Topic: Mindset Skills for Mission-Driven Leadership

Date: Friday, July 24th, 2026

Time: 8:30 AM to 10 AM (program approximately 60 minutes)

Description: 

Nonprofit and Talent Development leaders are being asked to do more, adapt faster, and sustain hope in the face of growing complexity. Rising community needs, limited resources, workforce challenges, and rapid advances in AI are increasing pressure on leaders, teams, and organizations. In this environment, mindset is not a "soft" skill. It is a core leadership capability.

In this interactive session, Dr. Brian Davidson will explore how purpose, hope, grit, and resilience strengthen leadership effectiveness, staff engagement, and community impact. Drawing on insights from the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report and proven psychological frameworks, participants will examine how mindset skills help leaders navigate uncertainty, reframe stress, and lead with greater clarity, confidence, and adaptability.

Participants will leave with practical strategies they can use to strengthen their own leadership mindset, support the growth and wellbeing of the people they lead, and turn adversity into fuel for mission-driven performance.

Participants will learn how to:

• Understand how mindset shapes leadership behavior, decision-making, and outcomes
• Strengthen purpose, hope, grit, and resilience as practical leadership capabilities
• Reframe stress and adversity as opportunities for learning, growth, and performance
• Apply strategies for leading with clarity, confidence, and adaptability in the Age of AI
• Support the motivation, resilience, and wellbeing of staff, volunteers, and community partners

Facilitator Bio: 

Dr. Brian Davidson is the founder and president of MindVue. As chief architect of the MindVue Profile assessment and MindVue's AI-powered learning solutions, Brian applies his work in measuring and developing mindsets to support businesses, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, sports teams, and the military in maximizing human performance. Driven to build hope, grit, and resilience across the globe, he has had the privilege to work with leading organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Workday, and West Point. As a passionate educator, Brian has helped teach the importance of mindset skills and has guest lectured at educational institutions throughout the world.

Brian is a writer on the topics of mindsets, leadership, mental wellness, and performance optimization and is a contributing author for The Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development and a reviewer for the Journal of Character and Leadership Development. Brian graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa with High Distinction and Honors, earning a degree in psychology and a teaching endorsement in secondary education. He holds a master's degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, both from the University of Kansas, where he has also served as a senior research consultant and adjunct professor.

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The purpose of the Nonprofit SIG is to serve our communities by enhancing capability (leadership and professional), employee engagement and wellbeing, and organizational capacity at nonprofit and other organizations in the region. We meet on the 4th Friday of most months (except Nov & Dec) at 8:30 a.m., usually virtually via Zoom. 

The Nonprofit SIG is hosted by Thom Powell (thomleader@outlook.com) and Alicia Vermeer (alicia@cyconcepts.org). If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the SIG, please connect with one of them.