These are challenging times for nonprofit leaders around the country and around the world. There have been many reminders of this, not least the Washington Post article, “Facing Coronavirus uncertainties, Washington area nonprofits face difficult decisions.” In that piece, my friend Leigh Tivol, the executive director of the Potter’s House, is quoted as saying, “When I took this gig as executive director, I imagined a lot of things I might be challenged to deal with, but I have to say a global pandemic was not on my mind… I would be lying if I said I didn’t lie awake worrying about this right now.” (You can help by supporting the organization’s Workers’ Fund, as I have.) Clearly she speaks for many nonprofit leaders.
Anyway, I thought it would be a good time to share three of the 214 lessons in my new book, WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK FOR MORE, as a free public resource for changemakers committed to weathering the storm. (I have since added some additional content related to managing the current crisis here and here.)
Crisis Management: First Steps
When a crisis strikes your organization, first take a deep breath. Remember that you probably don’t know all the relevant facts about the cause of the problem and the best ways to resolve it—which means you don’t want to take any major, irrevocable steps in the short term. But you do want to start acting quickly. This will give you and your team a sense of agency and progress. So identify several small but impactful actions you can take in response to the crisis, including sharing basic information with staff, supporters, and stakeholders, and organizing a crisis team to analyze and tackle the problem in more depth. Above all, during the early days of the crisis, make an effort to project what I call grounded optimism to the people you lead. In other words, acknowledge the seriousness of what has happened while exuding confidence that your group can and will recover.
Deep Breath, Taking a
The first rule of crisis management is to avoid overreacting. Take a deep breath, and realize that, when something goes wrong, it is rarely as bad as you first imagine it to be. If you learn to pause and reflect before acting in moments of crisis, frustration, and even despair, you’ll discover that many problems, even ones that initially look insoluble, resolve themselves if you give them time to work themselves out. Occasionally, they turn out to be blessings in disguise. And even when end up being as serious as you initially feared, taking time to assess them may allow for valuable ideas and allies to emerge unexpectedly.
Nurturing Board Members: The 2x Rule
Spend double (or even triple) the amount of time with your board members than you want to or think you should. Every board meeting, committee meeting, and one-on-one meeting should be well planned, productive, efficient, and as enjoyable as possible. They should also give members a sense of connection to the mission and the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having accomplished something meaningful. Finally, they should be followed up diligently by you and your team to reinforce that the board members’ role and input are valued. And during times of organizational growth or crisis, spend even more time with your board members. All of the same rules apply to former board members who demonstrate that they want to remain involved.