What do you do all day?

There are going to be times, many times, in every non-profit executive director’s career when you feel out of touch with what your team is working on. It might be because you are new to the role, new to the organization, or you’ve had staffing changes.

There is a lot of trial and error in non-profit HR.

Non-profit executive directors come into their position with a wealth of knowledge about their individual sectors, but there is very little training about all the administrative pieces of the job. A common frustration is managing human resources, which is easily half of the work we do.

Imposter syndrome weighs heavily when you find your team is doing work and you don’t know what that work is. Sure, you might read about it in a monthly staff report, and sure, you know you hired qualified people to do the job, but you still need to find a way to stay in the loop and feel confident in the work that is being done.

We all have the quick wins in place, using operational plans, individual work plans, calendars, and goal trackers. This does allow an ED to monitor at least as often as each staff meeting. The challenge, though, happens in between the monthly staff reports. You might know, in theory, the programs and services everyone is administering, but in a world of home offices and no central lunchroom, it can be difficult to feel connected.

You are the executive director. You are allowed to ask what is going on.

Don’t micro-manage. Listen. Learn.

I like to approach the desire for more information as something that is tailored to fit the personality of each employee.

Inevitably, some employees will be naturally communicative. They will seek out discussion, ask questions, and send out team emails to bounce around ideas. Those employees make it easy to understand what they are working on.

It is a bit more work to find the right fit for a quieter employee. I simply don’t want to wait until a monthly staff meeting to learn someone’s work priorities for the month or that something big isn’t working out. I need to know those details much sooner.

I start with a quick one-on-one conversation to express my need to be more informed about what an employee is working on.

I work from the premise that I have hired an adult who is expected to do their job and manage their schedule. I don’t have any desire to micro-manage and I make sure they are trained and supported.

During the conversation, I ask for their input on how I can be more informed about their day-to-day work. I will often have a few ideas to suggest, but I wait to hear what my employee might prefer. Together we decide how we will make this work. It might be a weekly Zoom chat or an email. It might be a written quick report at the end of the week. I like to keep this as flexible as possible so that I can gather the information I need, and the employee can provide it in a manner that is quick and easy.

I want my team to lean on me.

I could let the frustration of not really knowing what is going on between staff meetings go unchecked, but I know that will impact my confidence in my team. It will create situations I might not like or that might not be fixable. It might even put me in a position where I find I’m making snarky little comments because I feel out of the loop. I don’t want to do that to myself OR my team.

I would rather set-up a system that works smoothly for each employee and provides the information I need between meetings. The added benefit of seeking out this additional information is it builds a culture where my team know I want to know what’s going on, and that they are never alone when figuring out their job.

Your turn.

Your turn. How do you stay on top of your team’s day-to-day tasks between staff meetings? Do you have a system that works? Are you feeling out of the loop? I want to know! Please use the form on the side of the page to let me know, ..or send me an email, ..or message me on socials.

-Christie

…

Hi, I'm Christie. I help executive directors develop the systems and processes needed to run a non-profit.

I learned early in my career, there is no non-profit school. Browsing the internet for resources from big-city experts doesn’t provide practical solutions to balance the budget, write a work plan, or conduct an employee evaluation. Leadership development tips don’t really resonate when you are also taking out the recycling and cleaning the washroom.

I created ChristieSaas.com so non-profit leaders never need to wonder how to do the job – no matter how big or small that job is.

I have been the executive director of small-team, small-budget, non-profits for 20+ years. My experience isn’t theory. It is the real, operational, and practical solutions I use every day.

I love my work and I want to help you love yours too.

© Christie Saas 2024 All Rights Reserved

…

Want to learn more?

Start with one of my free resources.

FREE Guides