Norm Rice, President & CEO of The Seattle Foundation knows that being consistent helps people feel safe. Being consistent with his values and the way he approaches problems also helps people understand the best way to dialogue with him
How do you know when to hold your ground and when holding your ground is for the wrong reasons? He offers 7 tips for non-profit leaders who want to create a solid foundation and make it to the finish line with success.
1) Are you in alignment?
The moment you say yes to a new project, ask yourself if your individual values match what you’re trying to accomplish. You may be a skilled leader, but are you the right fit for the position? Take time to understand what’s important to you and share your personal stories. As you take on a leadership role, people want to know about you as a person.
When asked to consider Presidency for The Seattle Foundation, Norm visited their website and read the 7 essential elements of a healthy community (environment, neighborhoods & communities, arts & culture, economy, education, health & wellness and basic needs.) He recognized how their values were perfectly aligned with his and began the job with a solid foundation.
2) Listen to hopes and aspirations.
In this environment of change, people crave consensus, but don’t necessarily know how to do it. More than ever, non-profit leaders need to learn the art form of incorporating everyone’s values. When meeting people, Norm asks himself, “How can I meet their objectives and still come together with our overall goal?” One of his greatest compliments was from a woman who questioned him about the anti-bussing campaign. After 20 minutes, she still hadn’t come to a conclusion but told Norm she felt like she’d been heard. People may forget your words, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. You don’t have to accept everything they say – it’s how you use what they say. You want to be able to say to people, “I made this decision because I heard you.”
3) Ask the right questions.
The beauty of Social Media is that more people can get involved. Everyone has an opportunity to express themselves and feel like what they say matters. Ask the right questions and you’ll have fewer people who want to be anonymous. Using blogs and Facebook, Norm asks questions like “What do you think a 21st Century Seattle should look like?” If your question is what’s wrong with schools, you’ll go off into a morass and never get an action plan. Rather than focusing on the barriers, frame all the information around your values and what you’d like to see happen.
4) Stay broad, but narrow enough to take action and reach your goals.
Clearly articulate where you want to go with your non-profit. Listen as people express their aspirations, then let the collective creativity flow where it will. Capture their hopes and channel those hopes into an action plan for change.
Follow a step-by-step process by letting the creativity of the community carry you without being too prescriptive. What’s lacking with many non-profits is the willingness to accept what’s being developed. People want someone who can be a champion for their aspirations and help them carry it to the finish line.
5) Get a balanced perspective from your board.
Maintain a diverse board that that will reinforce your strengths and help where you are weak. To have a strong foundation, enroll board members who aren’t like the leader. A healthy non-profit organization needs spirited discussions from people with many perspectives. The important thing is to bring all the different ideas back together at the end of each day and align them with your mission.
6) Can you find partners?
At the risk of sounding cliché, Norm advises non-profits to look for acquisitions and mergers. Are there collaborations that will make you more successful? While not every non-profit should merge, be open to ways of working together. By non-profits aligning their goals, they can create more money. Norm says, “Yes, there’s gold in them thar hills, but it’s got to be mined differently!”
7) Keep assessing your mission.
Sometimes you’ve gone as far as you can go. Non-profits have a tendency to say, “We’re it… We’ll be here forever.” Sometimes organizations can die from their own weight. You have to be nimble enough to know that NPOs are being looked at differently. People’s criteria for giving and their assessment after they’ve given have gotten even more rigorous. What does your non-profit deliver? Donors want to go online and see that they’ve made good giving decisions. Be able to walk away when you’ve had enough milestones to feel proud of your accomplishments. If you want a job because you need the job, you’ll start making the wrong decisions.
Norm’s skill of being grounded while able to change is something he’s developed over time. Pamela works with non-profit professionals to balance their natural abilities and use them more effectively.