The Little Person in Each MGO

There is likely someone reading this that is impatiently saying, “Ah, come on. Let’s get back to the real stuff! All of this chatter about emotions and inner voices is just a crock! Come on, step it up and get real! There is so much more important stuff to be talking about than this!”

And I would reply, “Yes, sir or madam, there is a lot of important stuff to talk about, and right now you are showing me how out of touch you are with yourself. Your feigned strength is only a cover up for your great fear and your great need. So, please stop and listen to what I am trying to say here.”

The fact is that every one of us has a little boy or little girl inside that is constantly talking to us about their fears. And those voices can get pretty loud sometimes, drowning out reason and practicality—which is why I like to talk about it and why, I believe, it is so important to do so.

What do these little people often look like? Here are the ones I have encountered in my work and life journey:

1. The scared little person. This person spends a great deal of their time, every day and night, worrying about what could go wrong. In fact, more time is spent on managing what might happen versus what could happen. In major gifts, this person doesn't try anything—they mostly maintain their caseload and react to donors versus take initiative.
2. The angry little person. This person is deeply angry with a lot of things. But in major gifts, this person is fundamentally upset that others are successful and wealthy. And so there is resentment about the success of the donor, which makes for a very difficult relationship.
3. The know-it-all. This person has done everything and tried everything, and there is nothing you can tell him or her about how to improve their productivity in major gifts. I have dealt with many of these little people, and I have to keep reminding myself that this apparent arrogance is really fear.
4. The little person who feels inadequate. This person doesn't have enough training, doesn't know how to do things, doesn't have the information, doesn't have cooperation from others, doesn't have support of management, etc. And these are the reasons they don't do what they should.
5. The little person who can't take criticism. This person is very defensive. Every suggestion or idea is met with a wall. It is very hard to guide this person down a track of success without encountering many blocks and difficulties.
6. The lonely little person. This person is starved for relationships and spends most of his or her time with donors filling their needs versus doing the work. In fact, some of these relationships get so off point and deep that they are very difficult to unravel.

These are just a few of the little people I have met. I am sure there are many more, but you can see that the common theme in each of them is fear. Fear is what grips and ruins us—all of us. And that is why it is so good to face it, just like Robert did.

You may have all the technical knowledge about major gifts. You may have years of experience. You may have a great cause to present to donors. You may have a caseload of the best donors. But you will fail because fear grips you.

This is why it is important to be kind and compassionate to the little person inside. Help them with their fears and assure them everything will be OK. Believe me, once you take care of this business you have no idea how much better you will feel and how much easier and happier your work will become.

Richard