As an experienced fundraiser and leader you might not remember all the limiting beliefs that held you back at the start of your career. Many of those beliefs are tied to the fears that surround asking such as: 1) “I don’t know how to ask”, 2) “I’m too embarrassed to ask”, 3) “I don’t know who to ask”, 4) “I don’t have time to ask”, and 5) “If I ask, they will say no”.
While you may have faced some (or all) of these fears and limiting beliefs in the past and moved beyond them as your career as a fundraiser evolved, there may be some members of your staff who are not as advanced as you are, and who may be struggling. This post is for them. I encourage you to share it with them, as well as offer how you overcame these obstacles to success.
This scenario plays out frequently at many nonprofit organizations: top-performing professionals gets promoted to lead a team but has never been trained to lead or manage. This is often a disaster—results suffer, people head for the door, and the new manager flames out (and may even get fired).
Listening at the speed of sound;
A recent conversation with my daughter on the way to school led to a startling realization. My role as Director of Major Gifts at Franklin & Marshall College has taught me a lot about driving success, both as a professional fundraiser and as a parent. During this particular drive, my daughter peppered me with questions about what I was going to do that day. Do I like my job? Why did I have meetings and what did I talk about during them? With whom was I going to talk? Why does my team follow my directions? How do I succeed at my job? Her curiosity led me to think about how closely my career integrates with my family life and how my experiences leading a team of major gifts officers informs my parenting at home. What lessons have I learned from my life as “Mom and Major Gifts Officer” or, to coin a term, the MoMGO?
Sidney Mathias Baxter Coulling III, the retired S. Blount Mason Jr. Professor of English at