Management

Whether a board is seeking to replace a retiring executive director or requesting a search for a new CEO to move their organization to greater levels of success, the leadership skills they are seeking are much different than those of traditional nonprofit leaders. As an executive search consultant for the nonprofit sector, I've noticed that boards are seeking chief executives with transformational leadership styles. Previously, boards placed a strong emphasis on recruiting executives who were passionate about the mission, experienced with grant writing, program development and had good management and community relationship skills. Though these skills remain important, the following are [...]

No one wants to believe that they or their company has bias, especially nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to do social good. But, it happens. Conscious or unconscious bias may reduce your openness to people who are different from you, and in turn, can dramatically affect your hiring process.   Research over the past eleven years has repeatedly demonstrated a tilted field in nonprofit hiring, especially in senior executive and development level positions. Despite this knowledge, the percentages seem to show little movement.   Instead of rehashing the statistics, here are several immediate, introductory steps that can improve diversity within your [...]

  A new study from the Taproot Foundation shows just how important pro bono service has become in the nonprofit community and how this form of giving is actually a win-win for both the corporations and your nonprofit. Taproot’s mission is “to drive social change by leading, mobilizing, and engaging professionals in pro bono service.” The Foundation’s recent annual and global event, “Pro Bono Week” (Oct. 19-25) reinforced that pro bono services may be the perfect opportunity to spare your budget, while still getting quality services from various industries.   According to Giving in Numbers: 2014 Edition (a report from the [...]

To borrow a quote from columnist and nonprofit leader Anika Rahman, “Non-profits are our conscience.” As science comes to support what we already knew, that diversity begets innovation and creativity, many nonprofit organizations find themselves in a bind when it comes to implementing and maintaining consistent, effective diversity, inclusion, and equity (DI&E) initiatives. Let’s skip the entire lesson on the differences between these three processes and jump straight to the point of inclusion, which is necessary before diverse employees can extract genuine equity from their organizational experience.   Now, back to the point of conscience. The majority of nonprofits exist to [...]

Does your board get it? Do they really understand turn-over in your development department? Are your board members committed for the long run? Or do they expect money to arrive quickly when things are tight? Check out this list of 9 things your board members must know about fundraising. Gail Perry of Fired Up Fundraising raises some great questions for your board members in a quiz entitled Does Your Organization Really Support Fundraising? Take the quiz and hone in on what your board members need to understand. Raising more money doesn’t happen overnight; consistency and being in the game for the long haul [...]

With me to today is Sam Arpino, DoSomething.org's Talent & Culture Manager aka Head of Fun. DoSomething.org's has a world-class culture that came up again and again in my conversations with the team. Her team of 55 mostly millennial staff is not just having fun, they are changing the world at scale. Among many other accomplishments, they are the fastest rising organization on our stats based Top 100 Nonprofits list (currently #5, up from #19 a couple years ago). Preview of the topics we cover DoSomething and the impact they are making? Why DoSomething Embeds Fun into what they do What is [...]

  I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions – especially those that involve weight loss and “being your best you.” But I do think that the first of the year is a great time to check in with yourself (and your work) to make sure you’ve made progress. For those that do like New Year’s resolutions, I think it’s incredibly important to be realistic when you’re setting goals for the year. If you’ve never stepped foot on a treadmill, it’s probably unrealistic to set a resolution to run a marathon this year (unless you have every waking moment of your life [...]

During the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, society reminds itself to be grateful. But what about those other 11 months of the year?   The art of positive thinking can be relatively difficult to keep up with. Several months ago, I stumbled upon a quote that helped me realize I needed something more than a positive attitude to help me through my disengagement at work:   “While being optimistic reduces stress, trying to be optimistic can increase it. The notion that positive thinking is correlated with good health puts enormous pressure on people to cleave to beliefs that they don’t actually trust.” – [...]

From marketing and communications duties to human resources and accounting tasks, a typical nonprofit employee constantly applies various tools and skill sets and covers a variety of roles--sometimes, daily! It’s essential that nonprofit boards and managers engage with their employees and help shape their career path by offering opportunities for professional development. It not only benefits the employee, but the organization.   In Why Employee Development Is Important, Neglected And Can Cost You Talent, Victor Lipman and Forbes both examine common reasons given for neglecting professional development.   1. "Here and Now" Mentality When working in the sector, we often look at what [...]

We often think of people in leadership roles as the epitome of success. They often exude confidence and poise and many have larger than life personalities. However, people who have risen to executive positions in a nonprofit organization are no less human than teachers, athletes, engineers or registered nurses. While society is beginning to come to terms with its position on mental health and starting to challenge deep-seated associations like “weakness,” when it comes to the executive suite, discussing emotional well-being and mental health openly is still a difficult subject. Though the country’s top nonprofit leaders enjoy the rewards of career [...]