{"id":1514,"date":"2013-06-27T16:01:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T20:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=1514"},"modified":"2022-06-27T10:30:16","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:30:16","slug":"motivate-your-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/motivate-your-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Stories About Motivating People"},"content":{"rendered":"
Two stories. One lesson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today I offer you two stories. Very different and both true. They have something in common.<\/p>\n

The first one is the story of a simple thing I did to motivate my board. You can do the same thing to motivate your board.<\/p>\n

The second is the story of how I once motivated a million dollar donor.<\/p>\n

FLOWER POWER<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

During my Executive Director days, just before a board meeting, my assistant and I went to a very nice flower shop. We bought 20 beautiful flowers \u2013 each unique – and a vase.<\/p>\n

At the end of the board meeting, I took a few minutes, went around the room one by one, and handed each board member a flower. As I did this, I identified one very specific contribution that person had made to the work of the organization.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s true. That task was way easier for some than others. But I could legitimately think of one thing for everyone. For those board members who fell into the \u201cdead weight\u201d category, it was very hard. But I managed.<\/p>\n

Boards always divide into three groups, \u201cthe high performers,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cthe people who will do what you ask,\u201d and \u201cdead weight.\u201d A good board finds each group to be about a third of the total.<\/p>\n

Then I asked them to place their flower into the vase. It was a beautiful bouquet \u2013 really interesting and unique.<\/p>\n

The metaphor was clear. My job was done. And the board absolutely loved it.<\/p>\n

The outcome of this exercise was pretty interesting.<\/p>\n

The high performers felt appreciated and the \u2018dead weight\u2019 board members probably felt a little guilty (some of them anyway.) I tried to be even handed but the comments must have felt different.<\/p>\n

But it was the middle group that felt the real impact. Within a week, two board members who didn\u2019t usually initiate conversations with me called. Each of them offered to do something. Without being asked!<\/i><\/p>\n

One finally offered to broker a donor lunch I\u2019d been hoping for. The other volunteered to serve on the strategic planning committee. She\u2019d been asked and I thought she would add great value but she said two committees were too much. All of a sudden she\u2019d had a change of heart.<\/p>\n

By openly showing my appreciation, I was able to move several of my middle group of board members into high performers.<\/p>\n

You can do the same thing to motivate your board.<\/p>\n

A QUICK MOVE<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

This donor was so rich (how rich was he?) that his house had his own zip code. He was one of those donors who went MIA quite a bit. Of course we did outreach but typically got radio silence.<\/p>\n

It was the eve of our biggest event of the year as well as a board meeting. Not much pressure. The hotel gave me the nicest suite \u2013 I guess we were the biggest hotel customer that weekend. I invited senior staff and the Board Chair up for a board meeting dress rehearsal and a glass of wine.<\/p>\n

The suite phone rings. The rich donor\u2019s private plane has just landed at the airport.\u00a0 Can we arrange for seats for him and his guest? And can we arrange for a suite to be ready for him in about 30 minutes? Absolutely, I tell him. I thank him for coming and say that I look forward to seeing him.<\/p>\n

We make all the necessary calls. All the suites are booked. And I am in the nicest one.\u00a0 There is no question what needs to happen. And there isn\u2019t much time. Certainly not enough for housekeeping. The group feverishly helps me to pack. It was like an I Love Lucy<\/em> episode. One board member goes meticulously through each bathroom (I think there were three) and folds the toilet paper in that triangle shape we all know.\u00a0 He is masterful.<\/p>\n

We arrange with the front desk to have me moved and to have our donor assigned to the room formerly known as my suite. I come out of the elevator. I can see the donor heading from one direction. I do a quick about face so he does not see me and my rollerboard. I check into my smaller room, quite pleased with myself.<\/p>\n

My phone rings. Midnight. It\u2019s him. He sounds odd (odder than usual.) Can I meet him for a drink in the lobby in an hour? You bet, I say. I get out of bed, change out of my pajamas and head to the bar.<\/p>\n

The donor is waiting. You gave up your room for me, he said. He remembered the extension they had given him when he called from the airport. He looked upset.<\/p>\n

There was a big long pause. I had no idea what he would say next.<\/p>\n

No one at any organization I support \u2013 maybe no one at all \u2013 has ever done something that nice for me.<\/p>\n

And then he pledged three million dollars to our organization.<\/p>\n

TAKEAWAYS<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

So, what lessons do you take from these two stories? Do you see ways to motivate your board or donors? Let me know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two stories, one lesson. One about the power of flowers and the other about a donor so rich he had his own zip code. What’s the lesson?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fundraising","category-ceo","category-senior-staff"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Simple Way to Motivate Your Board<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two stories. 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