Considering a career in nonprofit leadership?

Becoming a nonprofit leader is about aligning your career stage with your passion. Whether early or later in life, a personal connection to the cause drives success. If you're later in your career and financially comfortable, nonprofit leadership may fulfill a deeper purpose. Regardless of your life stage, commitment and passion are key. Each phase brings unique strengths, whether energy or wisdom. Take the first step with dedication, and the rewards—both personal and community—will follow.

In my experience I was not able to be my personal best until I recognized that mission driven work, and the colleagues I had in mission driven work, were what made me strive to be my best. I have often told folks that I sleep well at night becuase I have tried to make the world a better place.

Leaders that enter the nonprofit world after a career in the for-profit world can struggle with communication and values alignment. Small and mid-sized nonprofits typically function very differently in this regard and to succeed, a leader will need to master these new skills quickly. For example, most nonprofits put mission and people above profits. A leader who even hints that they don't share those values risks a losing credibility and respect with their staff. An effective leader will instead talk about things like mission impact, organizational sustainability, and organizational resilience. The nonprofit will need to run a profit to enhance these areas, but the profit is just a means to an ends (and may not even need mentioning).

Beyond communication the structure of most not-for-profits and the responsibilities of the boards makes strategic thinking the critcal peice to the work. As CFO I always was thinking about three horizons - the current period, the fiscal year and the three year plan. Sustainabilty is the catch word of the day - with headcount, program delivery, and fiscal planning driving strategic thinking as to how to acheive mission.

As I see it, only by being a constant learner can someone grow to leadership. I am less inclined to beleive this learning needs to be in a classroom and more inclined that learning happens as you solve problems or take on special tasks at the job. As important as it is to have the correct framework of approach to the job at hand, I have found all my best lessons came from digging in and doing the work. In some ways the Not for Profit world with so many unique issues reinforced this veiw in me.

When I talk to my peers about moving to mission driven work I always remind them that board work and membership may be the best networking opportunity there is. Great board members become involved with other boards and missions and become tremendous networking opportunites.

At the base level - a person who has elected to be involved in mission driven work almost always has a high ethics IQ. The joy of working with people who understand the importance of trying to impact society positively can be a boost to the confidence that you are working in an ethical environment where ethics have a value that is appreciated. Not for Profits do need to meet the highest standards in ethics to compete for the donor's dollars and this need attracts like minded people to deliver, ethics is another reason I have stayed in this sector for 25 years.