What does it take to scale a mission without scaling the chaos that comes with it? In Episode 8 of Naserian Rises, hosts Iman Hatibu and Jamila Lugembe sit down with Noella Moshi, founder of One Advisory, a consulting practice that helps mission-driven organizations scale their impact without scaling their problems.

Noella was born in Tanzania, grew up largely in Papua New Guinea, and now lives in Massachusetts outside Boston. She explains how she turns a founder's vision into a plan that the board, funders, team and community can all get behind, and why she calls that work narrative strategy: making sure what an organization says, what it does and how it operates line up. Her case study is a Western Massachusetts pilot designed to help working parents get past the "benefits cliff," the point where a raise can cost a family more in lost support than it gains.

The conversation also gets personal. Noella, Iman and Jamila talk about moving to the United States, finding community through parenting, curbside reuse and thrifting, failing (and then passing) the driver's road test, and how support systems differ between Dar es Salaam and a US suburb.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Scaling impact without scaling problems starts with integrity: what you say, what you do and how you run day to day must match.
• Narrative strategy brings your board, funders, team and community along with a founder's vision.
• The benefits cliff can make a raise a net loss for working families. Noella argues the case must be made that the status quo is a lose-lose-lose for government, employers and employees.
• Community can be built on shared values and shared life stages, such as parenting, not only on where you come from.
• Take the first step and let it build the muscle for the next one. Get a coach or mentor early, because founders have blind spots about themselves.
• Nobody has it figured out. Use free webinars, podcasts and masterclasses to learn as you go.
• Change the narrative: communities are already investing in themselves, and the funder should not be the hero of every story.

Also in this episode: Naserian Axis shares that planning is under way for 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, being carried out on behalf of Tanzanian women, with webinars to follow.

Resources mentioned

• One Advisory (Noella Moshi): https://www.linkedin.com/in/noella-moshi-51470227/
• The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins, recommended by Iman (also mentioned: Let Them by the same author)
• Atomic Habits by James Clear, referenced by Noella as the idea behind small daily steps
• Naserian Axis Consulting LLC:
• 16 Days of Activism: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite/theme

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

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