The Importance of Being Earnest
How Being True to Oneself Translates Into a Successful Organization
Have you ever watched someone pretending to be something they’re not? Maybe you’ve even done this yourself. Have you noticed how much energy that takes? Imagine expending all that energy into upholding another version of yourself, a not-so-true to yourself version of you and then trying to also give 100% to a philanthropic endeavor. It just won’t work. Because if you’re busy trying to uphold something you’re not, how could you even begin to uphold a mission?
So how on earth can you ensure you’re being true to your philanthropic self?
Find what you’re passionate about. When I was busy studying biology in my undergraduate years, I began to really feel the pull of all of my STEM classes. While I still enjoyed biology on a broad level, I dreaded the readings, the lectures, the homework. I was a few semesters short of graduation when I realized I just wasn’t as passionate about biology and the pre-med track as I had originally been. After a conversation with a dear friend, Colton Strawser (check out his consultancy business for nonprofits here), I came to the realization that philanthropy had always been my passion, though I’m still trying to find my niche passion within philanthropy. Long story short, it’s never too late to realize your passion, and change directions. This is a lesson personally learned after accruing some student loans.
Be open to change. This includes changing your passions. It’s okay that you don’t have the same fire for a certain cause after years working toward a related goal. This occurs in no small part because of nonprofit burnout, in which employees can be underpaid and underappreciated, though still encouraged to give 110% to the cause. What’s important is to recognize this change in passion (along with the value of self care.) Belong to an organization to which you can see yourself being a part of, whether an employee, a volunteer, or a donor, for the foreseeable future.
Your organization is a living, breathing organism susceptible to change, too. It’s unrealistic to expect an organization that began 40 years ago to still operate as if it were still the 1970s. We no longer wear bell bottoms and hang out at the disco on the weekends. Our nonprofits today are incorporating technology like never before, are more aware of each other, and are not afraid to acknowledge gaps in understanding of current trends. (This is where such things like the Nonprofit Leadership Toolbox can come in handy!)
Being honest with yourself. As someone recently familiar with the job market, I know we’ve all felt that pull toward a job (sometimes any job), telling ourselves that we can make it work. “Of course I love dogs,” says the very-allergic job applicant. “Teaching is my passion!” says the applicant who would never dream of coming near a Kindergarten classroom. If the job or the organization isn’t for you, then you’re not giving that organization its due diligence. Thriving organizations are built in collaboration with folks who believe in the mission whole-heartedly and are willing to share the story of the nonprofit with anyone they meet. If you notice that this isn’t true for all members of your organization, it’s time for a team retreat to remember, re-strategize, and reconnect with the mission.
Personal transparency leads to organizational transparency, which is the new “it” word for nonprofits. And it should be! (See a great related read on transparency in this article by The NonProfit Times.) Transparency leads to trust, both inside and out, and encourages others to emanate the same quality. The more transparent and earnest you are with yourself, the more trustworthy and successful your organization will become.
