Getting it back

Jul 28, 2016 by

Three years. That’s how long it’s been since I posted in this space. A lot has happened since then; more than I ever could or would care to recount. And after avoiding it for so long, I’m finally back, at least for a little while. I find that the longer it’s been since you last posted, the harder it is to start again. But the only person making it hard is me and I can deal with her.

As of my last post, I had just gotten a new job – the job I thought was THE job for me. And, like so many other times in the past, I was wrong. That job swallowed my life, my confidence, my time whole and spit them back out without mercy. I had been burnt out in the past, but what I felt after leaving that job can’t even be covered by the term burnt out. I once described it as being broken down, piece by piece. But I think maybe ground down is more descriptive in this instance.

Have you ever watched a coffee or spice grinder work? It cycles around and around and around, breaking up the large chunks into a fine powder. In the case of coffee, that makes it useful to us. In the case of people, it can destroy. All those pieces of you that you know and like, being pulverized and spread to the wind. All the pieces of you that you don’t like, spread out everywhere for the world to see. Dramatic, I know. But when you’re lying awake on Sunday night because of your anxiety about going back into work on Monday, you think about these things.

There were a lot of things that were frustrating and upsetting about that job, but one of the most frustrating was that it didn’t allow time or head space for me to write. Thankfully, I finally have that time back, and I don’t intend to lose it again. Maybe no one is reading this, and that is fine. It’s enough for me to be able to put it out there.

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The next big thing

Jun 17, 2013 by

Four years. That’s how long I worked at Smart Growth America (SGA). That’s twice as long as I’ve been at any job before (hell, that’s longer than most political terms of office or a Hollywood marriage). The last four years have also included some of the most profound personal, professional and business-related milestones I’ve ever experienced in my life: getting married, buying a house, starting my career coaching side hustle, serving as a YNPNdc leadership team member, being appointed to serve on the Arlington County Transportation Commission and probably dozens of other things I can’t even remember.

My experience at SGA, combined with all of these other experiences, have led to me to where I am today: accepting a job with Rescue Social Change Group (Rescue SCG) as their Youth Engagement Director. This new position is quite a departure from the work I was doing on smart growth, community development, land use and transportation to a focus solidly on social change among youth, with a particular focus on health issues – especially anti-tobacco use and anti-obesity. I wasn’t particularly looking for this opportunity (or any other job for that matter), which seems to make it even more serendipitous.

But here’s the thing: it’s exactly where I need, want and PLANNED to be, right from the beginning.

Remember how I was going to change the world? My method for doing that was to organize, outreach, advocate and create social change by training and teaching others to do it effectively. Several years ago, I decided that my goal was to lead the field department of a major national nonprofit. Now, Rescue SCG isn’t a nonprofit – it’s actually a for-profit so this will be my first foray into that sector – and they don’t technically have a ‘field’ department, but I will be managing a team of staff on the ground, working with youth to do targeted campaigns to reduce tobacco use and obesity among their peers. In other words: I get to do almost exactly what I set out to do over 10 years ago when I started this journey known as my career. Awesome!

After my last big job search, I wrote a series of posts sharing a bunch of tips and resources for job searching (here, here, here, here and here). While I’m still completely on-board with those tips, I thought I’d write a little bit about the different type of job search inherent in a director-level job.

Here are three things I think were a big part of my success in landing this new job:

  1. While I was asked to apply for this new job, I wasn’t 100% qualified for it – and I knew that. Taking over a large team scattered all around the country when I have only supervised a few associates, fellows and interns based in a central office? Managing multiple client relationships simultaneously when I’ve only ever managed one or two at a time? I didn’t have everything I needed for this job. But what I did have was lots of different kinds of experiences in management, client relationships, etc., a willingness to learn, grow and get better and a fire in my belly to take this next step in my career. In fact, I was actually told that this fire was part of the reason I was hired. That fire and the drive to succeed can and will be recognized by those hiring for senior level managers.
  2. Again, even though I wasn’t actively searching for a job, I was prepared if an opportunity came up (you know how I feel about being prepared, especially as a job seeker). When I got asked to apply, it only took me a few days to pull together my application materials; my resume was already updated and I had writing samples ready and waiting. The only thing I needed to write was the cover letter. Maybe more importantly, I had a storehouse of good, recent examples demonstrating my management skills, budget experience, campaign knowledge, etc. The ability to answer some of those difficult questions with relevant examples certainly made interviewing easier for me and likely helpful for my new employer in making their decision.
  3. Finally, I interviewed them as much as they interviewed me. I must have asked at least 15 to 20 questions in each interview I did and of course did a ton of research on their website, did Google searches and checked out LinkedIn profiles. When accepting a senior level position with a lot of responsibility, I think that its only fair to have a really complete picture of what you’ll be expected to do as well as when, how and what types of serious organizational decision making you’ll be asked (or required) to do. Even if your goal is to gain that decision-making authority, transitioning from a role where you don’t have much of it to one where you may have all of it is pretty daunting and you need to know where you stand before you say ‘yes’.

With all of this in mind and the promise of a very busy schedule for the foreseeable future, I’m going to take a hiatus from writing in this space for the next few months. I want (and need!) to be able to get a handle on everything before I can reasonably split my attention again. But don’t worry: with my new role, new responsibilities and new challenges will come lots of great fodder for the blog. In the interim, you can of course connect with me on Twitter and I’ll still be offering career coaching services, especially resume and cover letter review.

Thanks so much and wish me luck!

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5 more supervision skills

Apr 23, 2013 by

In all the time I’ve been writing this blog, the most popular post I’ve ever written (by a huge margin), was “7 Skills for Supervision Success.” That is very telling to me. It tells me I should write most posts about it because people still need and want them. The role of supervisor remains one of the most important, but under-respected and under-trained in organizations everywhere.

And its not just nonprofits; I recently spoke at the National Association of Government Communicators 2013 Communications School and the folks in my session echoed what so many of you have said to me in the past about your struggles with supervising. While I don’t pretend to have all the answers, I do want to try to provide more support to those of you who have been thrust into supervision without the training and guidance you need or want.

To that end, here are 5 more supervision skills to add to your playbook:5

  1. Allow room for innovation – When a big project or piece of a project comes up and you decide to delegate it to someone you supervise, it can be tempting to give them all sorts of instructions on what to do and how to do it. And occasionally, that’s warranted – like when it’s a financial report or some other thing that has clearly defined rules and polices surrounding it. But, in general, you probably need to back off. Even if you think you know exactly the best and most efficient way to do it, you still have to provide room for the person you supervise to innovate and try something new. They may just figure out a new and better way to do something.
  2. Provide room to learn – How does someone learn to perform a new task or build a skill? Some of us get a bit of training and are then thrust out into the field to put training into practice immediately. Some of us are shown exactly how to do something and told it replicate it exactly. Some of us are asked to do something and then are just expected to figure out with no outside assistance. As a good supervisor, your job is to ensure that those you supervise don’t suffer through any of these ‘methods’, but instead learn through a combination of the best parts of each. You should provide training, actual hands on experience and modeling for those you supervise so that they can learn the way you’ve done it and figure out their own ways of making it work.
  3. Allow room for failure – This one may be the toughest on this list because it requires you to purposely step back and allow someone you probably like and trust to go down. (And it assumes that you can see it coming, not that it snuck up on both of you.) I’m not suggesting that you allow a major, deadline-driven project to tank just so someone you supervise can grow. What I am suggesting is that allowing room for innovation includes the potential for failure and that it’s important for that to happen in order for you both to learn. If you constantly swoop in to ‘fix’ something before it’s run it’s course, the person you supervise will never learn how to fix it him or herself and may feel resentful because you’re always butting in. In other words: butt out.
  4. Encourage positivity – I’m not someone who enjoys cheesy, fake expressions of interest or forced celebrations, but I do know that sometimes you have to grit your teeth and smile – even if you don’t want to. What’s more, if you start smiling, others will too; then they’ll get used to it and might actually start internalizing the positive emotions a smile brings. By creating a little positivity and encouraging others to spread it, you’ll find that your team is generally more happy anyway which will make even dull tasks a little more fun.
  5. Celebrate! – In my 7 Skills post, I mentioned giving credit (and taking responsibility) to others on your team. Celebration is little bit broader and usually involves a few more people too. Nonprofit, mission-focused people are often so focused on the next thing to do that they forget to celebrate victories that have happened, no matter how small. But during the celebration please don’t bring out your speech about how this is only the first step in a longer slog to ultimate victory; you’ll only depress people by making them think of all the work ahead. Instead, just bask in the victory and let them do the same.

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Linking Things Up: Put up or shut up edition

Mar 20, 2013 by

Y’all know I love a good rant and that I also love a call to action that seeks to push people beyond their boundaries and get them thinking in different ways about the work they’ve always done. That’s why I picked each of these posts. Enjoy!

  • Overcoming the Limits of Nonprofit Advocacy on Budget and Tax Issues by Patrick Lester on The Nonprofit Quarterly’s bloglinks – For most of my career, I’ve worked on advocacy efforts; but I’ve seen many nonprofits that will not take a stand either because they’re afraid of offending people or they think they can’t. Patrick Lester calls out some major nonprofits for their short-sighted approach to advocacy and notes that not only are many of our organizations largely funded by government grants/programs, but that the budget fights on Capitol Hill we hear so much about have direct impacts on the clients we serve.
  • Career Resilience: The Four Patterns that Should Guide All Your Career Moves by Michele Martin on the Bamboo Project Blog – Michele always offers insightful posts and this one is no different. She writes about a job market that no longer keeps us held to one company, job or even job role for very long and gently but firmly encourages us start practicing the art of being resilient and bouncing back. This post is for everyone, whether you’re secure in your career or not.
  • Stop Asking and Start Listening by Thaler Pekar on the SSIR Blog – Thaler admits in this post that she doesn’t have a lot of faith in the power of listening exercises. But a unique situation shows her that even the act of asking questions during a conversation can sometimes mean you aren’t listening. And without listening, there can be very little understanding.
  • People are depending on your leadership. So show up. by Allison Jones on her blog – The title says it all. No matter how tired, scared, irritated or shy you are, people are still depending on you to show up and lead. Read the full post for Allison’s great suggestions on how you can push yourself to lead (even when you don’t want to).
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Linking things up – Holiday edition!

Dec 10, 2012 by

Somehow, it’s December. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since this has been the fastest year of my life. But somehow, here we are.

And, I’ve been slacking on the blog lately. Our new house is taking up an incredible amount of time and effort – but the ‘end’, at least in terms of unpacking, arranging, buying new furniture, re-arranging, etc. – is in sight! By the end of the year, we’re looking forward to really settling into the home and finally enjoying it, rather than viewing it as a source of work and occasionally, frustration.

I wanted to share some links for great posts from other blogs that I’ve been keeping up in my (limited) free time. Enjoy and stay tuned – I’ve got a lot in store for 2013!

  • Millennials Are Here: 5 Facts Nonprofits and Businesses Need to Know by Colleen Dilenschneider at Know Your Own Bone – As usual, Colleen has taken hard data and provided a clear, thoughtful analysis that even non-data nerds (like myself) can appreciate. In this post, she points out what should be obvious to us all, but apparently isn’t – millennials are the largest generation in history, they are already having a huge amount of influence over pop, intellectual and consumer culture and nonprofits ignore them at their own peril. If you work at a nonprofit, are a data nerd or just appreciate incisive writing, get over there now.
  • 4 Mistakes Employers Are Sure To Notice by Heather Huhman at Glassdoor Blog – Glassdoor’s posts are always concise, to the point and provide great advice for you job-seekers out there. This post is no different. Heather breaks down four mistakes that you need to avoid if you actually want to hired. Take it from Heather Huhman, an experienced hiring manager: you don’t want to get noticed for all the wrong reasons.
  • Foundations Must Get Serious About Multi-Year Grantmaking by Niki Jagpal & Kevin Laskowski at the Stanford Social Innovation Review – I don’t talk about fundraising or foundations much in this space, but it’s something that every nonprofit professional must pay attention to. In this excellent piece, Jagpal and Laskowski highlight the decline in multi-year grantmaking by foundations to nonprofits and the devastating effects it is having and will continue to have in the future. Without a consistent source of funding, nonprofits will continually struggle to make ends meet and will not be able to focus on the mission-based work that the foundations supposedly support. And on a more personal level, any nonprofit professional’s job could be on the line because of that lack of support.
  • Worst-case scenarios. You gotta love ‘em. by Danielle LaPorte on her blog – This elegantly simple post comes pretty close to summing up my philosophy to career risks. To wit: what’s the worst that could happen?
  • What You Pay in Time by Philip Brewer at Wisebread – This post kind of blew my mind. Wisebread’s tagline is “living large on a small budget” and they share all kind of posts about how to value your time, money and stuff appropriately – and how avoid over-valuing the same. This post breaks down, in fairly stark terms, one method of determining what you’re giving up and what you’re getting when you make different choices – in this case, in terms of time. While the focus is framed around time and money in general, it made me think specifically about my career and the growth of my business. How much time am I spending just trying to earn money…in order to spend more time making money. Read it – maybe it will blow you mind too.
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