As a nonprofit leader, you may often find yourself juggling multiple projects with different goals, timelines, and stakeholders. How can you keep track of your progress and meet your deadlines without compromising the quality of your work or burning out? Here are some tips to help you manage your projects effectively and efficiently.
The first step is to prioritize your projects based on their urgency, impact, and alignment with your mission and vision. You can use a simple matrix to rank your projects according to these criteria and decide which ones need your immediate attention, which ones can be delegated or outsourced, and which ones can be postponed or dropped. This will help you focus on the most important and relevant tasks and avoid wasting time and resources on low-priority projects.
You can’t manage something that can’t be tracked, so the first thing to do is create a list of all your projects, then create a column for progress, target date, funding amount, stakeholders, sponsors and value delivered. This simple sheet will give you the necessary insights to make a more data-driven decision when prioritizing projects that pull on the heartstrings. Sometimes, it’s hard to reprioritize projects given the emotional connections, and sometimes, we get to see the more significant impact and success some projects can bring to gaining the required support for the projects without visibility or buy-in.
In my experience, having clearly defined timeline, outcomes help to prioritize in non-profit world. Also, scheduling a focused time on your calendar to work on the project surely helps to execute and can pay off.
It can be easy to fall into the trap that everything is an emergency so nothing is an emergency. Block time for prioritization. Be ruthless. Don’t be afraid to say no. The issue is that you will most certainly have competing priorities. Then what? You can have your manager help. You can make a gut choice. You can try for science.. but most nonprofits will want to get both things done anyway. Especially if there is a life on the line. Try to keep this to a minimum and know you are one person. A strong second in command is critical, empower your team for decision making and delegate. Make use of your volunteers. Think trade offs. What can you push off elsewhere? What noise can you place a pause on? What goals can be renegotiated?
Imagine steering a nonprofit as captaining a ship through uncharted waters, where the north star is the social change we urgently seek to manifest. As you chart the course, you must choose your battles wisely—time and resources are your precious cargo. Rally your crew swiftly, for their zeal is the wind in your sails. Each milestone reached is an island of triumph in a vast sea of need, a testament to the collective spirit of your team. Be ready to adjust your compass as the tides of societal needs shift. Let the tales of progress be your siren song, enchanting supporters and stakeholders alike. This journey demands a captain's resolve and a poet's heart, for in the quest for change, every moment is a chance to write history!
Workers everywhere, especially in the nonprofit, are plagued with "time famine", i.e., too much to do, and too little time. Thanks to the fast changing work cultures, and the pace of work in modern organizations, it all gets too overwhelming and even harmful for personal well-being and mental health. Furthermore, there are always meetings to attend. In some cultures, it is particularly harder to say "no" to additional work, this gets even more complicated when employers command a disproportionate level of power in an employer-employee relationship. Good and ethical leadership in any work setting would take care of their teams, fairly distribute work, and train teams on effective task prioritization and delegation.
The next step is to break down your projects into smaller and more manageable tasks. You can use a project management tool or a spreadsheet to list all the tasks involved in each project, assign them to yourself or your team members, set deadlines and milestones, and track the progress and status of each task. This will help you plan your work, monitor your performance, and identify any issues or risks that may affect your project completion.
Once the projects have been broken into manageable tasks you can use regular team touchpoints to transparently discuss all active projects and their upcoming deadlines, milestones, and priorities. These touchpoints are a great opportunity for team members to debrief, give shout-outs, discuss bottlenecks, and process issues.
Again, a written thing-to-do list was my best friend. Another method I used to track tasks was Outlook especially when I delegated. It is a simple technology, but it really worked for me. Detail timelines on Excel spreadsheets for events and grants were my favorite to keep track of major projects. Now with the advent of several management software like Asana, Monday, and Trello, there are so many tools you can use to track deadlines.
Prioritization is key. Don’t over promise. Keep expectations realistic, put everything in a calendar and track using excel spreadsheets, Gantt charts, or program management software.
Not all projects are created equal. Some projects are more urgent and important than others. Take some time to prioritize your projects and focus your attention on the most important ones first. You can use a prioritization matrix to help you decide which projects should be prioritized.
Breaking down projects into manageable tasks requires careful planning and consideration and it helps prevent overwhelm and keeps the project on a clear path toward successful completion. Additionally, task break-down allows for better monitoring, tracking, and management of the project's progress.
The third step is to communicate clearly and regularly with your stakeholders, such as your donors, partners, beneficiaries, staff, and volunteers. You can use various channels, such as email, phone, video conferencing, or social media, to update them on your project goals, activities, achievements, and challenges. This will help you build trust and rapport, solicit feedback and input, and manage expectations and deliverables.
You live in a constant evolving environment. Keep the mission as the boss. Provide context for your decision making. Use your stakeholders as the support system the should be to you. And escalate as needed.
Break down large projects into smaller tasks. Large projects can be overwhelming and daunting. To make them more manageable, break down each project into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will make it easier to estimate the time and resources needed to complete each task, and it will also give you a sense of progress as you complete each task.
Effective communication with stakeholders is crucial as it ensures that everyone involved in the project is well-informed, engaged, and supportive. Also, it helps mitigate misunderstandings, reduces resistance to change, and enhances the project's chances of success.
Make communication a habit through Stand-Ups with your inner circle of team members. Take your time to keep 2-4 people well informed and put them in charge of informing other stakeholders. Thus, you have not only managed communication well, you also empowered your team members and have trained yourself co-managers.
Yes, and do this in both linear and nonlinear ways. This means, yes to an update message (very linear) but also a personal video message that is unexpected (nonlinear). And you will see that the most impressed stakeholders are those who are surprised in a positive way. And you can already surprise someone by sharing your thoughts....
The fourth step is to review and adjust your project plans as needed. You can use a project evaluation tool or a feedback form to measure the outcomes and impact of your projects, compare them with your initial objectives and indicators, and identify any gaps or areas for improvement. This will help you learn from your successes and failures, celebrate your achievements, and make any necessary changes or corrections to your project plans.
In my own experience, this step is where the theoretical meets the practical. The feedback, both from our team and the project outcomes, serves as a reality check. It provides invaluable insights into what works, what doesn't, and what can be enhanced. It's a process that fosters a culture of continuous improvement and learning. It’s not merely about course correction, but about learning, growing, and optimising our strategies for better outcomes.
Always adjust! Be flexible, nonlinear. Make sure you don't have any fear of failure. There is no room for anxiety when there is a change in the existing mental model. Be aware, this skill is unique! Only a few people are really capable is doing this!
The fifth step is to balance your workload and well-being. You can use a time management tool or a calendar to schedule your tasks, set boundaries, and allocate time for rest and self-care. This will help you avoid overcommitment, stress, and burnout, and maintain your motivation, energy, and creativity.
Your well being is the science of you. How does your brain, your body operates? Forget what is normal. Find your way that can move mountains. Do you really know your mental health? Are you open to discover? If so, you can handle everything....
Work-life balance is a personal journey, and what works for one person may not work for another. It's important to regularly assess your balance and make adjustments as needed to ensure you maintain your physical and mental well-being while meeting your professional obligations
The sixth step is to seek support and collaboration from others. You can use a network or a community of practice to connect with other nonprofit leaders who are working on similar or related projects, share your challenges and best practices, and seek advice or assistance. This will help you leverage your collective knowledge, skills, and resources, and foster a culture of learning and innovation.
In an extensive digital economic world which has came to the picture nowadays, it is very probable that many organizations work on the same ideas and processes without actual informing about the other's plans. So we can say it is actually about the "quality and outcomes" of our process and how much the process saves the time, money and effort, and not just about the particular idea. In order to that, it seems to be necessary to keep connecting with other organizations not doing the exactly same progress like them, assessing, estimating and examining the probability and the potentials to contract and co-work with them, not to overlap. New world is a merging world! Don't do anything alone!
To foster a culture of collaboration, start by clearly articulating the project's objectives and benefits, emphasizing how it aligns with broader organizational goals. Engage with potential collaborators by highlighting the shared value and the positive impact their involvement can have on the project's success. Actively listening to their input and concerns, seeking to understand their perspectives and needs. Encourage open dialogue and create opportunities for brainstorming and idea-sharing. By making individuals feel valued, informed, and aligned with the project's mission, you can cultivate a strong foundation for collaboration and support throughout the project's lifecycle.
In a conclusion from above great statements and my own thoughts. Priorities the projects tasks Do- decide- delegate and delete approach can be used with different techniques like GANTT chart or CPM etc Using the asynchronous and synchronous communication accordingly . whats app and skype groups may be beneficial .
A Need For Compartmentalization This idea is meant to condition your brain as a nonprofit leader with various dead lines and multi project using second hand to man each compartment thereby making your load to be less and your money doing the job through second hand. You only supervise and motivate and give immunity for any damages or mistake give the second hand to do the task just let until it fits your ideal plan. Thanks.
A lideran?a em organiza??es sem fins lucrativos desempenha um papel vital na capacidade dessas entidades de atingir suas metas e cumprir suas miss?es. Aqui est?o algumas contribui??es de qualidade que os líderes podem oferecer a essas organiza??es: 1. Vis?o e Miss?o Claras: Líderes eficazes em organiza??es sem fins lucrativos s?o capazes de articular uma vis?o sólida e uma miss?o clara. Eles inspiraram suas equipes e voluntários, criando um senso de propósito e unidade em torno dos objetivos da organiza??o
Discover a world of online tools designed to streamline project tracking and deadline management. Many of these platforms offer substantial discounts for nonprofits, making them an excellent choice. Asana - It has free services plus 50% discount for pro accounts. Monday.com - Nonprofit plan - 10 first seats for free, and a 70% discount per seat from the 11th seat. Atlassian - Atlassian offers free or discounted access to its products, with a particular focus on education-related nonprofits. Say goodbye to cumbersome spreadsheets and embrace these innovative tools. While there might be a learning curve initially, the time investment will quickly pay off, enhancing your productivity and efficiency.