As a nonprofit director or manager, how do you know when you’re ready to step into an executive leadership role? Our team of nonprofit leaders regularly uses their experience to help nonprofit career professionals answer this question as part of our board advisory work and interim executive leadership engagements. We act as mentors during nonprofit leadership transitions when the board needs help identifying their next leader and equipping them for success. These are the types of conversations we have day in and day out as we assist organizations in handing over the organization to new leadership. Ultimately, the question of whether you’re ready to move up to the next level comes down to two things: whether you have what it takes to succeed from a personality standpoint and whether you have enough experience to lead not only a team but the entire organization effectively. Let’s look at each of those areas separately because they are complementary, yet distinctly different, aspects of what makes someone qualified to lead a nonprofit organization.
0 Comments
Every day we at Valtas are brought into nonprofit organizations to help them have difficult conversations. Whether these conversations are related to the strategy, culture, leadership, direction, or day-to-day operations, we help facilitate respectful communication and strategic mission-setting to move the organization forward. Recently, our team got together to share some of the key lessons we’ve learned along the way and shed light on the type of approaches we take to help you do the same at your organization.
Nonprofit leadership retreats can be used to get new leaders comfortable with the rest of the team, tackle major organizational challenges without the distractions of the office, repair an organization’s broken culture, or even strategize through a major organizational shift. If your organization is facing a period where significant reflection or serious consideration is needed, gathering the leadership team together is a great way to prepare for what’s ahead. But an effective nonprofit retreat won’t just happen on its own. It requires careful planning and preparation to ensure that it will be time (and money!) well spent.
In a worst-case scenario, this dissonance results in the Board marginalizing the ED as just a passionate campaigner for the cause and writing off their opinion altogether, and the ED developing resentment and distrust towards their Board Members. The power struggle that ensues becomes a battle over dominance and recognition for the ways in which each can contribute to the success of the organization. Obviously, a situation like this never ends well! The toxic culture that develops as a result typically leads to turnover on the Board or the ED role (or both!). So, who’s right?
Whose opinion counts the most – the Board or the Executive Director?
One of the hardest decisions that a board can make is deciding what the future of the organization will look like if there’s a problem that’s big enough to consider sunsetting the organization instead. If one of the questions on the table is whether you can continue to deliver on your mission, it’s important to evaluate whether investing more is actually going to fix the underlying problem.
The ultimate question is really, “Is the organization worth saving?” As a result, we have seen plenty of examples of what makes a great nonprofit leader.
These are all statements I have made throughout my career, and that I have heard echoed from my peers in nonprofit leadership. And that’s a problem! Each of these statements point to an unspoken issue that should concern a board of directors. Ignoring those unspoken issues now might be setting you up for problems down the road.
Unfortunately, too often these kinds of statements are welcomed and even encouraged by board members. Boards often find reassurance in knowing that they have someone at the helm that’s dedicated to their mission. Additionally, they like the idea of saving money while doing great work. But they are, in fact, red flags that board members should be concerned about.
So, how do you identify the optimal leadership model for your nonprofit?
|
THE LATEST FROM VALTAS
You are welcome to subscribe to get the latest news, updates and insights from our team. Subscribe:Ask Valtas!Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
|