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- [00:03]
Hannah Bauer
I always thought a leader was this person, you know, out there, the ones that we hear in the news or the ones that we hear, historical figures. And I didn't know until that moment when I started serving that really, leadership is Service.
- [00:17]
Rob Harder
This is Dr. Rob Harder with the nonprofit leadership podcast, Making youg World Better. What does it take to be an effective nonprofit leader today? What are the biggest challenges? What are the biggest obstacles? How should nonprofits fundraise in an economy that is constantly changing? All of these reasons combined led me to start this show. And it's my hope that through this series, people can learn not only what it takes to be an effective nonprofit organization, but to hear from effective leaders who are successfully making a positive impact in their communities. We hope you enjoy the show as together we hear how they are making their world better. Welcome, everybody, to the show. This is Rob Hardy, your host. We're talking all about leadership today. And you know, there's so many different aspects when it comes to leadership. And today's guest has a really unique perspective because she pulls a lot of experience from a childhood struggle that she had with heart disease. And she's going to talk a little bit about her story number one and how she worked through that. But through that experience, she learned so much that now she's applying to leadership that continues to shape her as a leader. And then as she works as a consultant and a coach, a speaker, so much of that really helps others that she's leading to become better leaders. So it's a really interesting conversation again, and it's such a personal story. I think you're going to really get a lot from this. Again, Hannah Bauer. She is my guest today. As always, so glad you've tuned in. Thanks for being here. And now onto my interview with Hannah.
- [01:48]
Hannah Bauer
Welcome to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast with Rob Harder. I'm Alex Budak. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm a listener just like you. We're all on a leadership journey, looking for ways to learn and grow. Each week. I look forward to hearing Rob's latest discussion with his guests. I invite you to join us and subscribe. Thanks for listening. Now here's Rob.
- [02:11]
Rob Harder
This podcast is sponsored by Donorbox Donor Box, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business. Welcome, everybody, to the show. I've got Hannah Bauer here today, and I always like to start my shows, Hannah, by giving my guests an opportunity to talk a little bit about their own story, just a bit about what got them to where they are. And you have a pretty unique Story, as I've learned, you had a real interesting challenge in your childhood. You had to deal with some heart disease as a child. So maybe we can start there, share whatever you'd like to share and particularly maybe through the lens of how has it shaped you and the way you lead and inspire others today.
- [02:48]
Hannah Bauer
Oh, absolutely. Well, thank you, Rob, so much for having me. Really a true honor with everything that you're doing and your audience. So I love how you are able to bring in actionable messages for that. And when you think about it, well, what does a heart story have to do with that? Well, that was basically vision for me. I come to learn we don't learn from experience. We learn from reviewed experience. So I can't say I was learning all this as a kid and getting all this, you know, great info. No, I was basically trying to survive. And that's where a lot of my learning came from, was from the survival. And even after the survival part, it was about 10 years of my life, from the age of four until about 14, where I was going through what they call tachycardia, where the heart would go super fast and also arrhythmia, where it would go irregular. So I was battling with both. Yes. And it was uncertain. So it wasn't like if I did this or I did that or I need to stay away from. From the playground or if I stayed away from this, then it wouldn't happen. It would just. It could be a sneeze, it could be me in the middle of the night's sleep. I can be talking to somebody and it will just go. So let's just say that uncertainty and I became very good friends because I didn't know what the day or the evening was going to look like. And in that process is really where I started becoming very observant one, because I needed to even like the monitors from outside, both machines. But also my parents, my family, if they freaked out and I would freak out. Yeah. And even observing in that. But also how did I could I manage critical points without understanding what was going on? And really that's where my heart framework came in. And then the beat method, I was very limited. Yes. From what I could do. Again, I couldn't move. If I moved, it could make my heart even more erratic. So I had to stand still, still a lot. So I had to figure out what was still in my control in a place at a time. It was nothing under control. Couldn't really forecast. Couldn't really. Okay, let me plan for this. And as a kid that's what started happening. So fast forward, I received a life saving surgery which I happened to be the first recipient of this. It was at the time, it was an experimental surgery called a heart ablation. You may have heard of it, right? Of course, yeah. So a lot of people have had it. It's like, oh yeah, do like, you know, outpatient, you know, is used, widely used. Well, it wasn't the case in 1992.
- [05:11]
Rob Harder
Wow.
- [05:12]
Hannah Bauer
In 1992. Yes. It was a very high risk, never been done surgery and was blessed to be a pioneer in that it was actually done in combination with hospital. So I didn't realize what the impact of it was until 20 years later when I get a call from the hospital saying that they want to do a documentary and they want to feature that story because it was the medical breakthrough in heart for 1992.
- [05:38]
Rob Harder
Wow.
- [05:38]
Hannah Bauer
So at that point is when a lot of things started making sense to me. I would say like at that point is when I saw one, the impact one, the other the pain that I had gone through as a child. And even in the survival mode, how also there were some parallels of what I was going through in my business, my, my organization, and even just my life from that. And started seeing how did I survive such a moment that was uncertain, really dealing with life and death, but also seeing how I then had been applying that. The patterns that had come to place because of the observation I had done. I mean, I had great doctors, I had a great family. And that's where the birth of hartnomics came. The transformation through love and excellence partners, really where you're learning from your mistakes, the excellence and the love that really sustains you through all that. And for that, the solution, what I saw was leadership.
- [06:37]
Rob Harder
Yeah. What a powerful story. I feel like I could ask a lot of questions about your childhood and how that worked and the fact that you had this really cutting edge at the time surgery that you're right, ablation surgery is pretty common now, but wasn't back then. I mean, that's really interesting. And again, congratulations. Okay, but let's talk about leadership. This is a leadership podcast and I know that that experience you already kind of got into a little bit, but that early experience has really shaped the way you lead. And you've got all kinds of experience now leading organizations, leading through your speaking, a lot of different roles of leadership. So for my listeners who are for us, I know all of them are in leadership positions of some type. Maybe they're on the board, maybe they're executive directors, maybe they're serving as program director, whatever. But they're all trying to make a difference. They're trying to become better as leaders. Are some things that we could talk about today, specifically from your experience and what you've seen. We'll start with how to navigate through some of the common pitfalls and barriers, particularly when it comes to leadership, when you're starting the early stages of being a leader and the early stages of nonprofit leadership specifically, and leadership transitions between maybe when you first come to an organization and then as you grow through different levels of that organization. What are some of those common pitfalls that you've seen with leadership, and how do you overcome those pitfalls?
- [07:55]
Hannah Bauer
Absolutely. Well, thanks for asking that. I would say nonprofit has a special place in my heart because they were really the first ones to give me a chance. So I would say nonprofit for me, as a. As a kid that really didn't have, you know, the normal childhood experience, didn't even know what I wanted to do. All I really could connect with was somebody else communicating their passion. And I'm like, hey, that resonated with me, and I wanted to help with the passion. So one of the first things I would say with a nonprofit is that clarity in that vision and that clarity in that passion. The nonprofits that I've seen it, that have done well, is to be able to not only communicate the passion, communicate the vision that's there, but also have the leader that is able to show the way that that vision is going to be carried out. You know, people buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. So the leader is a big part of that, in the welcoming of that leader. So, as I say, get. I got out of the hospital once. I was, yeah, about. I would say, 16. I had my surgery when I was 14 and 16. I really didn't know how to, in a sense, be human because I had had enough bubble. Yeah, I lived in ccu. I had cords. I had. I was attached to a bed consistently. But I did have interactions, and any interaction I was able to have in CCU was very meaningful for me because I couldn't have visitors. And who were those people? They were the. What they call the candy stripers. They were called the people, the playmates. They were the volunteers. It was this immense force. And behind the hospital, behind, like, the medical services I was getting, it was this force that was really bringing that normalcy to me in a time where it was very hard. So who else was in a nonprofit part is that ability to connect with people. I see A lot with nonprofit in their hardest moments, but do it in such a way strategically, that doesn't take away, but really amplifies not only the healing, the that is happening, because that's what we do with nonprofits is amplify, you know, find ways to find the healing, but also look at ways that you integrate into the overall vision. They for me, that's what that meant. The volunteers, the places did not again, the nonprofit aspect, the people that are giving of their time. So when I got out, I didn't know what to do except to do the same thing. Like that was the first part is why what do I do in this world where I don't have monitors, where I don't have the court stopping me? Where can I start? And I went back to the hospital. There was a place. So I would say a nonprofit also does that. A nonprofit gets a place to plug in. It gives a place opportunities to be able to go and give back in a way that you don't even know how to get back. I didn't know what to do to get back. But had it not been for the nonprofits, had it not been for the volunteers, for the visionaries that were in there, there will have been no place for me to plug in. And so when I went in there and I plugged in, I realized that service and that was really the. My foundational learning, it didn't come from a book or something. I didn't know what a leader was. I always thought a leader was this person out there, the ones that we hear in the news or the ones that we hear the historical figures. And I didn't know until that moment when I started serving that really leadership is servicehood. So I would say my first initial lessons and the lessons really for everybody, the opportunity that nonprofits have in leadership is really teaching getting to the heart of what leadership is. And it's that servant leadership. Because from that sprouted everything else. I built everything I've done to now, you know, I've directed at levels, at the national levels, I've led in my sector. I've now lead as faculty for a global coaching facility. I do all of these things come from those experiences. But the nonprofits that have done it well is they have then a place to connect, a place that has vision, a leader that is able to communicate that that what that vision is clearly so we can plug in and really a place where service is the one that makes shine and builds leaders.
- [12:11]
Rob Harder
I think it's fascinating that your first experience there in the hospital was with volunteers or not. Maybe your first experience, but the people you primarily interacted with where volunteers. Candy stripers. I remember candy stripers. Yeah. Back in my day too. What a great example. First of all, it sounds like they had a good impact, a positive impact on you. And I also really resonate with what you said about servant leadership. I do think that's the most powerful and effective style of leadership, if you want to call it that, where you're really not about yourself, you're about the mission of the organization you're serving and the people that you're serving with to serve them well. Right. As a leader, you're absolutely right. And I know that really informs what you call the HART Leadership framework. And HART is an acronym, H E A R T. Maybe you could talk for my listeners again, talk a little bit more about the HEART framework as you see it. And specifically, again, with social impact leaders, nonprofit leaders, how can they specifically use it to strengthen culture, trust and also team alignment when it comes to their organizations?
- [13:10]
Hannah Bauer
Sure. So all of that, right. So we talk about vision, we talk about the leader that carries that vision. We talked about also the mission. Right. The immediate mission, like for example, for me was like the immediate mission was to bring that, the support system to the medical aspect that was going on. But then it's how do we do it? And that's what HEART is about, is how do we do it? It's a values based leadership. And as far as you talk about building trust, how do you talk across board of directors? How do you talk with executive director and the operational systems that are there? Well, we all come together not only by that shared vision, not only the shared mission, but really the values on how we do things here. And that's really where we get to the heart of the matter. So with heart, this are the, this is the framework that I came to find as observing one as a, as a teenager, but also as I went through my life. The leaders that are not only doing things, that are not only causing change or navigating change, but the ones that are able to sustain change. What sustainability looks like. Having been a founder of nonprofits, I've been serving in a board of directors now for eight years. Support of surfamilia. Yeah. One the things is, is the sustainability is a big part of the question. How do you sustain this? I mean, anybody really. I mean, we're super excited to get the first grant. Most people can get that. Can you get the grant again? Let's get another one. Then we start talking about federal funds. You start Talking about biddings, you start talking about not only that, but then let's can we do some sort of contracting? How do we manage the pay, the pay parts versus the the grandparents. All of these things again, how what brings everything together. And even there's different ways that we start getting the money, the finances, because we have to start being diversifying. The financial aspect is through the values that we share. And the values have got to be integrated. Especially when you're talking about fundraising. Because that's what people really are going to see. That's what the grantor is going to see. That's what the foundations are going to see. That's where all of these different players, the ones that are coming in to support the donors, they're going to be hearing the values. And that's again the opportunity, like I said before, you have to give a place for people to integrate. How do I plug in? And that's where heart comes in. The heart framework comes in the plugin and the hope that we bring, which is a catalyst for change. And that's what we see a lot. That's more than the most nonprofits that want to be the catalyst of change, the empowerment. Because it's not simply about telling you what you can do or the things that you should be doing, but really it's about empowering them. It's delegating. I noticed a lot of our nonprofits are great at building something skills. You see career centers, you see the different parts of the with scholarships, with educational parts. A lot of our nonprofits that I see are really skill building, which goes talks to the empowerment and then the accountability aspect. Because sometimes it's misunderstood. Well, it says donation is less. You're less accountable for that. On the contrary, when you receive a single dollar, when you have a grantor or a donor, it's kind of like you have all these bosses then now you have to report it in all these different ways. So you have to report all that. So that's the accountability too. Well, we keeping accountable to the people that are believing in us, but also accountable to the mission and the vision that we're looking at doing. Because we can't change. Change the money. Because that can give us mission creep, right? It can give us this little scope, all of this other parts. So accountability becomes key in heart and then the results. Because we gotta be doing something. What's the impact? What's the collective impact? What's the social impact? What is the impact with our vision and obviously trust because as we do this and we gotta that's our really our currency. When you talk about nonprofits, people have to trust you. You have to trust them. You're being trusted by other donors. They. So really in nonprofits, a currency of trust is the one that's speaking the.
- [16:53]
Rob Harder
Yeah, I like your heart acronym. I think there's a lot. I agree with each one of those points and I'll start with the trust piece. I've talked about it before on the show, but there's no doubt. You're so right when it comes to trust. I've found that an organization's effectiveness really goes at the speed of trust. And I forgot. I think maybe that's a covey phrase, but I think that's the bottom line is that trust has to be there. You're absolutely right. And the other thing that really resonated with me when you talked about impact was sustainable impact. So think about the nonprofits, you know, that really have shaped a community estate, you know, wherever it is something an organization that really made a difference. It was they were able to find a way to be sustainable in their impact and their accomplishment of their mission. A follow up question would be why do you think sustainability is hard sometimes to focus on and hard to accomplish
- [17:41]
Hannah Bauer
a lot of times? Because it's founder led. We think that the sustainability, even with the financial part, the one who knows how to raise the funds will be the founder, right? Because they're the ones that are passionate. A lot of times it's like that's their vision, this was their baby. So they have the skills, they have the passion. And there hasn't been a true way to be able to transfer that over to other parts of the organization. So I find that to be quite a challenge with the founder also because the founder may be the visionary, also may be also the one who delivers the services a lot of times, so. So in delivering the services, but also having to be the one to raise the funds for the service, then it's kind of like that feast or famine kind of part where you go suddenly you get that big part, right, that big influx and then having to figure everything out there. But then as you're figuring it out and delivering the services, because you have deadlines, all of these things, like they use it or lose it kind of money, right? Like it has to be used calendar year. So it becomes a race to use funds and not there's not also a plan to be able to transfer the skills of using the funds, the skills of being able to voice division. So that's where I see a lot of part of sustainability. Sometimes we take it only to financial part, and that is important, obviously. But the vision, the being able to carry, communicate, the feeling, the rhythm, the operational aspect where I come to find this, because again, a lot of nonprofits are very much being vision, passion. There's a lot of feelings and emotion. We were looking to change to create this impact, this transformation in the other parts, like processes and systems may not necessarily be built at that time. So I find many times that although a organization could have gotten a lot of momentum because it is healed, we definitely see the problem. Yes, we want to be part of the solution. Yes, we believe in the person, very charismatic leader. They may not have the processes and systems that operate and work so that those are working while the founder is still able to either deliver the service or be out there continuing to advocate for the problem and the solution that they see.
- [19:53]
Rob Harder
Well, certainly another aspect of sustainability, when I think about that, is the issue of burnout. And sadly, right, burnout is on the rise. There's no doubt. I think nonprofits tend to have a lot of burnout, particularly when it comes to founders and leaders, executive directors, people in positions where they sometimes have too much and they end up burning out because they're so committed to the mission, they're so committed to the cause. How have you found to help leaders create a rhythm, if you will, of leadership that allows them to be more sustainable so that it's not just about getting the job done, but it's also about, well, being and being there for a long time? What have you found to be most effective when it comes to creating rhythms in people's weeks and months and years?
- [20:33]
Hannah Bauer
Oh, my goodness. Okay. So I, as I told you, when I got the call from the hospital, I didn't even know the impact of what my surgery was. I mean, I was a kid then. So I learned what the impact was about 20 years later when they wanted to do a documentary and they're telling me, hey, now, also, 3,000 other kids have been saved by the surgery. And I was like, oh, wow. You know, so it reminded me of the healing that happened, but it also, at the same time, it called me to the carpet because I was starting to feel the same things that. And I had gone through the same things with the heart disease, but this time I didn't have it. And when I started looking more into it, what was it? It was burnout. It feels exactly like heart disease. It felt exactly like that. So that's where I'm like, oh, my goodness. I no longer have I am well, I am well over there. But you talk about the defiance. You talk about, like, the dread sometimes of getting up in the morning. You talk about, like, things that you're passionate about. You no longer have that passion. The disengagement, even. Even the thought of hiding, you know, that just like, let me just take that moment. But the constant burden, that constant thing. And even. You'll see some of great leaders start getting flutters in their heart. They feel like they're. They're fluttering. There's all kinds of other things that are happening with dehydration. Fl. Physically, that was what heart disease was feeling like. So what was my solution? Again? Not looking at what was happening during that time. But how did I get through what? Basically, burnout caused by my heart beating too fast for prolonged periods of time, which is what happens. I was burned out. Consistent exhaustion as a kid. How did I get through that? And I saw that was the pattern that I had been using the whole time. And it's called beat. That's where my BEAT program comes in, is Believe, Engage, Act, Transform Again, good acronym. Yeah, yeah. I use the heartbeat. I couldn't do much from the hospital bed. I mean, for me to move, even just to go get the remote from the tv could cause my heart to go very irregular and could cause cold blue. So they were many things. Yet I was still alive. My brain was fine. My brain was there. There were desires. Me as a little girl, of wanting to play, of wanting to go to school, of wanting to be more. And how could I do that in. In those times? And that's where I realized, even as a young kid, that a lot of. I, Although I had all this restraints physically, I had no restraints here. So in my. That's where I saw. Saw the beginning of my dealing with the burnout. What was I believing? The belief of burnout. Why does that happen? I have to do everything or it's never going to get done. Nobody else, you know, I'm all alone in this. No. People will never get what I'm trying to do. Will there ever be a change? All these things, all these beliefs that I start really burning out and taking away from things. So part of the BE program and growing in the heart framework is starting with the belief, doing the mini shift in your mind, because that's the way you start combating burnout. It's the way that I found a way to be able to beat it then engaging. I couldn't get more. Even when I was in a hospital bed. It wasn't like A lack of what else can I get? And I realized that in leading and being an entrepreneur and actually also being an executive director for a woman's clinic, it wasn't what other program can I do? What other volunteer do I need it? But really I had to learn how. What can I do with what I have right now? I had to learn to look at what I had and be innovative in that sense so I can take action. It could be look at resources, looking at people, looking at tools, looking at programs, looking at perhaps past conversations. You know, can I reignite something so engaging with what I had at the moment so I can take the action, the smallest of action. I know we want the perfect world. We know we want like, hey, I wish you had this, this and that. But it wasn't there. So. But understanding that the most smallest of action is going to trample the greatest of intention any day. So understanding that every single little bit did count for me. It did for me in the hospital. Sometimes it meant just to be able to sit up for. Sometimes it meant I would just get by the bed, maybe walk around the hallway, what. Eventually as I got older, as I grew, it meant other things. Traveling, going to the university, going and giving speeches. So it grows with you. But understand that it all starts with that small action and not to dismiss any of that. So that's a third part. And beat and then transform is the action, is the belief, is all of that aligning for the transformation that I want to see in my life? And that's how I see basically I call it like a breath, believe, engage, act, transform, take a moment, align. And that's how I started building burnout.
- [25:30]
Rob Harder
Okay, well you started talking about this at the end there. Alignment when it comes to alignment of people, the alignment of your purpose, alignment of systems in your organization. Do you have a story that you really feel like is an inflection point in your own life perhaps, or just a story of someone you really saw experience the importance of aligning both people, purpose and your organization. Tell me about a story that you saw that really laid out wealth.
- [25:57]
Hannah Bauer
Well, I mean I can see it even just with. Well, with me, for example, the internal alignment. Again, you cannot get what you don't have. A lot of times we think it's a resources, it's a lack of. Like this, it's a lack, this whole lack, lack, lack, right. It's easy to on that, not taking the time to engage. I remember a time with us as a business, we were going through major disruption. What did that mean for us that meant a 90% based, print based business was now having to deal with the rise of ebooks, the rise of digital platforms. In a world that we didn't know what that looked like. We weren't the only ones that didn't know what that looked like. Our industry didn't know what that looked like. How do you sell these things? How do you even house this digital product? You know, what is it? How would even people use it? What do they want? People were asking for things that the industry didn't have yet, but also that they couldn't themselves sustain. Like a broadband people. That meant everybody have broadband and they just couldn't sustain it. So how did we deal with that? And I realized at that point we were trying to be everything for everyone because people didn't even know what it was that they wanted. What did that mean for us? It was chaos. It was chaos. It was loss of time, loss of even people. Because when you lose that clarity, you don't know who you are. That really you were trying to cater to things that didn't quite yet exist, that people didn't really. It's not what they wanted. They really just needed still the same thing. It just may be packaged differently. So for me, that's where my core program came in. I didn't call it core then, but I had to get back to basis because I realized that a lot of times when you're not in alignment or you're responding or even as a nonprofit, you're chasing the next grant or you're chasing the next dollar, or you're looking at this next things, it starts messing with your identity if you don't know who you are. And that's what I found with us it was like, okay, what were we? Were we a digital platform? We were not going to be in technology, you know, were we going to be teachers? We were not teachers, but we still taught. So how do we use what we have? Put it in a way that now people are using it. So that's the part where we would not have gone to that question if we didn't get first settled. And based on who are we and what is our purpose? Getting our own identity. Things may look different as far as, you know, how it was delivered, who it was delivered to, when, but it didn't change the core identity of who we were. And once we got that straight and got clear again, what is our vision? Vision didn't change. It just now looked different. Kind of like Apple, right? The desk went from desktop to having a computer in A palm of our hands. At one time, their mission was to have a desktop at every home. Now they changed to guy phoned everybody's hands. So missions change and being open to that, so alignment came from that, from being able to have that identity, being able to get a realign. What are we here for and how can we serve now in a different way, the same content in a different context.
- [29:02]
Rob Harder
We'll be right back. Are you looking, looking for an easy and effective way to boost your nonprofit's donations? Well, look no further than Donorbox, the online fundraising platform that streamlines your fundraising efforts, maximizes donations and simplifies giving for your supporters. With Donorbox, you can create beautiful donation forms, accept digital wallet payments, track donations, and send auto receipts. And the best part, there are no setup or monthly fees and no long term contracts required. So what are you waiting for? Visit donorbox.org today to get started. That is www.donorbox.org. You bring up this really question that a lot of people face and I'll just ask it back to when do you know to shift course and change the way you're doing things and when is the time to stay the course because you haven't given enough time to really move forward and see the results. Is there a list you kind of go through that helps you determine do I stay the course or do I shift my strategy because it's just not working?
- [30:07]
Hannah Bauer
So I would ask this question. If I'm not here tomorrow, who would miss me? If your organization's not here tomorrow, will anybody notice who, who notices why? It's a real thing. Well, why is that? I said because you're the only one, not the only one. So that's why I would start. Very simple. Because then you.
- [30:25]
Rob Harder
I like that. Really good.
- [30:26]
Hannah Bauer
Yeah. So that's the way I would start answering that part from that point. Of course, the why then tells you, well, it will even bring you like maybe the, the person I thought was serving is really not who I'm serving. Because the person who would miss me, it's not even the one I'm catering to, you know?
- [30:41]
Rob Harder
Right, exactly.
- [30:42]
Hannah Bauer
That happens to me like even in sometimes the, the speeches I do or the, the audience, what I build. Like I'm thinking I'm building it for this. And suddenly somebody else responds, oh, no, no, but I'm building it for this. And like, no, I have a more response. Okay, well, let me listen. Why, why is this resonating over here? And then I'm able to cater at the end of the day, what is what Is it you want to do you want to have an impact? Who you want to have an impact with? You know, and also if hey, you're missing it all together and really that's where your heart is and you need to realign. You need to like, hey, I don't need to be doing. I need to be doing this because I know it's a skull creep. So that would be the question. If our doors close tomorrow, who would miss us?
- [31:21]
Rob Harder
Well, it's so interesting. It comes to nonprofits. It's. There's so many fires, you know, to have to fight and you're constantly being pulled in different directions. Often you're under resourced or understaffed. So people can get into this habit of just reacting and making reactive type of leadership decisions again and again and again. How have you helped leaders move away from a reactive style of leadership to much more of a proactive and values driven leadership style? Well, what would you say to leaders that are struggling with that reactivity?
- [31:50]
Hannah Bauer
First of one is awareness. Awareness is, that's how they're. As I mentioned, I was very used to my dysfunction in my heart. As much as painful as it was, as breathtaking literally as it was, I had learned to cope with it. I had learned to live very dangerous levels, even levels that even my doctor was surprised. But when I got my surgery and everything was well, I didn't know how to be well. I was like, is something going to happen? And seer is there. And that's when I really learned. Even as a young age, I didn't know that. I didn't know what well was. I also didn't know what dysfunctional was. And it took me a while to understand that. And I think that would be the question also for our executive directors, for volunteers. There's things that are dysfunctional in our organizations. But do you know what well feels like? What does the other side look like? And it's going to take that time to take a, for me taking a breath, alignment. If you notice with alignment you don't align while you're driving in the highway 100 miles an hour. You have to lower, you have to take some time, you have to move away. Doesn't mean your entire time, but enough time because if you don't, you're going to crash, there's going to be an accident. So understanding one, being aware that yes, it does happen. You. Yes, we're under resource in areas. Yes, we're, we may be over resourced in some areas. Maybe we need to shift things here. But I won't know unless I slow down. There's just as much value in slowing down. So I can take a look at this as it is to go full pedal to the metal that only during certain times you're not full pedal to the metal. Any race car you'll see they're full pedal to the metal when at the time of the race. Other times they're what they're maintaining, they're testing, they're doing things to make sure that it's operating. Everything's operating at its best. That means that car's not racing 100% of the time. Same thing with people.
- [33:45]
Rob Harder
Yep. Yep.
- [33:46]
Hannah Bauer
Gotta know to bring it down. You gotta know how to decelerate so that your people so that yourself. You have got to get refreshed, you have got to get replenished. And I will say to start with celebration, just start celebrating. Simple thing, gratitude and celebration because that's a quick way to get a pick me up and to put some fuel in your in your tank and be able to even get that strength to do it again and take a break.
- [34:12]
Rob Harder
I like it. Well, it's clear that you have really maximized some of the experiences you've had all the way going back to when you're a child and you continue to hone your leadership skill and obviously you're impacting lots of different people. I have a feeling people that are listening may just want to get to know you, get to know more about your story and more about your work and how can they do that? What's the best way for them to reach out to you and or learn about your work?
- [34:33]
Hannah Bauer
Oh, thanks, Rob, for asking. Well, LinkedIn, Hannah Bauer, you can find me there. You can so really find me in my website. It's called Heartnomics, H A R T and O M I C s And that's where I also have a complimentary assessment for organizations. So if you want to see how you're doing with your heart leadership.
- [34:49]
Rob Harder
Nice. Yeah.
- [34:50]
Hannah Bauer
Okay.
- [34:52]
Rob Harder
Always like free tools. I think it's a great thing. But no, thanks for reminding us, Anna, just of the importance of leadership and how it is so critical to be proactive in your decision making. For example, to understand how you're coming across in your leadership to those that you're leading. I think you've just given us lots of good insights today. So thanks again for taking time to be on the show and for my listeners, I just encourage you to check out. There'll be some show notes in the website. When you listen to this podcast, it'll give you some links to Hannah and what she's doing, some of the work that she's a part of. I think it'll be really helpful for you as a leader to go further faster. So as always, thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week. Hey friends. Well I wanted you to know that this podcast can be found on itunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts and wherever you listen to other podcasts. I also want to encourage you to like subscribe and share this podcast with others. This will actually help us get this question great content out to more nonprofit leaders just like you. You can also join the nonprofit leadership Podcast community, find other resources and interviews of past guests, all on my website, nonprofitleadershippodcast.org well, thanks again for listening and until next time, keep making your world better. This podcast is sponsored by DonorBox, DonorBox, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business.