Fundraiser to CEO - 3 ways to prepare for the next step in your career

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at the AFP Calgary annual conference. I was asked to share about my journey from fundraiser to CEO. This opportunity, of course, led me to pause and reflect on the path I have taken.

In the spring of 2016, I was promoted internally from Director of Fund Development and Operations to President & CEO at Junior Achievement. Seven years later I left that role to become the President & CEO of the Calgary Food Bank.

I have spent some time reflecting on the differences and similarities between an internal promotion and external hire at the CEO level. And, in last week’s article, I talked about the top 3 challenges most new CEOs will face.

1.      Establish yourself as a leader

2.      Backfilling yourself

3.      Managing a board of directors

But, what about leading up to your big promotion to the ED/CEO role? Over the years, young staff have often asked me what they can do to get to the next level in their career. Here are my three pieces of advice for fundraisers who want to prepare themselves for the CEO (or any promotion):

1. Don’t rush the process. When you are ambitious and you want to see your career progress, it can be easy to get impatient. Staying in one place for 6 years, where I could grow my network, and my knowledge, and prove myself really helped to set me up for success in my first CEO role.

In my experience, your first year in any position is for you to get to know the basic operations. Year two is to make some improvements and year 3 is when you really start to shine. When you skip steps by changing jobs or companies too often, you lose valuable experience and quantitative evidence of your capacity and value. In addition to showing staying power, you want to be able to show future employers that you can improve processes, create value and improve year over year.

2. Get the training you need. We all get busy and personal and professional development can be easy to put off for another day. Over the last 10 years, as a working mother, I have completed the MRU Nonprofit Management certification, the ICD NPO certification and a Master's Degree. This is a “no one else is going to come to save you” situation. Do not wait for your employer to offer you professional development and don't expect them to pay for everything. You have to be willing to invest in yourself.

If you don’t know how to read an income statement and a balance sheet, you can’t be a CEO or ED. Take a finance class. If you struggle with managing big projects, take a class in project management. Fill in the gaps in your experience with education.

3. Work for the job you want and not the job you have – I know it sounds cliché, but it is true. This doesn’t mean you can or should neglect the job you have. If anything, you need to do it even better, while also stepping up and doing more.

Look for the gaps you can fill. At JA, we had a long stretch when we didn’t have a Director of Programs. I didn’t get asked or paid to do more, but I stepped in and provided leadership and guidance to that team, and it helped to grow my own knowledge. It helped me to build better relationships within the organization and that led to better support and buy-in when I became CEO.

If you can’t see the gaps where you should step up ask your boss or leader what you can take off their plate and you might be surprised what you learn from that!