When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. My love for animals was deep, but my talent for math and science was… not. So, while I didn’t become the vet I once imagined, my passion for animals never faded.

Instead, I built a successful career as a consultant, helping leaders and teams improve skills, build trust, and navigate change. My professional world revolves around strategy, performance, and results, but I’ve always believed leadership is most powerful when it’s grounded in service.

That belief found a personal outlet when I began volunteering at the Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS), a Connecticut nonprofit that has rescued and rehomed dogs and cats for more than 50 years. What started as a small act of giving back became a life-shaping experience that deepened my understanding of leadership at all levels.

A Different Kind of Leadership Classroom
In 2002, I began volunteering at DAWS as a cat socializer. And yes, if it sounds like my “job” was to play with cats, it was! Every Monday night for six months, I dangled string for cats to pounce on, tossed toy mice for them to “hunt,” and zipped a laser pointer across the floor for them to chase. Some of the shy cats didn’t want to play; they just wanted to sit quietly, lean against me, and receive a gentle pet.

It was fun, but it was also meaningful. Those small moments of connection made cats more comfortable, confident, and adoptable. A happy cat finds a home faster.

At the time, I didn’t realize how much those Monday nights, and the years that followed, would teach me about leadership.

Leading in Two Worlds
Like many nonprofits, DAWS often needed more help than its paid resources could provide. Before long, I went from spending Monday nights socializing cats to leading a small volunteer team. Then came a larger role coordinating volunteers across the entire shelter. A year later, I joined the Board of Directors, serving as President, then Vice President, and later leading a building-wide redesign project that tore down half the shelter and fully gutted and revised the rest. In 2021, I was honored to be named the organization’s first-ever Director Emerita; an honorary title that acknowledges years of service and allows me to continue to offer advice and assistance when requested.

When I first started volunteering, I didn’t consider that the skills I used every day as a consultant would apply at a non-profit.  I assumed that non-profits had a “secrete sauce” that was unique to them.  Ultimately, I realized that leadership is leadership regardless of the setting. The same principles that drive success in a for-profit business drive success in a nonprofit organization. The context may differ, but the fundamentals are universal.

Ten Leadership Lessons That Cross Sectors
Here are ten truths about leadership that hold whether you’re running a Fortune 500 company or a local animal shelter.

1. Vision Creates Energy
In consulting, I help leaders communicate vision in a way that mobilizes people. The same holds true in a nonprofit.  At DAWS, our vision was simple: to save and improve the lives of animals. Every volunteer understood why their work mattered, and that sense of shared purpose generated energy and commitment.  We employed that vision during the long years it took to raise money for and then complete construction of the renovated building. In business, vision serves the same function: it unites effort, clarifies direction, and connects people to something bigger than their job description. When leaders articulate vision clearly and consistently, they fuel motivation and, ultimately, success.

2. Focus Is a Strategy
Both nonprofits and corporations are vulnerable to “initiative overload.” When resources are limited, trying to do everything dilutes impact.

At DAWS, we learned to focus on what mattered most: adoptions, animal welfare, and revising the building to enable future growth. That focus produced measurable results and helped us better utilize our precious resources, including people.  The same principle applies to business. When leaders set clear priorities, and say “no” to distractions, they create momentum and help maintain team energy.

3. People Are Motivated by Meaning
In the nonprofit world, volunteers don’t show up for paychecks. They show up for purpose.  Understanding this transformed how I approach corporate motivation. Even in high-performing business environments, the deepest engagement comes from meaning. Employees, like volunteers, want to know that their efforts make a difference.  When leaders connect individual contributions to organizational purpose, performance follows naturally.

4. Listening Builds Trust
As a consultant, I spend much of my time helping leaders, and teams, improve their listening skills, specifically, their ability to understand what someone has said from their perspective.  At DAWS, listening was essential. We listened to volunteer and staff needs, adopters’ stories, and donors’ ideas. It shaped better decisions and built stronger relationships.  In business, as in non-profits, listening is the foundation of trust. It creates psychological safety and strengthens every relationship, both internally and externally.

5. Gratitude Is a Leadership Tool
Nonprofits thrive on appreciation. In addition to personal fulfillment, a sincere “thank you” is often the only “payment” volunteers receives.  In corporate life, leaders sometimes overlook the power of recognition, assuming compensation is thanks enough. It’s not. Recognition fuels engagement. It tells people, “you matter” and “your work counts.”  When I consult with organizations on culture and engagement, I emphasize gratitude as a leadership essential, not a gesture.  It’s free and anyone can do it.

6. Round Up the Red Tape
Bureaucracy is a barrier to purpose. Whether in a nonprofit or a corporation, when systems become more important than results, motivation disappears.  At DAWS, my role often involved removed roadblocks, making it easier for people to do their best work. That experience reinforced what I see in business every day: the best leaders are barrier-removers who know that their people are capable of doing their best work when they can laser-focus on important tasks.

7. Courage and Risk Are Partners
In consulting, I often work with executives on change initiatives that feel risky. The same dynamics exist in nonprofits.  When DAWS launched a renovation campaign to redesign its shelter, it was a leap of faith because we had never done anything, even remotely close to that scale of work.   We had to take bold action, try new things, and manage everyone’s fears.  Best practices saw us through: sticking to the vison, communicating continually, listening to concerns, knowing that we would not be right 100% of the time (and moving forward anyway), pivoting when needed, and knowing that setbacks didn’t mean that the change wasn’t worth it.

8. Change Requires Empathy
Change resistance is rarely about logic and is often about emotion. People resist not because they dislike change, but because they fear loss.  In both nonprofit and corporate environments, leaders must manage that emotional journey. At DAWS, updating how and where we did our life-saving work required patience and compassion. In business, restructuring or reimagining a team requires the same.  Empathy doesn’t weaken authority; it strengthens influence.

9. Delegation Develops Leaders
As my volunteer responsibilities grew, I learned quickly that doing everything myself was unsustainable. Delegation became both a survival skill and a leadership strategy.  Empowering others to lead doesn’t just lighten the load; it multiplies impact. In corporate teams, the same principle builds capability and succession.  Leaders who hoard responsibility limit growth; leaders who share it expand potential.

10. Celebrate Progress
Nonprofits understand the value of celebration.  In animal rescue, we see many things that would cause a heavy heart and so we celebrate every adoption, donation, or milestone as a cause for joy.  Businesses, with their constant push for the next target, may be tempted to skip celebrations. But celebration reinforces effort, boosts morale, and connects people emotionally to success.  It’s a positive reinforcement that makes people want to succeed again.  Whether it’s an animal shelter adoption or a quarterly sales win, taking time to celebrate reminds people that their work matters and is acknowledged.

Coming Full Circle
Reflecting on my journey with DAWS and in consulting, I realize that leadership is universal. The same qualities that inspire volunteers in a nonprofit: m vision, focus, empathy, and trust, are the qualities that drive engagement and performance in a corporate environment. Leadership is not defined by a title or the size of a budget; it’s defined by the ability to create conditions where people can contribute, grow, and achieve results.

Volunteering challenged me in ways that consulting never could. It forced me to lead without formal authority, to motivate without financial incentives, and to solve complex problems with limited resources. Those experiences taught me patience, resilience, and the importance of connecting people to purpose. They reminded me that leadership is a human endeavor first and foremost: it’s about understanding, inspiring, and enabling others to do their best work.

For business leaders, these lessons are directly applicable. Leading a company or a team may involve different stakes or metrics, but at the core, success depends on people. Engaged, empowered, and appreciated employees are the ones who innovate, drive results, and sustain culture. The nonprofit world offers a lens to see leadership stripped down to its essentials: influence, motivation, and alignment around a meaningful mission.

Ultimately, my time at DAWS and in consulting reinforced a simple truth: leadership is most powerful when it is purposeful. When leaders act with intention, listen deeply, give credit generously, and celebrate progress, they create organizations that thrive and experiences that matter.  Volunteering and professional work are not separate parts of life; together, they have taught me that leadership is about contribution, impact, and meaning. When these come together, the results are profound not just for the organization, but for everyone involved. Leadership, at its best, changes everything.