By Dennis C. Miller

We all know about the commitment and passion that nonprofit leaders bring to their organization to make a difference in the lives of others. You truly care about others and work tremendously long hours to generate a positive social impact in their communities, often with little financial reward.

The commitment to your respective mission and determination to succeed despite the ever-increasing challenges and obstacles is inspiring. Yet what is concerning is the inordinate amount of time and energy spend without the results and successes you hoped to achieve.

There are three key areas that every nonprofit leader needs to develop to be successful:

• Build successful relationships with staff;
• Engage their board members and form a strong CEO/Board Partnership; and, 
• Over communicate the positive impact their organization is having on those they serve. 

Any leader who hopes to create a winning organization must start with building strong internal relationships. Leaders who are able to bring out the best in others; whose leaders are able to make people feel important; and, whose leaders make people feel that their voices, concerns and actions do matter, are the leaders who will be successful. Poet and human rights activist Maya Angelou said “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. 

It is amazing how just listening to what employees have to say goes a long way to make them feel that their actions matter. Leaders must also learn that having formal authority through your organizational status will not earn you trust and respect from their staff. You win the hearts and souls of your employees by letting them know you are there for them. Successful leaders create a strong partnership with their boards. 

Though it is important for any nonprofit leader to understand their board’s fiduciary responsibilities and their role being a good business and strategic advisors, it is vital for the leader to welcome the board as true partners in the pursuit of their strategic goals. One of the best ways to create this partnership is to create an open dialogue about the key issues the organization is facing and learn how to best utilize the talents, experience and knowledge of their board members.

Always ask your board members for their ideas, thoughts and suggestions. Think about using the 50% rule, which is to make sure that on average half of your board meetings are open engaging discussions about key strategic issues. For example, after listening to the various board committee reports, have the board chair engage the entire board with a question such as “what is the impact we are having on the lives of those we serve” or “what distinguishes our organization from others.”

Far too many leaders believe “we are the best kept secret in town.” To become a successful nonprofit organization, leaders must measure and constantly communicate their success at every opportunity. A question for every nonprofit leader to think about is this — if your organization had a “nonprofit stock price,” what would the “stock” be selling for today? As a nonprofit leader it is vitally important to communicate the positive impact you are having on those you serve. 

How well do you measure and track this positive impact you are achieving for those you serve? To lead a nonprofit to greater levels of success, leaders must build strong relationships within their organization, engage their board members to become an active partner with them in achieving their strategic vision, and measure and communicate their achievements and “nonprofit stock price.”

It is especially important to know the success your organization is having on those you serve because “donors give to success, not distress.” Being the best kept secret in town is a recipe for failure.

*****

Dennis C Miller is the founder and chair of DCM Associates (www.dcm-associates.com) a national search firm that orchestrates nonprofit board and executive leadership coaching and CEO and C-Suite executive searches. His email is dennis@dcm-associates.com

The post Boards: 3 Areas NPO Leaders Need To Develop appeared first on The NonProfit Times.

Source From Non Profit Times