For most of us Development Directors, the selection of a new Executive Director is probably the single most important factor in whether or not we will enjoy and succeed at our jobs, or struggle in misery.
At El Museo del Barrio, where I work, Julian Zugazagoitia has just announced that he will be leaving his position to become the Director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. I will miss Julian profoundly, both personally and professionally.
Fortunately, El Museo is in a very strong position -- the staff is talented and motivated, and the board is unified and clear headed. I am very confident that the board will choose an effective leader to build on Julian's excellent tenure.
Still, this transition has caused me to reflect on what we Development Directors want from an Executive Director/CEO. Here are my top five priorities -- I'd love to hear yours:
1) The Director must be passionate about a vision and able to communicate that vision in a way that gets people excited. One of my favorite quotations is "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood." The Director must have that kind of fire in his or her belly -- even if it means continuously cutting through the cynicism and doubts of others.
2) The Director should be a manager, but not a micro-manager. Ideally, the Director should carefully track the organization's goals and hold direct reports accountable for delivering on their responsibilities. But frankly, if I had to choose between a micro-manager and a space cadet, I'd take the space cadet. A few strong deputies can fill in for a charismatic but unfocused boss. But micromanagement is a disease that will decimate a nonprofit. (And it is epidemic.)
3) The Director should be someone who, when in doubt, says "yes."
4) The Director should be someone who knows how to make decisions. Bad decisions are usually better than no decisions. Like micromanagement, the inability to make a decision renders your staff impotent.
5) The Director should love funders and fundraising. The four points above are all crucial to the success of a fundraising program. But just as crucial, the Director needs to respect his or her funders as partners, and should never perceive them as necessary evils. The Director must be eager to share plans with these stakeholders and ready to listen to their input. (And should take every possible meeting and arrive on time and well prepared.)
Those are my top five. What are yours?
Posts
Absolutely. Great stuff, Matt. Ultimately, I'm looking for CEOs who love donors and fundraising, and see it as a vital part of what they do, rather than a necessary evil.
ReplyDeleteI'm very lucky that one of my clients has a new-ish CEO who is absolutely wonderful. She genuinely wants to connect with donors, and is happy in a fundraising letter to encourage them to call her on her direct line.
Dreamy stuff for us fundraisers.
Matt, thanks for soliciting my feedback. I think that you raise some good points about micromanagement, having passion, and being able to say yes.
ReplyDeleteMy points come more from the basic warmth and understanding of human personalities and motivation that you need to be a good nonprofit leader.
My top five priorities for an executive director are:
1. The concept of servant leadership. This means constantly seeking to improve their own performance as leaders. This means asking everyone around them what they could do better, and being willing to be open about what they need to learn to make the organization as efficient and effective as possible.
2. Motivating people through telling the story of the nonprofit. This goes for both staff and funders. Understanding that there is a vision and mission already in place, but if they do not rally everyone around it time and time again, they will have an unruly staff on their hands. This will improve efficiency.
3. The ability to take personal responsibility for the nonprofit, and keep their word. To go to meetings when they say they will, and constantly be able to find and execute on new funding and partnership opportunities for the nonprofit. This will ALSO improve efficiency, and the bottom line.
4. Being willing to learn both how people prefer to communicate AND what motivates them, and give them what they need. Whether it's recognition with a plaque, compliments, staff retreats, or having a bring your weirdness to work day, to allow people to feel more at home in their office, and feel more positive about working long hours for low wages. This will reduce turnover, and again, be good for the bottom line.
5. Finally, an executive director must realize that they must be able to motivate the board to fundraise, and be able to ask for help in doing this. When they don't raise the money they need from the board, they must only point the finger at themselves. They must constantly be asking themselves, "What could I have done better?" They need to be willing to find the winning formula, and replicate it, without pushing from the development staff.
Thanks again Matt, great question.
http://wildwomanfundraising.com
Great topic and comments! I have become very fond of a new TV show called Undercover Bosses (or something to that effect). Corporate CEOs work along side their own employees without the employees knowing who they are. The result is heart warming. I recommend the show as a series of lessons in leadership. These CEOs are not too proud to get their hands dirty, they risk making fools of themselves, and they all emerge as "servant leaders," more concerned about their "people" than the bottom line. My other example has to do with a friend who is in development who recently got a new boss. She went from being strangled by an insecure micromanager to one who loves fundraising and is secure enough in his own abilities to freely mentor younger colleagues and give them the freedom to try new things and to advance. My friend went from always on the alert for a new job to loving her current one. These two examples pretty much covers what I would want to see in any boss, whatever the field.
ReplyDeleteNice list Matt, and one that hiring committees should read before they get very far in selecting a new ED.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your good points and also particularly think that Mazarine's point about being able to tell the organization's story is critical for fundraising. As you know, the ability to engage a potential donor, tell a story vs. spout off data and fundraising rhetoric, and serve as a genuine, passionate spokesperson is critical for any ED.
As a former ED, I'd also add that a genuine interest in listening is a critical quality for successful executive directors. They must want to listen to staff, board, volunteers, donors, constituents. "Seek first to understand and then to be understood" is a leadership principal that never fails.
Thanks for the post and good luck with the new boss.
Lisbeth Cort
http://www.cortcom.com
Hi Matt
ReplyDeleteThanks for directing me to your post. I really like your post, I wonder will your new boss read it!!
I agree with your points. When I have a new boss starting I want them to be someone who isn't going to throw out all the stuff that was done before, just because it is what the person before did. And believe me I have seen this happen.
I would also look for someone who is open to criticsm or at least debate on topics....my way or the highway just doesnt float my boat.
Most of all I want a leader, someone who inspires me to be great and do great things, someone I respect, someone I can work for (sounds obvious but some people make it hard to work for them)
Conor
Excellent points, Matt. I would add: (1) an ED who is collaborative (as opposed to autocratic.
ReplyDelete(2) one who sees development as part of the organization and not a part from it.
(3) who understands that development is about relationships (and not just about the bottom line of how much money is brought in).
(4) one who understands the Board's roles, and recruits Board members to fulfill those roles (and not just fawn over the ED).
(5) understands that it costs time as well as money (and resources) to raise money--and is generous in providing all.
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with number 1 from a theoretical standpoint I think it can be questionable in practice. Some times, idealism from your ED just ends up sounding irrelevant and can even warrant frustration and cynicism from the staff. I do agree that we want them to think big, but when numbers are too ambitious and not entirely feasible, it can lead to a feeling of hopelessness from normally optimistic staff people.
Hey Matt, thanks for the post and for generating this great discussion. I agree with many of the points that have been made here. What I'll add is specifically on the fundraising side, namely that I'd ask my board to ask itself: "is there a business/sector in the world in which understanding the revenue and growth side of the business doesn't come first and foremost?" And since the answer is, obviously, no, I would ask them to find me a passionate partner who is an articulate leader of the organization, who understands that who, where, and how funds come into the organization is her most important and strategic responsibility, and who will work together with me to build a revenue engine that will allow the organization to catapult its success and impact to new levels.
ReplyDeleteSome other thoughts here:
Nonprofit CEO Manifesto
The Simplest Nonprofit Ven Diagram Ever
Love your post Matt! Here's what I would add: I'd want an Executive Director who would recognize the talent around him/her and support it. And get out of the way. I would want someone who would trust me to do my job. The times when I've had that, I've had the most impact on fundraising.
ReplyDeleteSandy Rees, CFRE
Fundraising Coach
www.getfullyfunded.com
I think the basic principles here are spot on, but I take issue with some of the details. When in doubt, it might oftentimes be smarter to say, "no," depending on the risks involved. If an initiative has possible outcomes ranging from disastrous to slightly beneficial, the better answer is usually, "no." And isn't the ability to say "no" also fundamental to being a leader?
ReplyDeleteIt can also be added that an executive director must learn to find new ways and means to improve fund accounting, fund raising and payroll/HR management like using a nonprofit fundraising software or SAGE fundraising software for the organization.
ReplyDeleteIf you can find all 5, you'll be in great shape :) As I work with nonprofits, it sometimes seems like #5, fundraising, is the most important. The other tasks can be delegated to others, but fundraising has to remain at the top.
ReplyDelete