This post originally appeared on Connection Cafe on April 26, 2012. 

When we think about having a strong fundraising board it can be tempting to think about filling your board with lots of big name individuals that you expect to write huge checks. In reality, these people may have no real connection to your cause. And if you are lucky enough that they do, they may be too busy to either commit to board services or worse, they’ll commit and never show up at meetings. 

Too often, eager to fill a vacant seat or secure a well-known name, we fail to clearly articulate expectations of service to prospective board members, or downplay the expectations of service.

“There is no question that orienting new board members to their responsibilities, especially around fundraising, is critical,” says Linda Crompton, BoardSource President and CEO. “In our 2010 Nonprofit Governance Index, BoardSource found that 90% of the boards with a structured orientation process were rated as effective, compared to only 67% of the boards without such a process.”

In addition to a job description, prospective board members should receive a board manual and board contract to help them understand and be successful in their role.

Board Manual

“Board manuals can be a key resource in facilitating the work of a board member. New members should receive a manual when they join the board and be encouraged to use it to track or manage all of their work. A board manual can also be used as the basis for an orientation training session. Board members report higher satisfaction when they participate in a formal, in-person orientation, and reviewing the content of the board manual will ensure that new members are consistently and thoroughly oriented to the work of the board and the organization.” –Greenlights for Nonprofit Success

Templates for organizing your board manual are available through many organizations. For one set of examples, check out the free board resources from our friends at Greenlights for Nonprofit Success.

Board Contract

One of the most critical pieces of content in your board manual is your board contract.  Ideally your contract lays out the following:

• Individual gifts the board member will make
• Fundraising the board member performs on behalf of the organization
• Program attendance
• Committee participation

Don’t forget the signature at the end, and make sure you each get a copy. 

Board members are your most committed volunteers. By providing them with excellent training and clear expectations, you are showing that you value them as exactly that.

This blog post originally appeared on March 8th on Role Reboot .

I feel like I’m part of a new demographic—I’m happily married but still, most nights I single parent. Why? My husband works nights, while I work days. Like most working moms, I don’t just work days; I work days and “the second shift” at nights as a parent. Only, my second shift is a solo shift. So I’m picking up toys, making dinner, doing laundry, bathing the kids, reading stories, and playing games with them, but I’m doing it solo.

I knew going into my marriage that my husband worked nights, and would as long as he kept the job he loved, where he started working at age 18. I walked straight into this lifestyle without much hesitation. (This wasn’t the first time my unwavering optimism would get me in over my head.) My husband is the Recreation Director for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The 165 kids on campus he is responsible for don’t get out of school until 3:00 p.m., so he works 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., planning, organizing, and leading the kids, and often a crew of volunteers, through every fun recreational activity you could imagine, from creating a haunted house, to running a marathon, to playing air hockey.

Most of my friends are married, and both husband and wife work 9-5 jobs. In my active imagination, they joyously share the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning up after dinner, bathing, reading, and putting multiple children to bed while eating a gourmet meal and having a glass of wine. The rest of my friends are divorced and are co-parenting and, although I am ashamed to admit it, I envy them as well. When they aren’t single-parenting like me, they are “off duty” and childless every other weekend and select weeknights, free to sleep in, read books, head out of town, or nap all day.

There are times I send out cries for help, usually through social media. Or at work, I’ll bid my fellow 9-5’ers goodbye as I head out for my solo second shift. My frustrations are at once validated and gratified with messages of encouragement, sympathy, or admiration. I flash back to a few years ago when my twins were newborns, and I’d gone back to work running Girlstart, the nonprofit organization that I’d founded, after a few months of maternity leave. Sleeping in shifts, nursing, exhausted, and overwhelmed, I would have moments of feeling particularly isolated, starving for human connection or sympathy. I’d deck the twins out in cute matching outfits, put them in their stroller and bask in the smiles and compliments that complete strangers bestowed on me.

Was it narcissistic, selfish, or petty? Maybe, but it got me through some pretty rough days. (Even now, five years later, I still delight in seeing people’s faces light up when they see the twins. There is this sudden smile of recognition that these are not two ordinary children but a pair, and seeing that recognition of their uniqueness light up another person’s face as they kindly greet my children with a warm, beaming smile is a lovely experience.)

My husband is deeply offended by any referral to my single-parent status. A mention of my responsibilities or workload in his absence is perceived as a direct insult and condemnation of him as less of a father. It’s one of those classic Men-Are-From-Mars moments: All I’m seeking is sympathy and understanding, and all he hears is an insult. So instead I share with my girlfriends or work colleagues my latest supermom, singlemom feat: a homemade picnic dinner in the car on the way to swim class, or calming two four-alarm meltdowns occurring simultaneously in surround sound. While it feels glaringly obvious to me as the primary caregiver and main breadwinner that I shoulder the lion’s share of responsibility, my husband does take the kids to school every day and faithfully washes the dishes. While I definitely feel like I have more tasks on my plate than he does, I am grateful for what he does.

I’m friends with other women who, like me, are the breadwinners for their families. There are times I wish I weren’t doing this alone, and I want to shirk from the financial responsibility of it all, to say nothing of the single-parenting workload. Both the financial and the parenting arrangements just happened; I can’t say it was a premeditated conversation about roles. I ambitiously crafted my professional path, creating opportunities that were challenging and rewarding and that compensated me to my satisfaction. I love working and I expect to be paid what I am worth. So in some sense, it feels a bit like a loop without a logical or obvious exit. My husband has a drastically lower tolerance of risk than I do, and has been in the same role at a job he loves for many years. Could he make more and have a 9-5 job? Probably, but I don’t know that he would get the same sense of reward and meaning from it.

And so our arrangement continues in perpetuity. We move on, trudging forward in life and marriage often feeling like two coworkers with the same demanding, but adorable, bosses.

The other day at the twins’ swim class, I spotted two special-needs adults being gingerly, thoughtfully, carefully, and patiently encouraged by the staff members working with them to try out the swimming pool. I thought of my husband and what he is spending his time at night away from his family doing—helping blind kids learn how to ride bikes, swim laps, take a spinning class, dance the night away at the prom, and otherwise lead a normal life, enjoying all the things that we take for granted as sighted people. I watch how calm, patient, supportive, and encouraging these instructors are at the pool, and I think to myself how their work takes as much energy, if not more, than parenting does, and how lucky these special-needs adults are to have caregivers like them. And how lucky my kids are to have a dad, and me to have a husband, who has a job he loves helping blind kids to live joyful, independent lives.

Even if he leaves the toilet seat up after seven years of marriage.

This post orginally appeared at connection cafe on January 20, 2012.

Two words a board chair never wants to hear from their ED. Few things can be as disruptive to an organizations success as an Executive Director transition. The staff may be crushed. Your board chair will likely feel horrible this happened on their watch. Mine did three years ago when I told my board chair that after 12 years at the helm I was leaving the organization. 

I’m not alone. According to the 2011 Daring to Lead report, 34% of nonprofit executives will depart within 2 years. You might be surprised to learn that your for-profit leadership peers were pegged at lower attrition, only 25% according to the Corporate Executive Board.  What’s really shocking is only 17% of organizations have a documented succession plan. 

Winston Churchill said, “I am always ready to learn but I do not always like being taught.” Leadership transitions are painful but they can teach us a lot. People change jobs; it’s a fact of life. How can you be prepared? 

5 simple steps to take now:

1. Keep up to date job descriptions.
2. Make sure key internal process are accurately documented: passwords,  signing authority, key documentation and procedures, etc.  
3. Have an airtight communications plan to thoughtfully communicate your change to the appropriate groups, moving from your inner circle of closest supporters outward. Leverage this important time to show gratitude to your outgoing leader, your positive outlook on your future and confidence in your temporary or incoming leadership. 
4. Develop an Emergency Succession Plan that addresses your temporary staffing structure in case of emergency, including authority and restrictions of the Executive Director.
5. Considering hiring an Interim Executive Director. Times of transition are critical opportunities for reflection and growth. With the expertise of a seasoned external leader to come in and provide leadership and assess the organizations health, priorities sand opportunities the staff and board can get an unbiased impartial look crucial for making decisions about what kind of leadership and direction are needed. Even better? It’s already budgeted!  Learn more about Interim Executive Director programs from my friends at Greenlights. 

I’d like to restrict my donation to pay for salaries, rent, professional development, health insurance, a bonus, a staff retreat, or fundraising.  In sum, if it’s “overhead” I’d like the charities I support to spend 100% of my donation on it.

Most people want the exact opposite.  Funder after funder, foundation after foundation, all caught in the same trap.  A vicious trap.  A trap called out by a highly controversial and timely advocate: Dan Pallotta, author of Uncharitable: How Restraints on Non-profits Undermine Their Potential. I wish you could see the amazing presentation he gave at the Texas Non-Profit Summit last month, but sadly the “content was removed by owner”, whatever that means.  Kudos to Greenlights and especially the brilliant Kim Wilson, for bringing Dan Pallotta and his provocative message to our industry.  I’m halfway done with Dan’s book.  The first half of the book tackles an argument around non-profit compensation that seems to trump and polarize people into a complete bottleneck of an argument that renders them useless for getting to what I believe is most important issue at hand: an arbitrary meaningless yardstick destroying the effectiveness of non-profit industry and the very fabric and essence of philanthropy.

What’s the yardstick?  A societal obsession that’s led to the institutionalization of the belief that a non-profits percentage of spending on fundraising and administrative is an indication of effectiveness AND worthiness of a funders donation.

Hogwash.  Here are 5 reasons to donate to overhead.

1) How much money a charity spends on administrative or fundraising expenses is arbitrary and meaningless.  It says absolutely nothing about what matters: how effective the agency is at fulfilling their mission.   Some agencies rent space.  Some get it for free.  That doesn’t matter: what matters is how is the charity impacting the lives it’s trying to change?  If it can’t serve its clients because there’s no parking at their “free” in-kind office space then they aren’t very efficient and my gift is more likely to make a bigger impacting at at agency paying rent.

2) The “ratio” of general and administrative expenses to program expenses is a fabricated number to start with.  Charities decide what expenses are allocated to programs and what are allocated to overhead.  There isn’t one way to do it.  There are many.  One ED entered every expense into Quickbooks, regardless of the charge, to 90% programs, 3% fundraising and 7% administrative.   I would estimate she is in good company and many charities, especially larger ones, follow her formula.  At the non-profit I started and led for twelve years I took a different approach: expenses and timesheets were billed directly to the programs they were spent on or served (i.e. summer camp, after school etc).  To put it simply, “overhead” is in the eye of the beholder.

3) Helping ensure that people are compensated fairly for their talents and dedication, that achievements are rewarded, that staff can live comfortably, that workers have the technology infrastructure to thrive and efficiently serve clients and raise money, and work in facilities that are fully operational, optimal and safe is a GOOD investment. It’s money well spent.  End of story.  Nuff’ said.

4) Whatever happened to the joy of giving? To the spirit of philanthropy? Do we really think so low of people at charities that we honestly can’t trust them with the very dollars we want to give?  Hmmm…if we feel that way have we really spent enough time getting to know them?  Or do we have trust issues?  If so, why are we giving?  Are you a bitter, cave-dwelling, catlike creature with a heart “two sizes too small,” living on snowy Mount Crumpit, just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos?  If so, please stay on Mount Crumpit and stay away from charitable ventures in Whoville.  A true philanthropist is made of many admirable traits and after generosity come equal parts of faith and trust.  If you don’t have that, don’t give.  Sadly, non-profits are courting enough grinches already and don’t need another.

5) Focus on what is important in the first place:  that Headstart is giving kids a headstart to succeed.  That adoption agencies are getting kids adopted into safe, loving homes.

What’s the overhead in your house?  Paper towels?  Toilet paper?  Could you live without that?  I hope you wouldn’t try.  Should we judge you for spending on that?

Give and stay classy,

Rachel

Times are lean but even when they aren’t, in the non-profit world ‘free’ is the gold standard.  Free trumps everything.  But free has a price tag.  Ever heard the phrase, “as free as kittens”?  Earlier this summer I blogged about the cost of being cheap. Here’s what’s can be even more expensive:  free.

If your office space is free but you have no parking for clients or donors and your staff are crammed in one room where they have to wear ear mufflers to hear themselves think, is your space really free?  Not when you calculate your lost productivity, lost revenue from would be clients or would be donors who can’t engage in your services or in supporting your mission.  How about that “volunteer webmaster” that is supposed to be building your new site or managing your existing one but hasn’t responded to your emails or calls for the past 6 months?  How much is it costing you to unsuccessfully track them down and hobble along with a subpar online presence with dated information, graphics and content that doesn’t engage your constituents?  Now add to the cost of your time  what you could be raising if you had a top notch site that did engage your visitors with compelling opportunities to give.  Who knew cheap could be so pricey?  Let’s talk about that social media intern who is supposedly building your Facebook page, tweeting for you and setting up your blog?  Really?  Would you hand that intern over the mic at your annual gala in font of hundreds of your key stakeholders?  Because you might as well be.  Are they qualified to serve as the spokesperson for your agency?    What would it cost you if they weren’t?  In a word: everything.

Every non-profit is stretched thin.  So, how can you not break?   Here are three things you can’t afford to be “free”:

1) Your technology

Your database shouldn’t be managed by anyone but you.  Whether its a donor database or software tools you need, you can afford a reliable, cost effective solution and these solutions are all around you.  With so many affordable solutions, there’s no excuse for not investing in your infrastructure.

2) Your brand

You get what you pay for, plain and simple.  Brands don’t come free.  if you need a new identify system, shop around.  You may find many generous vendors who will donate a portion of their services but PAY SOMETHING because when you pay nothing you often get one opinion and your identity is too important to take the first logo you get.

3) Your social media

Social media is one of the only things that is free but it is a time investment.  There are plenty of examples of non-profits and companies who do  this right and do this well.  follow them to learn!  Don’t delegate this to someone on the fringe of your agency, your messaging is too important for that.

Everyone is stretched thin but by prioritizing and spending your dollars wisely, you’ll stay ahead of the curve and ensure that you take your agency to the next level.

Stay classy,

Rachel

Everyone’s busy and time is money.  We need each other but we’re all swamped.  How do you get your request moved to the top of the stack?  How do you get the door opened?  How do you get your name at the top of the list?

Today I got THE BEST ask for a visit that I’ve ever received.  Not only could I not say no, I couldn’t wait to meet this amazing person.  I immediately asked if I could share her flawless prose on my blog and she graciously agreed:

Dear Rachel,

I am inspired and excited by the work you have chosen to do, from Girlstart to Mothers’ Milk, motherhood to consulting.  Your career, which you have described as a “calling”, is a great example of passion breeding profession.

I am writing to ask if you will grant me 30 minutes of your time for an informal interview on the subject of Calling.  I am an aspiring entrepreneur and an incoming MBA candidate at the Acton School of Business. We have been given the daunting but important challenge of spending 30 Minutes with an Entrepreneurial Hero.  I’d like to spend those 30 minutes with you.

There is no hidden agenda, I’m not job-seeking—I’m just hoping you’ll share some of the lessons you’ve learned about leveraging passion into career, balancing career with motherhood, and living a life of meaning.

If you say “yes” I promise to make good use of your time.  I will ask you only the questions that I’ve been unable to answer from reading your press and blog.  I will send you questions in advance and will end on time.  As a thank you, I’d like to donate ten hours of my time to your favorite Austin charity.

I am moving to Austin this Friday, August 6^th.  I’d be pleased to meet at your convenience as early as this weekend, and would love for my first memories of Austin, Texas to include a meeting with you.  Please let me know how I can make this happen.

Sincerely,

Ariel Julia Nazryan, Acton School of Business Class of 2011

Here’s what Ariel does right:

1) She took the time to know her subject and (just as importantly) let them know she knows them.

2) She asks for a very specific and reasonable amount of time.

3) Just as important as telling me what the meeting IS; she tells me what it ISN’T.

4) She commits to using the time wisely by sending me questions ahead of time.

5) Best part?  She generously gives me the gift of HER TIME, ten hours of it, for MY favorite charity!  What a win-win!  I can feel great about someone this brilliant helping out some of the causes I hold dear.

Want to open the door to your next opportunity?  I would bet money if you followed Ariel’s method you’ll get the meeting.  What are you waiting for?  Go forth and ask!

Stay classy,

Rachel

The other day I was talking to my friend Vicki Flaugher, founder of Smart Woman Guides about one of many Fortune 500 companies whose go to market strategy is price leadership.  That doesn’t leave many options.

You see it all around.  99 cent burgers.  79 cent tacos.  In reality its price prohibitive to make a burger for 99 cents, so those companies take a loss on each one sold in the hopes they’ll up sell you on a non-loss item, perhaps a super size drink.

In my opinion cheap always loses, because you can only go one direction: cheaper.  One of my favorite Fast Company articles was written back in 2006, The Man Who Said No to Walmart.  He walked in to make his pitch and the VP’s office was furnished with plastic folding chairs left behind by another vendor as a demo.  I read that article 4 years ago and I still have this crystal clear image of what he must have looked like awkwardly sitting in a crappy lawnchair in his suit, briefcase resting on his knees, knees positioned somewhere near his ears.  Like a giant in a kids chair.   What kind of an executive of a Fortune 500 company seats guests on plastic folding chairs?  What does that say?  “Dear God we’re cheap.  We are so cheap it literally hurts.  Try it, sit down.  Ouch.  This chair sucks.”

The Man Who Said No to Wal-mart said no because his company (Snapper) stands not for volume, but for quality, reliability, and durability.  His product wasn’t cheap.  It was built to last.  Their value proposition isn’t price, it’s performance and longevity.  Even though he successfully ran his manufacturing operations much like Walmart ran its stores, with fastidious detail on each element of precision and productivity, he wasn’t willing to sacrifice quality for price.

Business is about what you stand for:  Value.  Quality.  Convenience.  A fanatical obsession with customer service.  It’s also about where you are headed.  Short term gains around pricing today can have huge long term consequences.  How do you differentiate yourself in a noisy marketplace?  Where do you want to be in 10 years?  What are you going to doing today to get there?  Who will you say no to?  What will you do to preserve the values you hold dear?  Will you turn down clients?  Will you turn down money?  Most likely you will.  And if you lead your business with a strong moral compass, unwavering commitment to your core values, selfless dedication to your clients, customers, and stakeholders, and complete transparency your difficult decision will be rewarded with great success.

Stay classy,

Rachel

Face it.   Most people are afraid of asking for money.  Others excel at it and love it so much they do it for a living.  I am one of those people.  What are the 5 habits that make fundraisers successful?

1.  They are grateful.

Successful fundrasiers are some of the most grateful people you will ever meet in your life.  First and foremost, they are grateful for the purpose for which they are making asks, be it a for profit product or a non profit mission.  Secondly, they are grateful for every monetary gift they get.  They are quick to openly express this gratitude, which makes the funder feel acknowledged and valued and contributes to the fundraisiers continued success.

2. They have a naturally positive attitude and outlook on life.

You can’t be successful asking others for money if you don’t see the glass half full.  Your positive confident belief in your product or mission is what sells it.  It takes many no’s to get to a yes.  The no’s help you develop a thick skin but you have to be able to bounce back to a state of positivity to stay in the game and go out after your next ask.

3.  They are born extroverts: they have a natural drive to always be creating, building and maintaining strong relationships.

A successful fundraiser is managing a portfolio of potentially hundreds of prospects.  They should visit 50% of those prospects in a year and have 30% of their prospects in active solicitation.   On average they should be making 2-3 asks a month and have a close ratio of 50-75%.   This translates to a lot of phone calls, breakfasts, lunches and networking events.

4.  They are extremely goal driven.

Whether they are building a playground for the visually impaired, a technology center for girls, or a hospital for children successful fundraisers can visualize the dream of their end goal and they dedicate each moment to strategically getting there.  They break it down step by step to tangible, measurable goals they work every week, every month and every year to get there.

5.  They are organized.

You can’t raise millions of dollars or manage hundreds of prospects without being extremely organized.  Fundraising is a big job and every minute of your time is precious.   You have to spend it wisely cultivating relationships, making asks, pursuing new opportunities.   Determine what 3-5 core areas you will focus your time on to get the maximum results to reach your goals, i.e. cultivating existing relationships, making asks, developing new relationships, working with your board, etc and hold yourself accountable.

I have found fundraising to be one of the most profoundly meaningful careers out there.  Being in an intimate conversation with another person about the legacy they want to leave the world is deeply significant.  Having the opportunity to be a catalyst to help one person make a difference in the lives of others is infinitely rewarding.

Go forth and fundraise!

Stay classy,

Rachel

I know some of the brightest entrepreneurs in the business.  Some excel at strategy, others at marketing, or innovation. Their boundless enthusiasm gets everyone around them excited.  Their determination and drive draws others in like moths to a flame.  But there’s a secret they harbor.  Many of them despise managing other people.  They’ve raised millions, they’ve sold millions.  Yet they would rather stride into Pixar’s executive offices to make a pitch than give an employee feedback about their performance.  It makes sense, I mean who WANTS to have a difficult conversation? Here’s the secret: it doesn’t have to be difficult.  If you invest the time and use these tools you can say goodbye to employee performance evaluations as a dreaded workplace ritual.

A note of disclaimer here because let’s face it, there are some toxic broken people in the workplace so hell bent on destruction that they can make everyone’s jobs a living nightmare.  Like these managers whose feud made headlines.  Those people need to be shown the door.  These tools are for the rest of us.  Employee problems are likely to be a direct result of our mismanagement.  Ouch.  Did that feel like a slap in the face?  It isn’t – it’s a growth opportunity.  How can you get better?  Improve your management skills.  Leading teams is a muscle you are always flexing.  Just when you master one challenge, another presents itself.

Here are 3 secrets to have meaningful, rewarding and successful performance evaluations.

1)  Do weekly one on one’s with your direct reports.  Meetings can be as short as 30 minutes.  This time is critical for two reasons; first is is your employees opportunity to check in with you, update you and ask for help if they need it.  Secondly, it’s your time to share feedback with them, redirect them if they are of course or praise them if they are on track.  If you are doing one on one’s consistently and sharing appropriate feedback then NOTHING in your annual employee evaluation will come as a surprise.  Nothing in the annual review should ever be a surprise (unless it’s a big fat raise).

2) Have employees create SMART goals, written goals approved by you, their supervisor that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Framed.  Example:  “Work with sales team to launch monthly open house point of entry events starting in June  attended  by a minimum of 15 prospects monthly”.  SMART goals should be organized based on their job description and/or current strategic plan. Employees should create SMART goals and submit them to their supervisor for changes and approval.  This process is time consuming but worth every penny; it gives your employees have a road map to success and 100% ownership in their work.

3) Evaluate employees performance using objective behavioral specifics.  Separate behavior from attitude and judgment from feedback.  In other words: be specific.  Have someone who shirks responsibility?  Tell them how by rating them against the behavior you want.  i.e.  “Accepts responsibility for tasks or projects. Does not blame others when she makes mistakes or goals are not met. Acknowledges her contribution to mistakes when they happen and makes a plan for correcting or preventing them in the future.”  You must clearly actively describe each manifestation of the behavior you want.

Here’s an area of great complexity: communication.  An employee can be a great writer and a horrible presenter.  They may do well in small groups but horrible in front of large groups.   Get specific in your evaluation criteria.  For example:

Communication: (Internal) Presents information so that it is understood by the listener. Gives information that is useful.  Is able to get to the point in a timely fashion. Summarizes key points in a situation and shares those in a short amount of time. Makes regular, sustained eye contact. Listens actively. Uses both broad and narrow questions to check for understanding and find solutions to problems.  Gives staff the information they need about projects in order to meet deadlines and deliver quality programs and results.   (External) Can speak to both large and small groups and keep the audience engaged.  People respond to her speaking with interest and enthusiasm.  Is well prepared for public speaking opportunities. Creates compelling visual materials and handouts. Tailors her speaking to the needs of her audience; is able to fluctuate the length and depth of a conversation based on the context and the listener’s needs.

Each of these steps will put you on the right path to success.  Do they take time?  Yes, but these are the steps to achieve great success, build successful teams, and groom new leaders.

Go forth and lead!

Stay classy,

Rachel

People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.  The number one reason cited in exit interviews is “poor supervisory behavior.” In other words, bad bosses.   Poor leadership can plague any industry, for-profit or not-for profit.  The for profit world is pursuing profit, and the non-profit world is pursuing social change but if you think for one second that a career “doing good” gives you a hall pass from a bad boss, think again.

Here’s the good news what motivates employees isn’t money.   Want to learn more?  Watch this video of a Dan Pink lecture and find out. Want to know what really motivates your employees?  Be brave, ask.  Do a survey.  Ask your employees to rank in order what are the most important to them: compensation, mission, leadership, core values, autonomy, praise/recognition, and future opportunities for growth.  It’s important to ask. Asking makes your employees feel valued and respected.  It’s also important because what motivates each of us is different.  And that includes you!

My recipe for getting your employees excited to come to work everyday is 5 ingredients:

1) Trust them and show it.  Here’s a great example of this: Evaluate your employees by their results, not how many hours they put in.  This means trusting your direct reports to get the job done with the freedom to work from home or take flex time.

2) Give them praise that is specific, prompt and meaningful.  Have a hard time remembering to do this?  Let’s assume you have 5 direct reports.  Start the day with 5 coins in your right pocket.  Every time you praise one of your direct reports, move one coin to the other pocket.

3) Make it fun. Hold staff retreats on a monthly basis and trade off who plans it.  Even on a tiny budget you can have a great time.

4) Communicate!  The fastest way to change a behavior is with immediate feedback (just like your praise).  Be  fast (speak to the employee within hours of the event happening) and be specific and constructive.   Also, meet with your direct reports weekly.   It can be as quick as a 30 minute meeting but never save your frustrations for a quarterly or an annual review.  Those reviews should have NO SURPRISES in them because you should be communicating your constructive feedback weekly to your reports.

5) Take the pieces of your culture that everyone loves and document it.  Share it in your employee orientation so people know right away what kind of culture they are walking into, i.e.  what the rules are, what is rewarded and what’s expected of them.

Leading others an incredible responsibility and opportunity.  It is humbling to be entrusted with someone’s career.  Make it great!

Stay classy,

Rachel