How To Strengthen Your Nonprofit Leadership
| December 26, 2017 | leaders, leadership, leadership development, nonprofit, nonprofit leadership, nonprofit organization, transition | No Comments
Many organizations recently completed a successful first quarter of service and are preparing for an exciting remainder of the year making a difference in their community. Some organizations may even have newly elected leaders lined up and ready to take the group to the next level.
Good leaders strive to leave their organization in good standing and provide future leaders with ample information to ensure a smooth transition. While some organizations in this predicament may have a transition method in place to train new leaders, there are others that may need or want to implement some useful strategies to ensure the core leadership of their group remains solid.
Strengthening the development of your organization’s leadership will result in a greater impact on the organization’s mission, increase overall revenue, and provide concrete stability which nonprofits need.
ExpressTaxExempt understands that your purpose and mission is to help others, so we’ve provided some ways on how to strengthen your nonprofit leadership.
How To Strengthen Your Nonprofit Leadership
BE ORGANIZED
Prior to beginning the new fiscal year for the organization, try your best to make sure things are organized so that leaders can focus on their duties without having to go against any unnecessary roadblocks.
SET GOALS & OBJECTIVES FOR THE YEAR
It is important to have realistic goals and objectives in place at the beginning of the year. Your organization will never reach its full potential without a clear vision and attainable goals.
LEADERSHIP TRANSITION MEETING
This type of meeting involves immediately past and newly elected leaders of the organization. During this meeting, past leaders will give one-on-one training and insight to the new leader that will be taking on their [former] role.
Having a Leadership Transition Binder is a great tool and gift to incoming leaders. This binder provides new leaders with all of the documents they will need to be successful in their new role.
Information such as general “must-haves” like the organization’s bylaws, calendar of events, etc. as well as specific documents would be helpful.
INFORM NEW LEADERS OF KEY EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Leadership roles that require working relationships or contacts with other leaders outside of the organization should be provided on a Contact Sheet.
The contact sheet should be provided with contact information including the person’s name, title, email address, and phone number for each individual.
WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
To be successful in the nonprofit sector, you must be determined, hardworking, and passionate about what you do and those you serve. Although you must work hard to be effective, it is just as important for you and your team to “let your hair down” and enjoy each other’s company. Working too hard, and eventually becoming “burned out,” will affect everything you do in a negative way at some point.
The ExpressTaxExempt team avoids this issue by doing fun team activities every Friday afternoon. For the last hour of the workday, our team splits into two groups and compete against each other in a variety of action-packed games. From charades to volleyball, these enjoyable moments together not only inspires further teamwork but also brightens the morale of the workplace and eliminates monotony in the office.
We’re Always Here to Help
As you’ve probably noticed, we end almost all of our blogs with the reminder that we are here to help you…because we really mean it! The ExpressTaxExempt team is always just a phone call, email, or chat away if you ever have any questions or need assistance during any part of the e-filing process.
Feel free to contact our support team of e-file experts at 704.839.2321, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. You can also reach us 24/7 via email with [email protected].
We hope that these useful tools and tips will be beneficial to the leadership of your organization. Don’t forget to maintain your tax-exempt status annually by filing with ExpressTaxExempt. Best wishes to your team as you prepare for the new year!
