Lately I’m being approached to do things. My recent visibility is definitely the catalyst. I began a quest to amplify my voice in writing this year. The result has been invitations to speak, to write, to moderate a few panels, and to participate as a panelist.
 
What’s interesting about those invitations is what accompanies them. Not to put too fine a point on it… they all come with a mute button. Which is amusing because what attracted those invitations was, quite simply, my decision to unmute myself.
 
The directive? “We need you to be positive”.
 
Recently I was given a pre-written script to follow.
 
Me: “If you don’t trust me to do this without a script, why did you ask me?”
 
Them: “Well, we just need you to be positive.”
 
No, you don’t. What you need is for me to be the person who wrote that thing which made you say, “She should be part of this”.
 
Reminder: I was a full-time Executive Director for over 30 years in only one organization. I know what it’s like to be on mute.
 
Here’s what Nonprofit Leaders think is terrifying…
 
Making a decision
Saying no
Confronting and dealing with problem Staff
Admitting you’re wrong
Bringing just about anything to the Board
Building a team with strengths you don’t have
 
Here’s what is TRULY terrifying —> Living your life in fear of (and at the effect of) a group of unpaid and influential community members just so you can keep your job
 
Oops. There I go again, not being “positive”.
 
Here’s the thing. Positive or negative is an interpretation of your leadership, and neither one is a useful yardstick. Here is something much more useful…
 
As a leader, are you being cause or effect?
 
Are you causing something to happen? And are you doing it with power rather than force?
 
Or are you reacting to everything? And is it causing you anxiety, frustration, stress… and ultimately failure?
 
Every day I wake up, I choose leadership. I walk the line, and it’s uncomfortable. You may read this column every week and think it’s easy for me. It isn’t. I have to consciously unmute myself many times every day.
 
“Well, you’re not a full-time Executive Director anymore, so you can say what you want”. (If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard this…)
 
Listen. At no time did I ever “say what I want”.
 
I said what needed to be said. And I did it all the way through those 30+ years.
 
I tied every decision, every idea and every risk though the knothole of mission.
 
They didn’t keep me there because I was “positive”. They kept me there because I was cause.
 
How did I survive an organization crashing down around me early on, and rebuild it from scratch?
By being cause.

How did I find the guts to partner with the Board Chair to deal with a problematic Board member?
By being cause.
 
How did I cultivate a Board willing to set aside personal agendas in favor of serving the Mission?
By being cause.
 
How did I summon the courage to confront lazy or defiant Staff?
By being cause.
 
How did I phase out fundraising ventures everyone loved, but had reached their expiry date?
By being cause.
 
How did I achieve a $1MM+ budget in a small community, year after year?
By being cause.
 
Not “positive”.
 
CAUSE.
 
That’s how you move mountains in a nonprofit organization.
That’s how you raise money.
That’s how you fulfill the Mission.
 
And THAT is how you keep your job, my fellow Nonprofit Leaders. By being cause.
 
Want help? I offer individualized coaching and consulting specifically tailored to meet you where you are, with the people and resources you have available to you, and with your goals in mind.
 
Reply to this message directly to set up a conversation. Even if we don’t end up doing work together, I promise our conversation will highlight a direction and solutions you haven’t yet considered.
 
Let’s start there.