Are you a nonprofit employee? Do you want a clear system to figure out if your nonprofit boss is doing right by your organization or not?
Or are you a nonprofit board member? How do you provide oversight and make sure that your organization stays on track?
Do you need a model to figure out how to make sure your nonprofit leader is doing a good job?
Now you can grade your nonprofit Executive Director, rate your boss on a scale of 1-5 in each of these categories, giving them an A for all 5s, a B for all 4s, etc.
I’ve taken these questions and this leadership inventory from “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith.
Boss Rating Sheet/Leadership Inventory
Diversity:
1. Effectively motivates people from different cultures or backgrounds.
2. Recognizes the value of diverse views and opinions.
3. Helps others appreciate the value of diversity.
4. Actively expands his or her knowledge of other cultures
Develops Technology Knowledge:
5. Strives to acquire tech knowledge needed to succeed.
6. Successfully recruits people with needed tech expertise.
7. Effectively manages technology to increase productivity.
Building Partnerships:
8. Treats coworkers as partners, not competitors.
9. Unites their org into an effective team.
10. Builds effective partnerships across the org
11. Discourages destructive comments about others.
12. Builds effective alliances with other orgs.
13. Creates a network of relationships to get things done.
Sharing leadership
14. Willingly shares leadership with nonprofit partners
15. Defers to others when they have more expertise
16. Strives to arrive at outcome with others.
17. Creates environment where people focus on the larger good.
Creates a shared vision
18. Creates and communicates a clear vision for the org
19. Effectively involves people in decision making
20. Inspires people to commit to achieving that vision
21. Develop strategy to achieve vision
22. Clearly identifies priorities
Developing people
23. Consistently treats people with dignity
24. Asks people what they need to do their work better
25. Ensures people get the training they need to succeed
26. Provides effective coaching
27. Provides developmental feedback in a timely manner
28. Provides effective recognition for others achievements
Empowering people
29. Building people’s confidence
30. Takes risk in letting others make decisions
31. Gives people the freedom they need to do their job well.
32. Trusts people enough to let go.
Achieving personal mastery
33. Deeply understands their strengths and weaknesses
34. Invests in ongoing personal development
35. Involves people who have strengths that they do not possess
36. Demonstrates effective emotional responses to a variety of situations
37. Demonstrates self confidence as a leader.
Encourages Constructive Dialogue
38. Asks people what they can do to improve
39. Genuinely listens to others.
40. Accepts constructive feedback in a positive manner.
41. Strives to understand the other person’s frame of reference.
42. Encourages people to challenge the status quo.
Demonstrates Integrity
43. Demonstrates honest, ethical behavior in all interactions.
44. Ensures highest standards of ethical behavior are practiced throughout the organization.
45. Avoids political or self serving behavior.
46. Courageously stands up for what they believe in.
47. Is a role model for living our organization’s values and leads by example.
Leading Change
48. Sees change as an opportunity, not a problem.
49. Challenges the system when change is needed.
50. Thrives in ambiguous situations (flexible)
51. Encourages creativity and innovation in others.
52. Effectively translates creative ideas into business results.
Anticipating Opportunities
53. Invests in learning about future trends.
54. Effectively anticipates future opportunities
55. Inspires people to focus on future opportunities, not just present objectives.
56. Develops ideas to meet the needs of a new environment.
Ensuring Customer/Donor Satisfaction
57. Inspires people to achieve high levels of donor satisfaction.
58. Views the process how the donor will see it.
59. Regularly surveys donors.
60. Consistently delivers on commitments to clients and donors.
61. Understands competitive options available to donors.
Maintaining Competitive Advantage
62. Communicates a positive can-do sense of urgency toward getting the job done.
63. Holds people accountable for their results.
64. Successfully eliminates waste and unneeded cost.
65. Provides products/services that help our org have a clear competitive advantage
66. Achieves results that lead to long-term shareholder value.
From Goldsmith, marshall. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Hyperion Books, New York, NY, 2007.
How did your boss do?
If your boss is anything like my old boss, probably not too well.
So, how do you go about fixing this?
Well, first, give this quiz to key stakeholders in your organization. Ask the secretary to rate the boss. Ask the program director. Ask the development director. Ask the board members. Ask program staff and development staff all to rate the boss, anonymously, with these categories.
Tally up the results, then bring them to the next board meeting. It will all be anonymous, so no one will be singled out. And if there are areas for improvement, if your boss is a good leader, they will be grateful to receive your feedback. If they are emotionally mature, they will see it as an opportunity to grow into a better leader.
It’s not just enough to complain about your nonprofit. Why not take responsibility to make it better?
I’ve given you a tool to make your nonprofit better with this quiz. Will you use it?
UPDATE Feb 2019
If you want 65 more fundraising career resources, just go here.
If you want 99 more nonprofit leadership resources, click on over here.
We’ll teach you how to get along better with your boss for example:
Boss Clueless about Fundraising? Here’s what to do
How to Manage Up in your Fundraising Job
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