Imagine a year with a public health crisis, an economic crisis, an environmental crisis, a racial justice crisis and a national leadership crisis. Any one of these would make life interesting for nonprofit leaders. Put them together and we have a situation that requires a new noun, at least one that’s printable in this reputable publication. For now, “2020” will do.
And, the thing is, this year is far from over. Keep your seatbelts on.
You’re running an organization, supervising a staff, or perhaps working with a group of overwhelmed volunteers. Where’s the roadmap? I know you don’t have time to read this, so I’ll be brief.
Here are several suggestions, a combination of tips from clients and lessons from time spent in trenches past.
1. Take care of yourself first.
Like the advice on the pre-flight safety talks, as a leader you should make sure you have your oxygen on before helping everyone else. Exercise, get enough sleep and eat right. Don’t work 12-hour days. Play with a puppy. Anything that helps you find a relaxed, focused state will benefit the group, short- and long-term.
Photo by Colin Moldenhauer via Unsplash
2. Project calm, empathy and optimism.
Step 1 will surely help here, but even if you’re feeling anxiety, the group needs a model of calm focus on the work before you. How to be such a model? Smile. Check in with people. Listen. Let them express their anxieties. Show your support. Share your own personal concerns if it feels appropriate, but put a forward-looking spin on it. Remind people that this is our opportunity to shine in new ways.
I’ve led many webinars this spring and summer, and we’ve surveyed hundreds of participants. I’m struck by one statistic: respondents who’ve felt “optimistic” about current circumstances more than doubled the count of those feeling “pessimistic” or “anxious.” Nonprofit leaders are rising to the occasio
3. Control what you can: plan and organize the group’s work.
Many people have frozen during the pandemic. Others are treading water until the clouds lift. But we don’t know that there will be a day when the sky is suddenly clear (and being on the West Coast this month, I mean this literally). An effective vaccine may not be widely available until late 2021, if at all. Let’s assume some form of this new reality will be here a while.
You and I can’t control that. We can control what we do now. We can plan and organize our groups’ work. Consider program delivery, community engagement, operations and, of course, specific financial implications. What do we need to do differently?
By focusing on action, we can transform a sense of pessimism into positive energy, and alleviate anxiety. It’s not just about staying busy, though that may help. It’s primarily about focusing on results, continuous improvement, trying things, and actively adapting to change. You don’t have to know all the answers ahead of time. Organized action will best position your group to learn as you go.
4. Stay two steps ahead.
Here’s the caveat on step 3: it’s possible to get so busy that you miss the big picture. Someone in every group (you?) must be seeing around the corner, estimating and preparing for the possibilities we don’t yet know about. That sounds like an impossible task, and I’m not talking about clairvoyance. Rather, I’m talking about “known unknowns.”
When you think about it, every single one of these crises was a “known unknown.” By this I mean that while they all had elements of surprise, such as their scope and the timing, they were also predictable. There have been multiple pandemics in the past 20 years, the inevitable effects of climate change have been well-documented, racial unrest has been simmering for centuries, we had an economy bubble burst just over ten years ago, and Trump’s been in office for almost four years. We have a tendency to downplay risks. But as leaders, we have the task of counteracting that instinct.
What is possible over the next 1-3 years? How could events impact your staff, clients, community, ability to raise funds, and even your organization’s role? How can we prepare, and what discussions should be happening behind the scenes? This is how you can be proactive rather than reactive.
5. Have a Plan B (and C).
In my financial strategy webinars I talk a lot about building resilience as an organizational attribute. What does that mean? Basically, to be able to bend but not break. Your organization must be positioned to weather this and future storms. Again, being proactive is a key. Having a culture that is wired to be proactive is the ultimate survival trait.
Have contingency plans, in the form of alternate budgets, staffing, delivery models, operational modes and communication protocols. You can adapt contingencies later, but don’t be caught flat-footed if assumptions don’t pan out. Also, avoid getting wrapped up in process; nonprofits love consensus, which can require layers of meetings and seeking the magic point where everyone agrees. That’s not a mode that adapts well to crisis. Instead, develop response-oriented decision-making making protocols. For example, CEOs should be empowered–and encouraged–to act quickly. Adopting contingency plans ahead of time is one way to do this.
Step 5 may be the right time to seek out consulting help. Resilience isn’t something you adopt in a meeting, it’s built through tangible changes to how your organization does business. A consultant can be your partner in managing change.
Adapting to this crisis won’t be easy, but this is a great opportunity to make your organization stronger, help your communities more and even develop your own leadership skills. We’d all love to change the channel, but here we are… Let’s embrace this moment and make it ours!