It’s Been a Hell of a Year. If You Want Staff to Stay, You Have to Invest in Them.
When the funding landscape is volatile, your people are your only steady ground.
We are closing the books on 2025, and I’m going to be honest: I haven’t had a single conversation this month that didn’t involve a heavy sigh.
It has been a brutal year for the international development community.
Between the shutdown of USAID, the ripple effects across INGOs, and the sudden contraction of funding we used to rely on, the landscape looks radically different than it did twelve months ago.
Most organizations are not where they planned to be in their strategic plan. Most teams are significantly leaner than they were in January. And the people still standing? They are strapped.
Across the sector, I am seeing the same story: retooled but still ambitious goals, even more limited resources, and teams trying to keep impact high without burning out.
The Trap of “Hunker Down” Mode
When funding gets tight, the instinct in the our sector is often to cut everything that isn’t “program-critical.” We fall into a scarcity mindset. We tell our teams (and ourselves), “Just hold on until the next award comes in,” or “We just need to get through this proposal season.”
But when “the crunch” becomes the new normal, that strategy fails.
If your business development, capture, and program management teams are navigating this level of uncertainty without support, they aren’t just tired—they are looking for the exit. They aren’t leaving because they don’t believe in the mission; they are leaving because they don’t feel equipped to sustain the pressure amid such uncertainty.
And in a sector this specialized, losing even more of your institutional knowledge is a risk you cannot afford.
Retention is Your New Resilience Strategy
When you can’t promise that the donor landscape will stabilize, you have to offer something else: role stability.
You have to demonstrate that you are invested in their capacity to steward the mission through the storm.
One of the most effective ways we’ve seen leaders stabilize staff and reduce turnover is through targeted executive coaching—especially for BD and fundraising teams managing relentless pressure. This isn’t just “professional development”; it is internal capacity building.
Here is what it actually looks like when you deploy coaching as a retention strategy for mission-driven teams:
1. Triage for Decision Fatigue
Your leaders are currently making high-stakes decisions—to bid or no-bid, to close a country program, to pivot a partnership—often with incomplete data. That mental load is exhausting.
Without support: They spin their wheels, second-guess their strategy, and burn out from the weight of “getting it right” for the beneficiaries.
With coaching: They have a confidential space to weigh options, check their logic, and move forward with conviction. They stop carrying the weight of the decision home with them.
2. Redefining “Urgent” vs. “Vital”
In a crisis, everything feels urgent. This leads to teams drowning in donor compliance and “busy work” while strategic priorities slip.
Without support: Staff say “yes” to every request out of fear of losing funding, dilute their impact, and eventually crash.
With coaching: We help them identify the 20% of work that actually drives resource mobilization or impact and setting firm boundaries around the rest. They learn to protect their time for high-value capture work rather than getting lost in the weeds.
3. Signaling Value Beyond the Mission
In this sector, we often rely on “passion for the cause” to keep people motivated. But passion doesn’t prevent burnout.
Without support: High performers feel like the organization is extracting value from them without replenishing it. They feel like a cog in a struggling machine.
With coaching: You are sending a clear message: “We see your dedication, we know this landscape is hard, and we are investing in YOU to help us navigate it.” That signal alone often anchors loyalty. It shifts the narrative from “I’m surviving this job” to “I’m growing as a leader through this challenge.”
What Capacity Building Actually Looks Like
Whether you are a leader trying to hold a team together, or an individual trying to stay in the sector without burning out, the answer isn’t “work harder.” It’s “stabilize the role.”
Executive coaching acts as a strategic intervention for high-pressure environments. Boss Insights offers distinct coaching containers depending on the scope of the need—for individuals or whole teams.
1. The Rapid Reset (3 Weeks)
Best for: Acute triage and immediate decision-making.
The Use Case: For the leader spinning their wheels on a specific, high-stakes knot—a go/no-go decision, a restructuring dilemma, or a crisis of confidence. We untangle it so they can move forward.
2. The Calibration Series (90 Days)
Best for: Navigation and steadying the ship.
The Use Case: For the professional navigating a new role or a prolonged season of uncertainty. We build sustainable habits that prevent burnout before it takes hold.
3. Custom Programs for Teams
Best for: Organizational resilience and shared language.
The Use Case: If your entire BD or leadership team is fraying, we can design a hybrid program of group workshops and individual coaching slots. This creates a shared culture of boundaries and strategy, rather than leaving individuals to figure it out alone.
Invest in the Keepers
You need your best people to be clear-headed right now. You need them grounded.
If you want them to stay, show them that you value their sustainability as much as their output.
I currently work with select professionals and leadership teams to support clarity, confidence, and resilience in high-stakes roles. If your team is feeling the weight of this year, let’s talk about how to support them through the next one.
Hoping your organization will invest in coaching? Download an info sheet to share with your supervisor or HR team.