Here’s to you who direct non profit agencies. Your challenge is Herculean. You’re called upon to be all things to all people and to smile beatifically while you’re doing it.
You are supposed to lead, manage, empower, empassion, conceptualize, sanitize, systemize, and fund raise on a shoe string budget and a strung thin staff.
The boss is your board, the public is your client, and you are your most severe critic. And that’s just part of the load that you carry.
You supervise the activities of countless volunteers so that money can be raised, and important goals can be achieved. Your organization can not function successfully without them.
You appreciate your volunteers and tell them so, as often as you can remember (along with the others things you’re trying to remember; like when you last cleaned your house or visited your in-laws).
Those cherished volunteers (and may their numbers multiply) come from all walks of life and all levels of experience. They are independent, self reliant people. They aren’t paid for their time or effort. They offer both freely because they want to. As noble as that is, and as good as they are, there’s a challenge that accompanies such a gift.
They don’t have a boss and don’t want one. They don’t have to show up on time, or even show up. They don’t have to complete a job or stay until the job is done. That’s the whole idea. That’s why they volunteer: to make a difference, but to do it in their own way.
In a perfect world, it works perfectly. Volunteers universally step up to the plate. But in the world where you live, it can feel more like herding cats. You encourage here, and cajole there, and sometimes feel that you’re running in circles, just trying to keep everything and everyone on track and moving forward.
So many masters. So little time. Especially if you put too much pressure on yourself. As a director, you can meet and exceed probably two thirds of what is reasonable to ask of yourself. It’s not that you can’t do it all, but that you insist that you can.
Optimistic board members want to believe they can hire miracle workers who squeeze water out of rocks (or squeeze the work of ten out of a payroll of three), and envision more than possibly be attained. Their newly minted, altruistic directors arrive filled with inspiration and boundless energy. If they spin themselves into a frenzy proving that they can achieve unrealistic goals, they run the risk of burning out on the very fuel that got them there in the first place.
The most savvy directors know how to lead people, manage process, and massage egos. They know that the most critical measure of their success is dependent upon their ability to build, value, and sustain a team of staff and volunteers that complement each others strengths.
They realize that their paid employees aren’t in it for the big bucks or high falluttin’ titles, so the successful leader takes time to listen to ideas, reinforces initiative, appreciates effort, and says so, with gusto.
They can turn a “no” into a “yes”, and “why you can’t” into “here’s how you can”. They do it consistently and they do it often.
They state their expectations early, clearly, and completely to staffers and volunteers alike.
They take time out to celebrate every victory, as a team.
They realize that everyone wants to make a difference, in their own way.
The most effective board members believe in the organization’s mission, connect with its message, and work together to make it happen.
They follow through when they say they will and say so when they know they can’t.
They provide guidance without guilt, and support without strings.
They understand that commitment is defined by their time, talent, and the intangible spirit of doing whatever it takes.
We all benefit from the work of non profit organizations. Some of us are direct beneficiaries and realize that we couldn’t have made it, emotionally, financially, or physically, without their help. Others of us benefit indirectly by the assistance our neighbors and friends receive at a time of need.
We are all enriched by their presence.
They help us become a community that cares.
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Joyce Richman (www.joycerichman.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at www.thecoachingassociation.com.
