Running a small nonprofit can be pretty lonely. Very often, whether we're the executive director or a senior manager or leader in the organization, we don't have peers in our role. In small shops, we're often the only ones responsible for our area of work. And that can be hard, especially when we feel like we might not be as competent, confident, or content with ourselves as leaders in the work that we do. 

In today’s podcast, we’ve invited Kathy Archer, a leadership development coach, to share her insights on how to lead your small nonprofit with confidence. 

Myths that Kathy wants us to walk away from:

• Leaders know everything. The most effective leaders are learners and they not only focus on professional development, but they focus on personal development. You can continue to grow and learn all of the stuff you need in your organization, your field, your sector, but as you move up the ranks, there's a lot of inner growth that needs to happen as well.
• Small nonprofit employees can’t have leadership skills.  Leadership is not about job title or job description. This is about becoming the person you want to be and as a leader.  You can think of your future career path and make a decision. Forget about the victim mindset and take responsibility for your own learning and growth.  

Kathy’s Inner Guidance Cycle in Mastering Confidence as Nonprofit Leader

Pause – Stop and pay attention to your thoughts. As leaders, we're always on the go, like whacking moles or sending emails and going to a meeting and we're getting this done and taking this off the to-do list, but we never step back and stop. The first thing we should do is step back and pause. 

Ponder – Consider the messages in your thinking. True pondering is forward motion. Stop a moment and check where you're attuned to your body or your body sensations, your thoughts, and where you want to be. Think about your goals. Ask yourself: how do I want to develop? What do other people say? What's the feedback?  What are my own desires? What's the direction my career wants to go?

Pivot – Shift your thoughts. This is the stage to think about the direction you are going and to review your goals. Break it down into those more reasonable steps so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. 

Proceed – Move forward again, intentionally and mindfully. This stage is actually doing the work you said you were going to do and recycling that process again. Pause, think about your goals, review, and proceed. 

Favourite Quotes from Today’s Episode

Post your favorite quote on social media to share with us!

“The most effective leaders are learners and they not only focus on professional development, but they focus on personal development. And so you can continue to grow and learn all of the stuff you need in your organization, your field, your sector, but as you move up the ranks, there's a lot of inner growth that needs to happen as well. And so we have to align the two.”

Resources from this Episode

KathyArcher.com

The Good Partnership

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