Keeping It Simple in a Complicated World
A quick reminder for busy nonprofit leaders about how to respond to key constituencies
There are days as a nonprofit leader when everything seems complicated. There is the minor stuff that comes up like the toilet being clogged and someone using up the last of the copy paper without ordering more. You don’t have time for these petty things; you have funds to raise! Especially in a small nonprofit, given the everyday calamities that can occur, it can be really easy as an Executive Director/CEO (ED) to get stuck in the trap of over-thinking your response to every potential crises. There are four key constituencies in the life of every ED, and following are some real-life situations that either I or one of my colleagues have experienced along with suggestions for how best to respond:
1. Potential Issue (Funder): You have a funder who wants to give you funding for something that is needed and necessary but their timeline is short and your capacity has just taken a hit with staff turnover.
Solution: Be honest with them. Whatever it is, however the funding shakes out, even if you don’t get the funding this time around, the best course of action is to be honest.
Tell them the timeline is too short. They can either change their timeline or be there for you when your timing is better.
Focus on the long-term relationship. They will remember your integrity during their next funding cycle and that is everything.
2. Potential Issue (Board): Your Board President is passionate about adding a program that seems to skew a bit outside your mission.
Solution: Healthy boards function as a group process. No one member has all of the power of the board.
If one of your board members is going on a tangent (even if it’s your Board President), be sure that there is a process in place by which this tangent gets reviewed, discussed, and voted on by the whole.
Sometimes it can be helpful to engage an advocate on your board to talk through some of these issues. This would be a board member you trust that is willing to talk with you off the record. They may have a different perspective that will help you move forward.
3. Potential Issue (Staff): You have a really talented staff person who produces great results but has become toxic with other staff.
Solution: You can train for skill, but not attitude.
If you have a staff member who is super talented but extremely negative or even toxic, and you’ve talked with them, you’ve tried coaching them, you’ve given them examples for how to improve and they have resisted, it is time for you to talk with your HR expert and give this person a chance for happiness elsewhere.
Don’t make the mistake of waiting to let go.
4. Potential Issue (Community Member): Community member issues are a tough because the range of issues can be long and varied.
Solution: Listen. Empathize. Engage your Board of necessary.
When your staff is small you may be the one that community members go to in order to share their dissatisfaction with everything from the sidewalk needing to be repaired, your services not living up to their standards, or a bad volunteer experience. We know you have a million things on your “To Do” list, but this is the time to pause and listen and reflect. Even if you can’t offer a solution, be empathetic.
If you or a staff person screwed up, you need to take the lead in apologizing and finding an amicable resolution.
This is an excellent example of when boards can be a tremendous source of support for an ED. You know your organization dynamics best. Ask yourself, would it help to engage your Board President in this issue? Many community members would feel heard and valued if they received a call from the Board President. Do you have a board member who has experience in this area? You may need to engage your entire board so this issue can be addressed. Who knows, you may end up adding or merging a program!
Christi Cakiroglu has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience and has staffed or volunteered with more than a dozen boards. CC Consulting Solutions allows her the opportunity to support nonprofit leaders and build healthy boards and strong organizations through board development, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and executive coaching. For more information visit www.ccconsultingsolutions.com.