October is coming to an end, and nonprofits are gearing out for what looks like to be a frantic end to a dizzying year as ramblings of a recession are growing ever so loudly. OK let’s be real, Dear Managers, you know all too well just how busy the holiday season tends to be for nonprofits. Between year-end campaigns, direct mail appeals, and annual ones, this is a crucial opportunity for you to meet fundraising targets… Especially if you are working for a smaller NGO that does not have a development team per se. With stress levels at an all-time high and absolutely no possibility to offer Christmas bonuses, what are you to do Dear Managers? Keep reading to find out how you can incentivize overworked or disgruntled employees.
Welcome to the Branding24Seven community! This blog is the brainchild of JMStrategy LLC (JMS), a boutique consulting firm that works with you to tighten team cohesion, maximize productivity, expand output…. In short, to strengthen your organizational brand. Today, this blog is prescribing what to do when it’s crunch time and the productivity of your team has taken an unfortunate nosedive.
This blog gets it, Dear Managers, the nature of nonprofit work is very challenging in part due to a burn rate that is often off the charts. How many associates have you seen come and go in the last four years? Too many to recount? There are never enough resources or hours in the day to do everything you need to accomplish, Dear Managers, not to mention the fact that fundraising targets will keep increasing year after year. Consequently, you need your team to be on its A-game. You need a robust playbook to make 2020 happen!
ONE. Manage your stress better.
Dear Managers, if your hair is on fire due to stress, your direct reports are even more stressed because they have to deal with your mood swings. So, consider taking short mental breaks throughout the day to check-in and make sure that you are not letting the stress get the best of you.
TWO. Strive to be as transparent as possible.
Employees respect honesty. Honesty breeds loyalty. Since fundraising targets (and probably many other short-term objectives) are keeping you up at night, Dear managers, be opened with your direct reports and discuss the burden that you are carrying candidly. Your team should be made aware of what’s at stake for every member as well as the entire organization. An organization that aims to perform effectively should never keep its employees in the dark. Especially when known disruptions are lurking on the horizon and threatening to close the doors of your nonprofit for good.
THREE. Be considerate and human.
Employees are not robots, so please treat them as people rather than as replaceable resources. That’s right, Dear Managers, when you need all hands on deck, you want direct reports to show up with the best predispositions ready to work a grueling 8, 9 or 12 hours. A positive environment beats toxic working conditions every time, wouldn’t you say, Dear Managers? So, Dear Managers, go ahead and create the best possible environment possible by treating your employees well and please avoid barking orders!
FOUR. Employee motivation depends more on your leadership than on any other variable.
Shocking, isn’t it, Dear Managers?! If there is a single truth the JMS team has learned from working with clients, it’s that you, Dear Managers, hold the key to pushing the motivation of your employees to new heights. Indeed, a leadership style that fosters hostile working conditions will drive away highly motivated employees while a knowledgeable and opened leader inspires loyalty and high performance (please refer to this post to read about the warning signs of such an ineffective leadership style for your convenience). If your leadership style needs a tune-up, feel free to email us at jms@branding24seven.com as the JMS team welcomes the opportunity to help your team perform more effectively.
FIVE. Everything has a price.
Dear Managers, please accept the fact that you can only create miracles with the resources at hand and not an ounce more. Consequently, it falls on you to adequately highlight the limitations of your team to the executive director (ED). You, Dear Managers, have the unenviable task to act as a liaison between the reality on the ground and the lofty goals the ED and Board of Directors have set for the organization. Consequently, it falls on your shoulders to express clearly just how impossible it is to motivate employees any further if the organization cannot allocate more resources.
SIX. Always lead by example.
Being the last ones in and first ones out is not leading effectively. How can you, Dear Managers, hope to inspire direct reports to go above and beyond when you yourselves do the bare minimum? So, bite the bullet by making the sacrifice you require direct reports to exert for the team to successfully exceed the expectations that the ED has set for the current fiscal year.
SEVEN. Accept that there are limits to your leadership.
Dear Managers, you cannot motivate anyone because employees juggle so many priorities in addition to their jobs…. Therefore, you must be realistic and accept the simple fact that your leadership acts as a stimulus and not a nexus of what this blog calls the Team DynaMix. In other words, you only have the power to exert an external influence to propel your team forward. You cannot unlock or release the internal drive of your direct reports…. That’s something employees must do for themselves.
Consequently, rather than wasting tremendous energy in figuring out how to motivate your team, focus instead on fostering an environment that consistently reinforces this clear message: you require and encourage self-motivation of every member of the team. Over time, as the morale of the team improves, you will see productivity increase exponentially as well.
And there you have it, Dear Managers! Thank you for stopping by the blog today and taking the time to read this post. The JMS team hopes that you found it useful. Please share it with anyone else who is fighting to improve team productivity. Come back for weekly actionable tips because this blog is here for you to engage in scintillating discussions about anything and everything that has to do with making your brand as robust and dynamic as possible. We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below, by email jms@branding24seven.com or by mail:
JMStrategy LLC
21 S. 11thStreet, 2ndFloor, Philadelphia, PA 19107
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