Retain Your "A" Players
- Tom Iselin
- Jun 1, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Retain Your "A" Players
Welcome to First Things First: Boot Camp — A Leadership Guide to Building a Gold-Standard Nonprofit. Today is Day Four, and we’re shifting from bringing on high-quality people to retaining them. Yesterday, we talked about creating filters to attract and recruit A-players—staff, board members, and volunteers.Today’s focus: How to keep those A-players once you’ve got them.
People are the most precious commodity in any nonprofit. Without them, you can’t deliver programs, raise money, or fulfill your mission. So let’s talk about how to keep your best people engaged, motivated, and loyal.
WHY RETENTION MATTERS
You’ve spent time and effort building a strong team of A-players. That’s fantastic. But here’s the truth:
A-players know they’re A-players. If you don’t work intentionally to keep them, they’ll leave—and take their time, talent, relationships, and expertise to a nonprofit down the road that values them more. This is way you need to retain your "A" players.
Retention isn’t luck.It’s a strategy.And here are seven tactics that will help you keep the high-quality people you’ve brought on.
1. RESPECTED, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Nothing drives good people away faster than:
Rogue CEOs
Micromanaging board chairs
Leaders who dominate or belittle
Toxic or ego-driven leadership
Great leaders inspire loyalty.Weak leaders kill it.
If your leaders aren’t respected, admired, or trusted, it may be time for a change of guard.
2. GIVE PEOPLE A VOICE
People want to contribute. They want their ideas heard.But if meetings are dominated by a loud few and everyone else gets talked over, two things happen:
Quiet people become disengaged
Disengaged people leave
Encourage more listening.Ask better questions.The best one?
“What do you think?”
Simple. Powerful. Transformative.
3. ENGAGE THEM — A-PLAYERS HATE THE SIDELINES
A-players want to play, and they want to play hard.
If you want to keep them:
Match their talents with your needs
Give them meaningful roles
Challenge them
Let them contribute where they excel
When A-players feel sidelined or underutilized, they disappear.
4. THANK THEM — OFTEN AND GENUINELY
The old-school “altruism should be enough” mentality is dead.
People may say they “don’t need thanks,” but deep down everyone wants to feel:
Valued
Appreciated
Seen
Not only for what they do, but for who they are.
You can’t say “thank you” enough.Make it personal.Make it frequent.Make it real.
When was the last time you thanked your board members, staff, and volunteers individually?
5. OFFER SIMPLE PERKS
Perks don’t have to be expensive to be effective.
Try things like:
Flex-time days
Casual parties
Appreciation lunches
Small prizes
Gift cards
Fun surprises
Ask your team what perks excite them—then implement a few.Easy. Inexpensive. High-impact.
6. BUILD A TEAM — NOT A COLLECTION OF ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS
People stay when they feel connected and enjoy the people they work with.
Break down silos.Create opportunities to have fun together.
Ideas:
Board wine-tasting social
Combined board meeting + dinner
Off-site team-building activities
Bowling night
Staff + board volunteer project
A board/staff meet-and-greet BBQ
People work harder — and stay longer — when they like one another.
7. PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In a fast-changing world, your people want to grow.
Professional development:
Increases your nonprofit’s “knowledge index”
Keeps people stimulated
Shows investment in their future
Builds loyalty and engagement
Ask staff, volunteers, and board members what they want to learn — then make it happen.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A-players have options — retaining them requires intention and strategy.• Leadership quality directly impacts retention and morale.• People stay when they feel heard, valued, engaged, and connected.• Simple perks and professional development go a long way.• Every member of your nonprofit is a “free agent” — treat them like valued talent, not replaceable labor.
SUMMARY
Recruiting A-players is only half the battle; keeping them is what truly builds a gold-standard nonprofit. Retention depends on strong leadership, genuine appreciation, meaningful engagement, team-building, and opportunities for growth. When people feel valued and utilized, they stay — and your mission thrives.
Tom Iselin
“One of America’s Best Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Facilitators”
Additional Resources:
Articles
Tom's Books, Podcasts, and YouTube Channel
About the Author
Tom Iselin is recognized as one of America’s leading authorities on high-performance nonprofits. He has built nine sector-leading nonprofits and two software companies, written six books, sits on multiple boards, and has been rated one of America’s Best Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Facilitators. His work on nonprofit strategy, board leadership, and culture has been featured on CNN, Nightline, and in Newsweek.
Tom is the president of First Things First, a firm specializing in board retreats, strategic planning services, fundraising strategy, and executive coaching for nonprofit CEOs.
Board Retreats & Strategic Planning
If you’re looking for a board retreat facilitator or strategic planning facilitator who has been in the trenches and understands real-world nonprofit challenges, Tom can help your board gain clarity, build alignment, and create an actionable plan that improves performance and impact. His sessions propel organizations to the next level of performance and impact . . . and they're fun!
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