Did you miss yesterday’s live broadcast of A Day in the Life of a Young Nonprofit Executive Director? You missed an amazing discussion, but have no fear. You can click on the link or listen below to the archived show.
On my radio show yesterday, we had an incredible discussion about leadership with four nonprofit executive directors under 40 (see their full bios here):
- Trista Harris, Headwaters Foundation for Justice
- John Mark Eberhardt, The Steward’s Staff
- Bridget Clark Whitney, Kids Food Basket
- Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts
In a special 90 minute episode, my guest shared insights about the paths they took to become an executive director, the responsibilities they have as the head of the organization, how they use social media in their leadership role, their strategies for managing staff, how they build relationships with funders, and their approach to work/life balance. They even talked about their salaries!
It was probably the most candid radio show I’ve had so far. What did listeners think?
Last year’s report, Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out painted a grim picture of the future of nonprofit leadership and the barriers young people face in becoming executive directors. Yet Trista, John Mark, Bridget and Laura debunked all the myths and proved that young people CAN lead and we can do it OUR way. You can read my detailed notes on Twitter using #youngeds. But here are my main takeaways from the conversation. What were yours?
Young People Already Have the Skills to Lead
Both Trista and Laura said they found their ED jobs about 10 years before they thought they were ready. But they realized that they were ready much earlier than that, because they got the jobs! Trista said it was a stretch to move into that leadership role, but you realize you already know most of what you have to do. All of my guests had a ton of skills when they came into the job, and were able to leverage them along with their mentors (and “antimentors’) to help them in their ED job. One Twitter listener put it this way:
The Path to Leadership is Not Linear
Each of my guests took a wildly different path to becoming an ED. Bridget went from being an intern to ED because she was the one who helped the founder during the start of the organization. John Mark founded his nonprofit after many successful and financially lucrative roles in the corporate world. Trista went from being a fundraiser to a grantmaker to running an entire foundation. And Laura used both her passion and skills in the arts to parlay into her ED role. There is no one size fits all path to get to the top job, if that’s what you aspire to do. Taking the risk and putting yourself out there was the only common thread to success for my guests.
Young People Hate Hierarchy and Seek to Change the System
What was most interesting to me was that each of my guests have created a flat/collaborative/empowering management structure in their organizations. None of them are fond of micromanagement by their board or of micromanaging their staff. What that says to me is young people hate hierarchy and when given the opportunity to lead, they will change the system. All of my guests value and trust the wisdom of the team. Bridget tells a story of having staff who are all older than she is, so she uses email as little as possible. John Mark talks about the challenge of enforcing the vision when your staff are your peers. Yet none of my guests use their top-down prerogative to keep staff in check. Another interesting theme was that both Bridget and John Mark pay some of their staff more than they earn as an ED, either because their staff have more experience than they do or because they choose to sacrifice so their staff can be happy with their compensation.
Salary is Relative and Can Be Enhanced
None of my guests seemed thrilled with their salaries, but their happiness with their jobs outweighed any monetary benefits. None of them do this job for the money, but the passion for the work. Laura put it perfectly:
If you think the executive director job is too much work for too little pay, you’re right.
Guest agreed that everyone has a choice to make more money in other sectors, but if you want this job with more money, you have to use your leadership to change it. Bridget shared that her board agreed to pay for her Master’s degree – sweet! Guests also shared ways that they enhance their income – through consulting, speaking engagements, and Trista even started a drycleaning business and sells products like Do Good Guides through her blog.
Work/Life Balance is Up to You
All of my guests benefit from spending time with their spouse and family when times get tough on the job. John Mark prays with his wife every morning and maintains a weekly date night. Trista tries to combine work travel with family time, such as her recent speaking engagement in Puerto Rico that she turned into a family vacation.
These are just a few highlights from the conversation, so be sure to listen to the entire discussion here! And if you know Trista, John Mark, Bridget or Laura, please thank them for sharing their precious time with us!
P.S. There will be no show next week in celebration of Thanksgiving! Be sure to mark your calendars for Wednesday December 2, 12pm EST: What Should Racial Diversity Look Like in the Nonprofit Sector with three very special guests!
Thanks for this excellent conversation. Hearing all of these young executive directors was inspiring. It’s good to hear others are facing some of the same issues!
Thanks for listening, Michon!