← Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications
Ep 220: 5 Strategies for Leading Nonprofits in 2025
00:27:25
Whether you’re grappling with turbulent times or striving for greater impact, these strategies will help you navigate 2025 with clarity and purpose. Join me for a conversation that will leave you inspired, equipped,
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- [00:00]
Joan Gary
Thanks for joining me today and greetings. I usually do some kind of a podcast at the start of each year and I think that almost every year that I have done a podcast, I have opened the year with a podcast that says this year is going to be especially fill in the Blank, a year like no other. And I always mean it. But I think I might mean it more this year than I ever have before. So I'm gonna ask you to bear with me and do something. I'd like you to actually sit back in your chair and take a deep breath and exhale. Then I would like to see that your seatbelt is fastened snug around your waist and that your seatbelt and your seat back trays are in their forward upright positions for takeoff. Because, my friends, we are about to have one hell of a ride. And today I want to offer you five strategies for navigating the hell of a year. Greetings and welcome to Nonprofits or Messy. I'm your host, Joan Gary, founder of the Nonprofit Leadership labor where we help smaller nonprofits to thrive. I'm also a strategic advisor for executive directors and boards of larger nonprofits. I'm a frequent keynote speaker, a blogger, and an author on all things leadership and management. You can learn more@joengarry.com I'm a woman with a mission to fuel the leadership of the nonprofit sector. My goal with each episode is to dig deep into an issue I know that nonprofit leaders are grappling with by finding just the right person to offer you advice and insights. Today, it turns out that the right person is me. So we often set New Year's resolutions. That's why you can't escape all of the ads for weight loss programs and all of those things that people say they're going to take care of in the new year. I like to look back and see what I'm pulling along with me in my rollerboard as I move into the new year. And I encourage you to do the same thing. I'm pulling a rollerboard that has a lot of accomplishments in it, and I know you are too. I'm pulling a rollerboard that makes me feel proud. And I know you should feel proud of the work that you've did last year. But I'm asking you to be intentional and sit and actually think about a couple of things that made you feel especially proud. Big moments. Small moments. Victories. Not just in terms of how much money you brought in the door, but how you mentored someone. How you made a terrific hire, how you interacted with colleagues in Your community just think about that and say, it was a good year, and I know that this year will be different, but you're bringing that strength, that power, that pride with you. On the flight we are about to take, I feel that I'm bringing into the new year a new perspective on how I will spend my time. I will work a little less. I will take better care of my health. That's not a New Year's resolution, by the way. That is a factual statement based on my age, based on my interest in squeezing every little bit of juice out of the time I have on this planet. So work a little less. In fact, as you hear this podcast, right now, I am not in the Garden State of New Jersey where I live. I'm actually in Florida. Yes, I'll do some work. I will be playing pickleball. Perhaps, as you listen to this, you know, stereotypes exist for a reason. But I'll be warm. I'll be a minute from the beach, and I can put my toes in the sand, but my head and your head cannot be in the sand. Particularly this year, things will be different. And so I want to offer you what I think are five areas of focus, five strategies that I believe will make you a more effective leader and manager on a flight that's going to be potentially really, really turbulent. Regardless of what kind of nonprofit you lead, regardless of what sector, and regardless of your political ideology, things may change in very big ways. So here they are. These are my five. Number one, you have to educate yourself. So I happened to know, because I was a nonprofit executive director, and I saw that there were kind of these three bubbles, Bubble number one was my organizational bubble, making sure that my team was good, that we were raising the right amount of money, that we were doing great work, all of those things. The second bubble, larger, was the bubble of, in my case, the LGBTQ movement. My colleagues in that movement, what the trends were, what the stories were, what things were happening as it related to LGBT issues that would impact how I led my organization. The third bubble was a bubble I didn't really pay much attention to, and it is called the nonprofit sector bubble. Right? My organization existed in the LGBT movement, and the LGBT movement organizations existed in a bubble of the nonprofit sector. And I'm gonna, with my head hanging low, tell you I didn't follow trends in the nonprofit sector very much. Now it's part of my mission. My job is to provide you with context and insights that help you think about that third bubble. I am here to say that in 2024, paying attention to that third bubble is non negotiable. You have got to read nonprofit news and understand trends. This is an important ecosystem that may in fact change in some pretty dramatic ways. The incoming administration in Washington seems rather focused on nonprofits at the moment. We'll see where that goes. Many of you have heard about HR9495, a piece of legislation, and you can count on us here at Nonprofits or MESSI to keep you apprised of the status of that bill and the implications thereof. We have our podcast in the works already with someone to talk just about that. So that's something you can look forward to on this podcast. But I also am strongly urging you to have your eyes wide open about trends in the nonprofit sector. I'm gonna tell you that I have an old fashioned habit and I read the hard copy of the Chronicle of Philanthropy and you could do it online. I learned really important things about how or other organizations are girding themselves for the new Year. I learned about a small organization that is innovating in a very big way. I read opinion pieces by some really interesting thought leaders. Not only did it put gas in my tank, but it gave me ideas and context and it's going to do the same for you. If you're wondering where you're gonna find the time for this, I'm going to tell you that the technical phrase it will bite you in the butt if you don't make time. I'll talk a little bit about time management in one of my other four strategies for the New year. So my first strategy is you have got to educate yourself. Things will not stay the same. I can't tell you what that looks like, but if you are not paying a lot of attention, you won't know and you and your board will not be prepared. Strategy number two actually has to do with your board. I am going to strongly encourage you to invest in shifting the mindset of your board. So there are three levels of governance. Fiduciary, strategic and generative. Fiduciary. Making sure nothing goes wrong. Strategic. Solving problems. Generative. Imagining what is possible. The vast majority, the overwhelming majority of boards never leave fiduciary. The fiduciary level, I call it because I have my twin engine jet philosophy. I say that the fiduciary level of governance is on the tarmac. The plane is on the tarmac, in the weeds on the tarmac. Shouldn't really be any weeds in the tarmac, but you get the idea. And so your board is very likely all about making sure nothing goes wrong. We call that risk management. That is in fact one of the responsibilities of a nonprofit board. But oh my goodness, so not the only one, right? Risk management and innovation do not go together. Risk management and piloting, and I'm not talking about the jet piloting, trying new things, failing forward. All of those things don't really go together much with risk management. It's time for you to push your board to be more adaptive, to introduce the idea of a pilot. Try something new, illustrate proof of concept, share the success with your board and help them feel the success that comes with trying something new. Feel like this is really going to be important because otherwise you are going to be reactive to changes rather than proactive to them, right? Here's another thing on this subject about risk management that I want you to keep in mind. The independent sector reports that over the last several years we have seen a precipitous drop in the policy and lobbying efforts of nonprofit organizations. There's lots of reasons for this, and that may be a topic for a whole other podcast, but certainly one of them is a fear of jeopardizing their tax exempt status. Fear risk management. Go back to educate yourself, which is my number one strategy. Educate yourself and your board about how your organization can in fact engage in policy work without jeopardizing your tax exempt status or without taking that risk. Or help your board get better chops and recognize that in some cases with some of your organizations there's going to be some fight and they're going to need to have some teeth. So number one is educate yourself. Number two is shift the mindset of your board from risk managers to innovators. Remember, the origin story of your organization is rooted in innovation. It's rooted in trying something new, in seeing a gap, in filling a need. Please continually remind your board of that and why it is important to continually be assessing and changing how you do things to not only have greater impact but also to proactively address turbulent air ahead. Number three, get comfortable living in a non binary world. I mean this in a very broad sense. We can no longer ignore the space in between. You know, I often talk about a twin engine jet as a metaphor for a nonprofit organization and I put the chair of their board and the executive director in the cockpit. Two deciders, two type A people in the cockpit. They actually have to share leadership. It's kind of non binary in that way. It's gray. It's time to embrace the gray. This year especially, a binary worldview is antiquated and serves us very, very poorly. We are in a very polarized world and the only way through it is to learn how to hold multiple truths. I can bring this home for myself and say that I can look at the Israel Hamas war and know two truths or one truth. It is completely legitimate for me to be heartbroken for multiple groups at the same time. And because our world is polarized, I do believe it tends to drive us to the it is either this or this. And I don't think that will help us. I think we have to look look at what brings us together. And so many of you do work that can and is exactly that. So embrace the gray and start to get comfortable living in a non binary world. Build and exercise your team's muscles to have difficult conversations. Grab resources to help people begin to get more comfortable being really uncomfortable. Remember, you came into this work as a disruptor. There's going to be a lot of disruption this year. Navigating it thoughtfully with the people who don't necessarily agree with you is going to be essential. Number four, Embrace community. We're going to need each other in the nonprofit sector. We're going to need each other, period. My wife, for quite a number of years was the head of the Food Network, brought many household names into your kitchens and living rooms. And I remember very distinctly that after September 11, maybe it was October or November, we were sitting around and my wife said to me, you know, I think that there's going to be a big run on roasting pans at Williams Sonoma. I was like, I'm sorry, what? She said. I just think that difficult times drive people to be together, to be in community and to, as she said, nest. I thought it was a really interesting hypothesis. And then of course, it couldn't have been more than a few weeks later. There was in fact an article that there was in fact a run on roasting pans at Williams Sonoma and places where roasting pans are sold. I believe the same thing is going to happen this year, that there will be a need for us to be in community. I also remember as the founder of the nonprofit Leadership Lab, we don't just provide resources, time saving resources for nonprofit leaders, board and staff. We also provide a community. A community where you don't feel so alone. And as we started to understand the magnitude of the pandemic in 2020, my business partner and I were unclear about whether or not the Leadership Lab would draw people during such a difficult period. We needn't have worried because we had the opportunity to help so many more leaders that year because they needed timely information about how to file for a PPP loan. But maybe even more than that, they just needed to be in an online community with others who were standing in their shoes. I think that's what we're going to have this coming year and what you as a leader are going to need. And by the way, one of the really remarkable things about our leadership lab is I may be in the LGBTQ space, but I have as much to learn from someone who runs an association in Canada for somebody who runs a program for autism in the uk and in fact, that community enrich the leaders enrich one another. And honestly, it's inspiring to be in community with other folks who are trying to make the world a better place one day, one step, one action at a time. So think about that as it relates to your team. Think about how that relates to bringing your team together, even if you are remote or hybrid. And think about what it means for you as a leader. This is going to be a bumpy ride. And nonprofit executive directors are by nature, they can feel quite lonely. And so loneliness is not going to be your friend this coming year. So think about that as well. So we have four so far. Get smart, educate yourself. Shift the mindset of your board. Get comfortable living in a non binary world. Embrace community. And my fifth one final invest in you. It will be absolutely essential that you take good care of yourself this year. There is always a risk that your engine will overheat. You're going to hear different pieces of information about the same thing in the same week and your head's gonna be spinning like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. Right. You got to keep centered. And what do I mean by that? Well, certainly I mean balance. Making sure that you have a palette of activities in your world that fuel you in one way, shape or form. Right. Don't think of work as just work that you do until you can have time with your family. Think about it as of a cloth. But you have to make time for you as part of that. Please see professional development, growing your skills and your chops as a leader and a manager. To be not a luxury item, but a must have. I need to be really good at flying that jet, especially when the air is turbulent. Right. So investing in getting the best leadership book you can find, reading my blog or listening a podcast just like this one. That's an example. Right. Take care of yourself. Like Escape. And I'm not a meditator because I'm too fidgety. A fidgety skeptic, I think, is what Dan Harris refers to me as, or people like me as. If you're a reader, get a book that takes you away and just read for 15 minutes before you go to bed to sort of shut it down. Glenda, who runs the Nonprofit Leadership Lab for us, happens to be I hope I'm not outing her here like addicted to true crime podcasts. There's an escape. Pick one. Use it. See its value. Here's another example of investing in yourself. Learn how to say no or not yet. Maybe you can get home in time for dinner. No or not yet. I coach clients every day. I see thousands of folks in our Leadership Lab. You have control issues. I know this. I have them too. In this we are kindred spirits. Learn to delegate. When you say you have too much on your plate, take a look at what's on your plate. Does it really all belong there? I don't think so. And if you do that, you might be able to manage your time rather than it managing you.
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Nonprofit Leadership Lab
The Nonprofit Leadership Lab is led by Joan Gary and is the world's best online community for leaders of small nonprofits. Learn how to raise more money, build the board of your dreams, grow a large audience of supporters, and so much more. To learn more and request an invitation to become a member, please go to nonprofitleadershiplab.com that's nonprofit leadershiplab.com podcast so these.
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Joan Gary
Are my five pieces of advice. Five strategies that will enable you to be the best leader and manager you can be this year. First, get smart. Educate yourself in a way you probably never have before. Number two, shift the mindset of your board. Move them from risk management to embracing adaptability, embracing change management, embracing innovation. It is how your organization started and many, far too many organizations have strayed too far from it. Number three, Embrace the gray and get comfortable living in a non binary world. I talk often about shared leadership between the board and staff. That's what I mean by gray. A polarized society where we talk with people who vehemently disagree with us. How do we get comfortable being in that space? We have to in fact, not dig our heels in, but find common ground. Number four is embracing community. Nonprofit leaders have lonely jobs and really difficult times. Provide us with an opportunity to be fueled by the community around us. People who stand in our shoes, whether that is people in your family, your chosen family, or your family within your sector or within the larger nonprofit sector. It will fuel you. You will learn and be inspired by those who also share the same commitment and passion to the nonprofit sector. And lastly, invest in you. This is so one of those situations where you gotta put the mask on first. And I know that generally results in maniacal laughter from nonprofit leaders that I say it to, but boy, oh, boy, this year. Yes, this year. So breathe. Make sure that seatbelt is snugly fastened, and take those five things with you as we move into the new year. Lastly, because I want you to really be thinking about that third bubble, right? We talked about the organization, the sector you're in. For me, it was the LGBT movement. For you, it might be social services, it might be the unhoused, it might be food insecurity, it might be equine therapy, it might be autism. But that third bubble, the nonprofit sector, the one we've probably all been ignoring, that I want you to educate yourself about, I want you to think about it as more than a sector. I think this is going to help you. I want you to think about it as a movement. Thousands and thousands of people from all over the world affecting change in absolutely remarkable ways. Yeah, I'm talking about you and all of them stronger together, right? Coming together in community and stronger as a result. That's how I see that third bubble, the nonprofit sector. I see it as a movement that we are all part of a strong and determined movement to make the world more fair, more just and more beautiful. And let me just tell you that when you think about all of those people of which you are one, and all of those organizations, and you align that with the turbulence ahead, I'm betting on you. I'm betting on the sector. I'm betting on the nonprofit sector to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming year. Happy New Year. Thanks so much for spending time with me today. I hope you found the conversation valuable as you navigate the messy world of nonprofits. Check out all my other resources@joengary.com. hope you find them helpful, too. Lastly, thank you for the work you do to repair the world in ways large and small. I'll see you next time.