Coffee Hour with the ED: Rooted in Mission, Ready to Evolve

When most of us hear the word evolution, we think back to a science classroom. But evolution is not just a biological concept—it is one of the most important leadership principles we can practice. Every living thing that survives over time does so not because it stays the same, but because it learns to adapt to the world around it. Organizations are no different. And neither are the people who lead them.

I was reminded of this recently at the National Habitat Affiliate Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the plenary sessions featured the co-founder of Netflix, Marc Randolph, who took us back to the company’s earliest days. Netflix was once so small and so uncertain of its future that its founders tried to sell it to Blockbuster. Blockbuster turned them down.

Today, Netflix is a global success, and Blockbuster is down to a single store. What made the difference was not size, money, or name recognition—Blockbuster had all three. The difference was that Netflix was willing to evolve with the times, and Blockbuster was not. Sometimes our greatest risk is not failure; it is getting so comfortable with what has always worked that we stop asking what will work next.

That message echoed throughout the entire conference. As Habitat for Humanity International celebrates 50 years—a movement that began right there in Georgia—we were challenged to hold two truths at the same time. First, we must remain absolutely focused on our mission and vision: that everyone deserves a decent place to live. Second, we must be willing to evolve how we pursue that mission so we stay relevant to the families, volunteers, donors, and communities we serve.

These two ideas are not in conflict. Our mission is our anchor; it does not change. But the methods we use to carry it out—how we build, how we fundraise, how we engage volunteers, how we partner, and how we tell our story—must keep growing with the needs of the people in front of us. The housing challenges families face today are not the same ones they faced in 1976, and our solutions should not be either.

As leaders, we cannot ask our organizations to evolve if we are unwilling to evolve ourselves. Growth starts with us. It means staying curious, admitting when the way we have always done something is no longer the best way, and modeling the openness we hope to see in our teams. I have experienced this firsthand. Before joining Greater Fredericksburg Habitat, I served with Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg—an affiliate with a different size and a different service area. Some of what I learned there has carried over well. But I quickly realized that what worked in Williamsburg does not always work in Fredericksburg. I have had to think in completely new ways about how we solve problems, how we connect with our community, and how I connect with my team. Our mission is the same; our community is different, and my leadership has had to grow to meet it.

Evolving as leaders—and letting our organizations evolve—looks like this in practice:

• Hold the Mission Tightly and the Methods Loosely: Our “why” is non-negotiable, but our “how” should always be open for review. When we evaluate a program or process, the question is not “Is this how we’ve always done it?” but “Is this still the best way to serve our families?” I have been applying this to our first-time homeownership program. In conversations with our Director, I asked: we take applications online, but can we also get out into the community with paper applications so technology is never a barrier? Could we add an eligibility wizard to our website so families can explore on their own whether they are ready to apply? The program’s purpose hasn’t changed—these are simply new methods to open the door wider.
• Listen to the People Closest to the Work: Our staff, volunteers, and homeowners often see what needs to change long before leadership does. When someone brings me a new idea, I want to be the leader who pulls out a blank sheet of paper and says, “Let’s map this out together,” not the one who says, “That’s not how we do things here.”
• Give Our Teams Permission to Try New Things: Evolution requires experimentation, and experimentation means not every idea will work the first time. Netflix did not get it right overnight. When we create space to test, learn, and adjust without fear, we unlock the creativity our mission needs. We are already doing this in our ReStore. We have tried early-morning hours and late-night hours, and we learned that the later evenings toward the end of the week don’t work as well. Now we are trying donation pickups on Mondays, when the ReStore is closed. I am giving our ReStore team the freedom to experiment, learn what works and what doesn’t, and keep adjusting until they find the secret sauce.
• Honor Our Legacy Without Being Limited by It: Fifty years of impact is something to celebrate. But the best way to honor those who built this movement is to make sure Habitat is just as relevant for the next 50 years as it has been for the last.

Evolving does not mean losing who we are. It means caring enough about our mission to make sure it thrives in a changing world. Blockbuster had every advantage and still stood still. We have something even more powerful than a business model—we have a mission that changes lives. Let’s make sure we never stop growing in how we carry it out.

Until our next coffee hour, stay curious, stay rooted in mission, and enjoy the journey one sip at a time.

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