Nonprofit Leadership, Innovation, and Change

Is leadership measured by legacy?

2009-10-03T11:45:00-07:00

Recently I attended the funeral of Bob Schmal, a volunteer of our local United Way, a longtime advocate and community activist in our community of Modesto. Bob was the chair of a volunteer committee at United Way where I served as the United Way representative.

Bob was an amazing man who left a legacy of community advocacy and activism that hasn’t been seen for many years in our community.

Even though I only watched two of his 13 years of work in our community, I was able to develop a great relationship with Bob. We shared a passion for sports, a love of golf, and a desire to make a difference in our community.

While attending his funeral, there were many community leaders present. Not only where they present, but most of them spoke words about Bob.

By my estimate, here’s a list of local dignitaries I spotted at his funeral:

Former Chief of Police
Current Chief of Police
Fire Chief
County Chief Sheriff
City Mayor
Councilwoman
County Supervisor
District Attorney

In addition to these dignitaries who attended and spoke at his funeral, there were 300 other people who all took three hours out of their day on a Friday to honor and remember him.

This stirred my thinking. Is our leadership defined by our legacy? Is the legacy we leave behind the true measure of our leadership?

Only a man with true leadership making a difference would have been able to attract that level of people to attend his funeral.

I’ve learned that great leaders attract good leaders, and exceptional leaders attract great leaders. And there were many great leaders at Bob’s funeral on Friday.

Give Your Best and Let Others Do the Rest

2009-09-24T05:03:21-07:00

I’ve often heard Christians say, “Give it your best, and let God do the rest.” That might be in scripture somewhere, but I’m not positive.

I’ve also heard Abe Lincoln say, “Pray like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on you.”

Both of these are powerful statements implying that we can’t do everything. All we can do is give our best effort, then allow others (or God) to do what they can.

As leaders the only thing we can do is:

Perform our best
Serve our people the best we can
Prepare them the best we can
Equip them the best we can
Develop them the best we can

Then allow them to do the rest from there.

Once we’ve done the best we can, then it’s out of our hands and it’s up to them to keep going and to do there best from that point forward.

Believe in others more than they believe in themselves

2009-09-19T13:41:00-07:00

On this blog I talk a lot about the role and job of a leader.

Well,
Here’s another one!

I believe that the role and job of a leader is to help people to see what they are capable of.

If you asked a room full of people, “Who here has achieved something that you never thought would be possible because someone else believed that you could? I guarantee that a majority of the hands in the room would go up.

One of the things that have had a significant impact on my life are the several people who believed much more in me than I have believed in myself at certain times.

They believed in me when I didn’t, and as a result I often did more to serve and help people than I ever thought I could.

Often a word of encouragement or acknowledgment of a job well done is all that it takes.

In your role as a leader, remember that sometimes you're called on to believe in others. See their potential and help to draw it out of them.

Interview with author, Rick Smith about The Leap

2009-09-15T06:49:40-07:00

As a writer (or should I say, blogger) I often am sent copies of pre-released books asking if I would like to give the book a read and review it on this blog. Every once in a while I come across a really great book through this process.

Recently I was sent a copy of a new book entitled, The Leap by Rick Smith and it was one of those few very great books.

Below is a recent interview that I did with Rick Smith about his newest book, The Leap: How 3 Simple Changes Can Propel Your Career from Good to Great.

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To begin the interview, if you only had one sentence to use to describe The Leap, what would you say?

The Leap is a “Good to Great” for people, affirmatively answering the question, “Can people on a lifetime trajectory of ordinary break out and accomplish extraordinary things with their lives?”

What motivated you to write The Leap?

I was example number 1. For nearly my entire life, I had been ordinary. B-student, middle manager, luckier than some, unluckier than others. But mostly just average. Then, my life turned on a dime. In 18 months I wrote a bestselling book, launched a company that brought me into close contact with the top leaders/icons of our time, and eventually sold the company for more than I thought I would make in my lifetime. As all of this unfolded, I couldn’t help but ask myself the question, How could this have happened to of all people, me? And are there others out there who have similarly transformed ordinary lives into something remarkable.

Quite simply, I want others to know what I have learned, and to share in the experience.

How many times have you successfully made “the leap” during your professional life?

Really, only once. After the point when my trajectory changed, it was as if gravity itself had been suspended. People, opportunities, fulfillment seem to continue to come at you. I did however recently apply the principals in The Leap to a new area – my band – “Men Without Youth”. In one year, we took our “dads-band” from playing neighborhood pool parties to opening for Lynyrd Skynerd and Zack Brown in front of more than 1,000 people. This really works!

What do you feel is the benefit for someone to read the book even if they are not going through a possible change in their career?

No matter what your circumstance, everyone longs to do more, to do something special with their lives, even if it is within the context of their current roles or companies. The Leap helps bust three common myths that hold so many people back: In order to make a leap in my life I must 1) change who I am (fix myself), 2) go it alone, and 3) take a big risk. These myths are false, and understanding what is real about success can allow anyone to dramatically change their impact and fulfillment.

While reading the book and reading the many stories about people who have successfully made the leap, it appears they all had slightly different ways of “leaping.” Is it fair to say that there is no clear cut way of making the leap?

You are correct, the stories of those making the leap are as unique as the individuals. But what is interesting is that if you look closely, the same three patterns seem to appear over and over, as they did with me. For nearly all of us, we were left to stumble onto a leap in our lives. My hope is that detailing these patterns for others will make them understandable, and ultimately replicatable.

One of the underlying tones that you communicated in the book is that average ordinary people can do great things even if they don’t have grand ability, huge dreams, amazing talent, lofty goals, or amazing change. This seems to go against conventional thinking, so what caused you to take this position?

We all rationalize where we are in our lives. I certainly did, and that is OK. But rationalizing is different than giving up hope, letting go of our grand dreams. Despite the title, the leap is not a guide to living on the edge. In fact, this is a book about predictability, about using the hardwiring of the brain to assure that, whatever change you set to make in your career, the odds will be stacked in your favor. While the outcome of a leap may be quite dramatic, the steps that set it in motion are actually just simple, risk free explorations.

What do you believe is the main reason that people pursue career leaps into new and different work areas?

If you find yourself in a position that leverages your strengths and passions every day, you cannot help but grow and succeed. The statistics prove it out. But this is an elusive goal – my research suggest that less than 5% strongly agree that they are in such a role. A successful career is really about continuous change, continuous learning about yourself, your strengths and your passions. This learning occurs through experience, and If you can understand yourself at this level, you are much more likely to find the role that is meant for you and you alone.

In my experience of interviewing authors I’ve found that many authors write a book, only to realize a couple months later they forgot to add a couple of key ideas or points. If you had the opportunity to write the book again, what would you change or add to the book?

For me, each book leads to new questions. My first book, The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers profiled the super successful within organizations. But it sparked the question in my, what about the rest of us? What about the state school educated normal girl and guy? What about people who seemed stuck by the time they were 30? What allows the average person to break out and achieve similar levels of success? These questions led to The Leap.

The questions that I am currently wrestling with are related to what specific factors impact success and happiness the most. My research is pointing me toward how we as individuals initiate, cope with and lead others through change.

If someone is looking to make the leap to another career or profession, are there any other resources that you would recommend they obtain or use (besides your book of course)?

Well, not to be self serving, but as part of this book project, I developed the Primary Color Assessment (www.primarycolorassessment.com), available for FREE online (100,000 pageviews in just the last 2 months!). This 15 minute test will identify the intersection of your greatest strengths and passions, and this is powerful information. Knowing this is the first step in taking control over the direction of your career, and aligning this unique “Primary Color” is the first step in taking the leap? I am a Purple Heart. My wife is Electric Lime.

What is your primary color?

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For more information on Rick Smith, you can read his blog or visit LeapBuilder.com.

Leaders Embrace Overwhelm

2009-09-12T16:17:08-07:00

I believe there is a group of people who would like to be leaders, but they aren’t leaders because they don’t want to do the work.

As a leader I can admit that one of the many challenges I’ve had to face can be summed up in one simple word: overwhelm.

As the leader, (almost) everything rises and falls on you. You’re the dude who casts vision and sets the pace for your organization, but you’re also the dude who has to take care of many small details that must be done on a regular basis.

It’s a tough battle, because you’re the figurehead of the organization being pulled in so many different directions by everyone.

The key for leaders is to embrace overwhelm. Because I believe most leaders love what they do (I know that I do), they see work as something they look forward to doing. They look forward to work because they know it’s something that’ll bring them closer to their goals and visions they have for their organization and themselves.

They learn to associate good feelings to the massive amount of work they must do on daily and weekly basis to maintain and keep their organization growing.

So go and embrace the overwhelm!

The True Sign of Your Leadership

2009-09-06T13:21:27-07:00

The true sign of your leadership is when:

You give your best effort for yourself and for others,
You love others and yourself unconditionally without reason or motive,
You love others even when they have wronged you or done a poor job,
You have a vision of the future and you take action on that vision,

Leadership Compounds

2009-08-29T07:09:30-07:00

Leadership compounds.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade.

Why does it compound? For the simple reason that when you focus your effort in one area day after day for a long time, you’re going to get better. You’re going to improve, you’re going to make change, and that change will naturally lead to more change.

Like most things, leadership only compounds if you’re focused on growth. Focused on growth means you attend conferences, read good books, and take time to think and reflect. If you’re not consciously focusing on growth, what you’re doing is not going to compound over time. It will be like the Pastor who said he had been in the ministry for 20 years, but only had one year of experience because he had experienced the first year twenty times.

To keep your leadership compounding through growth you must be:

Doing
Learning
Growing
Implementing

Then the process starts all over again with you building on what you’ve already done and learned from.

Leadership compounds.

Why should I have different people in the room?

2009-08-25T21:54:30-07:00

This is a vital question, one that I will pose to you.

Who is in the room when you are casting vision, making decisions, or planning for change?

The people you have in the room when these topics come out is going to define your organization’s ability make a difference. When you have people in the room, they need to be different.

You need to have different people in the room for three reasons:

Different thinking
Different skill sets
Different experiences

I once read about a story of Henry Ford who was in a meeting with his board when he said, “Ok guys, so I guess we are all in agreement on this?” as they all stated, “Yes, we are.” Mr. Ford proceeded to say, “Ok, then I’m going home, you guys stay here and until we have some disagreement on this, we’re not going to make a decision.”

Let me explain more for these three areas:

Different Thinking – I love good thinkers. They aren’t always the best implementers, but I can always find someone to implement someone else’s ideas. I also love to get good thinkers to disagree and engage in conversation with other good thinkers. You need to keep them thinking in the areas of their strength. Some people are good thinkers in the area of fundraising, planning, administration, or accounting practices.

Different Skill Sets – These are the people who help the good thinkers discover if their ideas are able to actually be implemented. Good thinkers are often just that, good thinkers. They don’t always have the best grasp of reality. So it takes a person with good skill sets to help determine which idea can be implemented, and out of the ideas that can be implemented to decide which idea is the best one to implement. People with different skill sets are the delegates. They are the ones who actually make it happen. They often come alongside the thinkers and make their ideas and vision become a reality. People with different skill sets are usually like the craftsman and mechanics. They are great at looking at something, using their hands and parts to build it and make it work.

Different Experiences – These are the people who can draw on past experiences, successes, and failures to help things move forward. These experiences provide insight and resources for everyone to draw on. Here’s the thing you have to watch out for with experiences, their past experience can greatly hinder your organization’s success. Just because they have failed or seen someone else fail in a certain area, might cause them to think everyone else will fail in that area.

However,

When you get different people in the room, you're going to have disagreements. One of the great qualities of leaders who can run effective meetings is being able to successfully and smoothly facilitate disagreements between members of their staff and team.

This has been a huge element of my role with A Day of Hope. We often sit in meetings for our leadership team and fundraising team with so many ideas going around it’s crazy. Most of the volunteers are young energetic people such as myself, so they are always bouncing ideas around and asking great questions.

I hope you now see why you should have different people in the room.

How does leadership make a difference?

2009-08-17T18:23:21-07:00

One of my commitments as a member of the A Day of Hope Internet Fundraising Team entails my requirement to make a new Squidoo Lens every month ("lens" is a fancy word for web page). Usually this means I think and create some written content that is posted on the lens.

Here's one of my recent lenses that talks about Ways Leadership Makes a Difference. It outlines 17 ways that I believe leadership makes a difference.

Great Leadership Makes a Difference
Great Leadership Makes People Better at What They Do
Great Leadership Enhances & Keeps People's Confidence
Great Leadership Makes Better Kids
Great Leadership Makes Better Families
Great Leadership Helps People to Find Their Passions & Strengths
Great Leadership Makes the Economy Stronger
Great Leadership Makes the Economy Stronger
Great Leadership Guides Us Through Crisis
Great Leadership is What Catalyzes Change
Great Leadership Motivates Other People to do Their Best
Great Leadership is What Makes Change Stick
Great Leadership Keeps People Going During Tough Times
Great Leadership Attracts Better People to the Organization
Great Leadership Inspires People to Do Their Best
Great Leadership Gives People the Discipline to do the Right Things
Great Leadership Allows Room for People to Grow & Develop

For more details on the 17 ways, you can check out the official lens. If you purchase a book on the lens the proceeds earned from that book are donated to A Day of Hope. So feel free to be generous. :-)

Jobs for Change

2009-08-11T08:08:18-07:00

With the recent changes in our economy and world, it seems that people aren't just looking for work, but they're looking to transition careers. They're looking to change into something new, fresh and that has more meaning to them. Something where they're able to use their skills and gifts in a greater capacity.

Currently I'm working on a print interview with Rick Smith, author of the soon to be released book, The Leap which talks at length about career changes people make.

With this change in careers some people are looking to possibly begin working in the nonprofit sector.

A reader recently sent me a link to a new website launched for the special purpose of helping people who are looking for jobs in the nonprofit sector.

Whether you're a nonprofit veteran looking for a new position, or if you've worked in the corporate arena for years and now you want to test the waters of nonprofits, Jobs for Change can give you a head start in looking for jobs in the nonprofit area.

People Serve Two Things

2009-08-04T23:28:30-07:00

People serve two things: they serve the cause of your organization and they serve you.

People will work for the cause temporarily, even if they don’t like or respect the leader.

However, if someone works for the cause and for the organization, they are going to work a lot harder and create much better quality of work.

Leadership has been defined as winning people to your cause, and I think leadership is also winning people to you.

When they follow you based on who you are and what you stand for, combined with the cause of an organization that they believe in, it creates a powerful combination that cannot be matched.

What a Resume Doesn't Measure

2009-07-31T07:45:00-07:00

If you hire people on a regular basis, you know the main thing that determines whether you interview someone for a job or not is based on his resume. A resume sets the tone for an interview and it places presuppositions and assumptions in an interviewers mind.

Often times the interviewer is looking to learn certain things and affirm what they think they already know about the person.

But here’s a reality check: a resume is not always a reflection of someone’s talents, skills, and strengths.

But you already knew this, right?

So, what does a resume show and measure?

It measures experience and successes that a person probably has. These are all great to know and use when hiring someone, but what you really need to know when you’re hiring someone is the stuff that’s not on a resume.

A resume naturally resembles the success and good qualities a person has. However, it does not measure someone’s integrity, their ability to work well with others, if they make the people around them better, how much they have learned, or their future potential.

Next time you stare blankly at a resume, think about what's not shown and how that can affect your decision.

Risk

2009-07-27T22:30:00-07:00

A leaders' success heavily depends on his ability to face and deal with risk.

One thing that establishes someone as a leader is his courage to take risk. For the simple reason that when you take risk, you’re seen as a leader because there aren’t many people doing what you’re doing.

Most people like to play it safe. That’s why they stay at boring jobs making a modest wage to enjoy a mildly enjoyable retirement.

When someone takes a risk he is suddenly seen as a leader because not many people are doing what he is doing. Several years ago remember reading a quote stating, “Sometimes you have to go out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is.”

When you take risk it means you’re stepping into the unknown and it tests your leadership influence with people. It’s easy to lead when everything is smooth and easy. But when you have to take risk and step into the unknown, it shows your true level of leadership.

When you take risk it will determine if you actually have the leadership influence to lead people.

Learning in a new position

2009-07-17T18:05:28-07:00

Last year began working in a new position at United Way. It is a new position, in a new department, with a new person to report to, and new peers to work with on our team.

As I have had to learn so many new things in this position, it occurred to me it’s not just skills that I have to learn, I have to learn how to work with my peers as a team.

There are two things a person must learn in a new position:

The skills needed to get the job done
How to work as a team with new coworkers.

The skills can be learned in a training room, training manual, or software program. However, the people skills are much more difficult to learn. It takes experience, failure, intuitiveness, and some team building activities before you can really work effectively with other people as a team.

Working effectively as a team starts with finding out the needs and desires of the person you are working with. What do they value? Do they need to be affirmed and recognized for their work? What is their style for communicating and interacting? Do they prefer email over telephone?

This is the basic stuff that takes a long time to learn about the people you work with.

There is and always will be a lack of resources

2009-06-29T05:38:38-07:00

It doesn’t matter if you are leading in the nonprofit sector, business community, or government, you’re always going to face the problem of not quite having enough money. The fact that money is scarce is what makes it valuable.

As many of you know, A Day of Hope is a volunteer based program (I earn my income working full-time for United Way). I often catching myself saying, “If I only had the financial ability to hire that person to do "this" and to do "that" for A Day of Hope.”

But, I believe once I had that financial ability to hire someone to do the job, I probably would find myself wanting more money to hire someone with more skill.

It’s natural for a leader to always want more. Leaders are always pushing the envelope hard in an attempt to grow their organization. They always want more of what they’re doing and they want things to be better.

Lack of resources is always going to be a problem for a leader in any context. So, it’s not the increase in resources a leader needs to always seek, he needs to seek an increase in innovation and ingenuity.

He’s got to be creative to come up with ways to not just raise money, but to get the best and most capable work from the people he leads.

Leaders Are Productive

2009-06-27T08:31:00-07:00

Is it me, or does it seem that people who are productive are usually leaders? Not always, but most of the time this seems to be true.

Here’s the true question, “Is someone a leader because he is productive, or is he productive because he is a leader?”

I believe it’s a little bit of both. Leaders are naturally productive because they have to be. They are being pulled in a lot of different directions, by many different people.

It’s also a leaders productivity that helps establish him as a leader. If you are someone who can get the job done day-in-day-out and manage many projects and tasks while keeping them all moving forward, you're more likely to be seen as a leader.

Why do you want to be a leader?

2009-06-22T17:48:48-07:00

That might just be the most important question that you ever ask yourself as a leader.

So,
Why do you want to be a leader?

To make great change in the world? To have the front parking place? To help others who are less fortunate than yourself? To be the highest paid person at your nonprofit? To be able to take more vacation time than anyone else?

I lead because I know that as a leader I’m able to help others help others. I know that the work we do improves the lives of those in the world who are often forgotten. We’re able to give hope and encouragement to those who don’t have any, but who also need it the most.

I know that as a leader I also enrich the lives of those who I lead. I encourage them and lift them to a level that they probably would not be able to reach on their own. With me I’m doing my best to teach them what I know so they may grow and develop as someone who can also make a great difference in our community.

So,
Grab a piece of paper, a pen and write this sentence in the middle of the page, “Why do I want to be a leader?” Then just let the pen ink flow and see what happens.

One person can make a difference but a team can create a movement

2009-06-15T19:34:10-07:00

One person can make a difference but a team of people working together can create a movement.

About a year ago I made a post about this guy. If you drive in downtown Modesto, you will still find him faithfully outside protesting, every single day. In many ways I admire his commitment and persistent for a cause that he believes in.

However,
He is only one man. Yes, he is making a difference (enough of a difference for me to talk about him), but he is limited.

What if he as able to recruit 300 people who were just as passionate as him to stand with signs protesting? I’m sure there a lot of other people who have suffered from the same circumstances that he is protesting about. If there were 300 people out there with him he would be creating a movement.

What’s the difference between making a difference and creating a movement?

Most of it is leadership. It's the ability to gather people together around a shared purpose and mission.

People Are Always Leaving and Coming

2009-06-10T05:28:22-07:00

If you lead for any length of time you will realize that there will always be people leaving and there will always be people coming.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the greatest member of your staff or the worst, if you lead long enough you will find that there will always be someone leaving your organization and there will always be someone coming to your organization.

However, through this process you will realize there are no indispensable people that you work with. No matter how good someone is, if he leaves, you can always find a replacement.

Why people leave and what you can do to keep them with you is a total different topic, but as a leader always remember that no matter how long you lead or how great of a leader you are, there will always be people leaving and always be people coming.

Getting Back to the Basics

2009-04-22T06:41:56-07:00

Based on the current economic situations that the nonprofit industry is facing, I want to share a few things I think are the basics that we need to get back to as leaders and fundraisers in the nonprofit sector.

Relationships are key – One thing that stands the test of time is relationships (if we maintain them). Well maintained and healthy relationships based on a win/win mindset almost always stand the test of time.
Communication is a must – The only way to rid away the uncertainty and uneasiness of the people you lead is to consistently communicate to them. Always emphasize that you understand the tough times going on right now and remind them you’re doing your best to lead them out of it.
Expect the best from your people – When budgets are shrinking and you’re looking for ways to save money, the sole responsibility doesn’t rest on you as the leader. As one person you can only do so much. When times are tough you need to rely on the people you lead to innovate and come up with new ideas to save money and increase efficiency within your organization. Many folks in the nonprofit sector call this, “running lean.”
Focus on your #1 – Jim Collins, author of Good to Great stresses the idea of creating a ‘stop doing list.’ The stop doing list consists of everything that is not 100 percent productive and efficient for you and your organization. One of the keys to running lean is to focus the majority of your energy and attention on doing your number one activity. If there is anything that you’re doing right now that doesn’t serve people in need the most, then it’s time to get rid of it. This can be a very hard decision for leaders in the nonprofit sector because we always see a need in the community and we do everything that we can to fill that need. We feel that if we don’t fill the need then no one else will. So we do everything that we can to serve the people that need help, regardless if we know how to do it, or if we can do it very well. Instead, find ways to collaborate with other organizations to do the same work and work together to serve those people in need.

Board Leadership Interview with Roger Carr

2009-04-11T21:35:31-07:00

Below is an interview that I recently did with Roger Carr who is a great volunteer with the Arthritis Foundation in Virginia as a board member. Some of my past interviews have been mostly targeted towards general leadership, but this interview really narrows down to the leadership required as a board member for a nonprofit organization.

Enjoy. . . .

Q: What caused you to become a board member for the Arthritis Foundation?

A: My wife has been suffering from several forms of arthritis for years. One day I decided to do something about it so I called the Arthritis Foundation (http://www.Arthritis.org) and offered to help as a volunteer. Through my volunteer work, I learned firsthand about the impact the Arthritis Foundation continues to have on individuals and families affected by arthritis. I was ready to get involved in a new way when I was asked to consider becoming a board member of the Arthritis Foundation, Virginia Chapter.

Q: Do you believe a board member should have some type of personal experience or relationship with an organization in order to be a board member?

A: Not necessarily, but I would strongly encourage it. I do believe a board member must be passionate about the organization’s mission. This does not necessarily mean that the potential board member has to have a personal experience or relationship with an organization, but it does mean that there needs to be a passion for the cause. The organization and person needs to do enough research to ensure they have compatible interests and values. Of course, this is best done if the person does have a personal experience or relationship with the organization.

Q: What is the size of your board and what size do you believe is the most effective for nonprofits to use?

A: There are currently 20 board members. I don’t think there is one fixed number that is most effective. The number can change based on the member skills needed, the involvement the board members have with the organization and the total purpose of the board. I would not recommend that the board be any larger than is needed.

Q: What is satisfactory and fulfilling about being a board member?

A: I enjoy seeing and being involved in creating the “big picture.” Being a board member allows me to influence the organization’s strategy. It also provides me a more complete picture of the impact the organization is having on people’s lives.

Q: How do you use your strengths and talents to contribute to the Arthritis Foundation?

A: My contributions to the Arthritis Foundation go beyond being a board member. I am continually excited that the organization has encouraged me to find new ways to apply my strengths and talents into my volunteer work. And while I am performing my volunteer work, I am enhancing my current strengths and talents as well as developing new ones.

I have been able to apply my administrative and management skills as a board member and as chair of the annual Fredericksburg Arthritis Walk. I brought my Internet marketing skills into my personal fundraising and as an adviser to the Let’s Move Together movement (http://www.LetsMoveTogether.org). I even get to use my developing skills as a photographer to capture photos of events.

There is an endless number of ways to contribute. Everyone has strengths and talents that are needed.

Q: What do you believe is your most important role as a board member?

A: Each board member is involved with the Arthritis Foundation in different ways. Each board member also has different skills and experiences to contribute. In my case, I believe my most important role as a board member is to find ways to help the organization meet its mission and to help it stay financially sound. I also bring my experience of volunteering (with the Arthritis Foundation and other organizations) and my involvement with the Arthritis Foundation national office into the board discussions.

Q: What principles and life lessons from your everyday life are you able to incorporate and use for the Arthritis Foundation?

A: My wife Kim and I have chosen to expose our everyday life in dealing with arthritis in support of the Arthritis Foundation and those individuals and families who also suffer from arthritis. I use our life lessons to write and speak on the topic. Go to http://www.everydaygivingblog.com/2008/11/what-is-your-world-changing-story.html to read a recent speech about our lives that I presented at a fundraising event.

Q: In a board of people, it can be difficult to rise up from the crowd of people and be a leader, what ways can a board member become a key leader of the board to really contribute and serve the organization.

A: I don’t believe a board member needs to “rise up from the crowd of people” to be a leader. Each board member can be a leader in his or her own way. There is no board member who is more important than any other.

I have watched a volunteer organization destroyed in the past because “leaders” were more interested in the power they could wield then in forwarding the cause and mission of the organization. That is not my definition of a leader.

A board member needs to evaluate his or her skills, connections and experiences and find a tangible way to get involved in the organization. The board member then needs to actively participate in board meetings. By asking questions and sharing ideas and opinions with the other board members, that person will be influencing others and the organization in a positive way. That is my definition of a leader.

Q: What type of relationship do you believe a board of directors should have with the executive director(ED) or chief executive officer (CEO) of the organization?

A: An open and honest relationship is most important. Without that there will be little or no trust and there will be no way to be effective as an organization. I am fortunate to be a board member of an organization that has a great and mutually supportive relationship across the board and staff.

Q: What are some common ways that a board serves and supports the ED or CEO?

A: The board needs to be an encouragement. The board also needs to provide advice and help in the face of challenges. The board members most likely have skills and connections not available on the ED/CEO staff that can be critical. The board must be willing to be actively engaged.

Q: What are some common ways that a CEO or ED can serve and support his board members?

A: The ED/CEO should be doing everything within his or her power to build quality staff and maintain an effective program with a focus on the organization’s mission and strategy. The ED/CEO should communicate successes, but also be open and honest about the challenges being faced by the organization.

Q: I believe that board members should have to endure training and information sessions for their organization before becoming a board member. What do you think of this?

A: I absolutely agree. A new board member needs to have both a fundamental understanding of the organization and of his or her responsibilities as a board member to be effective.

Q: It’s often said that the job of a nonprofit organization is to work themselves out of a job by eliminating the need that they are working to fill. What are your thoughts on this as a board member?

A: Of course that is the ultimate goal. I would love the need for the Arthritis Foundation to disappear because arthritis is eliminated! In the meantime, I’m going to support the organization to make that a reality in the future.

Q: Do you have any books or resources that you would recommend for people thinking of using their leadership skills as a board member?

A: There is a significant amount of resource material available. I spend a significant time In my car, so podcasts I’ve become very valuable for my learning experience. Two that I would recommend for board members are: BoardStar: On Being Board (http://www.boardstar.org) and the Nonprofit Law Podcast (http://nplawcast.com).

A great resource for board learning materials is at http://www.boardsource.org.

Finally, I learned a significant amount in just a few minutes at a workshop led by Carol Weisman (http://www.boardbuilders.com), If you have the opportunity to learn from Carol, jump at the chance.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with the Nonprofit Leadership Blog readers?

A: Everyone should identify their passions and then use their skills and experiences to make a difference in the world. Being a board member of a nonprofit organization is only one way to get involved. You need to find what is right for you. Don’t put it off. Do it today.

Leaders don't always feel like leading

2009-04-05T22:27:34-07:00

Sometimes leading is like exercise. There is going to be times where you don’t feel like leading, but you know you should. Times when you’re tired and worn out, but you know that you need to step up and make a difference.

For me it’s when I’m outside of the office and my cell phone rings. I spend a lot of time at the office, and when I’m at home watching a movie or relaxing, the last thing I want to do is answer the phone. But often it’s what needs to be done, and it’s my job as a leader to show my support to other people on my team who need me.

When leading there might be certain areas that you never feel like leading in. For many leaders this is probably emails and administrative work. For church pastors this is probably counseling. Administrative work and counseling are two tasks that often drive people crazy. The reason being both of these tasks require skill sets and talents that leaders often don’t have which is a detail mindset and patience.

When we spend time of these activities that we’re not strong in, that’s when we get burnt out and feel like quitting.

Just as many leaders think about quitting, there are going to be times when you don’t feel like leading period. Times when you’re tired, burn out, and ready to take a few days off (or even a vacation).

The key to feeling like leading more is to focus time and energy in places that play to your strengths. Do things that energize you and that you know you do well.

But remember, if you want to quit leading, then you’re just barely leading long enough.

Positional & Relational Leadership

2009-03-31T12:43:00-07:00

People will follow you as a leader a lot farther based on your relationship with them, than they will based on your position to them.

Positional leadership only goes so far.

Positional leaders don’t have the ability to lead people to go the extra mile and to go outside of their comfort zones.

Why? Because people will only follow you so far based on position and pay.

Think about it, wouldn’t you follow someone a lot farther based on the relationship you had with that person, than the position and power they exert over you. If your best friend asked you do to something, you’re a lot more likely to do it for your friend than you are to do it for your boss.

It's what you do outside of the office that counts

2009-03-29T09:57:40-07:00

Often times what we do as leaders outside of the office is just as important as what we do in the office.

Important and productive things we do outside of the office are activities such as developing relationships and taking time to grow from reflection.

Developing relationships are often heard to do inside of the office. Human resource laws make it difficult for most people to truly express themselves, and it holds many people back from building authentic relationships.

The bottom line is that relationships are strong when people spend time with each other both inside and outside of the office. Think about the three people you consider to have the best relationships with in your office. I would be willing to bet you often spend time outside of the office with them going to events, BBQs, watching the Sunday football games, or attending your kids sporting events together.

When staff people are outside of the office they can be a little more free flowing and have fun, crack jokes, and make fun with each other in ways that help them bond.

The best ways to foster this interaction is to take everyone to dinner, go on a team building retreat, or go on a volunteer service project (which is naturally my favorite).

Taking time to reflect on experiences is an extremely important activity, not just for the entire team, but for the leader. John Maxwell has stated many times that, “Reflection turns experience into insight.”

I’ve heard several stories of Albert Einstein always sleeping with a notepad and pen on his nightstand so he was prepared to write down ideas and thoughts when we woke up. Einstein knew that his mind was continuing to think and process ideas, even while he was sleeping and he wanted to always be ready for them when he woke up in the middle of the night.

Thinking and reflecting allows you to learn from your mistakes so that you can avoid them in the future. It helps you improve your performance in the future so you might actually experience some new problems that you didn’t have before.

One of my favorite activities that I do every week is to go to Starbucks (thanks Jason for the gift card) with nothing but my journal, a legal pad of paper and a pen. And for anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours I will just sit, think, sip on my coffee, write and think some more.

I go with no agenda or specific topics to think and write about. All I do is sit and think and write about whatever is on my mind.

Learning and growing outside of the office is one of my favorite things to do. It’s what energizes me and gives me fresh ideas.

So remember, sometimes it's what you do outside of the office that counts!

Leaders are glad to serve the needs of others

2009-03-24T06:03:08-07:00

Leaders are glad to serve the needs of others. Often they are too glad to serve the needs of others.

Most people in the nonprofit sector have a service mindset. They are at their organization to serve their cause and serve the people benefiting from the cause.

Because of this, nonprofit leaders are always eager to serve their people. They know that when they serve their employees, they are serving the people who normally serve their clients.

This is both good and bad.

Good for the following reasons:

The leader has a service mindset and is ready to do what is needed to serve his people. Even if it means spending time and money.
Not only do they focus on meeting the needs of their people, but they are glad to do it. They serve their people with joy and excitement.
The leader is willing to do things outside of his comfort zone and strength zone. He will go to great lengths to serve and help, even if it makes him feel uncomfortable.

Bad for the following reasons:

The leader wants to serve too many people, and will not focus on serving the highly productive people who will get the most results from the leader’s service.
He tries to serve people in areas that he is not strong, and in areas that he is weak. It's ok for a leader to do this a little bit, but must not make it a habit because he becomes unproductive and is efficient in his work.
He becomes burnt out and his performance suffers as a result.

My thinking is that we should always do what we can to serve the people we lead. However, it’s our responsibility to focus that time of service in the areas of our strength and on the most productive people in our organization.