Organizational culture shapes how people behave, collaborate, and ultimately function as a team. It is the key to keeping teams engaged and productive, as well as attracting top talent to the organization. A thriving organizational culture unites people and keeps them aligned. In this Reader, some of our key portfolio team members reflect on this critical aspect of organizational dynamics, providing examples and scenarios of how culture manifests.

Finding the right balance between professional responsibilities and personal well-being is crucial in our fast-paced and demanding work environments. Setting goals for your year should not just include what you want to achieve in the office. At Maliasili, we understand the significance of having personal goals alongside our work objectives, recognizing their equal importance. As we kick off the first Reader of 2024, we're excited to share examples of these goals with you, aiming to inspire and encourage you to…

At the African Community Conservation Forum we convened two months ago, there was an essential session on building diverse and inclusive organizations. This Reader spotlights the different strategies a diverse group of conservation leaders identified to move from talk to action.

Many leaders struggle to understand where to start or how to properly invest in their teams. This Reader explores that and provides practical tips on how to get it done.

Conservation success cannot be achieved by a singular organization or individual. It requires partnerships and collaborations at various levels and with diverse organizations. This Reader highlights what causes partnerships to fail, and most importantly, top tips on how to make them succeed.

Conservation contains a complex web of power dynamics. They often go unspoken yet they significantly influence the success or failure of conservation organizations and initiatives. In this Reader, we delve into the multifaceted ways power shows up within organizations, and amongst various stakeholders. We also explore how African conservation leaders and organizations can use power to do better. 

This Reader explores the African philosophies of Ubuntu and the lessons it has for conservation and environmental organizations.

Change is inevitable when organizations grow. At Maliasili, we love using a simple framework to help us and our partners understand and manage the change process: the four rooms of change. These rooms - contentment, denial, confusion, and renewal -  can help individuals and teams go through change more comfortably and clearly, making it less painful or scary. It can make change more exciting.

Retreats and gatherings are important because they allow team members to strengthen their bond, improve collaboration, learn from each other, and cultivate a positive work culture. Maliasili recently held our annual retreat, so we used that opportunity to source some advice and tips from our team on running an effective gathering. 

Learning exchanges provide an opportunity for people to see what others in their line of work are doing and how to share their own knowledge and expertise. When done well, learning exchanges can help organizations get inspired and think differently about their work, ultimately improving their approach and greater long-term impact.In this Reader, Anna Davis, our Director of Leadership Programs, Karine Nuulimba, our Southern Africa Portfolio Director, and the team from Blue Ventures, an organization that excels at running exchanges,…