Leadership Lessons for Challenging Times

Filed Under: Social Benefit Economy - Posted @ 3:13pm

It’s never easy to lead a nonprofit. But right now, nonprofits are facing incredible challenges that threaten to undo all the great work they’ve achieved to build a thriving community.  

The actions and practices that support success in the nonprofit sector aren’t obvious. In fact, sometimes the best move is the opposite of what seems logical. So, how can someone develop wise leadership without years of experience? How can someone figure out what the next move is right now? 

Learn from other people’s successes and failures. 

When it comes to leadership in Pierce County, you don’t have to go it alone. In this community, peer learning and collaboration are the hallmarks of successful leadership, even during downturns and social crises. 

With that in mind, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation invited four nonprofit leaders with a long track record in Pierce County to share their ‘secret sauce’. Individually they led keystone nonprofit organizations. Together, they are known as “The Fab Four”. In a panel conversation, these women offered stories and advice to meet the most challenging of moments.  

Watch this video to learn about ups, downs, and surprising twists of fate that can inform your leadership and help you take action to fulfill your vision for a thriving Pierce County.

Below, find some of the key takeaways shared by “The Fab Four”.

 

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM “THE FAB FOUR”

 MIRIAM BARNETT 

• If you don’t know what else to do, listen. People want to know you care and that they are heard. It means a lot to people if you take time to let them share their story. 

• When you listen, imagine you’re holding a bowl their words to go into. This allows you to hear what they’re saying in whatever way they’re expressing it without taking it into your soul. “Bowl, not soul.” 

• You don’t get to not like your Board. And they don’t get to not like you. If that’s the case, someone needs to step down. 

• Make use of personality and work style tools. They can help you align strengths across Board and leadership for the good of the organization’s mission, even if there are conflicts. 

• There are deep roots and deep love in this community. We believe in supporting each other so that all boats rise. Reach out to others. 

• When you find yourself facing incredible challenges, try to stay in a place of abundance because that’s where hope lives. Scarcity thinking leads to despair, which is perilous.  Abundance mindset can lead you to unseen opportunities even in a bad situation. 

 

HELEN McGOVERN-PILANT

• Plan for the future at the very beginning of your tenure. Your legacy isn’t built just while you’re actively leading, but also in the future when someone else takes on leadership. 

• Beware of letting impatience lead you into projects that the organization isn’t ready for. Look at the strategic framework to guide where you can have an impact. 

• Build a team of peer leaders you can talk about everything with – the good and bad. This is the key to leadership in Pierce County. 

• When it looks like things are bad, remember how the efforts of leaders from the past have built the present. Look for partnership, minimize duplication, and boost efficiency.

 

 

LIZ DUNBAR 

• Asking for money isn’t painful. It’s enjoyable and rewarding because it invites many, many people to join in the good work of the organization. 

• Pay close attention to financials. Make sure you have the skills on staff to help you forecast. 

• If trouble hits and you must lay off staff, give severance so people can go look for other jobs. Asking people to continue working after layoff notices have been given creates a difficult work environment. 

• We can do more when we work together with others in the community. Pierce County’s culture of collaboration means complementing one another rather than competing. 

• When hard times hit, recognize how this community has survived past crises and downturns. But don’t wait for catastrophe to hit. Take a close look at possible outcomes and plan for the worst. 

 

MAUREEN FIFE 

•  Embrace the audacious vision. People love that kind of passion. It’s infectious and inspiring and sets up “the big ask”.
  
  
• Don’t get over your skis. You must be able to read financials. You must be able to calculate how long you’re sustainable and where that tipping point is. 

• Be brutally honest with your Board. Bring in the expertise on your Board to help you chew on those big problems. That’s what they’re there for. 

• This is a blue-collar, timber roots kind of community. We don’t have the same large wealth as nearby counties, which means the same funders fund everyone. Call those funders for advice because they see everything that’s going on. 

• When crisis occurs, know that there’s always opportunity as well. Crisis makes you look at the situation differently, retool, and try new partnerships. Crisis isn’t the end, it’s just the middle of another story. 

This video was made possible through our learning partner, KBTC. Learn more about Pierce County’s public television station at kbtc.org