Securing needed financial resources is just the start of the average nonprofit leader's list of challenges. Work in this sector is often demanding, and successful leadership requires a unique set of traits. To name a few, nonprofit leaders need to have the humility to receive help, the finesse to balance creativity and productivity, and the ability to manage mission creep.
Below, five nonprofit leaders from Forbes Nonprofit Council pinpoint some of the biggest challenges that may be holding leaders back from making their organizations a success -- and some advice for overcoming them.
Clockwise from top left: Kohl Crecelius, Tom Drouillard, AnnMarie Zimmermann, Carrie Rich, Allison Summers. All photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Being Comfortable Receiving Help
We need to be OK with receiving help. Nonprofits don't work on the same value proposition as for-profit companies, which requires us to rely on the help and generosity of others. The sooner we can get solid board members and partners in place to compensate for the areas where our weaknesses lie, the better off our organization will be. – Kohl Crecelius, KK intl.
2. Balancing Innovation And Productivity
I think the biggest challenge for today’s nonprofit leaders is creating a culture that balances innovation and day-to-day productivity. Creativity obviously takes time and attention, but when budgets are tight and employees have full plates of responsibilities, it’s easy to focus on what needs to get done today instead of looking toward the long-term possibilities. At Alliance For Audited Media, we balance tradition with innovation through two key strategies: leveraging industry partnerships and investing in our employees. For the former, we partnered with a sister organization to develop a new tool which would have been costly if we built it on our own. And for the latter, we created a number of programs for employees to take the time to innovate. It’s crucial to let employees know that it’s OK to take time out of their day-to-day to consider ways to strengthen our organization. – Tom Drouillard, Alliance For Audited Media
3. Having Inconclusive Deadlines
Mission creep — or having a project deadline extend indeterminately — is the biggest challenge nonprofit leaders must overcome. There is constant emotional pull from volunteers, staff and major donors to expand services. Even worse is the intense pressure from grant-makers to fund programs instead of operating costs, or to come up with solutions to problems that have existed for centuries. It takes discipline to say "no" and courage to cut what is not mission critical. – AnnMarie Zimmermann, Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen
4. Working With A Complex Model
Most nonprofit organizations are merely service organizations under a different tax code, and they're not successful unless you can allocate labor and manage the workload. But unlike our for-profit friends, our model is more complex because our key stakeholders hold high expectations for our services for which we have an exceedingly low overhead maintained by a minimally paid staff and "free" volunteer labor. Great nonprofit leaders are willing to step up to this challenge to figure out how to motivate and engage both the volunteer leaders and paid staff to work in alignment — and then, of course, be willing to adjust multiple times over. – Allison Summers, Zonta International Foundation
5. Being Coachable
Both nonprofit and for-profit leaders tend to be stubborn and stuck in their ways. This character trait is often part of what leads to success; however, it takes a unique breed to be stubbornly committed to the nonprofit mission yet open to coaching. A nonprofit leader must be humble enough to accept and act on constructive feedback. – Carrie Rich, The Global Good Fund
