Episode 4

full
Published on:

26th Aug 2025

Creating a Feedback-Friendly Environment: Tools for Team Success and Retention

In this episode of 'The NonProfit Nook,' host Wendy Kidd and guest Kendria Taylor, a learning and development expert, delve into the importance of creating a culture of feedback within nonprofit organizations. They discuss the definition and the significance of providing various types of feedback: reinforcing, redirecting, impact, and reflective. Kendria shares practical models such as the 'GOOD' model for effective feedback and provides strategies for personalizing feedback based on communication styles. The episode emphasizes that consistent, thoughtful feedback can build trust, enhance morale, and boost organizational performance. Kendria also offers listeners free tools to improve their feedback approaches, making this episode an invaluable resource for nonprofit leaders aiming to strengthen their teams and retain top talent.

Links: 

https://www.tg8solutions.com

https://www.instagram.com/thekendriataylor/

https://www.instagram.com/tg8solutionsinsight/

https://www.bosslevelengaged.com/services-for-nonprofits-nonprofitnook

https://thenonprofitnook.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@BossLevelEngaged


00:00 Introduction to Active Listening

00:23 Welcome to The NonProfit Nook

01:09 Meet Kendria Taylor

02:45 The Importance of Feedback

09:21 Types of Feedback

13:40 Developing Your Team with Feedback

19:14 The Importance of Ongoing Feedback

19:49 Creating a Culture of Feedback

20:25 Introducing the Good Model

21:54 Breaking Down the Good Model

24:21 Giving Feedback to Leaders

27:34 Understanding Communication Styles

30:31 Reflective and Empathetic Listening

33:16 Free Resources and Conclusion

Mentioned in this episode:

Flodesk

Transcript
Wendy Kidd:

You need to, to participate in active listening.

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Mm-hmm.

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I don't think many people understand what

that means, so I'm just gonna define it.

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Active listening means that

you are listening without

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trying to frame your response.

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Kendria Taylor: Yes.

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Wendy Kidd: You cannot active listen,

if you are in your head going, okay, she

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said this, so I'm gonna say this back.

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You have to just sit with it for a second.

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Welcome to The NonProfit Nook, the podcast

for nonprofit leaders, board members,

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and community change makers who want to

build stronger, smarter organizations.

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I'm your host, Wendy Kidd, a longtime

business owner and nonprofit leader,

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and I'm here to bring you real talk,

real tools and real stories to help

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you thrive in the nonprofit world.

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I'll be talking with local nonprofit

leaders, community change makers

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and experts in everything from board

development to fundraising and digital

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tools, sharing real stories and

simple strategies you can actually use

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because running a nonprofit is hard,

but you don't have to do it alone.

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Let's get started.

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Today's guest is Kendria Taylor,

a powerhouse in learning and

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development, with over 20 years

of experience spanning education,

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corporate and nonprofit sectors.

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Known for her high energy, out of the

box facilitation style, Kendria delivers

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training sessions that keep people

laughing, learning, and fully engaged.

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Yes, even in the dreaded post-lunch slump.

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As the founder of TG8 Solutions

Insight, she specializes in developing

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talent, strengthening communication,

and helping organizations navigate

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conflict with creativity and confidence.

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Her impressive career includes leadership

roles from VP to interim CEO, credentials

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and mediation and DEI and a client list

featuring names like Lockheed Martin,

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Texas Instruments and the City of Denton.

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Kendria's mission: equipping

organizations with the tools they

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need to innovate, engage, and thrive.

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Welcome Miss Kendria.

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Kendria Taylor: Thank you so much.

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That was so excellent.

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I love it.

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I love it.

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Wendy Kidd: I gotta make

you sound good, girl.

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Yes, because you are amazing.

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I, I, just so everybody knows, I met

Kendria in my Goldman Sachs class and

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she just impressed the heck outta me.

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She was actually the first person I met.

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Uh, in the parking lot.

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Do you remember?

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That's right.

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Kendria Taylor: During our interviews

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Wendy Kidd: actually.

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During our interviews, yes.

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Yes.

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And I looked you up then.

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Loved everything you were about and you

were one of the first people I thought

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of when I came up with this podcast.

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'cause I was like, oh,

she can teach us so much.

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But not only that, guys, I want you to

think of Kendria as a resource because

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that's what she does for a living.

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She is absolutely somebody you can

reach out to and bring into your

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organization and help you with the

things that we're gonna talk about.

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So let's start with your story,

Kendria, because what we wanted

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to talk about was feedback, and I

wanna know why is feedback such an

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important topic for you personally?

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Kendria Taylor: First of all, I love,

love, love talking about feedback.

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But before I answer that question,

let me ask you a question and you

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don't have to, uh, give me an answer,

but I want you to think about it.

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Who was the first person

that gave you feedback?

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Where did that feedback come from?

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Where were you at when

you got the feedback?

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Right?

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Yeah.

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How did that feedback make you feel?

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Wendy Kidd: Oh, not good.

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Kendria Taylor: Right?

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So you, you've already attached, when

you think about the very first time you

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got feedback, you've already attached

a feeling of, and it probably makes

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you anxious now just thinking about it.

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So we are in the workplace and we're

trying to push and drive and even pull

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people towards the mission, right?

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And so people are carrying these things.

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I like to call 'em my training

classes in their imaginary backpacks.

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We don't know what people

are bringing to work.

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Right?

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Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

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Kendria Taylor: So I will tell you my

very first piece of feedback that I carry

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with me everywhere came from my mother.

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And if people think about it, probably

came from a parent or a sibling,

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a a little league coach, whatever.

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Mm-hmm.

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But whatever that feedback was, was

enough for you to really think about it.

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And so this is gonna be,

this is funny to most people.

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I said this in a class, uh, last

week, and some guy just spit out

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his water when I said it, and I was

like, I'm still in therapy for this.

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So anyway, so the very first piece of

feedback that I got was from my mom.

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Now here's the deal.

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I have eight other siblings.

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And so my mom is quick and in a hurry

with the feedback and everything

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and I would ask question, she

ain't got time with that many kids.

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No time.

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She ain't got time, right?

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And so she was like, I was like,

mom, I'm thinking about these

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classes and I'm just not really sure.

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And she was like, look, you can't

be ugly and stupid, so go ahead

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and take the AP classes, right?

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Oh my goodness.

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I love it.

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Well, you can't change ugly, I guess.

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Like I better take these AP classes.

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Another thing she would say is, look,

you, you can't, you can't be dumb and

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lazy at the same time, so you really need

to go clean your room, make your bed,

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and at least look halfway presentable.

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Yep.

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Right?

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I'm like, yep.

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Fair, fair.

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So.

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When you say lazy and dumb, when I got

into management, if you weren't moving at

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the speed of Kendria, oh, they're lazy.

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Get rid of them.

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They're lazy and they're ugly.

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Get rid of them.

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That was my thing, and I had to

really grow out of that because

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my mom didn't mean, Hey, you're

really ugly, but she really wanted

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us to do better at other things.

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But the feedback and the

delivery was horrible.

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Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

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So, yeah.

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Yeah, yeah.

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I'm, I'm thinking about it and my,

my father was first to gimme feedback

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and he was a very critical person.

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He was a very angry person.

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Mm-hmm.

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So I, I've learned to dread

feedback and I just noticed as we

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were talking, like I was hunching

over as if I was preparing for it.

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Yet again, you guys are gonna

have to watch this on the

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YouTube channel to know that.

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Yeah.

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But I gotta, I gotta stand

back up and relax 'cause that's

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not about to happen right now.

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So it's fine.

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It's fine.

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So if your,

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Kendria Taylor: your, your

listeners, think about the

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first time they got feedback.

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I want you to know, I want you to think

about what feeling do you attach to that,

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and we're gonna share some tools and tips

today to kind of help you get over that.

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Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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When we talked about this podcast,

something you said that really struck,

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stuck with me was feedback can either help

you keep top talent or drive them away.

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Mm-hmm.

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Uh, can you share, have you've

seen that kind of play out?

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I know I've seen it play out.

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Kendria Taylor: Absolutely.

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Well, number one, most organizations.

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Don't have a feedback culture.

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Wendy Kidd: Yes.

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Right?

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Kendria Taylor: Mm-hmm.

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So when they're giving feedback,

I mean, they're just throwing

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everything against the wall.

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Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

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It was like,

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Kendria Taylor: okay, well

you didn't do this right.

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Okay, well give me more.

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Right, right.

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And so I have a short thing for that.

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If it's not bs, then it's bs.

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Right?

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Mm-hmm.

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If you're not being

specific, then it's bs.

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Yeah.

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So be specific with people, and

the way you drive talent away is.

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You don't tell them, number

one, they're doing a good job,

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so you're not reinforcing.

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But you're also not redirecting,

saying, Hey, this was really good, but

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I would've loved for you to add this on.

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But more importantly, which is my

favorite feedback, and we're gonna

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get into this a little bit later,

they're not, what's the, what's the

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main thing that you hear people say?

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People don't have any

critical thinking skills.

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Right.

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Reflective feedback can help with that.

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Yeah.

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They're not reflecting.

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Okay.

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Well, tell me how you think that went.

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Tell me how you think that project went.

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You are not li, you don't get

a chance to listen to the logic

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behind why they did what they did.

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So people are like, my boss really

hates me, or They don't like me.

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I don't know what I'm doing.

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They don't, I don't know

if I'm coming or going.

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I don't know if it's good or if it's bad.

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All I get is okay.

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Good job.

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Okay.

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Good job.

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What?

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Or all I get is, well, I

wish you would've done that.

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Okay, well, tell me how to do that.

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Like, tell me your vision.

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What do you want?

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Right.

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So I think it can really drive talent away

because people need to be communicated to.

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Mm-hmm.

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And I can give you statistics all

day long about how not communicating

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and miscommunicating can hinder, uh,

projects, can hinder the outcomes.

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It can create conflict.

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Right.

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We all know that.

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Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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And, and then you're living in this,

this life cycle of all of these things

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that when you could have just gave this

person some feedback, just a great job.

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Here's what I think you did amazing.

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Can carry people's morale

for a long, long time.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And when you're not doing that.

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Wendy Kidd: Well, and I, I'm gonna say

this, I know this wasn't specifically

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something we wanna get into today 'cause

we could talk about this all day long,

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but it's also generational, right?

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Absolutely.

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It's part of that imaginary

backpack you talked about.

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Mm-hmm.

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And something I learned as a boss

is as I Gen Xer myself mm-hmm.

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I am thinking if I don't get

feedback, I'm doing a good job.

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Mm-hmm.

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That's what my automatic assumption is.

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But from my millennials, they assumed

when I was not giving them feedback,

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they were doing a horrible job.

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Right.

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And so we just could not understand

until we had that conversation.

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And I said to them, if I'm not coming

at you, that means you're doing a great

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job, but I will also learn to do better

at telling you you are doing a great job.

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And why?

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It's what the result of that

is and why I appreciate it.

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So that we are better at communicating.

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So they need the

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Kendria Taylor: reinforcement.

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Wendy Kidd: They gotta think about that.

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Everybody thinks about this differently

and remember that imaginary backpack.

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Mm-hmm.

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So, um, I know that you said there

are four types of feedback, and I

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loved this because I've never heard

this before until our conversation.

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Tell me what those are.

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Tell me a little bit

about more about them.

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Kendria Taylor: So we are talking

about all of 'em except for one

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I'm gonna bring, I'm gonna bring

impact feedback back into it.

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Mm-hmm.

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But going back to that

generational, right?

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So if you're not reinforcing someone,

so reinforcing is the first type,

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reinforcing is the first type,

and that is your, Hey, great job.

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Right?

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When you said to your people, if I'm not

coming at you, you're doing a great job,

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which means you're only coming at me.

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When I'm not doing such a great job.

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Yep.

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When I need to be redirected.

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Wendy Kidd: That led to some other issues.

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Yes.

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And so as

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Kendria Taylor: Gen Xers we're

like, you know, if leave me alone

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if I'm doing a great job, but people

need to hear that reinforcement.

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Yes.

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So that's the first type of feedback.

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Just reinforce that I'm doing a great job.

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Why is that important?

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Because I will keep doing it.

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Yes.

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It will continue to build my morale.

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It will also build trust and

credibility with the leader because

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I'm gonna trust that you're gonna

tell me when I'm doing a good job.

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Wendy Kidd: Yes.

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Kendria Taylor: Also, when you redirect

me, here's what I love about redirection.

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That's our second type of feedback.

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That's the second type of feedback.

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What I love about redirection

is it's just like driving a car.

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If you're giving little re

directives, you know, consistently,

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then we're gonna hit the mission.

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All I'm doing is just redirecting you.

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So what that looks like is,

Hey, I loved what you did here.

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Do you mind if I give you some feedback?

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Number one, asking someone if they mind

giving you feedback, 10 times outta 10,

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they're gonna say, oh, no, I don't mind.

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Right.

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So now you've already opened

the door for feedback.

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Yes.

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So let me just give you

a redirection on this.

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Here's what I would like to see.

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How can we, how do you think that

we can implement that, right?

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Mm-hmm.

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Now you're getting their buy-in.

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But they start to trust you, and

there's credibility built on both

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ends because they trust that you're

gonna come to them and tell them

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when I need to be redirected.

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Right.

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The third type of feedback

is impact feedback.

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Impact feedback.

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How are you impacting

the others around you?

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Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm

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Kendria Taylor: When you

turn your projects in late.

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This impacts everybody on

the team, and here's why.

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So a lot of us and a lot of millennials

and just, you know, generationally, people

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like to be individual contributors, right?

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Yes.

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Right now there's an issue with

people wanting to be leaders.

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All of the organizations that I work

with say nobody wants to be a leader.

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How can we get people to be leaders?

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Number one, you're

lacking a feedback loop.

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Uh, number two.

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People are individual contributors, right?

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So when they don't think about

their teammates, they're like,

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well, I'm just, I'm doing my

thing if I don't turn it on time.

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No.

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How does this affect the overall picture?

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So you have to ask questions that allow

them to think about how are you impacting

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the, uh, the, the end result, your

end user, or the impact to your team.

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The one I love, which is the, which

is the fourth type, is reflective.

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Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

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Kendria Taylor: I don't care who you

are, I don't care what age you are.

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Reflective feedback is always the way to

go because reflective feedback opens up

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the door for the other types of feedback.

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Okay.

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If I say, let's, let's have a feedback,

you know, conversation about this

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project first, tell me how you think

it went on a scale from one to 10.

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Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

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Kendria Taylor: Now they may say a seven.

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And you may be thinking it

was a three, in my opinion.

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Right.

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Right.

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You don't have to say that.

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Right.

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But you may be thinking

it's three in my opinion.

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And but all you can say is all you

have to say is, okay, it's seven.

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Tell me why a seven?

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How can we get you to a 10?

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They tell you, that gives you the

opportunity to listen to what they

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think they could have done better.

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Mm-hmm.

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And that gives you the

opportunity to layer in.

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What they could have done better.

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Right?

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Absolutely.

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Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

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And so

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Kendria Taylor: there's four types

of reflective feedback, but we'll get

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into that in, in, in a little bit.

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So reflective feedback has four

different questions, which is

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gonna be a little thing that your,

your listeners get at the end,

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Wendy Kidd: right?

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Right.

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So in, in each type, there's a different

purpose for each type of feedback.

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How does each of those develop people?

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How does it help you develop your team?

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When you what, which one of

these does what for people?

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Kendria Taylor: So again, I'll start with

reinforce, reinforce feedback just allows.

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You to, um, help build

morale in your team.

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Build confidence.

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Yeah.

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Right.

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When you build confidence, you

also build an inclusive culture.

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And I say this because people

aren't scared to ask a question.

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Mm-hmm.

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People aren't scared to say, I

did this really well, but you know

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what, I could have done this better.

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Right?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And so you start to build this

psychological safety that people

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can say, you know what, this

person's always really great at.

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Giving me feedback.

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So that builds confidence and it's a

morale booster and it can sustain you.

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When change is happening, when

things are going on, that's not

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so good in the organization.

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Right.

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Right.

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At least I'm clear on what I need to do.

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And clarity is something that

everyone needs when change is

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happening, transition's happening

and things are uncertain.

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Mm-hmm.

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The redirect a feedback, honestly, when

you, when you tell someone that, hey.

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Redirect.

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I'm giving you some redirection.

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Why?

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Why?

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Because I don't want to compromise

the integrity of the work that we do.

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Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

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Kendria Taylor: I don't want

you to compromise the integrity

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of the work that you are doing.

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To me.

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I'm gonna, that I'm gonna build

trust with that person, right?

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Because they want me to be better.

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And when you deliver it like that,

and delivery is important, right?

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So when you deliver it like that,

then I understand they don't want me

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to compromise my work and me either.

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The impact feedback, like I said.

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Why is that important?

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Because it's not just you there

and we need to, you need to

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understand that you are a part of

an ecosystem at work that can also

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compromise the integrity of the work.

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Yeah.

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Can also hurt morale or

confidence if you are not thinking

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about the team as a whole.

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Right.

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Especially if you're looking to be

in leadership or you are a leader,

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and then reflective feedback.

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To me, it, it just, it's just solid.

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In your face, tell me what you did.

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What do you think?

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But it allows your the person receiving

the feedback to critically think.

411

:

About what I did, what I can do

better, how can you support me in that?

412

:

Mm-hmm.

413

:

If I'm giving you reflective

feedback, one of the things I'm also

414

:

letting you know is I'm supporting

you, so let's talk about it.

415

:

Yeah.

416

:

How can I support you in that?

417

:

Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

418

:

Kendria Taylor: Right.

419

:

So it, it shows, um, the support from

your leaders and the people around you and

420

:

reflective feedback you can ask yourself.

421

:

Mm-hmm.

422

:

Right?

423

:

Mm-hmm.

424

:

Reflective feedback

you can ask your peers.

425

:

It creates this 360 loop of.

426

:

Ongoing feedback.

427

:

Right.

428

:

Which is why I love it.

429

:

It's my favorite.

430

:

Wendy Kidd: Well, and I like the

approach of it, and I'm sitting here

431

:

thinking about all the times that

I've asked the team for feedback, but

432

:

I didn't take this, I didn't say the

specific things that you're saying.

433

:

Mm-hmm.

434

:

So I just said, well, what do you think?

435

:

How do you think it went?

436

:

Gimme your feedback.

437

:

I just kind of actually cut

through the rating of it.

438

:

Mm-hmm.

439

:

And went straight to the feedback

and I should have paused and said,

440

:

how successful do you think it was?

441

:

Right, right.

442

:

Gimme that, gimme that scale.

443

:

So and so, and

444

:

Kendria Taylor: sometimes

when you ask people, how

445

:

successful do you think it was?

446

:

Great.

447

:

Well, what does that mean?

448

:

Yeah, that is, it's very different for

you, but on a scale from one to 10, then

449

:

you can kind of, now we can level set.

450

:

Wendy Kidd: Exactly.

451

:

Exactly.

452

:

I, I think it's very interesting.

453

:

So many leaders think they're

giving feedback, like I said.

454

:

Mm-hmm.

455

:

I thought that I was doing that well.

456

:

But you know, we all make mistakes.

457

:

So what are some of the common

mistakes you see leaders give

458

:

when they're giving feedback?

459

:

Kendria Taylor: Oh my goodness.

460

:

So the delivery of the feedback.

461

:

Right?

462

:

Mm-hmm.

463

:

The delivery of the feedback and

just the tone of voice and the way

464

:

you're delivering the feedback.

465

:

Yeah.

466

:

Rushing of the feedback,

not being specific.

467

:

We talked about my story, right?

468

:

One of my stories is I thought

I was doing an amazing job and I

469

:

feel like I was, and me and my boss

at that point weren't necessarily

470

:

getting along over some other things.

471

:

And she gave me some, um,

she gave me my review.

472

:

My review had someone else's name on it.

473

:

It had someone else's score on it.

474

:

And it was like, she didn't even

take the time to change everything.

475

:

Wow.

476

:

I mean, it was like, I'm

like, I'm not signing that.

477

:

And so now I'm, I'm looking shocked.

478

:

I'm getting angry.

479

:

I'm getting resistant.

480

:

Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

481

:

Kendria Taylor: So that, that's

a long way to get into acceptance

482

:

of what you are trying to tell me.

483

:

Yeah.

484

:

Right.

485

:

So it, it's just so, so sometimes that

we rush the feedback, but the biggest

486

:

mistake that I see is that they're

not treating feedback seriously.

487

:

It's just something I'm checking off.

488

:

You have a review at the end of

the year, but I tell people all

489

:

the time, this is checklist.

490

:

Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

491

:

Kendria Taylor: Leaders.

492

:

If you're walking down the

hall and you see someone

493

:

that's doing a great job, stop.

494

:

Stop them and say, you know what?

495

:

Let me tell you what I loved

about what you just delivered

496

:

in that conference room.

497

:

Right.

498

:

But also stop 'em in the hall and ask the

question, Hey, do you mind, I give, if

499

:

I give you some feedback about what you

just delivered in the conference room.

500

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

501

:

Now

502

:

Kendria Taylor: that might shock someone

initially because you're stopping

503

:

them on the way to the restroom.

504

:

Right.

505

:

Right.

506

:

And they're like, uh, yeah.

507

:

They're not gonna tell you.

508

:

No.

509

:

I promise you.

510

:

They're not ever gonna tell you No.

511

:

'cause you ask politely, may

I give you some feedback?

512

:

Mm-hmm.

513

:

They're gonna say yes because they're

so shocked they don't know what to do.

514

:

Right.

515

:

And the first thing you're gonna say is,

I loved how you delivered this piece.

516

:

How do you think you did on the others?

517

:

And I'd love to have a conversation

later on some things that we could

518

:

layer in to make it better next time.

519

:

Right?

520

:

To make it, to make it

even better next time.

521

:

Right?

522

:

People are gonna invite that

opportunity and say, you know what?

523

:

My boss should stop me down the

hallway and told me she has some

524

:

tips on what I could do better.

525

:

It's all in the delivery,

but it has to be ongoing.

526

:

I don't wanna talk to you when it

is time for feedback and we haven't

527

:

had any feedback leading up to this.

528

:

Right.

529

:

You haven't given, given me the

opportunity to change or enhance

530

:

or you know, or even think about

what my logic was behind that.

531

:

Right?

532

:

Right.

533

:

So I think that's the biggest

mistake people make is.

534

:

Not doing it as often as they should.

535

:

Wendy Kidd: Right, right.

536

:

No, and that ties into what I wanted

to ask you about next, because

537

:

when we talked, you talked about

creating a culture of feedback.

538

:

Mm-hmm.

539

:

And I was like, yes.

540

:

That's the term I've been

looking for all my life.

541

:

Because one of the things that I

see a lot of leaders do wrong is

542

:

they don't do, again, don't do

any feedback until it's negative.

543

:

Mm-hmm.

544

:

And it's always a surprise.

545

:

It always feels like an ambush.

546

:

And creating a culture

where we're constantly.

547

:

Feeling like we can give feedback.

548

:

We know how to give

feedback, we're empowered.

549

:

That sounds amazing.

550

:

So how do we do that?

551

:

That's what I know.

552

:

All my listeners are probably

gonna ask me is like, okay, this

553

:

sounds great, but how do we do

554

:

Kendria Taylor: it?

555

:

So I, I think it's really simple.

556

:

Um, one of the things, again, I'll

go back to what leaders don't do

557

:

often is don't ask for feedback.

558

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

559

:

Kendria Taylor: Anytime that I'm

giving someone feedback and I managed

560

:

when before I started my company, I

managed 10 teams all throughout Texas.

561

:

10 teams.

562

:

That's a lot.

563

:

That's a lot of teams.

564

:

But I did it because every year I felt

like my, the CEO gave me another team.

565

:

Anytime there was a team

that was in trouble, it was

566

:

like, oh, give it to Kendria.

567

:

Right.

568

:

Well of course.

569

:

'Cause you're good at this.

570

:

Well, and I was never really

gonna fire anybody unless it was

571

:

absolutely necessary because I was

always constantly giving feedback.

572

:

But one of the things that I

would always do with my people is.

573

:

Because I, you know, leaders, I get busy.

574

:

You get busy.

575

:

We had a feedback session.

576

:

It didn't happen.

577

:

That's why I think we have to

continuously create a culture of it.

578

:

One of the things that I always

did was, all right, we're here.

579

:

Gimme some feedback.

580

:

Tell, tell me what you

thought about my performance.

581

:

Right?

582

:

But the how we create a culture is

just use a model, use a framework.

583

:

I think that's what most

people are so scared of.

584

:

Mm-hmm.

585

:

There's so many frameworks out there.

586

:

That we can utilize for coaching and or

whatever, one of the models that I use.

587

:

So here, here is definitely

something that you can do.

588

:

As soon as you listen to this podcast,

you got someone you wanna give some

589

:

feedback to, this will be perfect

and it absolutely, absolutely allows

590

:

you to use reflective feedback.

591

:

It's called The Good Model.

592

:

Have you ever heard of it?

593

:

I have not heard of it.

594

:

Okay.

595

:

So the good model is,

uh, for G is for goals.

596

:

What are your goals?

597

:

So let's talk about it.

598

:

Okay.

599

:

I'm gonna ask some reflective

questions throughout that to even,

600

:

uh, tighten up your goals, right?

601

:

Mm-hmm.

602

:

So where are some areas of.

603

:

Opportunities.

604

:

Right?

605

:

That's your first O.

606

:

Okay.

607

:

What are some areas of

opportunities you think you have?

608

:

And then I'm gonna tell you some

opportunities that I believe you have some

609

:

areas of opportunities to improve, right?

610

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

611

:

Kendria Taylor: The next thing

I'm gonna do is tell you the

612

:

second O is the obstacles.

613

:

So what are some obstacles

you think have been created?

614

:

Were there any obstacles for you to

complete this project or task or whatever?

615

:

Did I give you any obstacles?

616

:

Was I an obstacle as the leader?

617

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm.

618

:

Is there a system?

619

:

I love that.

620

:

Kendria Taylor: Is

there a system in place?

621

:

Yes.

622

:

That has created some

additional obstacles for you?

623

:

Now we're having a conversation and

it doesn't feel like feedback, right?

624

:

Yeah.

625

:

Yeah.

626

:

The D is for decisions right now

we have all this on the table.

627

:

Gimme some decisions you're

gonna make this week.

628

:

Because I can get ahead of any

idiotic thing that you might

629

:

think that you wanna do, right?

630

:

Yes.

631

:

Yes.

632

:

And you can say, okay, tell me why

you're gonna make that decision.

633

:

Yeah.

634

:

Alright.

635

:

So why, do you mind if I give

you some feedback on that?

636

:

Wendy Kidd: Love it.

637

:

It just keeps going in circles.

638

:

I love it.

639

:

It just keeps going

640

:

Kendria Taylor: in circles and

then you're gonna get tight.

641

:

So the good model, goals,

opportunities, obstacles, decisions.

642

:

And someone might tell you, you

know, I'm really thinking about

643

:

going to another department.

644

:

Let's talk about this.

645

:

Why you're one of my best employees.

646

:

Oh, really?

647

:

I didn't know that.

648

:

'cause I don't get any

feedback about that.

649

:

Right, right.

650

:

Right.

651

:

Mm-hmm.

652

:

And so I think, uh, every leader in

nonprofit right, right now can use the

653

:

good model every day, all the time.

654

:

And you don't have to use it in order,

you don't have to use it formally.

655

:

Right, right, right.

656

:

Let's start with informal feedback.

657

:

Yes.

658

:

Catch me down the hallway.

659

:

Catch me in the break room.

660

:

If I come to your office, I'm

like, okay, what is this about?

661

:

But if you stop in the kitchen while

I'm, you know, while I'm getting some,

662

:

my second cup of coffee, and you're like,

really, like what you did, would love

663

:

to talk about some additional feedback

on what we can do to enhance that.

664

:

Wendy Kidd: Oh, and I like

that word, enhance it.

665

:

Not do better, but enhance.

666

:

'cause when you say do better,

it implies you did bad.

667

:

Right?

668

:

Right.

669

:

Yeah.

670

:

How can we enhance that?

671

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

672

:

How, and this is not a question I gave

you already, so I apologize, but how can

673

:

we give a leader who has not asked for

feedback, feedback so that we can preserve

674

:

our relationship working with that leader?

675

:

Kendria Taylor: Oh, that's, that's,

that's a really good question.

676

:

So how can you give a leader

who hasn't asked for feedback.

677

:

Mm-hmm.

678

:

Who hasn't gotten feedback,

679

:

Wendy Kidd: right?

680

:

Who's never, who has not obviously

listened to this podcast and listened to

681

:

you and taken one of your trainings and

you see that they could use some feedback.

682

:

Mm-hmm.

683

:

Whether that be good or bad,

how do you approach a leader?

684

:

'cause you know, we're all nervous

about approaching our bosses.

685

:

How do we do that?

686

:

Kendria Taylor: So what

I would do, mm-hmm.

687

:

Is I would go and ask that

leader for some feedback myself.

688

:

Wendy Kidd: Oh, right.

689

:

Good way to start that conversation.

690

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

691

:

Mm-hmm.

692

:

I would

693

:

Kendria Taylor: ask for some

feedback myself, and then I would

694

:

say, you know, um, I would also

like to give some feedback on this.

695

:

I mean, how many times do we give

leaders feedback, even good feedback?

696

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

697

:

Mm-hmm.

698

:

Kendria Taylor: Right?

699

:

They've made this small little.

700

:

Incremental decision, but, and

it's like, oh, that was a really

701

:

great, but no one ever says that.

702

:

Wendy Kidd: Well, and I will

say as a boss, I appreciated it.

703

:

There was one moment, and this

is the one I wish I remembered

704

:

when you asked that question.

705

:

Kendria Taylor: Okay.

706

:

Wendy Kidd: I had an employee who

actually emailed me after I had

707

:

done all the team reviews that year.

708

:

Mm-hmm.

709

:

She emailed me and said, I realized nobody

gave you a review, and I just wanted to

710

:

say that you're doing such a great job.

711

:

And I cried.

712

:

I broke down.

713

:

That just hit me so hard.

714

:

I felt so blessed in that moment.

715

:

Yeah.

716

:

Because she wanted to gimme good feedback

and she didn't see a way to do it.

717

:

So I learned to do that, give them

more opportunities to do that,

718

:

but for her to reach out to me

719

:

mm-hmm.

720

:

Just, it really brought us closer

together, honestly, because it gave me.

721

:

The ability to trust her and

know that she trusted me and that

722

:

we could talk through anything.

723

:

Absolutely.

724

:

So,

725

:

Kendria Taylor: yeah.

726

:

And the, and the good model

works with the leader.

727

:

Yeah.

728

:

What if, what if someone came to

you as a leader and said, are there

729

:

any areas of opportunity that, that

there's out there that I can help you?

730

:

Wendy Kidd: Yeah.

731

:

Kendria Taylor: And the leader

might be like, not that I know of.

732

:

Well, I, I have one.

733

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

734

:

Kendria Taylor: I, I thought of one

735

:

Wendy Kidd: for you though.

736

:

I,

737

:

Kendria Taylor: I thought of one

that I could really help with and.

738

:

Well, why do you think I need that help?

739

:

Well, I, you know, maybe you do, maybe

you don't, but I know you need the help.

740

:

I'm coming to you with this opportunity.

741

:

Well, I don't know if you're

utilizing your entire staff in a

742

:

way that we can support you better.

743

:

Wendy Kidd: Hmm.

744

:

That's a good one.

745

:

Well, let's have

746

:

Kendria Taylor: a conversation about it.

747

:

Right?

748

:

That's a really

749

:

Wendy Kidd: good one.

750

:

Yeah, because we

751

:

Kendria Taylor: all have

areas of opportunity.

752

:

I hate to say weaknesses, but we

all have areas of opportunity.

753

:

Wendy Kidd: That's a

good way of putting it.

754

:

I like that.

755

:

Kendria Taylor: Still that, so

the good model works both ways.

756

:

Wendy Kidd: I love the good model.

757

:

I'm totally gonna write that

down and use that moving forward.

758

:

So for, for leaders who are nervous

about giving feedback, 'cause I

759

:

know so many people in nonprofits.

760

:

They came into this because they have

a passion for it, not because they

761

:

came in this to manage people, right?

762

:

Mm-hmm.

763

:

So, and we all manage people,

whether it be staff or volunteers.

764

:

In the nonprofit sector especially

we, we manage, uh, volunteers a lot.

765

:

What, what do we, what can we do?

766

:

What's some mindset shifts or some

strategies that we can recommend so

767

:

that they can worry about it less?

768

:

Kendria Taylor: So here is

what's critically important.

769

:

Everybody's different.

770

:

There's a lot of people in the

world, but there's only a few

771

:

types of personalities, right?

772

:

Sure.

773

:

Mm-hmm.

774

:

People fit into those personalities.

775

:

So the one thing that I would

tell your listeners to do is.

776

:

Just kind of observe your people.

777

:

Are they direct?

778

:

Give them direct feedback.

779

:

Wendy Kidd: Yes.

780

:

Right.

781

:

Those of us who are direct, I'm speaking

for myself, need direct feedback.

782

:

Kendria Taylor: If they are very, um.

783

:

Task oriented, you know, they need

to understand the specifics, right?

784

:

Yes.

785

:

Wendy Kidd: They need examples.

786

:

Kendria Taylor: If they're very

analytical, you better come with

787

:

them, with, come to them with data.

788

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

789

:

Kendria Taylor: Right?

790

:

Because otherwise they're gonna

be like, okay, that was great.

791

:

You can go my office now.

792

:

They need data.

793

:

Wendy Kidd: True.

794

:

Kendria Taylor: And if you have someone,

I call these like your Energizer

795

:

people, I do this, um, I have this.

796

:

Assessment, this communication

assessment that I do, and I call

797

:

these people squiggly lines.

798

:

I love the reference.

799

:

These are the people you wanna catch down

the hallway first because they're gonna

800

:

be sitting in your office like, mm-hmm.

801

:

Okay, what do you gotta tell me, right?

802

:

Mm-hmm.

803

:

And it's gonna go one

ear and out the other.

804

:

It's, it's got to be delivered

with some type of energy.

805

:

Because people wanna be talked to the

way that they want to be talked to, the

806

:

way they want to be communicated with.

807

:

I can't communicate with what

I call an exclamation mark.

808

:

I can't say, okay, hey, come

to my office at three o'clock.

809

:

'cause if it's one o'clock,

they are sweating bullets.

810

:

Wendy Kidd: Yes.

811

:

Right.

812

:

I definitely have had some of those.

813

:

Kendria Taylor: You don't

wanna talk to them like that?

814

:

Mm-hmm.

815

:

You want to, you want to make

sure that you understand what are

816

:

the personalities, what are the

communication styles of my people?

817

:

We all communicate differently, right?

818

:

Yeah.

819

:

So I think if you're nur and then you

have to think about what's your style.

820

:

If you avoid conflict, if you're the

emotional exclamation mark and you've

821

:

gotta give a direct person some feedback,

you're already thinking about what they're

822

:

gonna come back and say back to you.

823

:

Yeah.

824

:

And you're all gonna be thinking

about, I can't go up against them.

825

:

They are completely direct.

826

:

I, I don't even know how I

would approach that situation.

827

:

Well, you come to them directly.

828

:

You come to them with the facts

of the matter and you, you're with

829

:

your emotional, wonderful self.

830

:

You leave the emotions out of it.

831

:

Mm-hmm.

832

:

So I think the first thing is

to really sit and think about.

833

:

Who you are delivering feedback to,

834

:

Wendy Kidd: right?

835

:

Kendria Taylor: Right.

836

:

And then if all else fails, go

right to your reflective feedback.

837

:

Make it a conversation.

838

:

Skip all the rest of it.

839

:

Go right to your reflective feedback

and start with the May I may I give

840

:

you some feedback and I would love for

you to give me some feedback as well.

841

:

Wendy Kidd: I mean, that's,

that's what it should be.

842

:

It it should be a conversation.

843

:

It should be

844

:

Kendria Taylor: a conversation.

845

:

Wendy Kidd: You need to, to

participate in active listening.

846

:

Mm-hmm.

847

:

I don't think many people understand what

that means, so I'm just gonna define it.

848

:

Active listening means that

you are listening without

849

:

trying to frame your response.

850

:

Kendria Taylor: Yes.

851

:

Wendy Kidd: You cannot active listen,

if you are in your head going, okay, she

852

:

said this, so I'm gonna say this back.

853

:

You have to just sit with it for a second.

854

:

Kendria Taylor: I love that.

855

:

I do this activity where I put

two people together mm-hmm.

856

:

And, and they're giving feedback and

I stand two people behind them, and

857

:

those people are talking in their ears.

858

:

Right.

859

:

Wendy Kidd: Ooh, I

860

:

Kendria Taylor: love that.

861

:

And it's just like they're

turning around like, what, what?

862

:

No, no, keep talking.

863

:

It's like, no, because that

is what we're thinking about.

864

:

Yes.

865

:

Right.

866

:

So empathetic listening is, I tell

people all the time, you can't

867

:

be empathetic because empathy,

the, the definition right.

868

:

That people most use is.

869

:

Stepping into someone else's shoes.

870

:

Right, right, right.

871

:

Well, here's the deal.

872

:

You can't step into anyone

else's shoes unless you have

873

:

taken your shoes off first.

874

:

Yeah.

875

:

What that, what that means is you gotta

take off that backpack for the moment.

876

:

All of your fears about how the way

you receive feedback and everything

877

:

that you've done in your past and your

experience, and even your thoughts and

878

:

judgements about this person and what

they might say, it's gotta all go away.

879

:

Mm-hmm.

880

:

And that's really hard.

881

:

But if you're gonna empathetically listen.

882

:

You have got to just listen.

883

:

Yeah.

884

:

No questions, no nothing.

885

:

Reflection.

886

:

An empathetic listener is always gonna,

is always going to be reflective.

887

:

What I'm hearing you say is this.

888

:

Yes.

889

:

And when you keep doing that, you're

like, I'm really hearing them say that.

890

:

I really get it now.

891

:

I'm not asking questions.

892

:

Nothing.

893

:

So, so empathetically listening

is, is really critically important,

894

:

so thank you for bringing that up.

895

:

Mm-hmm.

896

:

But just really reflective, if I can

leave your listeners with anything,

897

:

learn to be more reflective in

delivering and receiving feedback.

898

:

Wendy Kidd: Yes, yes.

899

:

Right.

900

:

So wholeheartedly, a hundred percent.

901

:

Yeah.

902

:

That's what they should take from this.

903

:

Kendria Taylor: If you are

scared or just nervous, do some

904

:

reflective feedback on yourself.

905

:

Mm-hmm.

906

:

How, how am I stepping

into this feedback session?

907

:

Wendy Kidd: Mm-hmm.

908

:

Kendria Taylor: What should I

expect from this feedback session?

909

:

Right.

910

:

Be reflective with yourself.

911

:

It gets easier, it gets,

I use it all the time.

912

:

It is, it's like a muscle.

913

:

Wendy Kidd: The more you work it

out, the better you're good with it.

914

:

It, it's stronger and stronger.

915

:

So, yes,

916

:

Kendria Taylor: I, I disarm so many people

and so I'm teaching a class on reflective,

917

:

uh, the reflective mediator next month.

918

:

I disarm so many people by simply sitting

back and saying, tell me more about that.

919

:

How'd you feel about that?

920

:

Yeah.

921

:

How'd that work out for you?

922

:

On a scale from one to 10,

923

:

Wendy Kidd: and then walls

are just breaking down.

924

:

Love it.

925

:

So love it.

926

:

And this is why you're a mediator, so Yes.

927

:

If you have conflict in your

organization, you can call Kendria.

928

:

Just putting it out there for you.

929

:

Kendria Taylor: I appreciate that.

930

:

Wendy Kidd: Okay.

931

:

Before we wrap up today, I know that

you prepared a little something,

932

:

something for our listeners.

933

:

Mm-hmm.

934

:

You wanna talk about that?

935

:

Kendria Taylor: So actually two things.

936

:

So if your listeners go to my

website, remember I talked about

937

:

the different communication styles?

938

:

Yes.

939

:

They can go to my website and

the communication styles will

940

:

pop up the, the communication

assessment will pop up for them.

941

:

They can take it for free.

942

:

Awesome.

943

:

This is something that I

charge organizations $75 for.

944

:

Right.

945

:

Mm-hmm.

946

:

Per person.

947

:

Mm-hmm.

948

:

Um, so you'll know what type of

personality is this person's gonna give

949

:

you, their value system, how they work

under pressure, all of these things.

950

:

So that's the first thing that you can do.

951

:

Wendy Kidd: Okay.

952

:

Tell 'em your website,

953

:

Kendria Taylor: um, www.tg8solutions.com,

954

:

Wendy Kidd: and we will

have that in the show notes.

955

:

But just for those who are

listening while driving.

956

:

If they wanna look it up as soon as it

gets stopped there, it's absolutely, and

957

:

Kendria Taylor: it'll

pop right up for you.

958

:

Yeah.

959

:

The other thing that I have prepared

that once they, once they do that,

960

:

I will send them the four different

types of reflective questions, because

961

:

there's four different types, four

different categories they can use.

962

:

We talked about the scaling one to 10.

963

:

Mm-hmm.

964

:

But there's also observer

perspective questions.

965

:

There's also miracle questions.

966

:

Miracle questions help

people think about future.

967

:

Okay.

968

:

Right?

969

:

Yeah.

970

:

And so if I had this tool,

what could I be doing?

971

:

That's a miracle question,

future oriented question.

972

:

So I'm gonna send them the four different

types, give them some examples, and then

973

:

they can take those and utilize that as

I have this first feedback session, I'm

974

:

gonna go through these reflective types

and ask what I need to get from this.

975

:

Wendy Kidd: Yeah,

976

:

Kendria Taylor: so

977

:

Wendy Kidd: I love this.

978

:

Yeah.

979

:

Guys, I'm gonna go get

these little freebies.

980

:

I don't know about you, but

you need to go get them.

981

:

Check out the show notes.

982

:

I will have all the links.

983

:

Um, and Miss Kendria, thank you.

984

:

This was so much fun and I hope

that everyone finds it as useful

985

:

as I did 'cause this is something

I could talk about all day long.

986

:

'cause I think it builds

stronger organizations, period.

987

:

Kendria Taylor: Absolutely.

988

:

Thank you for having me.

989

:

And I have fun too.

990

:

I'm sure I probably nerded out

a little bit, but I love this.

991

:

No, we

992

:

Wendy Kidd: welcome

nerding on those podcasts.

993

:

Okay.

994

:

It's great.

995

:

It's great.

996

:

All right guys.

997

:

Well, thanks so much.

998

:

That was The NonProfit Nook.

999

:

See you next time.

:

00:35:30,705 --> 00:35:32,895

Thanks for listening

to The NonProfit Nook.

:

00:35:33,105 --> 00:35:35,205

We're building better nonprofits together.

:

00:35:35,475 --> 00:35:38,355

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helpful, please subscribe.

:

00:35:38,385 --> 00:35:41,865

Leave a review, and share it with other

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:

00:35:42,350 --> 00:35:46,070

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media and sign up for our email

:

00:35:46,070 --> 00:35:48,080

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:

00:35:48,410 --> 00:35:51,200

You can also visit The NonProfit Nook.com

:

00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:55,340

to see the show notes and leave a comment

telling me what topics you want next.

:

00:35:56,030 --> 00:35:57,650

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:

00:35:58,100 --> 00:35:58,910

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About the Podcast

The NonProfit Nook
Tools, Tips & Real Talk for Changemakers
Welcome to The NonProfit Nook — the podcast for nonprofit leaders, board members, staff, and community champions who want to strengthen their organizations and make a bigger impact... without burning out in the process.

I’m Wendy Kidd—business owner for over 20 years and nonprofit leader for just as long. I created this show because I know how overwhelming it can be to lead a nonprofit. Most of us didn’t get into this work thinking we’d be running a business—we just wanted to help people. But the truth is, running a nonprofit *is* running a business, and I’m here to help make that part easier.

Each week on The NonProfit Nook, you’ll get real talk and real tools.
We’ll dive into the nuts and bolts of nonprofit management—strategic planning, budgeting, board engagement, donor communication, volunteer recruitment, and more. No fluff—just practical advice and conversations that help you work smarter and lead with confidence.

You’ll also hear:
- Stories from inspiring North Texas nonprofits and the local heroes behind them
- Tips from experts on marketing, digital tools, DEI, nonprofit culture, and sustainable leadership
- Real conversations about burnout, boundaries, time management, and self-care—because leadership shouldn’t feel lonely

Whether you're leading a nonprofit, supporting one, or just passionate about the mission, The NonProfit Nook will give you the tools, encouragement, and inspiration you need to thrive.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a review to support the show, and follow us on social media @thenonprofitnook for more nonprofit insights, stories, and resources.

Let’s make nonprofit life a little easier—and a lot more impactful.

About your host

Profile picture for Wendy Kidd

Wendy Kidd

Wendy Kidd is a seasoned event planner, nonprofit leader, and small business consultant with over 20 years of experience helping organizations thrive. As the host of The NonProfit Nook, she draws on her deep knowledge of running a business, fundraising, volunteer engagement, and community building to share practical strategies and inspiring stories with nonprofit leaders.

Passionate about equipping nonprofit professionals with the tools they need to create lasting change, Wendy brings an approachable, encouraging style to every episode—making complex topics simple and actionable.