One of my highlights of last week was being in Wisconsin and trying fried pickles for the first time. Man, were they delicious! I’m still thinking about the fun time I had exploring downtown Milwaukee with my friend Ian Bautista, President of United Neighborhood Centers of America and his beautiful family. There’s so much amazing green space there, a major departure from the concrete jungle that is Washington, DC.
I had the privilege of being in Milwaukee to work with Public Allies during their National Gathering. Several dozen Public Allies’ staff from around the country were in attendance for a week of fellowship, learning and leadership development. Now there are a lot of great organizations out there, but I gotta tell you, Public Allies is the real deal. From the moment I walked into the room, the energy, passion and commitment of the staff was overwhelming. They are truly leaders helping leaders.
I gave a keynote outlining ideas for new leadership for a new nonprofit sector where I talked a lot about the four kinds of leaders I think we need now in order to effect social change.
- True Believers
- Ruthless Innovators
- Ambassadors of Diversity
- Courageous Advocates
I also presented a couple of workshops on leadership and Generation Y. During each of these sessions, there was a recurring theme: personal responsibility.
We acknowledged the challenges we face in the nonprofit sector – as employees, volunteers, consultants and supporters of our individual causes as well as the sector as a whole. We talked about how the lack of funding can hinder the growth of essential leadership development programs. We talked about the tensions between generations in the nonprofit workplace. We talked about the doom and gloom because we’re realists. But we also had some powerful conversations about the roles that each of us can (and do) play in organizations.
The current state of nonprofit leadership doesn’t have to be resigned to the status quo. This is not “just how it is.” We can change the nature of nonprofit culture because we are nonprofit culture. The nonprofit “sector” is made up of individual organizations, which are made up of individual people, which means that this is all up to us. It is what we make it to be. So, when are we going to start being the change we say we wish to see?
And if not us, then who? Who?
