When you enter into a bit of chaos and struggle, it is important to remind yourself what started you on the path. It is paramount to remind yourself and your team of the big why.
At Bold Leading, My why is all about "Strengthening Executive Directors and the people they serve to help them do the stuff that matters most to them." Our job is to remove barriers and obstacles that are stopping talented people from doing all that is in their hearts to do. How we do it varies client by client. Some need coaching. Others need idea generation. Still, others need idea confirmation.
Of course, we help teams get stuff done. We love helping nonprofit leadership teams develop or clarify the vision, get the resources to fulfill their vision, and find the tenacity to complete all it entails.
Crisis and chaos will constantly move your team from the important to the urgent. If you are not careful, you will wake up on a path leading away from your stated vision and goals. You will find yourself feeling on the inside that something is wrong but the whirlwind is stopping you from seeing straight. That is when it is important to stop and retreat.
Come in early a few days and map out what is going on. Take the time to document the most urgent and important issues on a whiteboard. Take every issue and make it a dart. Let it land on the bullseye. How close are each of the issues to the center of the bullseye?
If you are still having issues see straight, that is where Bold Leading can give you insight and encouragement. With years of experience solving problems that face nonprofits, we are able to facilitate groups during this critical stage.
Once you can see the issues on the bullseye, it is time to pick the top 3 or 5 to focus your attention on. You might delegate important tasks or you might keep them for yourself to accomplish.
Inevitably, you will be challenged to do things that are uncomfortable. When you delegate, you might be trusting someone for the first time. When you focus on an issue, you might have to give up certain things you have always done. You might need more resources which cause you to invest in areas that you may have not in the past.
These challenges will test your courage and your resolve. Each one will have a hidden rub. Some tension that is inherent in the accomplishment of the task. Every rub may cause friction. It will take courage to identify the issues, face them and then prioritize your efforts to resolve them. Too often it is easier to hide and run or ignore.
Today you have to embrace the truth of what is going on. Today you have to focus your energy and do all that you know to do.
In all my years of work, there is always an end to what you can do and what is under your control. That is when I release my struggles, fears, and worries to the compassion of a God that loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to save it. If God did not withhold His Son, how will He not give us all things? If that is true, then I can release all to His compassion.
You can contact me at dave@boldleading.com. We would love to be part of your team helping remove obstacles and barriers. Making success possible for you is our "Why."
