Glad You Asked – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to Glad You Asked, a show about how active listening can help you build stronger connections with folks in your life, personally and professionally.

On this inaugural episode of 'Glad You Asked', Martha Schumacher introduces her new series which discusses the significance of active listening and how it fosters empathy and meaningful connections. Joined by longtime friend and colleague, Nina Fascione, they explore three impactful questions that can deepen conversations. Throughout, they share examples of how these questions have proven effective, particularly in leadership and conservation contexts, while emphasizing the importance of grace and the value of community engagement.

This episode’s questions:

Guest question (Nina Fascione): What impact do you hope your support will have?

Martha’s question: What do you think?

Listener question (Julie Upham): What have you learned from other leaders that you've incorporated into the way you lead?

Action Item: Identify someone with whom you work, a colleague, a staffer, your boss, et cetera, and ask them, what do you think?

Get involved with the International Rhino Foundation and help create a world where rhinos thrive in the wild at rhinos.org

Credits:

Glad You Asked is a Hazen Institute for Leadership Training podcast.

Join us on Patreon for more in-depth content.

If you have a question you’d like me to ask on our show, or you’ve used one of the questions from an episode in your life, send Martha Schumacher a message on LinkedIn, or send me an email at hello@hazeninc.com. Learn more at hazeninc.com.

Produced by Patrick and Benjamin Childers of Odd Conduit Media.

Original music by Bassel & The Supernaturals featuring Herbie Hunkele on trumpet.

Welcome to Glad You Asked, a show about how active listening can help you build stronger connections with folks in your life, personally and professionally.

On each episode of Glad You Asked, we’ll explore three questions, one from our guest, one from a listener, and one from me. During a conversation with mission-driven leaders, we’ll test how each question, each compelling prompt, makes active listening possible and deepens our relationships. Afterwards, we’ll take a look at how effective our questions were in guiding a meaningful conversation, and leave you with a call to action, so you can use these questions in your own work and life.

You can follow me on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

You can also come become a free member of the Patreon where we'll be sharing even more about active listening.

In this episode of #GladYouAsked, Martha explores radical empathy, the inspiration behind giving, and acting with integrity with the always inspiring Cherian Koshy. He shares his perspective on the cross section of neuroscience and philanthropy. Cherian’s personal stories about generosity are compelling, and his insights into leadership are raw and vulnerable. He also draws a line with AI as he believes it can never compete with real human-to-human interaction. You also have the opportunity to receive a gratis copy of Cherian’s book Neurogiving, a USA Today bestseller.

On this episode:

Martha’s Q: What inspired you to give?

Guest Q (Cherian Koshy): How does integrity guide the decisions you make when things get hard?

Listener Q (Tycely Williams): How does radical empathy show up in your work day to day?

Action item:

Seek out someone you respect. Could be a colleague, or even a friend or a family member, and ask them the question, “How does integrity guide the decisions you make when things get hard?”

How did they respond? What stood out for you? Do their values align with yours? What can you learn from their answer? When you ask, make your best effort to clear your mind, be present, and listen with empathy when they reply.

Buy Cherian’s book, Neurogiving: The Science of Donor Decision-Making, here: neurogivingbook.com. To learn more about Cherian, click here: www.cheriankoshy.com.

And here’s the Donor Visit Cheat Sheet Checklist Martha mentioned.

#philanthropy #activelistening #empathy #neuroscience #gladyouasked #cheriankoshy #neurogiving

In this episode of ‘Glad You Asked’, Martha is joined by AmickyCarol Akiwumi, CEO and founder of The Avocado Foundation and host of the World Changers Podcast, to discuss co-creation, the importance of exit strategies and evolving needs, economic justice in the social impact sector, and much more. Amicky Carol shares her personal journey and confronts the difficult but necessary task of understanding when you’re no longer needed in a space, and having faith that there is a calling for each of us.

Here are this episode’s questions.

Amicky’s Q: How might we co-create the future you actually want?

Martha’s Q: How do you determine what board(s) you want to join?

Michelle Flores Vryn’s Q: What part of your own story do you see in the story of our mission?

Three questions that Amicky Carol asks herself when she’s considering whether or not to say yes to an invitation to join a particular Board:

1. Do I really care about the mission and is it something I’ll give money to and/or volunteer for?

2. Do I bring something distinctive that they actually need right now? Am I needed and if so, why?

3. Will serving here accelerate my own growth in a way that serves my personal mission?

Action item:

Take a look at your own organization and ask yourself the question, “Is your organization co-creating the future your mission recipients actually want?” In other words, “Are your organization's leaders co-creating with their beneficiary partners or not?” And if the answer is no, what are possible ways you can approach your organization's leaders and ask this question?

Resources:

Avocado Foundation: avocadofoundation.org

Resource Alliance - International Fundraising Congress: resource-alliance.org

Article - Inequality Vs. Poverty: thisvsthat.io/inequality-vs-poverty

Join Martha Schumacher as she explores the power of active listening and human-centered organizational culture with her guest Tammy Zonker, founder of Fundraising Transformed. Discover practical insights and questions to deepen connections and foster trust in any setting and prioritize the important needs of our communities. Stay tuned until the end for a chance to win a copy of Tammy’s new book, Calling All Heroes: Combining the Best of Donor-Centered and Community-Centered Fundraising for Greater Impact.

Guest question (Tammy Zonker): How do we create an organizational culture that is more human centered?

Martha’s question: What is the biggest challenge in your job day to day?

Listener question (Lacey Slay): What is the number one trait leaders need to be successful?

Talk with a colleague, friend, or even a stranger and ask: “What is the number one trait humans need to be successful?” You’ll be showing that you respect their opinion, and you’ll come away with new insights and maybe even some great advice!

That's so interesting. Tell me more about that.

How did you come up with that idea?

What problem are we solving with that approach?

Help me understand.

I'm very interested in that.

How long have you felt that way?

Have you always felt that way?

LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/tammyzonker

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tammyzonker

Podcast - https://podcast.com/intentionalfundraiser

Fundraising Transformed - https://fundraisingtransformed.com

Calling All Heroes (Book) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7F4X9X2

Glad You Asked is a Hazen Institute for Leadership Training podcast.

Join us on Patreon for more in-depth content.

If you have a question you’d like me to ask on our show, or you’ve used one of the questions from an episode in your life, send Martha Schumacher a message on LinkedIn, or send me an email at hello@hazeninc.com. Learn more at hazeninc.com.

Produced by Patrick and Benjamin Childers of Odd Conduit Media.

Original music by Bassel & The Supernaturals featuring Herbie Hunkele on trumpet.

In this episode of ‘Glad You Asked’, Martha is joined by Vu Le, a two time executive director, one of the Founders of Community Centric Fundraising, and author of a wildly popular blog and creator of NonprofitAF. He also recently published his first book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector. The two discuss joy, overcoming toxic professional standards, rethinking leadership structures, and much more. Vu’s comfortable, thoughtful approach allows for a personable conversation as the two unpack many harmful unwritten rules in the social impact sector. Stay tuned until the end for a chance to win a free copy of Vu’s new book!

Here are this episode’s questions.

Vu’s Q: What brings you joy?

Martha’s Q: What can I do to help make your experience here better?

Cherian Koshy’s Q: If you were in-house today, which leadership model would you want to be a part of and why?

Action item: Take a moment over the next week or so to ask a colleague, “What is bringing you joy right now?” It’s an easy one, and you’ll enjoy hearing the answer.

Resources:

Nonprofit AF: https://www.nonprofitaf.com/

Buy a copy of Vu Le’s book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector: https://www.nonprofitaf.com/book/

Philanthropy

Active Listening

Empathy

NonProfit

Leadership Roles

Leadership Hierarchies

Welcome to Glad You Asked, a show about how active listening can help you build stronger connections with folks in your life, personally and professionally.

Guest question (Willeke): What is the world that we want to see?

Martha’s question: What are your personal leadership and management styles and why?

Listener question Bernard Ross of MC Consulting: What are two to three ways the social impact sector can help to build a more equitable society?

Explore Martha’s question about leadership and management styles. What's your style and why? Reminder, if you don't manage another staffer, that doesn't mean you aren't a leader. Think about what you do daily, weekly, monthly to lead, and how you manage relationships with your colleagues, with your boss, with your donors, etc.

#6 Active Listening Key Element: Summarizing

Summarizing in active listening involves condensing the speaker's main points, core ideas, and underlying emotions into your own words. This technique verifies your understanding, makes the speaker feel validated, and naturally transitions the conversation toward resolution or the next topic.

#7 Active Listening Key Element: Empathy

Empathy is the cornerstone of active listening. It requires suspending judgment and setting aside personal biases to genuinely understand the speaker's emotions and perspective. Rather than simply waiting for your turn to speak, empathic listening builds trust, defuses conflict, and fosters deep emotional connection.

Martha’s 5 priorities as a leader:

Authenticity, accessibility, empathy, transparency, vulnerability

Resource Alliance

Register for IFC 2026 before July and get the early bird discount!

International Fundraising Congress (IFC)

Calling All Heroes by Tammy Zonker

Pratham in India (Example of watchdog role)

LinkedIn

Twitter

Glad You Asked is a Hazen Institute for Leadership Training podcast.

Join us on Patreon for more in-depth content.

If you have a question you’d like me to ask on our show, or you’ve used one of the questions from an episode in your life, send Martha Schumacher a message on LinkedIn, or send me an email at hello@hazeninc.com. Learn more at hazeninc.com.

Produced by Patrick and Benjamin Childers of Odd Conduit Media.

Original music by Bassel & The Supernaturals featuring Herbie Hunkele on trumpet.