{"id":886,"date":"2013-02-19T10:17:34","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T15:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=886"},"modified":"2022-07-01T16:46:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T20:46:07","slug":"my-biggest-professional-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/my-biggest-professional-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"My Biggest Professional Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"

I want to share with you an unflattering personal story about how a certain, very common management style (mine) nearly resulted in the death of a dear friend and colleague.<\/p>\n

No exaggeration (ok, maybe just a tiny bit).<\/p>\n

I hope by sharing my story you can avoid making this mistake at your nonprofit.<\/p>\n

During my eight years as a nonprofit CEO, my staff worked hard. That\u2019s what I expected. I tried to make hires that were ‘best of breed.’ They overflowed with drive and ambition to move the American public from tolerance to acceptance of LGBT people.<\/p>\n

I was driven and so were they. Every decision felt important. Hitting our revenue numbers was critical because, as our Development Director Julie always said,\u00a0 \u201cmoney = programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew Julie had been to the doctor a few times but she downplayed it. She was always healthy as an ox. Ran 423 miles a day (I exaggerate\u2026 but only slightly). Truthfully, I don\u2019t remember asking many questions. Too busy making \u201cvery important decisions\u201d about the LGBT community\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

And it was just before a board meeting. As senior staff at any nonprofit will tell you this is simply a crazy time. Or it can be. I made sure it was. We prepped, we rehearsed, we were ready.<\/p>\n

We traveled from different locations to Chicago. Julie walked into the meeting and informed me that she had a new accoutrement to her wardrobe.<\/p>\n

A heart monitor.<\/p>\n

Here come the \u201cshould haves.\u201d I should have told her to turn around and go home. She looked absolutely horrible. She was ON A FRIGGIN\u2019 HEART MONITOR!<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

What the hell was I thinking?<\/p>\n

THE CULTURE OF NONPROFIT<\/b><\/h2>\n

I spent fifteen years in corporate America. The culture of nonprofit is exhilarating and demanding in a way that\u2019s just different. In corporate America there were small decisions, medium ones and then really mission critical ones. There were days when honestly, you just weren\u2019t ridiculously busy. And if you made a mistake, it wasn\u2019t typically of the life or death variety.<\/p>\n

But in nonprofits, everything feels important. And it IS important.<\/p>\n

What if that client doesn\u2019t get in front of the judge? She could be homeless. What if the suicide hotline is not sufficiently staffed? On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being \u201cthe most important decision you need to make,\u201d all decisions feel like 10.<\/p>\n

In the early days, I simply did not have the ability to adjust and prioritize. When you\u2019re in the business of saving lives, changing the world or both, that\u2019s just how it feels. All the time.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s certainly how it felt to me. I assumed that this is how it felt to my staff. And therefore, I was relentless.<\/p>\n

WHY IT WAS MY FAULT<\/b><\/h2>\n

OK, maybe not all<\/i> my fault. But I\u2019ll save that for next week\u2019s post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the boss sets the tone. When everything is a five-alarm blaze, my staff was unable to distinguish between the real emergencies and the thing that really could wait until next week.<\/p>\n

Think for a minute about who is drawn to CEO positions. The typical profile: Type A, altruistic, impatient, driven and sometimes relentless.<\/p>\n

That was me. And this profile can be toxic when it comes to managing staff and setting priorities.<\/p>\n

WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Well, first, the obvious. I could have told her to go home. Better, I could have been aware of Julie\u2019s health issues and insisted she not come in the first place.<\/p>\n

But, beyond that\u2026<\/p>\n