April 24, 2010 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Denver
Love being a program director and can’t wait to find a job as an executive director? Not so fast.
Leading a charity is about much more than being a program director with a few extra responsibilities tacked on, said speakers in a session of the annual Young Nonprofit Professionals Network conference in Denver.
The conference drew nearly 150 nonprofit workers in their 20s and 30s, about half of them from outside the Denver area.
In one panel this morning, three nonprofit leaders in their early 30s — Lydia McCoy, executive director of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition; Sonya Garcia-Ulibarri, executive director of YouthBiz; and Sarah Fischler, director of consulting and special projects with the Community Resource Center and a former interim co-director of the Denver group — discussed what to expect from an executive-director job.
Among their suggestions for what nonprofit professionals need to know before seeking and accepting such a position:
Know yourself and your management style. Some people love the excitement of working at a start-up organization but chafe within an established organization. Some are comfortable working with a board that shapes the entire direction of the charity; others want more of a say. Speakers urged young nonprofit leaders to discover what makes them thrive and be picky when applying for jobs. “I would serve as an executive director in very few organizations because I know who I am and where I want to go,” said Ms. Garcia-Ulibarri.
Ask a lot of questions. It’s imperative that job seekers consider the search an opportunity not just to impress the board and staff but also to learn a lot about the organization and whether they’d be a good fit as its leader, speakers said. Ms. Fischler described how important it was for her to learn how a charity’s board operates — and whether trustees are comfortable with an executive director who wants to help shape the organization’s vision and future — before taking a job.
Have a thick skin. “This work is hard,” said Ms. Garcia-Ulibarri. “That’s one of the biggest misconceptions of the sector.” She and other speakers stressed how important it was not to take criticisms or setbacks personally and to find people outside of the organization to serve as sources of support. Ms. McCoy said that for the first six to eight months of her job, she felt like she was “faking it.” “I think a lot of executive directors feel like they’re faking it, and that’s okay,” she said.
Be prepared for the finance and human-resources responsibilities. Asked if they thought the job could be learned on the fly, speakers said it wasn’t imperative to have spent years and years in the field before taking on a leadership job. But they stressed that finance and human resources are a big part of the executive director job, and if candidates don’t know the basics of those areas, they will be in trouble.
The job can be isolating. “There are so many things that come across your desk that you can’t share with your staff and your board,” said Ms. McCoy. “You have no one to turn to.” Ms. McCoy said she has been able to overcome that sense of isolation by surrounding herself with friends who lead other organizations and who she can turn to when she’s struggling with a decision or simply wants to share.
Expect pressure from donors. Ms. Fischler said she did not anticipate how much of her work would be about pleasing donors — and how much pressure donors would put on her to change the work of the organization. Ms. Fischler, who took over the top job with a co-director when her organization was in a state of crisis, said she wasn’t prepared to respond to donors calling to make changes, such as altering the agenda at a forthcoming conference.
Struggle against burnout. The speakers stressed the importance of maintaining some distance between work and home life and of serving as an example to staff members who may feel pressure to work too many hours. “I’m an executive director who works 40 hours a week, and I’m not ashamed to say it,” said Ms. McCoy. Asked by an audience member how that was possible, she said: “I’m not a person for whom more hours means more output.”
