This morning a memory popped into my head from my earliest days as a fundraising consultant. It was one of my first meetings with my Vice President and I was expected to present a plan for a client project. I came to the meeting with several suggestions (but no definite idea) about how we could proceed.
My VP interrupted me and said something like this:
“Listen, I hired you because you are smart and know what to do. So go away and decide which plan we will present to the client. Then come back and tell me what we will do.”
I remember feeling briefly like I had made a mistake. Then I realized what she was really trying to do was empower me to step into my role. She knew I could make the right recommendation. And her believing in me gave me the confidence to step up to the task. That memory has stayed with me all these years because that was the moment when I understood I did have what it takes to be a consultant.
In coaching we call this skill championing. It is related to the skill of acknowledgement, which I have written in the past. An acknowledgment goes deeper than a compliment. A compliment focuses on what the person did while an acknowledgement focuses on who the person is. When you acknowledge someone you are appreciating and celebrating their character and values. An acknowledgment sounds like this – “Sue, you took a stand for honesty in that meeting.”
Championing is different because it has a forward looking energy. When you champion you are telling a person what they are capable of. You see that they have a strength they are not aware of yet. You tell them you know they can accomplish a goal that seems out of reach.
Like the skill of acknowledgement, championing can have dramatic results when used in your organization. Whether you are a manager or a colleague, you can champion a team member when they are going to do something that they are unsure of.
Imagine someone on your team is going to make their first 6-figure ask. They feel excited to take this next step. And they may still feel some doubt in their abilities. They may worry about the donor’s reaction to this request.
You can champion them by saying:
“I know this meeting will be amazing. You have created a strong connection with this donor. You understand their passion for our organization. And when you speak from the heart they will understand how impactful their gift could be.”
The key to championing is to be authentic and to speak truthfully about the qualities that you see in them. Because when we tell someone what we see in them, we open up a wider view that allows them to see themselves in new and powerful ways.
As fundraisers we naturally support each other so I am sure you are already championing your teammates. And I know that there could be a great impact on our organizations if we were more intentional about using this skill.
So I challenge you to champion 10 colleagues in the next week. Think of something each co-worker is trying to achieve. Tell them that you know they can do “it.” And remember to tell them why. In other words, articulate clearly what you see in them that provides the evidence of their ability to step into this new realm.