Lots of free pages
Nonprofit Hearts, if you print it out hard copy, is now 523 pages, and still growing. Even so, it's not comprehensive.
Instead of trying to cover everything, I'm focusing here on what I believe is...
The heart of the matter.
I'm focusing on...
The inner game of leadership.
And on...
Your personal power.
Because the more powerful you are personally, the more powerful you can be professionally and politically.
ASKING
Asking kindred spirits to support you
It doesn't have to be lonely at the top. What if you could build a network of people around yourself who are there to mentor and champion you? They're not an advisory board for your organization, they are there for you.
Asking kindred spirits for money - Part 1
Asking kindred spirits for money - Part 2
If you struggle with fundraising, if you hate pressuring people for money, here's a page you might want to check out. It's about doing a negotiated ask. It's a way to take the pressure off yourself and off the person you're asking. It's not for everyone, but it's what I like and that's why I posted it.
Discovery interviews
This is a companion to the two pages above. It's the easiest, no-pressure way to connect with strangers who you think might possibly be kindred spirits.
DEVELOPING YOUR PERSONAL POWER
The credo strategy - to show people who you are
Hate bragging, but want people to see you so you can attract kindred spirits?
Founders, grace, and syndromes
I believe "founder's syndrome" is a misdiagnosis. The real problem is something else.
ED Evaluations - Protecting yourself
What if you do great work, but your Board won't give you a written evaluation? What if your Board gets screwy or abusive at evaluation time?
Leaders vs. managers? Or synergy?
Social change depends on both leaders and managers working closely together. And in many nonprofits leaders are managers and managers are leaders. So let's get rid of the 'versus' and replace it with synergy.
YOUR STAFF
Take your staff to the top of their game
Relationship courage: Stepping in vs. stepping away
The relationship principles of the Advocacy Stand
Staff development: Championing vs. correction
Leaders versus managers? Or something way better?
YOUR BOARD
Get WHAT YOU NEED from your Board
RECRUITING for exactly the kind of talent you need
FIRING a Board member with grace
ASKING your Board to do FUNDRAISING
When your Board needs a SERIOUS UPGRADE
GOVERNORS, watchdogs, and champions
STATUS ISSUES and mission discipline
FUTURE PAGES
How to teach people what you need as a leader (Coming in 2011)
What if the people around you, staff and Board get very good at supporting you in the way you most want to be supported?
Aspiring leaders: Don't wait, lead now! (Coming in 2011)
Our sector doesn't have easy paths to leadership, so why not make your own path? And make it really work for you. And why not claim leadership opportunities right now? And actually, why not create them for yourself?
Trump your inner critic with your inner guide (Coming in 2011)
This is not woo-woo stuff, but down-to-earth, practical, self-defense strategies for dealing with your inner critic by playing offense.
Playing your way through the work of self-development (Coming in 2011)
If you don't find serious pleasure in self-development, why would you do it? You already have more than enough hard things on your to-do list.
Insider newsletter - 3 minutes to big impact (Coming 2011)
Need a quick way to be a steady, positive, personal presence with your Board and other key supporters? As opposed to being the one who's always presenting crises and problems to be solved and the need for more funding.
Networking your way to a new job with stealth interviews (Coming in 2011)
Why follow the standard job search strategies when you could be having a lot more fun creating your future?
Developing a constituency for yourself (Coming in 2011)
This is not something a nonprofit leader is supposed to do, but it's a smart strategy, first, to empower your leadership. And , second, it's a proactive self-defense strategy to protect yourself against any Board member who turns against you.
Dealing with the downside of 360s (Coming in 2011)
360s are considered a best practice, but lots of people get their feelings hurt in the process. What if there's a better way to do them? And what if there's a better way?
The daily practice of self-development (Coming in 2011)
Nonprofit leaders only get to go to trainings and workshops on only a few days out of the year. But what if you could learn from your own experience every single day? What if you put together your own system for developing your personal and professional strengths?
PS:
There's one favor I'd like to ask...
Please don't turn anything I say into a should.
As you read, please always ask yourself...
Is this something I need?
Is this right for me?
Is it right for me right now?
I urge you to be a conscious consumer of information, including mine, especially mine, because some of what I say is a bit idiosyncratic.
It's not that I don't believe in the things I write. I do. I'll stand by them anytime, anywhere. But even at my most passionate and most convinced, still I'm only one person with my own life experience.
And you are still your own person and the leader of your own nonprofit...
So I urge you to always make sure your decisions come from the inside not from the outside.
PPS:
Complete confidentiality is part of the coaching I do. Any client deserves it, but I think nonprofit leaders, being so much under the microscope and in the spotlight, have a special need for it.
So when I write up stories and scenarios, and I have a lot of them on this site, I change details, sometimes every single detail. The fiction writer in me takes over. But I want you to know that the spirit and message of every story is absolutely true to life.
© 2008 Rich Snowdon
