10 Keys to Succeeding in Nonprofit Leadership (That No One Tells You)
Successful nonprofit leadership isn’t just plug and play. Every nonprofit is different. Every leader brings different skillsets, strengths, and weaknesses.
And every nonprofit leader spends a lot of time learning on the job.
They learn what matters, what doesn’t, and how to tailor their leadership skills and energy to support each specific organization.
I’ve run five different nonprofits—and coached hundreds of executive directors—and along the way I’ve discovered 10 keys to successful nonprofit leadership that almost all of us wish we’d known sooner.
1) Successful Nonprofit Leadership Should Be Mission-Centered
You will almost always make better decisions when you use your nonprofit’s mission as your north star. This sounds obvious, but many nonprofit leaders make important decisions based on cost, ease, or expediency (nonprofits always seem to be on a budget or in a rush) or based on what a board member, influential stakeholder, or key donor wants.
Don’t fall into this trap.
“Every nonprofit board and every nonprofit executive director will make better decisions when the mission guides leadership decision-making. ”
There is academic research to back this up. For example, when deciding to launch a new program, don’t do it because it's sexy or everyone else is doing it. Don’t do it to beat your competitors to the punch. Do it because it helps you reach your mission.
When hiring someone or making any expenditure, ask yourself, “Will this help my nonprofit reach the mission?” It’s so incredibly clarifying and disciplined. Plus, it feels really good to have a measuring stick. Ask your board to do the same with every decision they make, too.
2) Nonprofit Leadership Is About Doing the RIGHT Things (Not Just Doing Things Right)
Successful nonprofit leadership requires being strategic—especially in how you use your organization’s precious resources to accomplish your mission. In other words, nonprofit leaders should spend time taking a step back to see the forest and not just the trees.
Nonprofits can get so caught up in metrics, outputs, and deliverables that they forget what will actually make a difference in the world.
For example, are you delivering 1,000 chocolate chip cookies to hungry people every day? Sure, that’s 1,000 tummies with food in them, but is it the right choice?
Some charities don’t want to know whether or not their programs are making a substantial difference. There is too much ego and funding at stake if they admit they aren’t changing the game at all.
Transformative nonprofit leadership means focusing on doing the right things instead of simply doing what’s been promised, what’s easy, or what’s convenient politically. This is not always easy. But it always matters.
3) Successful Leadership Requires Being the Top Fundraiser in the Organization
Nonprofit leaders need to be the top fundraisers in their organizations. Even if you think you hate fundraising, even if you’ve hired stellar staff and consultants, successful nonprofit leaders MUST see themselves as fundraisers too.
Fundraising is one of the top priorities for executive directors that I coach—and for good reason.
As a nonprofit leader, you need to be the one closing the biggest gifts and brokering relationships with the biggest funders. You need to be playing a role in creating the conditions for fundraising success.
This means opening doors, showing up for key solicitation conversations, and creating some of the most powerful messaging for your team.
4) Managing the Board Is Central to Nonprofit Leadership (Even if It’s Not Always Easy)
You are going to spend more energy than you like and than you expect developing the board you want.
This means carefully scouting, recruiting, onboarding, training, and engaging board members. You need to build trust so that your board trusts you. You want your board to have your back in a crisis. Build trust with them now.
Here are 4 ways to build trust with your board…
The more transparency, the better. Boards don’t like surprises. Don’t conceal a funding cash-flow issue by skipping a paycheck and never telling the board. This act of “selflessness” is masking a critical area of financial risk that the board needs to know about.
I won’t say overshare, but err on the side of including the board in major staffing, programmatic, and revenue updates.Don’t blow smoke up the board’s butt. If there is some bad or challenging news, share it if it matters. What the board cares more about is that you have it under control. If it is all sunshine and rainbows, the board may worry they are being kept in the dark.
Help the board do its job. The board is made up of volunteers. Help make their job easier by assisting the chair with the agenda and meeting reminders. Support the board committees where needed.
Have regular calls with your chair to make sure you are both aligned on big and ongoing issues.
Want a complete on-demand training for Building a Rockstar Board? Click here.
5) An Employment Contract Matters for Leadership, Too
I support protections for all workers and have supported unions most of my life. A powerful feature of worker protections is contracts. But too few nonprofit leaders have contracts that protect them from being fired without cause.
I am a huge advocate for employment contracts for nonprofit executive directors. And it is never too late to get one.
Here’s why: If you work purely “at-will” as a nonprofit leader or executive director, you can be fired at any moment for any reason, with no severance pay, hearing, process, or other protections. If you dedicate your life to service, you should have protections so that you can’t be fired without cause. Even if you are in an “at-will” employment state, contracts supersede that law.
“You want to be able to blow the whistle when you see misconduct. You want to be able to argue with board members without fearing for your job. You don’t want a band of volunteers controlling your livelihood. Get a contract. ”
I’m so passionate about employment contracts for nonprofit leaders that I’ve created a sample employment contract that you can easily adapt.
6) Protect Your Brain and Body, or You and Your Leadership Both Suffer
In the nonprofit world, we often believe that “giving our all for the cause” is a requirement of successful leadership. Many nonprofit leaders are passionate about the work. They devote countless hours (evenings, weekends, etc.) and place few boundaries on their time, energy, or availability.
At first, this can feel incredibly rewarding and even fun. Sometimes, as leaders, we even quietly love the martyr complex of appearing like the hero.
But eventually, other areas of your life start to pay the price. Time with loved ones. A healthy diet. Regular exercise. All get pushed to the side.
As someone who has been in this sector for 34 years and has burned out before, here is the hard truth:
“You will not be useful to your organization, causes, loved ones, or yourself if you are burnt out.”
The reality is that, in order to be a successful nonprofit leader long-term, you must learn to protect your mind, body, and energy. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, there are ways to set boundaries and still be a successful nonprofit leader.
You can start by watching this training for nonprofit leaders on how to get more money and rest.
Even better, you can create a 4-day workweek that will benefit you and your entire team. You can also decide to have fewer meetings, a professional development budget, vacations, sabbaticals, and more.
We need you in this field for a long time. Take care of your brain and body.
7) Never Send Draft 1 (Let Cooler Heads Prevail)
I learned this painful lesson early on. As an executive director, your actions, temperament, attitude, and executive presence are a big part of your power. If you damage this, it can be very hard to recover.
When you are angry at a volunteer, board member, vendor, or coalition partner, write or type out your complaint. DO NOT send it. Let it simmer overnight. Hit delete and then write draft 2. Nearly 100% of the time, you will be happy you got your initial feelings off your chest, but even happier that you didn’t send your first draft.
“Successful nonprofit leadership requires exercising restraint and judgment in your interactions with all stakeholders.”
8) Nonprofit Leadership Means Being the CEO (The Chief of Enthusiasm and Optimism)
Would you donate money to a candidate if they admitted openly they couldn’t win? Nope!
So why would anyone want to join your organization as a donor or employee if they didn’t find the executive director convincing about achieving the mission? They won’t.
As a nonprofit leader, you should emanate confidence and conviction about the work ahead. This doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers, but if you don’t think the problem you are solving is solvable, the CEO role is not for you!
9) Programs Are Not Your Playground
It is very tempting to want to be the person organizing rallies, lobby days, vigils, or directly serving clients. Feel free to stay connected to the work by playing a role in these activities.
But the temptation to do the advocacy and activism or direct service work is not what you were hired for as your nonprofit’s leader and executive director.
There are 10 main areas of nonprofit leadership in the executive director role. Although you need to ensure programs are funded and effective, you have to be comfortable stepping back from the work you love. The board hired you to get results, and results require a holistic leadership approach to all ten areas of nonprofit leadership.
10) Take the Reins: Nonprofit Leadership Requires Leading
Most often, nonprofit boards are distracted and busy. They are looking for a leader to take the reins, show initiative, and drive the train. (All the metaphors apply here.)
Take control of your leadership by creating a vision, selling the board on that vision, selling your staff on that vision, and then shaping the organization to achieve that vision.
You are the CEO. Executive directors who passively go to their board for permission on every little thing or who send every small decision to the committee are relinquishing their power.
Every organization is different, and there are cultural considerations, flat structures, consensus models, and other things to take into account.
But in general, my advice is that you get an employment contract, build rapport with the board, raise the most money, be the CEO, and have a confident executive presence. When you put all this together, you will be able to shape and mold the organization the way you want.
If you’d rather take the backseat and let the board drive the train, it’s worth asking whether you are better suited to being an executive director or support staff. I hope as executive director, you’ll direct!
Bonus Tip: Successful Nonprofit Leaders Seek Advice and Community
The tips above represent a handful of critical truths you won’t find in a typical graduate program on nonprofit leadership. These are leadership lessons you learn in the field and on the job. But the good news is, you don’t have to learn them alone.
Even if you get a great orientation and onboarding experience as an executive director or if you are the founder of your organization, I always recommend getting advice from veteran leaders who have been through the grind. You can also seek out peer communities to network with other nonprofit leaders facing the same challenges.
If you want to step up your leadership and resources, my group coaching program is a great place to start. It offers a unique combination of expert coaching led by someone who has actually been a nonprofit executive director (me) and peer support.
