In honor of National Nonprofit Executive Director Appreciation Day, we’re pleased to share some ideas about the important role that organizational leaders play in effective communications, particularly during times of change. Since change is just about the only constant that nonprofits can count on these days, the topic seems an especially relevant one as supporting change becomes an ever more important part of every nonprofit leader’s job.

Our colleague Laura Peck at Claros Group has put together a brief article illuminating the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of communicating change and how leaders can support people through change. She also includes some hard-won lessons about communicating change to your internal team and external stakeholders:

• Have a clear strategy for communicating up front about the change.
• Recognize that resistance (certainly “theirs”, maybe your own) is a normal part of implementing change.
• Create involvement and opportunities for input whenever possible.
• Be creative in how you solicit feedback and engage people.
• Model the behaviors you are asking for in others. As Gandhi reminds us, “We must be the change we wish to make in this world.”

Share the article with your favorite change leader or your team and take a moment today to show your appreciation for the nonprofit leaders who have dedicated their careers to a cause.

(Image courtesy Flickr user chintermeyer, Creative Commons)

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Holly Minch is LightBox Collaborative’s chief engineer and founder.

With the holidays fast approaching, we recently got to thinking: how do holidays start? What has worked before? A pagan ritual, a president’s birthday, a revolutionary war. But, what you really want is: a) something worth celebrating, and b) the gumption to declare a special day to celebrate it. Luckily, at LightBox Collaborative, we have both.

That’s why we’re declaring next Thursday, November 18, 2010 as National Nonprofit Executive Director Appreciation Day!

(That’s the third Thursday in November, for those of you eager to save the date for next year). Think of it as a special giving of thanks before the more general Thanksgiving one week later. If you want to get technical about it though, you’ll need an act of Congress to get a new long weekend out of it.

Who would argue with the idea that nonprofit executive directors deserve our thanks? Being an executive director is an extremely difficult job, requiring a broad range of professional skills, from leadership ability to financial acumen, and a strategic mind to marketing chops. Let’s not forget interpersonal skills like facilitation and mediation, plus a way with communications.

The job involves considerable sacrifices too, often involving long hours for low pay—usually far lower than what the same people could earn in the private sector. However, money is not the motivation. Our nonprofit executive directors have dedicated their career to a cause. They advocate for a healthier environment, provide services to those in need, fight for social and economic justice—simply put, they do good. For these reasons and many more, we at LightBox Collaborative believe nonprofit executive directors deserve their own day to be celebrated.

Now, without that act of Congress I mentioned, we can’t give all our executive director friends the day off, nor can we promise cash prizes (but, we already know that they’re not in it for the money, right?).

What we can offer in recognition of all of their hard work is the opportunity to be heard.

Our colleagues at CompassPoint and the Meyer Foundation have launched a new research project, Daring to Lead 2011, a survey of nonprofit executive directors in the United States. The survey is designed to reveal useful information about the career paths, tenure, challenges, and professional development needs of nonprofit executive directors.

The two previous Daring to Lead surveys, published in 2001 (PDF) and 2006 (PDF), produced a wealth of data about the state of the nonprofit field and the roles executive directors play. This year’s survey promises to project that knowledge into a new decade, and provide an opportunity for appreciating all of the hard work that nonprofit executive directors do.

If you are an ED: first, thank you!

Second, why not take a few minutes to fill out the Daring to Lead survey and tell us about the challenges you face and what you need to be more successful? The deadline to participate is Friday, November 19.

If you’re not an ED, please take a moment to send a note of thanks to your favorite executive director and let them know how much you appreciate their work (and while you’re at it, send them a link to the survey).

Let us know how you will celebrate National Nonprofit Executive Director Appreciation Day on November 18!

(Image by Pete Prodoehl, Creative Commons.)

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Holly Minch is LightBox Collaborative’s chief engineer and founder. She hopes to see you at her November 15 CompassPoint workshop on “Branding is Bonding.”

When my friend Mary-Beth has to tell you a hard truth to hear, she lets you know it’s coming with a gentle warning: “Now, that’s a spicy meatball!”

This is fair warning because hard truths aren’t always easy to serve—and by definition, they sure aren’t easy to digest. But truth-telling—especially the hard truths—can be the greatest gifts we can offer our organizations, our colleagues, and ourselves.

Recently, I delivered a research report to a much-respected and well-beloved client. The report was the culmination of a deep dive into the organization: interviews with leaders, months of conversations, and plenty of hands-on work with their team.

Some of our research findings were glowing success stories of impact and achievements that advanced their field. But some findings weren’t so glowing. The LightBox Collaborative team labored over these sections of the report, revising until each word was chosen just so. We worked to deliver the news with the dignity, respect—and yes, hard truth—that their important work deserved. But, on the day we delivered the report, I still had a pit in my stomach…

Because truth-telling is scary. For the person doing the truth-telling, it can feel like confronting the Great and Powerful Oz. For the person on the receiving end, it can feel a lot like being compared to the Emperor with No Clothes. For both parties, it can trigger fears of power, exposure, recrimination, and retaliation. Truth-telling is risky business.

But, in that risk lies the true power of telling it like it is. Truth-telling means that you are willing to break from the status quo to push toward something better. Truth-telling is an expression of integrity. Candor, tempered with respect, is a gift. Telling it like it is, well, is an act of leadership.

So, what’s the spicy meatball you should be serving up? What’s the truth waiting to be told?

(image courtesy Flickr user pcarpen, Creative Commons)
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Holly Minch is LightBox Collaborative’s chief engineer and founder, helping do-gooders be stronger, more strategic leaders. By far, her favorite meatballs are at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack in San Francisco.

I’ve seen too many great ideas slain by consensus. Death by a thousand cuts indeed.

In theory, consensus sounds like a smart way to assure agreement for a course of action, promote ownership among staff, and get your team on the same page. The reality is, however, that the process of reaching consensus more often causes frustration, stalls progress, and lowers morale. Not to mention how much time it takes. And seeing that time is the most precious resource available to nonprofits, and philanthropies, why waste it?

My theory is that consensus is used as a crutch by passionless, fearful leaders. Leaders are chosen to lead because they have demonstrated that they possess the right knowledge, skills, and commitment. They have earned the trust they need to lead. A leader with passion for an idea makes a powerful case, take the reins, takes ownership, and makes decisions. Sure it can be risky, but risk is the stuff of leadership.

Now, don’t mistake me here. Buy-in is vital. The people who do the work—who will implement the big idea and carry the real water—absolutely have to believe it’s the right idea. I believe the currency of buy-in is one part passion and one part pragmatism.

Take the time to explain how your decision solves the problem at hand, and to inspire people to get behind your choice. Chances are they’ll appreciate how you respected their scarce and valuable time, all while taking the first step to a clear course of action. That’s how you build buy-in.

But consensus is another beast entirely. And consensus kills.

(image courtesy Flickr user Okinawa Soba, Creative Commons)