Leading from the Edge

THIS POST IS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO DON'T carry the title of president, chairperson, CEO, director, department head or anything remotely related to our typical understanding of "leader". This post is about modeling and exerting leadership when you're not at the epicenter of organizational decision-making; when your voice is one of many -- part of the Greek chorus as it were.

The beauty of nonprofit life is the prospect of leadership coming from anywhere, even in the most hierarchical of organizations. It can come from taking on small assignments that make a positive impact on the work of others, from encouraging others to bring their best work everyday, or from offering alternative perspectives to well-worn discussions. The one thing that is required is participation.

So, let's say you're the new kid on a long-standing committee. Somebody tapped you for a reason -- if that wasn't made evident when you were recruited, ask the chairperson about his/her expectations for your participation. Offer thoughts about how those expectations and your skills/interests intersect. (Mismatched assignments could offer you "growth opportunities", but it's likely they won't be helpful to either the committee or to you.) Then take on a task right away to establish your relationship with the group.

Engage supervisors or board chair-people in helping you expand your skill sets and responsibilities.

Encourage them to create an environment where any staff member or volunteer can be a leader in their own right.

Share your skills with co-workers. Pay your gains forward when you can.

The best nonprofits have room for leaders at every level. It's not the title so much as it is the attitude and what you do with it.

Photo: This Way from nic_and_nath

Comments

What Would Make You Turn Down an Invitation to Join a Board?

THERE'S SO MUCH WRITTEN ABOUT RECRUITING BOARD TALENT, I thought I'd spend a little time thinking about it from the prospect's point of view. Clearly, there are boards where the line is long to get on them. But what would make you turn down an invitation? Here's a short list to get the conversation started: 1. You've had no prior exposure to the organization. Your immediate reaction is "did you pull my name out of a hat?" (Is that lady in the picture the head of the Nominating Committee?) Seems as though there must be a hidden agenda at work (like you're rich and once you become a board member you'll pour all your resources into the organization) or the organization is simply looking for any warm body to fill a seat. 2. The organization doesn't have a good reputation. There's something to be said for street cred. An organization that's floundering may be strengthened by your participation or you may find yourself sucked into...

Three Most Important Nonprofit Executive Director Soft Skills

If you were asked to narrow down the list of executive director qualifications to the three most important, which ones would you identify? Would the list consist of soft skills, hard skills, or some combination? Would your list be based on the great ED you are or one you've worked for, or would it be your wish list for the ED you haven't been fortunate yet to work for? This was an assignment in my recent online class in leadership and administration for the American Association for State and Local History . I asked the class to review three-five advertisements for museum directors and analyze what these listings intimated about the organization’s past experience, current focus and goals, and future aspirations. Then, I asked the class to identify what they consider to be the three most important qualifications they would look for in a director. (Okay, so there's more than three if you dissect my three big groups.) Soft skills outnumbered hard skills, although ...

What to Do With Dead Wood on Your Board?

MY POLL ASKED WHAT ONE BOARD DYNAMIC YOU would change this year and the top response was "remove dead wood". For my first post on this topic I'd like to start with two obvious facts: 1) most boards have some non-performing or under-performing board members AND 2) most boards already have mechanisms in place for removing dead wood...or at least the non-attending dead wood. Those mechanisms are found in the Bylaws and perhaps in a board job description. Few boards, it seems, invoke these mechanisms, mostly out of fear of offending the offender. We end up side-stepping the dead wood, dancing around it, ignoring it, wishing mightily it would go away. Oh, and complaining about it. So, even though the dead wood isn't doing much, it's sapping the energy and focus of many others. (There must be a Law of Physics about this!) Where to start and how to implement? While removing dead wood is not the most pleasant of responsibilities, it does not need to be -- and s...

Leading by Design

Search This Blog