Learning How to Run a Non-Profit
Through a series of odd events, I recently found myself being named the president of a small non-profit organization that I have done volunteer work for over the last several years. Though the discussion about me taking this position was not completely unexpected, the timing and circumstances were.
With no previous experience overseeing an organization of any kind, I was thrown into an intense learning on the job experience. As such, in the few months that I’ve occupied this position I’ve learned a lot. Here are just a few of the things I have learned so far:
1 – Everybody has an opinion and that’s ok: Everybody involved with a non-profit organization is there because they care. As such, they believe very strongly in their opinions. Those opinions may clash with other people’s opinions but there’s nothing wrong with that.
2 – Managing personalities is a big part of the job: When I took over the presidency of the organization, I knew that managing personalities would be part of the job. I figured it would be about 50% managing situations and 50% managing personalities. It turns out that managing personalities is more like 80% of the job (possibly more). Knowing the personalities of the people you are dealing with is key. Some people require more conversation. Other people require more ego stroking. Still others require to be left alone as much as possible. Knowing the personalities and tendencies of the people you need to deal with makes navigating the labrynth of issues that come up that much easier to deal with.
3 – Delegate and do not micromanage: As the president, it’s obviously important to know what’s going on. But it’s not necesary to know every detail about every issue. As mentioned above, everybody is doing what they do for the organization because they care. Most of the time they know what they’re doing so there’s usually no need to intercede beyond getting a regular update on progress. Most often, people will reach out to you if they have an issue that requires a little more thought.
These are just a few of the things I’ve learned so far. I’m sure theres much more coming.
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