Finding Calm in the Chaos

by Dr. Mark Smutny

“Help!” That’s what I hear from nonprofit leaders, followed by stories of

exhaustion, struggle, and anger. Some, after long careers, simply want out.? They dream of retirement and distant shores. ?One said they’d never go back to nonprofit work, not even volunteering or serving on a nonprofit board. They’re done. Cooked. Spent. ???

Whether executive staff, H.R. directors, program leaders, board chairs, or community foundation staff, I hear a common theme: good, kind, and intelligent people say they want to quit.

Human services workers tend to be obsessive givers and prone to over-extension. Afterall, they feel called to save the world: another child needs love, another person needs a home, another campaign needs to be organized to save the earth from fires and floods. The needs never end. ????

And the workload is always crazy: raise funds to keep the lights on and staff paid. Pay good people a decent wage. Build teamwork. Set strategy. Write reports. Read balance sheets and cash flow statements. Recruit volunteers. Equip the board to be effective. Focus on mission. ?Live your vision. Embrace diversity. Don’t forget inclusion. Equity, too. It’s exhausting. ???

Add the chaos out there: political polarization, conspiracy theories, White supremacists stoking fear. Democracy at risk.? Wars. Floods. Drought. Refugees. Did I mention too many needs and too little funds?

I listen with concern. ?It’s crazy inside and it’s crazy out there. The Irish poet Yeats has it right:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.? ?

?Like most consultants working with nonprofit leaders, I’m a fixer, too. I want to help. I think help begins with leaders getting our own house in order. In my life-long struggle with crazy productivity followed by bouts of depression, getting away even briefly is most helpful. Maybe it’s the same for you. Here’s how I get away.

• ?Breathe deeply.
• Pet my dogs.
• Cook wonderful meals and enjoy them with others.
• Take longs hikes in the wilderness or around the block.
• Nap.
• Listen to the Garden Song by Pete Seeger or Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.
• Have long, deep talks with my sweetheart.
• Listen to crows in the distance and owls at night.
• Meditate. Pray.
• Find ways to do nothing until the only sounds are the sounds of sheer silence and the gentle beating of my heart. My thoughts stop racing. I’m at peace. ??

Without these ways to find balance, I can hardly function. I wind up tighter than a drum and am a royal pain in the ass.

Bringing calm in the chaos starts with you and me. But that’s only the beginning. We have staff and volunteers to think about. So, if you really want to care for people, love a child, build a home, run a homeless shelter, or save a dying earth, do some of the following.

• ?Give permission for your staff to breathe deeply—several times a day—and insist on it if you have the authority.
• Spread stuffed animals around your workplace. Once your staff sees you hug a teddy bear or a cute lion, they might stop growling and laugh instead.
• Throw a fun party. Turn it into a comic protest against the craziness and the chaos. Bring brownies and milk.
• Take a group hike up the stairs or down the street, through your neighborhood, or in a park.
• Encourage naps.
• Listen to the music of your people and your land.
• Encourage work friendships. Share your life with a colleague, friend or partner.
• Still the noise. Listen to nature.
• Create special places for staff to chill, meditate and pray.
• Instead of driving people to do more and more, create pauses in the workday to still the chaos.
• Listen in the quiet for the still small voice of silence and the collective heartbeat of your people.

?I’m sure you have additional ideas like more pay for your staff.

I hope you and the people in your nonprofit trying to save the earth find calm in the chaos and laugh away the crazy. May the healing begin with you. ??

Peace be with you.

Mark Smutny

? Copyright 2023 by Mark Smutny. ?Permission is granted to copy for non-commercial use with author attribution under a creative commons license.

For more help on how to build resilience and inclusion in your nonprofit, visit https://civicreinventions or email Mark Smutny at [email protected] . ?

Copies of Dr. Smutny's award winning book, Thrive: The Facilitator's Guide to Radically Inclusive Meetings, 2nd edition may be ordered from Emerald Lake Books , Amazon , or wherever books are sold. ?

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