Fundraising Connection: 6 Nonprofit Leadership Learnings

Just because we are experts at fundraising doesn't mean we are great managers or leaders. Yet most of us who excel in our profession end up with management responsibilities—often with less training than we received when tackling our first direct mail appeals, websites or DRTV campaigns.

Here are six leadership lessons that I believe could help all of us to be even more successful.

1. MBGI?

Remember MBO? Management by objectives? It's a good management tool. How about MBWA? Management by walking around. Yes, it's important to interact with the folks on the front line. It's a good way to learn, teach and motivate. MBO is good. MBWA is good. But be careful of MBGI—management by good idea.

Too many otherwise strong people fall prey to MBGI. Every time an executive or board member has a new "marketing idea," people run around doing it, chasing after every new idea whether it really meets your business objectives or not.

If you have a plan, you don't have to do that. You refer to the plan. Compliment the board member or boss's brilliant idea. If it meets the objectives of the plan, execute it enthusiastically. If it doesn't, review the plan together and discuss whether or not you need to change the plan to accommodate the new idea. Nine times out of 10 the person with the big new idea sees the light and backs off in favor of you executing the well thought-through and approved plan you already have in place.

2. Hire for attitude—train for skills

Best case, of course, is to hire someone with great experience, strong skills and a positive attitude.

But if you have to choose, remember that in most cases, we can give people the experience and teach people the skills they need to succeed. But we can't change someone's attitude. And people with negative attitudes become a cancer in your organization.

3. The other side of micromanaging

Some of us are so afraid of being accused of micromanaging that we do more harm by not managing enough.

Empowering people beyond their ability can damage your organization—and damage the people.

I prefer the concept of "latitude within limits," in which leaders provide principles and boundaries so people learn and grow within a fixed and safe environment—without doing damage to our organizations or themselves. It's harder, because it requires real leadership, direction and coaching. But it works. And it's better for your team and your organization than allowing your staff to do something you know is wrong simply to avoid looking like a micromanager.

4. Ambiguity will always be interpreted negatively

That's what Tom DeLong of Harvard Business School teaches. Whether at work or at home, if you communicate unclearly or leave something open to interpretation, there's a strong likelihood that it will be interpreted in the worst possible way. The facts are friendly. Overcommunicate.

5. The whisper of the CEO

Rich Stearns, CEO of World Vision U.S., shared an important lesson he learned as he rose to the top of corporate America. He calls it "the whisper of the CEO."

Rich observed that the very things that help you to succeed on your way up the ladder—knowing the answer, passionately telling people what needed to be done, pounding the table—can backfire once you get to the top.

Many employees are so intimidated by senior management that if you even ask a question, it can send them scurrying away doing the wrong thing. Wrong because you might be wrong. Or wrong because they were too intimidated to hear you correctly. Or wrong because you really were just asking a question, not giving a directive.

We almost always want the people closest to the situation to think things through, not blindly obey directives from above.

Rich believes that the whisper of the CEO is actually heard more loudly than the shouts of others. So he wisely counsels us to cultivate this whisper, especially when under stress. People who are afraid can't think straight or creatively. So let's keep things calm enough so people can think well and solve problems effectively. It's better for our organizations and helps people develop critical thinking skills.

6. Can't cut yourself to greatness

We all have to regularly make sure we're being efficient. Cutting costs where we can while increasing revenue can be a recipe for success. But just cutting costs is usually a short-term fix. You can't cut yourself to greatness. Greatness usually requires growth.

If you embody—and model—these six principles, your entire organization can be more successful.

Tom Harrison is chair of Russ Reid and Omnicom's Nonprofit Group of Agencies. He also is chair of the NonProfit PRO Editorial Advisory Board. Reach him at tharrison@russreid.com.