7 Paths

The August 11, 2008 issue of BusinessWeek addressed a need I’ve noticed locally. Top nonprofit leaders are retiring and there is big need for training new nonprofit leaders to fill the talent gap.

I’ve consulted with five nonprofits in the last fifteen months and two of the executive directors, or forty percent of those I worked with, have either retired or will by the end of the year. A third executive director told me that he hopes to retire when he turns 62 in the not too distant future.

The BusinessWeek story quotes a study done by the Meyer Foundation and CompassPoint Nonprofit Service found that “three-quarters of nonprofit executive directors plan to leave their jobs by 2011.”

American Express, BusinessWeek says, has created a week long Nonprofit Leadership Academy to teach leadership to nonprofit employees who will be the next leaders in the nonprofits.

Having spent my entire career working in the nonprofit world, I’m keenly aware of the need to address one of “the nonprofit world’s acute problems—the lack of well-trained managers.”

Five years ago I co-founded Evergreen Leaders to provide affordable leadership training to nonprofit staff. This summer we hired our first staff member in the Chicago area and we’ll be looking for partners there to work with us to provide leadership training to nonprofit employees who will be the next generation of the nonprofits leaders.

Nonprofits do essential work for the vulnerable people in our communities and they need effective leaders to thrive as organizations.

Maple City Health Care Center (MCHCC) knows how to tell the stories of its treasure through themes of table, home, and journey. In one of these stories, neighbors speaking different languages join together to replace the roof of their home office. We get a glimpse into the powerful impact of stories of transformed lives at MCHCC.

“We realized that more than the roof had been changed. Some of the neighborhood volunteers became patients. All of the patients who helped with the roof are now donors. The donors who helped with the roof now feel part of the neighborhood.

 

“Ten years later, Ricky, one of the men who helped replace the roof, was inside the Center as a patient. As he walked through the hall, he proudly pointed skyward and announced to all within earshot, “I put on the roof. This is my building.”

MCHCC’s stories illustrate their commitment not just to provide affordable health services, but to meet deep human needs of nourishment, belonging, and adventure.

“The point of stories is to connect in narrative ways with people,” shares Dr. James Gingerich. It’s not just the big articulated value. Anyone can relate to a story, in a more basic way. We tell these stories talking to new staff, or churches.”

Gingerich also described how MCHCC uses stories in staff and board meetings to remember what defines their values. The board participates through a circle dialogue process to share about the vision of the organization.

Through powerful storytelling and deep listening, MCHCC thrives in several ways:

• The center has a strong sense of identity and purpose.
• When making tough choices, they base decisions on the character revealed in the organization’s stories.
• The center can powerfully convey their impact through something more than statistics.
• Members find a place of meaning and deep relationships.

There is power in telling our stories. They connect with people at a deep level. They remind us of what we’re about, who we are, and the vision of transformed lives.

Through Evergreen Leaders’ sustainable fundraising consulting, we emphasize the importance of polishing treasure stories of transformed lives. Not only is it important to inspire potential donors, to inspire a team of fundraisers, but also to remind the organization of the significance of its efforts.

Organizations we consult for find that there is far more support out there than what they could imagine. Storytelling renews their morale and strengthens their support base.

MCHCC does little direct appeals for funds, sending one letter per year to regular supporters. I wonder what would happen if they broadened their appeals with the power of their stories?

Read more of Dr. James Gingerich’s thoughts On Hope and On Boards.

Organizations thrive on the treasure of meeting deep human needs and being a great work place.

Last week I completed a three week vacation (the first two wonderful weeks were lots of travel, children and grandchildren) with a week of silence.

I spent the week in St. Louis. Monday through Friday I did not speak to anyone other than to order coffee or lunch. I read, wrote in my journal, and wrote three poems a day, allowing my soul to search for meaning.

In the evenings I visited with my daughter and her husband’s whose home I was staying at.

As CEO of Evergreen Leaders and a pastor of Plow Creek Fellowship my days are filled with sound of conversation, the demands of plans, and motion from one task to the next.

It was a gift to be still.

It was good to let silence flow into me. By Friday morning I was ready to return to my life of blessing, honesty, and sharing words of liberation with those who find themselves trapped.

Over the years I have noted that when I return from vacation I have the energy and vision to deal with longstanding issues in the organizations I serve. I look forward to that burst of creativity.

We humans have built in 90-minute rhythms, according to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.

Our productivity has a natural ebb and flow. About 90 minutes into a task that requires concentration we begin to lose concentration. However, if we take a break for a few minutes, we recover and we’re ready to concentrate again.

In their book, Loehr and Schwartz mention an executive who experimented with breaks and discovered that if he periodically stopped to juggle for a few minutes, he had renewed focus and energy. The juggling took his mind completely off his work and when he returned to the task at hand, he increased his productivity.

Since I spend a lot of time writing, I’ve begun experimenting with taking breaks to make a move in online chess games. Chess uses an entire different part of my brain than my usual work. ChessCircle is a great website that makes it possible for me to play 3-4 games at one time. I usually make one or two moves in each game each day as part of my work-renewal rhythm.

Lately I’ve been reading a brutally honest book, Leading with a Limp: Turning Your Struggles into Strengths by Dan B. Allender, Ph.D.

“Leaders are dangerous. They can bite without provocation,” he says, “or at least without logic, and it is best to stay out of their way or you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”

In the early 1990’s I discovered how dangerous leaders can be. For six years I worked closely with one of the founders of Plow Creek. I looked up to him and learned much from him. He had a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and many gifts as a leader.

When he took a position in our denomination, I succeeded him as lead elder. He continued as a member of our communal group and was supportive of my leadership.

Then he disclosed a secret history of sexual misconduct that included abuse of children. He disclosed the misconduct when he realized he could no longer silence the family of one of the victims.

Talk about betrayal. Our community went into shock. I struggled to pick up the pieces. People kept coming to me and pouring out their stories of pain–not only pain from the actions of the Plow Creek leader but also the missteps and betrayals of other leaders.

I remember sitting in my office at 3:00 a.m. weeping after having heard a particularly painful story told by a woman the night before, a story where I could easily imagine myself making the same mistake as the leaders who had wounded her so deeply. “Who can possibly be a leader?” I wondered.

Reading Allender’s book, I thought of that dark night of the soul. Out of that painful crisis I continued to lead but with much more humility. I became what Allender calls, “a reluctant leader.

“Reluctant leaders don’t aspire to hold power;” Allender says, “in fact, they avidly work to give it away. They attempt this even as they use power to create a context where power is used fairly, wisely, and with checks and balances.”