3 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Can Defuse Political Tensions at Work
Younger staff want to bring their whole selves to work. Leaders need strategies to channel that energy without letting conflict consume the mission.
By Ilana Kaufman
Contributor
July 22, 2026 | Read Time: 5 minutes
- Nonprofit leaders need to be honest about the professional consequences when conversations about politics and identity spiral.
- Leaders should resist pressure to host open debates on divisive topics unless they connect directly to the organization's mission.
- Investing in mental health support, generous time off, and conflict facilitation training helps staff navigate disagreement without damaging relationships or the organization.
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At a time when employees are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work, leading a nonprofit often means navigating seemingly endless conflicts and tensions over divisive issues. An organization’s desire to be a safe space may lead younger staff in particular to believe they can freely share feelings and opinions about any issue without considering the consequences. That can be a combustible combination.
As head of the Jews of Color Initiative, I’ve seen firsthand how heated and hurtful debates within well-intentioned, identity-based workplace groups can damage professional relationships and even careers. Those of us in leadership roles have a responsibility to manage and circumvent these tensions. But too often our actions result in the opposite.
I recently attended a professional conference of almost 1,000 lesbian-identified women that included affinity group break-out sessions for women of color, Jews, and first-time attendees. The conference leader, who was Jewish, welcomed those of us attending the Jewish breakout session and then proceeded to sit alone on the stage discussing anti-Semitism and the unfair demonization of Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. In her closing remarks she talked about her deep affection for Israel and mischaracterized the Palestinian perspective on the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that established the State of Israel.
Reactions from the room were swift. One participant could be heard wondering, “Haven’t you ever heard of the Nakba (the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 war)?” Three self-identified Christian Zionist allies called for peace. Two women chose to leave the session.
In a conversation with me following the session, the conference leader expressed resistance to what had occurred. She felt bruised by the past three years of criticism from progressive friends and was reluctant to connect her approach — sitting on a stage as she shared one-sided, charged perspectives and historical ambiguities — to the tension her talk generated. This leader’s misreading of participant viewpoints revealed another strategic miscalculation. Just as anti-Semites conflate and hold all Jews accountable for the actions of the Israeli government, this leader expected everyone in the room to share her perspectives on Israel.
Leadership in Turbulent Times
As leaders, we must adapt to our rapidly changing world and, by extension, work environments. We need to question our assumptions about what viewpoints will unify our teams. While nonprofit leadership continues to skew white and college-educated, we need to account for the lived reality of our young and diverse staff.
But in a highly polarized climate, we also can’t allow current events to overtake our focus on mission and the strategies we deploy to achieve it. When workplace conversations spiral and become destructive, leaders must resist pressures to engage and instead refocus teams on their organization’s larger goals.
Few issues are as polarizing today as Israel, but my charge as CEO of the Jews of Color Initiative is to identify and leverage approaches that unify racially and ethnically diverse Jewish Americans regardless of their political perspectives and relationships to Israel and Zionism. In that role, I’ve gained a clear sense of what strategies can hold diverse teams together during turbulent times. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Leave politics at home. Consider not using work time to have open discussions about sociopolitical topics unless they are directly connected to the organization’s work. Be honest about the consequences of sharing opinions others might deem unpopular or in conflict with their own: Reputations might be harmed, relationships may become strained, and staff cohesion could be compromised.
Executive and senior staff, as well as boards, should pursue the organization’s mission with a fervor that propels staff and constituents to focus on the nonprofit’s shared purpose, work, and impact rather than the issues and politics that divide employees.
Ask your staff what they need. The outside world is rough — especially for people of color, LGBTQ employees, and religious minority colleagues. Convey respect for and acknowledgement of the scope and scale of the burdens staff carry and ask them what they need from you to get through challenging times.
Ample sick, personal, and organizational down time are essential for staff to reflect on and process all they experience beyond the formal scope of their jobs. Providing mental health and wellness support, even financial management expertise, can help mitigate stresses outside of work that can’t be adequately explored in office settings.
Help staff manage conflict. Provide fully funded professional and personal development opportunities on how to navigate conflicts, especially those related to identity, faith, and politics. Having the courage, skill, and confidence to engage in and facilitate respectful disagreement empowers staff to maintain productive, positive work environments even when tensions arise over competing viewpoints. My organization brought in the group Resetting the Table to train our professional team and board members in facilitating compassionate and nonpolarizing dialogue.
Effective leadership today requires embracing different ideas, insights, and approaches than what was common even a decade ago. We need to nurture and maintain connections that transcend differences, affirm the value of diverse perspectives, and maintain the structural and spiritual health of our organizations. Each day we awake to a world that complicates our best intentions and plans. And each day, as leaders, we get another opportunity to respond with empathy and purpose.
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