Blog - Non Profit Magic

Working with BoardsAugust 22, 2024

Top 5 Ways to Engage your Nonprofit Board Members

Working with a nonprofit board of directors is one of the most important relationships an Executive Director will have. A great relationship with the Board Chair will make a big difference in the success of your organization.

Role of the Nonprofit Board

The board of directors of a nonprofit has three primary legal duties known as the “duty of care,” “duty of loyalty,” and “duty of obedience.”

Duty of Care: Take care of the nonprofit by ensuring prudent use of all assets, including facility, people, and good will;
Duty of Loyalty: Ensure that the nonprofit’s activities and transactions are, first and foremost, advancing its mission; Recognize and disclose conflicts of interest; Make decisions that are in the best interest of the nonprofit corporation; not in the best interest of the individual board member (or any other individual or for-profit entity).
Duty of Obedience: Ensure that the nonprofit obeys applicable laws and regulations; follows its own bylaws; and that the nonprofit adheres to its stated corporate purposes/mission.

The legal duties of the Board of Directors is only part of their role. Board members also play very significant roles providing guidance by contributing to the organization’s culture, strategic focus, effectiveness, and financial sustainability, as well as serving as ambassadors and advocates.

Why Should They Be Engaged?

If the Board members are engaged, well oriented and are in the right role, they can move an organization beyond anything imagined.

A board of directors is constantly changing and keeping members engaged can be difficult. Board members are volunteering their time and trying to fit in their work with your organization around work, family and other commitments. Being respectful of the time they are giving you is important. Use it wisely.

5 Ways to Engage Your Board Members

Be honest about the time needed to be successful. Don’t Tell a potential Board member that they won’t have to do much. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be honest about how many hours a month or week you expect from them.
Ask for their input. Don’t just provide updates with nothing expected from them
Provide them a wish list. Let them know what your organization needs so they can help fulfill it. Ask for time, ideas, suggestions, leads…not always money.
Visit with them with your Board Chair to get their feedback on how they can be more engaged
Provide social outlets for them. People join a Board to give back and also to network and meet others. Give them those opportunities.

Additional Ways to Engage

Here are additional ways to engage your Board members. Starting each year with a Board orientation can help new and existing members know what to expect and how to be engaged. Don’t skip this step. I am always surprised by how existing Board members become more engaged after they attend an orientation – even if it isn’t their first time!

Good Luck…a great Board can make all of the difference for your organization. As the Executive Director, this is one of your most important objectives. And one that is never finished.

Fighting BurnoutAugust 9, 2024

Burnout in Nonprofit Leaders – 5 Stages to Watch For

Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. Recognizing the signs can help you identify the symptoms that may need your attention. Burnout is a psychological syndrome defined as a prolonged response to chronic stress that’s often tied to work.

The 5 Stages of Burnout

You may recognize signs from different stages of burnout at one time, but knowing what to watch for can help you be aware that burnout may be creeping into your life.

Stage 1: Honeymoon – Everything may seem fine at this stage.

Some symptoms to watch for: Job satisfaction, commitment to your job, sustained energy levels and compulsion to prove oneself

Stage 2: Onset of stress – You are starting to lose your sense of boundaries.

Some symptoms to watch for: Inability to focus, anxiety, irritability and fatigue

Stage 3: Chronic stress – You may start to have physical symptoms at this stage

Some symptoms to watch for: Social withdrawal, resentfulness, denial of problems and feeling pressured.

Stage 4: Burnout – Loss of hope that things will get better.

Some symptoms to watch for: Obsession with problems, chronic headaches and GI issues, behavioral changes and self-doubt.

Stage 5: Habitual burnout – Just trying to survive through the burnout.

Some symptoms to watch for: Chronic sadness, chronic mental fatigue, chronic physical fatigue and depression.

What Can You Do?

If you are a leader. you must know that others are watching you. If you do not manage the signs of burnout your team may not either. This is a great time to lead by example. Addressing burnout early is important. Left unchecked, burnout can lead to physical and mental health challenges that may be harder to manage later. So, know the signs, address them in your team and be a great example.

Why Do Nonprofit Leaders Experience Burnout?

Mission based work is important. You can affect lives in ways that can be rewarding and overwhelming. Remember the instructions from your flight attendant.

If you are unable to continue where does that leave your organization? Those your serve? Volunteers? You?

How to Manage Burnout in Volunteers

Volunteers may feel the same symptoms when they are feeling burnout. A once happy volunteer may begin to complain or say they cannot complete all of the work given. These are signs to pay attention to. It is important to be honest about the level of work expected. Don’t sugar coat it just to get a volunteer to help. Most volunteers are juggling work, family and their volunteer work. Be sure to start off on a realistic foundation. Have regular check-ins with volunteers. How are they feeling? Do they need a break? Identifying signs of volunteer burnout early can make a difference.

Burnout needs more than just self care. It’s important to identify and intervene before burnout occurs in your team, your volunteers or you.

Fighting BurnoutAugust 8, 2024

Burnout is About More than Self Care

Beyond fundraising what is the main thing you worry about as a nonprofit leader? Many of my colleagues say burnout. Burnout of volunteers, their staff team and you. There are many factors that affect burnout and some are in your control and others are not. How can you manage what you can control?

What is Burnout?

“Burnout results when the balance of deadlines, demands, working hours, and other stressors outstrips rewards, recognition, and relaxation,” according to Alexandra Michel, a science writer at the Association for Psychological Science.

We are all capable of a tremendous amount of work, but when the work doesn’t feel rewarded, recognized or there isn’t time for relaxation burnout can set in.

How to Manage Burnout

I used to think I was the only one who could manage my own burnout. I just needed to take care of myself. But later I realized (and so is the rest of the industry) that nonprofit employers and leaders have a role in managing burnout.

Here are three ways (there are more here) to manage burnout of your team (and this may work for volunteers too)

Encourage Employees (and model it as a supervisor) To Take Vacation Time
It’s important to encourage staff to take time off, especially in a remote work setting where it can feel more difficult to take a break. Since this can lead to high levels of burnout and stress, employees should be encouraged to take time off. For example, our firm has offered extra days off for staff to reset and focus on their mental and physical health. – Larry Dolinko, The Execu|Search Group
Establish Company-Wide Rules For Availability
Establish company-wide rules, championed by the C-suite, around times when employees are expected to be online and available to respond to requests and attend meetings. This will help to reduce the feeling employees have that they need to be available at a moment’s notice or 24/7. Senior leaders need to reinforce the expected behaviors so employees see that taking time away from work is important. – Jennifer Rozon, McLean & Company
Train Employees To Be Mindful Of Messaging
It’s tempting to message a team member when a work thought pops into our heads because we don’t want to forget it, but that may cause undue stress if it’s not clear if the item is urgent or not. Companies need to train their teams to be mindful about messaging each other during traditionally “off” hours. For truly urgent items, go ahead. But if it can wait, hold off until the next day. – Angela Nguyen, Good Gummy

My colleague shared this story with me. It hit home.

….picture a canary in a coal mine. They are healthy birds, singing away as they make their way into the cave. But, when they come out full of soot and disease, no longer singing, can you imagine us asking why the canaries made themselves sick? No, because the answer would be obvious: the coal mine is making the birds sick.

Leaders must make changes to the coal mine.

LeadershipAugust 4, 2024

How My Dream Career Inspired My Dream Dog

Big Plans

When I got my dog Finn I had big plans. We were going to walk, hike, swim. We would be an active team. I wanted a dog that could join in the activities that I like to do. Well, we aren’t there yet. Finn is very strong and I don’t feel like I can walk him in big crowds or with a lot of other dogs. He loves people and dogs, but can be a bit of a bull in a china shop. So we haven’t hiked or swam yet. We don’t go to restaurants with him sitting at my feet and being chill….yet.

I could just give up and the dog he is now will be the dog he is going to be. Which isn’t bad, he is a good dog. But he isn’t the “dream dog” I imagined.

Dream Career

It can be the same with your nonprofit career. Your dream career may not be here yet, but you have imagined it. Have you stopped and decided that the career you have is good enough? Or do you still think about the “dream” career?

Finn and I have been working with a trainer to keep me focused on the work that it takes to get a dream dog. I have learned, while some of it is in the breed, the hardest part is in the training. It will take Finn and I building a trusting relationship to get to the dream dog state. Our goal? To go to dog beach and Finn swims in the ocean and comes back when I call him instead of swimming out to sea, which is what I imagine him doing now. The trainer says we can get there. It is hard for me to imagine, but I want it for him and for me.

Coaches Can Help with Dreams

When I got stuck in my career I leaned on mentors and coaches to help me get to my dream. It is hard to do it on your own. Coaches for nonprofit leaders can make a difference for your organization. Don’t give up on your dream. Find someone to help you imagine the impossible and help you get there. I know what it takes to manage a successful career in nonprofit leadership. I also know how to find the parts that make you jump out of bed in the morning and how to fill more of your days with those moments.

Give me a call, let’s talk about how to work on making your dream career a reality.

Finn and I are rooting for you!

Executive Director RoleJuly 23, 2024

Coaching – Top 5 reasons a Nonprofit Leader Needs a Coach

What is a Coach? Therapist, Motivator, Person who holds you Accountable? No, a coach is a person who helps you use your own tools and resources to accomplish your goals. You have everything you need to solve a problem – sometimes you just need a guide to help you uncover your superpower.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is defined as “building awareness that empowers choice and leads to change” Coaching can lead to significant improvement in personal and professional development. Coaching can elevate your entire organization. Coaching looks different for everyone. Some have a coach for a few sessions, others may work with a coach for a few years. You don’t have to decide that now.

How Can Coaching Help a Nonprofit Leader?

How can coaching help you as a nonprofit leader?

1. Being a leader in nonprofit organization can be a lonely job. Most of the time you cannot share with your Board the things you are not confident about.
2. Your colleagues may be competitors. A coach can be a confidential partner to help you move forward when no one else can be that for you.
3. You can open your thoughts to new ideas by looking at something differently
4. The mission of your organization is important and it impacts those your serve. Sometimes you need someone outside of the organization to talk with.
5. Coaching elevates you and your organization

Many new Executive Directors have never done that job before. You can be thrown into situations that are very new and there is no one to train you. An Emerging Leader can benefit from a coach to learn new skills.

How to Pay For a Coach

Coaching is Professional Development. Board members want you to grow as a professional. It is appropriate to ask for a coach as a part of your professional development. It can be put in the budget of your organization, a Board member may donate to support or you can pay for it yourself.

Fit

Fit is important for a coach. A great Coach doesn’t necessarily know everything about your job or life, but they are curious and can ask the questions that make you think differently about a situation. That is when true change happens.

Find a Coach, talk with several, wait until you find the person that challenges you to be your best.

LeadershipJuly 22, 2024

What I Learned About Being a Leader from My Dog

I have a two year old Labrador named Finn. He is the first dog I have raised on my own. I used positive reinforcement to potty train him, sit, lay down, etc. He does so many things well, but he is definitely in charge and I needed to fix that. He weighs 85 pounds and he can pull me around on a leash. He or I were going to get hurt if I didn’t so something more.

We Needed Training

We had a close call that scared me and I decided I needed some additional training. I, needed additional training. I am sure you have heard that dogs need an Alpha. You can find a lot of information to support or deny that. It became very clear to me through the trainer I chose that I was not the Alpha dog.

I had heard that term, but I didn’t really know what it meant. I feed him, walk him, love him and take care of his needs. The trainer actually said I was a pushover. What? I wasn’t the Alpha and Finn knew it.

The trainer was an Alpha. Finn reacted to him so much differently than he reacted to me. I saw what a change in my behavior could do for Finn and me.

Leadership and Dogs

I have been a leader throughout my career. I have led teams as an Executive Director for nonprofit organizations of all sizes. I have led the team and individuals to success.

I would consider myself a leader, but I never liked the word Boss. (Sounds like Alpha, huh?). So when the trainer said I needed to lead, I thought, OK. I’ve got this.

But the way I lead teams is not what a dog needs. He doesn’t want consensus building, he doesn’t get a say because I know what is best for him as a dog. But, can you really do that with people? No.

So I never learned how to be an Alpha as a leader of my team. I lead by example. I build teams who know that I will be there for them. I helped align their success, I helped make hard decisions for the greater good, I kept the needs of the team above all else.

What Does Your Team (or Dog) Need?

My dog needs someone to teach him discipline. He needs help to be the best dog he can be. He needs tough love. He needs me to put his greater good above all else. Do I need to use different tools to do that for him? Yes. But I can do it. I can be an Alpha dog for him and a great leader of people also.

What kind of leader are you? Are you the same with people as you are with your dog?

PS. I’ll keep you posted on how Finn and I are doing.

Executive Director RoleJuly 13, 2023

Lonely Job

As an Executive Director I often felt alone. I couldn’t share my concerns or problems with staff or the Board. Volunteers may take my concerns the wrong way and my colleagues in the community could be competing with our organization. Lonely. I needed a sounding board, a safe place. Someone I could share my triumphs and fears with knowing I wouldn’t be judged just cheered on or cheered up. I needed a Coach! Someone on the sidelines who was cheering even if I missed the ball. Who had a water bottle and snacks and one eye on me all the time.

Since I never had that person beyond the many mentors who gave me great support along the way. I want to be THAT person. It’s my Second Act and now I can provide the cheering, encouraging, snack and water toting that every Executive Director needs to be their best. Call me, I have my chair, sunscreen and hat ready to root for you from the sidelines.

Executive Director RoleJuly 11, 2023

The Executive Director – a hard job to love

The job of an Executive Director of a nonprofit organization is the hardest job one will ever do. True? Sure feels like it. I have had people who have experienced many types of jobs (for profit and non profit) say it is true. I cannot compare. An Executive Director has many lines of input, but the accountability stays with them. Who provides input? A Board who means well, but doesn’t always know the true nature of the work of an Executive Director. Volunteers, who mean well and have passion for the mission, but may not have a full view of the role. And often a national organization with a structured Home office staff who can have a lot of input, but not much accountability. So how does one keep all of these voices happy? It is hard sometimes. Picking the right people on the Board is one way and communicating often is the best way. If staff and volunteers know what is going on they have less time to make things up or imagine the worse. Talk with them, provide follow up, send a newsletter, keep the Board Chair in the loop, always! Being an Executive Director is the hardest job you will ever love.

Executive Director RoleJuly 7, 2023

What can nonprofits really do?

“What’s important is how we use our time on this earth, not how conspicuously we give our money away. What’s important is the energy and courage we are willing to expend reversing entropy, battling cynicism, suffering and challenging mediocre minds, staring down those who would trample our dreams, taking a stand for magic, and advancing the potential of the human race.”

Nonprofit organizations in the United States are tasked with solving problems. We do not pay taxes for the government to do this, in the US it is nonprofits. Yet, those very organizations meant to solve problems are held to such unrealistic expectations of their overhead that very few problems get solved. It is time for the sector to look at overhead. What is reasonable, what can donors expect and how to make real change. Until we tackle this problem in the sector, real magic cannot occur. ~ Dan Pallotta

Executive Director RoleJuly 1, 2023

Magic Happens

Hard work isn’t magic, but hard work can create magic. If you believe in that sort of thing…

I do. I believe that if you follow a recipe you can create magic. If that recipe is focused on an organization that does good…then you can create nonprofit magic.

I have built my career on turning organizations around. I have worked throughout many communities and organizations and I have taken many struggling operations to new heights. I have never done it alone, but I have always followed a recipe to build the right formula of staff and volunteers. When those two things come together and the staff and volunteers move in the same direction the organization can go to new heights.

Is it truly magic, no. But when it happens it is special and it feels like magic.

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