Are You Firefighting or Fireproofing Your Organization?

I attended an equity summit back in October. One keynote speaker was talking about futurism and that got me thinking about some of the struggles I see in the sector right now.

A lot of nonprofits have a hard time thinking about the future.

We're still very reactive. We're still reacting to the problem in front of us.?

We get stuck in solving those immediate problems, we get stuck in this cycle, and we forget to think about the future.?

So, how do we change that? How do we break the cycle? How do we think about the future? That’s one of the highlights of this week’s episode of Lead with Heart.?

How do you coach nonprofit leaders to break the reactive cycle??

How do you make nonprofit leaders start thinking about the future solution?

How do you bring a solution-oriented mindset to the table???

Kristin Harrington calls this firefighting. During episode 42 of Lead with Heart, Empowering Nonprofit Leadership Development and Growth, she shared the concept of firefighting vs. fireproofing

Firefighting vs. Fireproofing

“There is such a natural human tendency to want to react to the things that are in front of us. Address it, check it off our list, and then go on to the next thing. There's a satisfaction to it and typically it happens within the confines of a day or a few days.” — Kristin Harrington

The problem with this type of mindset is that it’s very short-term focused. And before you know it, it becomes the default, the “easy thing to do.”?

It's right there, why not just do it? Right?

Not quite.

What Kristin encourages all people in leadership positions to do — and we both know this might be a big challenge — is to build as much white space as possible into your calendar.?

“And if you're not familiar with the white space term, it means to hold intentional time where you challenge yourself to do nothing but think about the future.” — Kristin Harrington

And you don’t have to sit still to do this. Actually, it’s better if you don’t. Go for a walk, stretch, jump in the shower.

That’s when the best thoughts and ideas will come to you. Not in those moments when you’re overloaded and overwhelmed.?

That’s how you break the cycle of firefighting and instead start fireproofing the organization by thinking about the future.??

Succession Planning

Talking about this topic of fireproofing in episode 42 made me think of something I see happening time and time again in the nonprofits I work with.

There’s a lack when it comes to succession planning.

I've had organizations reach out to me and say, “I'm a founder. I've been the CEO for many years. I'm going to sunset my career. Now, I have to start succession planning.”

But your succession planning should have been built in from the beginning. And that’s the type of long-term thinking Kristin and I discussed on the podcast.

How can nonprofits begin to build on this idea of succession planning??

And I love how Kristin pointed out that “succession planning is just one piece of a people-investment strategy — or a people-focused strategy.”

She shares one of my core beliefs when it comes to nonprofits – we have to be mindful of the people who are employed within our organization just as much as we are of the people we're serving and supporting outside the organization.

“Because if there isn't strong health within the organization, odds are high your mission's not going very far [...] If we are creating these pathways for people within our organizations to move effectively, then we should also be thinking about who they are succeeding when future opportunities come open. And that goes all the way up to the highest level. I've seen succession plans really successfully executed in the nonprofit sector and it's done with a tremendous amount of intentionality with a very long-term focus to your point.” — Kristin Harrington

I love how Kristin really spoke my language when talking about this human-centered, people-centered big vision.?

I truly believe you have to carry out your mission internally just as much as you do externally to achieve the results and impact you desire as an organization.

Nonprofit teams often work in silos, which can lead to staff burnout and donor attrition, ultimately, hurts the people we serve. I help nonprofits raise more money through fundraising training, “done for you” fund development strategy, and campaign implementation.?

?? If you want to learn more about ways we can collaborate and work together, please visit my website, https://thesavvyfundraiser.com/.

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Subscribe and join me and my guests as we share strategies and practices they have used to heal from burnout, drive their missions forward, raise more revenue, and make a greater impact.?

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