Elsewhere on this website I mention that my favorite centrist columnist is David Brooks of the New York Times. (I also name my favorite liberal and conservative writers.) Brooks’ column on Friday was mainly about how to turn the tables on President Trump on the issue of immigration. But in making that argument he touches on a larger point: how essential it is to make people feel secure enough in their own society that they can react to strangers who come from a different culture with curiosity rather than with anxiety. It is another of his terrific columns and I recommend reading it.
His points echo a few I have made in my books and other writings on nonprofit leadership. For example, as I detailed in Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind, as Grameen Foundation’s CEO I gradually became secure enough in my relationship to our board chairs to invest heavily in and trust Grameen Foundation’s governing body. For example, I became comfortable divulging sensitive information, including what actually kept me up at night, even when I had not figured out how I wanted to proceed. I also became willing to ask trustees to take on important assignments that, earlier in my career, I would have reserved for myself or for someone I directly supervised. In other words, I was able to take what felt like big risks in my interactions with the board.
That feeling of security also enabled us to encourage dissent on the board and to have free-wheeling discussions of important strategic and tactical issues where the outcome was not predetermined. I learned to generally treat views other than my own with curiosity, rather than becoming worried that I was going to be outnumbered or outargued – and as a result be forced to do something other than what I thought was right.
Clearly the board chair/CEO relationship is critical here; in fact, I am having an article on my views about that partnership published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy later this month. When writing it, I drew especially on my experiences with Susan Davis, Bob Eichfeld, and Paul Maritz.
Second, when I write about dealing with tough negotiations and with crises, which are inevitable during the practice of nonprofit leadership, I explain how I learned to remain curious and pragmatic rather than being overcome or paralyzed by fear. One benefit of curiosity in such situations is that it can allow you to see, for example, that in a negotiation your leverage over the other party may be much more – or much less – than you initially imagine. (Such an insight can help you adjust your negotiating position and end up with a much more favorable outcome.) Take another example: During a situation that you originally perceive as a crisis, remaining alert can help you see that it might be a blessing in disguise, or something that will largely solve itself if you leave it alone for a time.
I have personally experienced what it is like to lead an organization when you feel insecure in your relationship with the governing body or some other stakeholder group. Anxiety and hostility surface again and again, which prevents you from doing your best work. I have also observed this dynamic in others. Brooks argues that we need to create this sense of security for people in our society so that they can be more welcoming to and eager to learn from people who are different from them. In the same way, when a leader feels secure in his or her role, trusting others and keeping calm in a crisis begin to come naturally and helps them to blossom in their essential role.