What Nonprofit Leaders Wish They Learned Young: Howard S. Garval’s Field Guide for Future Changemakers

The veteran youth basketball coach handed his star player the clipboard during a timeout. ‘Run the play,’ he said simply. Across town, a father stepped back as his teenage daughter led her first community fundraiser. Down the hall, a mentor watched nervously as his mentee presented to the nonprofit’s board. These moments all share something crucial – they mark the precise instant when real responsibility shifts from seasoned hands to young shoulders. But what actually prepares a young person to handle that weight?

After nearly 30 years steering major nonprofit organisations across America, Howard S. Garval has watched enough young leaders succeed and stumble to know the difference. His new book, Pick My Brain: Thoughts on Leadership for Nonprofit Executives, delivers what fathers and mentors actually need to know about preparing future changemakers.

The Voice That Matters

Through his current platform at leaders4futures.com, Garval mentors emerging leaders nationwide. His experience reveals a fundamental truth: nonprofit leadership demands a different skill set than business management, yet most young people receive generic leadership advice that misses this distinction entirely.

Why Nonprofit Leadership Is Different

Running a nonprofit isn’t just business with a charitable twist. Garval’s central insight challenges fathers and mentors to understand this difference upfront. ‘At its core, this book is about making space for future leaders to emerge and thrive,’ he explains. It’s about developing the character to lead when the stakes are someone else’s wellbeing.

Research from Mentoring.org supports this approach. Studies show that 76% of at-risk youth with mentors aspire to college compared to 50% without mentors. But the real difference emerges in how these young people approach responsibility later. They don’t just perform better – they think differently about their role in other people’s success.

Practical Lessons Parents Can Borrow

Garval’s decades in the trenches offer concrete guidance for fathers and mentors. His approach focuses on four critical areas that separate future leaders from future followers.

Casting Vision Without Manipulation: Real leaders help others see possibilities, not just problems. For parents, this means teaching young people to identify what could be, not just what’s wrong. When a teenager complains about their school’s lack of environmental programs, the mentor’s job isn’t to lecture about civic duty – it’s to ask, ‘What would that program look like if you built it?’

Building Trust Through Transparency: Garval emphasises that nonprofit leaders must be bridge-builders who lead with authenticity. For mentors, this translates to modelling honest communication about both successes and failures. Young people need to see that leadership includes admitting mistakes and changing course when necessary.

Fostering Real Accountability: Garval’s approach involves teaching young leaders to hold themselves and others accountable to the mission, not just the rules. Parents can practice this by focusing discussions on outcomes rather than compliance. Instead of ‘Did you do your homework?’ try ‘How did that assignment help you understand the material?’

The Boardroom Reality Check

One of Garval’s most valuable insights concerns the delicate relationship between nonprofit CEOs and their boards. BoardSource research confirms that effective CEO-board partnerships require diplomacy, clear communication and thinking ahead – skills that develop over years, not months.

For fathers and mentors, this translates to teaching young people how to work with authority figures who have different priorities. The teenager negotiating with school administrators about a new club learns the same diplomatic skills they’ll need later when presenting to foundation boards. The young person mediating between siblings while organising a family project develops the bridge-building abilities that nonprofit leadership demands.

Garval’s emphasis on this relationship makes sense when you consider the stakes. Nonprofit Risk Management Center research shows that young leaders must manage conflicts diplomatically while maintaining a united front to stakeholders and staff. This requires vulnerability and calculated risk-taking – qualities that develop through practice, not theory.

Setting Up Future Success

Garval’s central thesis: ‘At its core, this book is about making space for future leaders to emerge and thrive.’ Notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t promise to create leaders or manufacture success. Instead, he focuses on creating conditions where natural leadership can develop.

This perspective challenges parents and mentors to step back rather than step in. The goal isn’t to control the young person’s development but to provide guidance that allows authentic leadership to emerge. This approach aligns with successful youth development programs that focus on consistent mentorship rather than intensive intervention.

Tools for Lifelong Growth

Beyond the main text, Garval includes practical resources that fathers and mentors can use immediately. His book features a comprehensive appendix and curated bibliography of leadership titles from multiple sectors. These aren’t just academic references – they’re tested resources from someone who has used them in real leadership situations.

His ongoing work through leaders4futures.com provides continued access to coaching and development resources. For parents and mentors looking to deepen their own leadership skills while guiding young people, this represents a practical next step beyond reading the book.

The resources reflect Garval’s commitment to values-based leadership development. Rather than quick fixes or management hacks, he emphasises sustainable approaches to building character alongside competence. Federal research on youth mentoring confirms that effective mentoring relationships last over a year and focus on developing decision-making and interpersonal skills rather than just academic or career outcomes.

The Handover Moment

Return to that opening scene – the moment when responsibility transfers from experienced hands to developing ones. After reading Garval’s insights, that transition looks different. It’s not about hoping the young person won’t make mistakes. It’s about ensuring they have the character to learn from mistakes and the skills to lead others through uncertainty.

The basketball coach who hands over the clipboard isn’t abdicating responsibility – he’s creating space for leadership to emerge. The father stepping back from his daughter’s fundraiser isn’t disengaging – he’s trusting the foundation they’ve built together. The mentor watching his mentee present to the board isn’t nervous about the outcome – he’s confident in the preparation process.

Garval’s decades of experience suggest that these handover moments work best when the young person has learned to see beyond themselves. They understand that leadership in mission-driven organisations means accepting responsibility for other people’s wellbeing. They’ve developed the diplomatic skills to work with diverse stakeholders. Most importantly, they’ve learned that authentic leadership emerges from character, not charisma.

For fathers and mentors willing to do the patient work of character development, Garval’s field guide offers tested wisdom from someone who has seen young leaders succeed in roles that matter. The question isn’t whether the next generation can lead – it’s whether we’ll give them the tools to lead well.