Being in a position of leadership in a mission-driven organization can be both deeply satisfying and remarkably draining. The benefits of this kind of work are well-known, but the drawbacks (and how to deal with them) are rarely explored in depth.
Even the meaningfulness of nonprofit work can have downsides: it can, for example, create a very intense working environment that wears everyone down over time. Young people high on idealism and (often also) on talent, but usually lacking in maturity, frequently assume positions with much responsibility that they are underprepared for – leading to rapid growth for them, but also stress for pretty much everyone involved. Low pay – or at least compensation below what the private sector offers (and benefits not quite on par with government and higher education employment) – creates stresses for leaders, especially those in smaller nonprofits when they are forced to contemplate sending their children to college or their own retirement.
This reality led me to focus on self-care for mission-driven leaders in my midlife memoir, Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind, and in my latest book, When in Doubt, Ask for More. In fact, that topic takes up the final third of Changing the World. One of the self-care success strategies that I wrote about was engaging in hobbies in ways that you develop new skills through initially being a novice at something and then progressing from there in a purposeful manner. I came to believe that being an adult novice helps make people more humble and more playful, and also less self-important – all qualities I associate with mental health, and that are especially important for those in stressful jobs.
As I noted in the revised edition of Changing the World, I found confirmation of this insight in an important book written by the journalist Tom Vanderbilt titled Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning. He describes starting as a novice and gaining skill in surfing, chess, painting, and singing, and complements that with research about the benefits of getting outside one’s comfort zone and learning new things as an adult.
Most recently, I came across an article in the New York Times titled “It’s Never Too Late: 10 Tips for 2022.” It quotes 10 individuals in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and (gulp!) 80s who decided they still had time to master a new skill that gave them joy and purpose and briefly describes in a sentence what they accomplished. (In some cases, there is a link to a longer story about their learning journey.) One woman climbed El Capitan for the first time at age 68. Another recorded his first album of original music at 85. A third, named Richard Klein, moved to Mumbai and became a Bollywood actor in his 40s. The entire article can be read in about 10 minutes and may not leave you the same person you were when you started reading it.
One doesn’t need to achieve these kinds of levels of mastery to enjoy the benefits of being a lifelong learner who develops new skills throughout their adult life. Getting outside the comfort zone of what one is familiar with and/or already good at can bring benefits to anyone, and it can be especially important to those in demanding, intense, and essential positions of leadership in nonprofit organizations. While this may not be equally practical for everyone — say, for single parents living paycheck to paycheck who work for a tiny nonprofit — I do believe that most people should try out something consistent with this insight.