What not to do when you lead a nonprofit

I had the privilege of taking a couple of months off work at the beginning of the year. This was to address some very neglected health issues, deal with burnout and figure out some truths for myself. As I tried to rejuvenate myself by being as close to nature as I could, plus visiting doctors, doing tests etc, some thoughts on who we call leaders went through my mind and I wrote a few points down. Some of those I will try and deal with a bit more details here.

Trigger warning: these are dreams and must be taken as that. Now, if you are that kind of a person who wants to turn dreams into reality, well, then.......

Stretching a few rupees to cover what you must do takes the fun out of being a non-profit leader. However much you try you do not seem to have the right people at the right spot most of the time. And even if you have them finally, the tendency to micromanage them so that the vision can be transferred in the right way often ends up being the wrong way. If we had the luxury of hiring the right people and then just letting them be, I would do it! I would spend a lot of time to understand them, analyse their strengths and put together a team that complements each other. With such a team the leader can help translate vision and lead to resources and then let the team do what they want. What a joy that will be!

Most organisations start out with a mission very clearly defined. As leaders change, organisations develop, the ability to stay within those dotted lines sometimes may seem stifling. What fun will it be to take on new things, go with the flow as long as you are true to that original larger mission, if you can let lines blur and merge and dissolve, workplaces will continue to be inspirational, fun and motivating.

What if leaders did not have to fundraise constantly for running their organisations? What if you could declare a fundraising-free year at work? Also imagine if your fundraising team could identify, manage and engage your donors, foundations and trusts, corporate and individual donors without you having to maintain any personal contacts on a day-to-day basis?

This - my favourite - what if you do not need to be visible and can hide behind your all-powerful team most of the time? You don't have to be seen on panels, speak at gatherings, give interviews on what your organisation does and what impact it creates constantly, participate in network meetings and collaboration high teas? You can spend your time then just talking to your teams, writing something meaningful and researching to see where the organisation can go in the next 5 years.

And lastly, what if you didn't need to be self-aware? You do not need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses or be humble. You can say or do anything you want.

On another note, why be the leader of a nonprofit when you are much better off being a beach bum!