What’s the most important factor that will guarantee success during a nonprofit technology transformation?

Is it budget? Extra staff? A great consultant?

All of those things are important, and leaders need to make sure they’re in place for a successful project, but they’re not the MOST important.

What is?

It’s LEADERSHIP.

Leadership is the most important factor to guarantee success during a technology transformation. 

That probably sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. Let’s delve into what we mean by leadership, because what we don’t mean is an executive who simply cheerleads without knowledge or understanding of the project. Or worse, an executive who grimly bullies staff around deadlines without knowledge or understanding of the project. 

Leadership Goal #1: Make Sure A Change Is Actually Needed

Leadership for technology change starts with making sure that any change is actually necessary. If you are a leader who makes final technology decisions, then you should make sure that your decisions are informed. Don’t unilaterally decide that your nonprofit will change your CRM or digital marketing solution. Instead, support and enable an objective process to figure out whether your current tech is serving you well and where the gaps are. This is called a technology assessment. 

Leadership Goal #2: Build Buy-In and Ownership

Making sure that your staff participates in the technology assessment is also a key component of leadership. If everyone goes on the same journey of discovery and understanding, that secures buy-in and lays a strong foundation for joint ownership of success. Rather than technology change being something that happens to your staff, it’s something that they decide to make happen. Everyone has a shared understanding of the need for change and the goals for switching technology. 

Leadership Goal #3: Protect Your Team’s Capacity

After that solid groundwork has been laid, the leadership continues. Migration from an old solution to a new one is a big project. These projects can be grueling for staff, especially since they still have their ongoing jobs to do. In order to make sure your staff doesn’t burn out, they need you, a leader, to stay engaged. That means attending meetings, paying attention, removing roadblocks where needed, and doing a good job listening to staff. This is especially important if you’re a leader who doesn’t have a direct role in using the technology. 

Sometimes being a leader means making tough calls about what’s going to get done and what isn’t. This is especially true during a technology migration project. If you want your staff to focus on the project, it might mean that other tasks and projects are put on hold for a time. As a leader, you can socialize that among the organization and make sure staff aren’t put under undue pressure. 

Leadership Goal #4: Communication Is Key

Communication is the keystone for any collaborative process. If you’ve spent time building buy-in and ownership among your staff, that means they will be better able to make decisions that are informed by the goals of the project. For that, your organization needs to build in a lot of time for communication to make sure everyone who is helping to move the project forward can develop a nuanced understanding of who, when, why, and get their questions answered. 

The question of “Why” is especially important. Your organization is not switching systems for the heck of it, or even because the new system will be easier to use. You are switching systems to gain efficiency so you can better fulfill the mission of your organization. 

Communication outside of the project group is also important. The rest of the organization may not be participating in the project directly, but you should make sure to regularly them about the project’s timeline, milestones, and impact.

Leadership Goal #5: Manage Resistance

If you’re leading during a technology transformation and migration, you will almost certainly encounter some resistance. Some staff may disagree with the decision to change technology, especially if they are expert on the old solution. Some staff may be neutral about the change but not want to learn something new. There could be other things happening that have nothing to do with the technology or the change that are preventing your staff from participating enthusiastically. Your job as a leader is to notice when there is resistance, have a private and safe conversation with the person who is resisting, and figure out how to resolve it.

Leadership Goal #6: Celebrate Success

People celebrate accomplishments and milestones to punctuate beginnings and ends, to provide catharsis, and to show appreciation. Make sure to name and celebrate the contributions of your people who helped drive the project, who owned pieces of it, who provided feedback, testing, data review, all of it. The most meaningful thing you can do as a leader is to speak specifically about what people did and how they made this success possible. Celebrate your people regularly, not just at the end. 

Leadership Goal #7:  Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning

Once the project is complete, your leadership doesn’t end. Long-term adoption of your new solution requires continued focus. Often during technology migrations, your project has benefited from the involvement of consultants and agencies who help you get organized and make decisions. If your relationship with consultants ends after the project is over, that’s fine, but you need to replace that supportive structure with something internal that is led by your staff. 

Learning a new solution and establishing new routines to help your staff use the new system consistently is important. Making room for continued training is also paramount. Fostering this supportive accountability structure will make sure your new system is a success.

Will you be attending the 2026 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Detroit, Michigan March 11-13? Raise HECK will be leading a panel discussion with three of our clients who led through technology changes. They will share their experiences leading and how they met challenges to enable the success of their technology transformations. 

If you need help right now with your technology transformation, get in touch with Raise HECK. Contact us or email hello@raiseheck.com