Episode 13. Employee Morale-
It has been a tough couple of years in the nonprofit world.
Here has been the loss and fear from Covid.
Deep societal scars exposed with racial reckoning and political polarization.
And our climate is a mess which makes everyone anxious.
And our nonprofit workforce has shrunk while the demands have increased.
It is hard to run a nonprofit agency in 2023.
As a woman executive director, you feel an enormous responsibility for your staff’s emotional well-being.
The goal of today’s episode is to help you feel less alone as you thread that needle between being responsive to your staff needs while making sure the work gets done.
Your can read the transcript at https:/relishyourrole.com/13
Acknowledging Tough Times
It has been a rough couple of years for everyone.
To my mind, one has to go back to the late 1960’s to think of a time when societal issues has had such a strong daily presence around the kitchen table and in the staff break room.
Everyone has been impacted by two years of dealing with Covid, regardless of how their state responded to the pandemic.
The aftermath of the George Floyd killing reverberated in every community.
Harsh public dialogue along partisan lines have made even the causal interactions in the grocery checkout line fraught.
Those nonprofits working with vulnerable populations confront the impact of where we find ourselves as a society on a daily basis.
Mental Health Impact
All of this takes its toll on the individual psyche and these issues find their way into the workplace.
Staff experiencing loss and grief and anger and a sense of disconnection and isolation.
There is no way this does not impact your work culture.
Women leaders are known to be more empathetic than their male counterparts. Being attuned to the emotional well-being of your staff is a double-edged sword.
It is an instinctual response to acknowledge the pain your staff is carrying and to shift the agency culture to be responsive.
You may have some staff questioning the exercise of hierarchical power as it finds expression in your agency. In response perhaps you are adopting a more collaborative form of decision making to foster inclusion and empowerment among your staff.
Perhaps you have instituted trauma informed approaches with staff as well as clients.
Many have started intentional circles to examine the impact of systemic racism in their community or the in the work of the agency.
Reassessing the remote work policies and enacting more flexible leave policies may have been adopted in response to staff needs.
Balancing Staff with Organizational Needs
But there is a cost to these adaptations.
As the executive director you are beholden not only to your staff but to your funders, clients and constituents.
The expectation to continue to produce the work has not lessened.
A thoughtful executive director must continually balance organizational versus individual needs as it relates to supporting staff mental health.
It is one salient example of how no one truly understands the countervailing pressures you are under as an Executive Director.
There is no standard sweet spot in balancing the needs of the individual with that of the organization.
The appropriate response is as individual as the agency and the people who work there.
Find a Though Partner
I want to encourage you not to carry the burden on your own.
Finding the appropriate balance is easier when you can learn from the thoughts and experiences of others.
Carve out time for yourself to read about the experiences of other nonprofits, the National Council on Nonprofits and Forbes Coaching Council have useful articles on the topic.
Try to have candid conversations with other executive directors in your community, pick their brain on how they find a balance which works for them.
Find solace in that no one has figured this out, it is a work in process.
But you need to talk about it with others.
It is a valid concern to worry if you have not found the appropriate balance between the needs of your agency and those of your staff. The decisions you make will likely disappoint some.
Remember, none of your choices are permanent.
Give yourself permission to test things out. Allow yourself the option to shift the balance as conditions change.
Most important, find yourself a thought partner, someone you trust and can talk to while you try to be responsive to all the needs and expectations you juggle on a daily basis.
If you think a 90-minute strategy session with me could be of value, I encourage you to reach out at relishyourrole.com
You can do it, and I am here to help.