Leading non-profits is basically like leading any endeavor, with a slight twist.
Non-profits have missions, the social purpose that qualifies them to be tax-exempt. What this often means is that team members are attracted by the mission, and motivated by their desire to have a positive impact on society. The non-profit leader thus must be aware of that motivation as a powerful lever for engaging and retaining people on your team, and propelling the entire team forward.
Compensation at non-profits has risen over the past few decades, as non-profits compete to find the most-qualified people to deliver high-quality services and programs that achieve real results. Yet it is still difficult for non-profits to meet the compensation packages offered by mid- to large-sized companies. Therefore there is limited utility in using compensation as a motivational tool. Thankfully, that's not why people are working at non-profits! To paraphrase James Carville's 1992 catchphrase, "it's the mission, stupid!"
How do you lead such a team? Some ideas that worked for me:
- Focus on why the organization exists and communicate to all staff the organizational mission.
- Photo Credit: h.koppdelaney via Compfight cc
- Articulate a vision for the impact the organization will have.
- Create a strategic plan that lays out the path for achieving the vision.
- Develop 4-5 core overarching goals for the entire organization, and pin some kind of all-staff reward to achieving those overall goals, to show everyone that the entire team is working toward and responsible for the entire organization, not simply their own job or area.
- Cascade the strategic plan goals throughout the organization, down to writing job descriptions that spell out how each individual job will contribute to reaching the overall goals and realizing the vision.
- Coach team members to keep the big picture in mind.
- Foster an organizational culture conducive to staff members taking leadership roles large and small, so they feel even more invested in the success of the organization.
- Acknowledge and celebrate successes, big and small, toward achieving the mission, and communicate those successes to the entire organization.
I will talk more about these and other methods in future posts. I'm interested, too, in learning about how you motivate your non-profit teams.
