Jennifer E Goldman, Nonprofit Consultant

I spent five years as Executive Director for a small nonprofit organization in Northern Virginia and I constantly felt like I was running behind the 8-ball…and never catching up. It felt as if I could do that job 24/7 and never have any less to do. I was the proverbial chicken running around with its head cut off. And then I started my own company. Foolishly thinking I’d be a better boss than my board. Turns out that 8-ball scenario was all my own doing and that damn thing kept on rolling ahead of me, always just beyond reach. So I stopped running. After a year in business, working seven days a week, at all hours, I sat down (though I have no idea where I found the time) and thought to myself, “I did NOT start a business to run myself into the ground!” And the changes began. It was time to slow my roll. Let someone younger and faster go chasing magic balls. I’ma sit right here and figure out a better way. At that point, a winery was one of my clients and they needed a ton of ...

You’re a nonprofit leader. People are in awe of what you can accomplish; how much you can get done in a day. But are you a manager? Do you ever feel like you’re so mired down in the day-to-day minutiae that you just don’t have time to see the big picture? No time to implement new processes or ideas? Being an Executive Director is a BIG job especially when you’re leading a little organization, one with little to no staff, save for you. And that’s when it’s especially important to operate like a manager; like the CEO that you are. In my experience as a former (“recovering”) Executive Director, our board met once a month and it somehow always turned into an idea mill. By the end of those meetings, board members had scads of new, fabulous ideas. For ME to plan and implement. My to-do list got longer every time they met. Not to mention all the suggestions and ideas I fielded from donors and well-meaning community members. So what’s an ED to do with a to-do list a mile long (and growing) and...

  Have you ever heard the words that come out of your mouth and thought, “Why did I say that? That sounded so dumb.”? Or re-read the email (after you hit send, of course!) and totally criticized yourself for sounding small ? I’m guilty of self-analyzing. A LOT. Really, I spend so much time thinking about the things I say, write, do, and think that I should be paying me for therapy. I’d be rich! I remember one of the members of my board, when I was running a nonprofit organization, telling me to stop using “wimp words”. That’s what he called them. Words and phrases I would use to soften my ideas, cushion my thoughts, or qualify my opinions. I’m still guilty of doing many of these things. However, I’m making an effort to be more intentional with my words and how I use them. I don’t want to sound wimpy. I want to sound like a strong, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful person who has (sometimes) really good ideas, and (always) valid opinions. I’m still learning to stop packing myself in...