November 17, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Andrew Zolli, leader of PopTech, a nonprofit that seeks to foster innovative problem solving by getting people from an array of fields to share ideas, says the approach not only helps a charity’s work but also can reduce burnout. He urges charity leaders to:
Attend one or two conferences each year that are outside their fields.
For instance, Mr. Zolli says he once attended a conference on heart surgery. He says people were excited to explain things to an outsider and it was fascinating to learn about the challenges another group faces.
Create a diverse advisory board for your organization.
Hearing from people in other disciplines can give a board sometimes unconventional but valuable perspectives on a nonprofit’s work.
Carve out time in a leader’s schedule to solicit new ideas.
This should be a board’s responsibility, says Mr. Zolli: “Executive leaders won’t do it for themselves because there’s always a hundred hours of work to do every week.”
