Why Some Extraordinary Frontline Fundraisers Struggle as Leaders

This scenario plays out frequently at many nonprofit organizations: top-performing fundraising professional gets promoted to lead a team but has never been trained to actually lead or manage. The result is often a disaster—fundraising results suffer, other frontliners head for the door, and the new manager flames out (and may even get fired).

Why are so many frontline fundraisers not good at managing or leading?

One reason is that even after they put on their manager hats, they often suffer from the “super fundraiser syndrome.” Essentially, they unable to disconnect from the thrill of raising money, and the organization enables this addiction. They have a tendency to micromanage every gift (and the fundraiser working on it) until it closes.

At Fundraising Leadership we notice that those individuals who adeptly make the transition from frontliner to leader/manager consciously shift from "me" to "we". They quickly realize that success depends on elevating from being an individual contributor to being a manager who gets things done through other people. That’s a big shift in "being" that many people fail to make.

This transition from sole-contributor to manager/leader is a challenge faced by many departments in small, medium, and large nonprofit organizations. And, it is in the fundraising operation where a misstep can be particularly harmful. Fundraising is the lifeblood of many nonprofits. It's where the cash that comes on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis often determines whether or not the organization survives and thrives.

The solution to this challenge is not as simple as many talent managers are suggesting these days, namely that a great frontline fundraiser should never manage a team or lead the organization. In many cases, it’s difficult for a leader to gain the respect of staff and board members if that person has NOT been a successful fundraiser. And, at the same time, nonprofit boards should not fall into the trap of saying: "This person is a great fundraiser. We're certain s/he can manage the team." It's not that simple.

So, what is a Board, Executive Director, University President or Chief Development Officer leading a large fundraising team to do?

First, I would suggest an assessment of a new leader's desire and capacity to learn and grow. New managers are often stretched in many new directions. They need to hire, review, and sometimes fire staff members. They develop fundraising forecasts and department budgets. They make decisions about IT resources. They're responsible for accurately recording and acknowledging gifts. And, they take on additional other organizational responsibilities that entail multiple administrative tasks, including HR forms and coordinating with other departments. There is a steep learning curve for every new manager/leader and the work can be overwhelming unless the individual is hungry for learning and growth.

Second, it’s helpful for new managers to acknowledge they are shedding one professional identity (frontline fundraiser) for another (manager/leader) in order to take on the new role where their focus is on their teams AND themselves. As individual contributors, fundraisers typically aim their attention at their donors and projects at the nonprofit that the donors support. At this stage of development, they focus mostly on honing their fundraising skills, meeting their metrics, and doing their own job well. It can take up to 10 years of deliberate practice for a fundraiser to become an expert at his or her craft. In becoming managers, they must pivot toward communicating clearly and consistently with staff, while coaching and mentoring them to build the skills necessary for them to be successful at engaging with donors and closing gifts of their own. During this crucial time of professional and personal development, many nonprofit organizations support first-time managers by having them work with an executive coach.

Third, by shifting perspective and letting go of micromanaging every transaction, a manager’s time is freed up to focus on other duties, like developing staff to whom they can delegate more responsibility.

New managers must learn how to hire and nurture talent. One common mistake that they make is relying too heavily on interviews that screen candidates exclusively for competence, as opposed to competence AND character. They typically ask themselves what skills made them a successful fundraiser, and forget the other qualities that made them successful overall.

Also, once someone is hired, it is incumbent upon the manager/leader to provide regular and candid feedback. Many new managers fall into a common trap of beginning to pay attention to someone on their staff only a few days before the performance review. By then it becomes mainly a compensation discussion about whether the person did or did not meet his or her fundraising goals. While the compensation conversation is an important one, substantial human resource research now tells us that ongoing coaching and feedback throughout the year actually have a bigger and better impact on performance. Sharing constructive feedback is more of an art than science, and it is something that all leaders can improve in over time through appropriate training and practice.

Janice Cunning and I are putting the finishing touches on an affordable self-paced online course for first-time managers/leaders. Among other topics, the program covers:

-Building trust and dealing with conflict on your team (including giving feedback)

-Understanding your motives, values, and strengths

-Improving your relationship awareness (including better communications)

-Creating your purpose and vision

-Defining an objective, setting goals, establishing a strategy, and measuring results

Feel free to email me ([email protected]) to receive an alert when the course goes live.

In conclusion, working with high-performing fundraisers requires that managers and leaders become talent developers. Many of their best people are ambitious, and if they feel they are not advancing, they will move on to work work with an organization and a leader who will support their ambitions.

David Langiulli is an executive coach and trainer who helps nonprofit professionals and their teams flourish, thrive, and get results.