure someone else’s voice is heard. True leadership isn’t about being fearless, but about being strategic in when and how you take risks.

3. Don’t build a diverse team without creating conditions for them to thrive.

   Recruitment is only one piece of inclusion. “You can bring people in, but if the workplace is inhospitable, they won’t stay.” Auger-Domínguez shared. To create truly diverse teams that sustain, “leaders need to build cultures of trust, create feedback loops, provide meaningful development opportunities, and advocate for policies that meet people’s needs.”

4. Support doesn’t always look the same for everyone.

   Particularly for those doing racial equity work, burnout and emotional harm are real. Support might mean offering a coach, affirming someone’s experience, or stepping in so they don’t always have to be the one speaking up. Creating inclusive teams requires recognizing when someone needs backup and being willing to offer it, especially when it’s not convenient or easy to do so.

5. Joy is part of the job.

   In a time when diversity, equity, inclusion work is under political attack, Auger-Domínguez reminded attendees that joy is not a distraction from the work; it’s what sustains it. “We deserve to create workplaces where people feel seen, valued, and able to grow,” she said. “That includes us, too.”

At BKO, we invest in nonprofit leaders not only through funding, but through providing spaces to connect, reflect, and learn together. Conversations like this one are part of how we build more just and inclusive organizations across our borough.