You can have fun while leading a non-profit organization or service business.

"Really?" "In these times?"
     
"You can’t be serious."  "Tell me more.”

This is what I hear when I tell my clients that it is indeed possible to have fun and experience freedom in your senior leadership role. Non-profit Executive Directors, in particular, often attempt to carry the full weight of the organization on their shoulders. They're focused on serving all stakeholders -- and too often believe (often unconsciously) that the survival of the organization depends wholly on them.

While your role is integral, you can't create success alone. Even non-profits and service businesses with a single founder or staff member must rely on board members, volunteers and outside vendors to help them build a successful organization. When you believe the organization's success is entirely your responsibility, you set yourself up for stress and burnout. It’s a mindset that leaves no room for fun and freedom.

And while, fun and freedom mean something different to each person, I’ve discovered that leaders who value both do these five things well:

Champion the Vision

This is your primary role. Over and over again you share, nurture and elevate the vision. In his book, Making Vision Stick, Andy Stanley discusses the challenge of staying true to the vision. According to Stanley, the most important feature of a well-crafted vision is simplicity.

In my experience, simplicity gives you the freedom to be creative and playful in how you champion the vision. If your organization’s vision is too difficult to understand and you don’t have the power to change it, find a way to simplify it for your stakeholders.

Align Strengths and Enjoyment with Tasks

As a leader, it's important to be aware of your own strengths and also what you love to do - then leverage that knowledge for benefit the organization. The same goes for those you lead. Find out what people are good at and what they love doing -- and, then construct alignments.

Aligning strengths and enjoyment with tasks allows people to “play in their own space.” There’s nothing more fun and freeing than doing the things you are good at -- and love to do.

Trust the Process

Let’s face it, not all projects will go as planned. There will be glitches and outright failures. This can either be a frustration -- keeping you and your team stuck in negative energy -- or a catalyst for learning and growth.

Leaders who set a tone of excellence through learning and mastery foster an environment where fun and creative freedom are a part of the process.

Celebrate Successes

How often do you stop to celebrate success-even the smallest successes? Research suggests that celebration and recognition are top motivators for people -- and one of the most desired elements in the workplace.

Celebration is a fun way to recognize people -- and fuels the freedom and incentive to focus on future successes. After all, as the saying goes, “You get more of what you focus on.” Focus on successes and you’ll get more of them.

Create Community

Human beings are hard-wired for community. 

I know a non-profit leader who brings, Maggie, her dog to work and invites the staff to do the same. Pets bring a special energy to the workplace.

Other leaders regularly take their staffs on a fun outing or participate in larger community activities. This kind of effort creates a bond that results in both greater commitment to the work and more effective teamwork. 

You can’t do it all yourself. In fact, your role as a leader is to get things done through others.

Why not have fun and experience freedom in the process?

Passionate Leadership
is harnessing energy for Purpose AND People
to create Maximum Impact.

About the Author

Gayle Ely is a Leadership Coach, Trainer and Facilitator and founder of Total Life Leadership. At Total Life Leadership, we partner with purpose-driven non-profit leaders and service entrepreneurs to help them answer the question “How Do I Become a Better Leader?”

Using The Six Pillars of Passionate Leadership, we equip leaders to be the best they can be.  The result is a passionate leader whose team and organization are operating for maximum impact.

Explore what’s getting in the way of passion in your leadership. Schedule an exploratory conversation. There is no cost and lots of value.

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