Top 5 Things Your Boss Is Worried About

Nonprofit leaders deal with a lot in their roles. In the past 18 months, I’ve heard more than 2,500 challenges, issues and headaches from top nonprofit leaders at “peer experience sharing” retreats and workshops. Hearing stories from these nonprofit executives constitutes what I and my colleagues jokingly call “Our Ph.D. of Pain.” 

While I would never disclose confidential information, trends have emerged. Here are the insights I have taken away from these conversations. Summarized and paraphrased, these are the things your boss is worried about.

1. Budgeting

Revenue budgeting in the new normal is hard. What was true last year is not true this year. Revenue channels that were steady no longer are. It feels like a shot in the dark.

One executive from a mid-sized nonprofit described getting intense pressure from her board, composed of mainly for-profit business owners who did not understand the changed revenue landscape for nonprofits. She described trying to execute zero-based budgeting even as she reconstituted her fundraising. Finally, she said, “I just guessed. That’s all I could do.” 

The decline of the small donor contributes to the revenue mystery. Most organizations used events and social fundraising for that revenue bucket, and those were most deeply impacted by the world pandemic. Events and social fundraising provided not just small dollar donors, but new donors. The loss of those new donors in the pipeline is beginning to show up in other revenue buckets. 

2. Remote Workers

How do I build a culture with remote workers? Do two days in the office really do anything good for our organization? No one will take our jobs if they aren’t fully remote. 

I kept thinking that this conversation would fade away. It has not. What has changed is the percentage of leaders who insist on getting back to the office. Hiring has changed. If you want someone to move, according to our community, you’ll have to pay big for it. 

Human resources leaders have been pounding on this with CEOs and executive directors. It shows up in conversations as “I can’t fill this position” or “It’s going to take another $50,000 to get someone.” These situations are making the case to allow remote workers. 

Even in-market remote (working from home while living near the office) is sticky. Why move for a remote job when other similar remote jobs don’t require that? Further complicating the situation, now that we’ve gotten used to shopping the nation for talent, constraining a search to in-market no longer feels great. 

3. Board Influence and Expectations

My board gets at least 50% of my mindshare all of the time.

This sentiment varies based on the organization’s size, the board’s role (working or governance) and the sophistication of board members. But most CEOs and executive directors spend an inordinate amount of time managing: 

1. Board interactions with staff. (Read: operational meddling.)
2. Unrealistic expectations. (Read: Why can’t you budget more accurately to revenue?) 

The way many organizations recruit board members complicates this situation. That is, based on the ability to give, not the ability to work or govern. One CEO of a $100 million-plus national organization said, “I don’t know why we think rich people can do absolutely anything — like run a nonprofit. I can’t believe that the people who are my bosses have zero experience in social good.” 

4. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Efforts

Our DEI efforts may be inauthentic and worthless. ‘Woke’ is a problem in many — and vastly different — ways.

Leadership is caught in the middle. Some treat “woke” as an infection to be eradicated, while others believe it is a delicate plant that should be nurtured. Some people on both sides are intolerant, have unrealistic expectations and don’t understand the position they’re putting leadership in. 

The comments of one large nonprofit’s field resource leader characterize the frustration many leaders feel in trying to do the right thing: “I am not sure our, or any, DEI effort is bearing fruit. I almost feel that by doing these trainings, we are simply solidifying people in whatever camp they fall. Doing nothing is not working. Doing something is not working.” 

Despite frustration over ineffective training with no measurable positive impact, leadership feels compelled to invest heavily simply to show good intent. 

5. Prioritization

I don’t know what to prioritize, and the organization can’t do it all.

Board pressure and the pressure leaders put on themselves come together to create a situation where even high-performing, high-energy leaders suffer. The success of the mission is — like always — hard for many to measure. Successful revenue production is shaky (see worry No. 1). Even success via keeping turnover low looks unachievable. One CEO of a large nonprofit said, “A week with zero turnover is a massive win.”  

Like employees, CEOs and executive directors struggle with personal organization, testing different methods and trying to find one that works. Even as executives complain of difficulty keeping up with work across multiple platforms, most don’t use software to manage their strategic and operational plans. Most organizations still lack a transparent, available and staff-friendly strategic and operational plan. It’s hard for executives to see the state of the work, and hard for employees to see where they fit within the work. Prioritization is difficult without a clear view. 

In comparison to other years, is 2023 more stressful? I think not. Budgets have always had to be met. Boards were always meddling. Some portion of employees are always upset and don’t understand why their leaders make certain decisions. It’s just the life leaders have. 

What’s different now is that there are few experiences to share about “what I did the last time that thing happened to me.” There is no roadmap, so we are making some decisions that have never been made before. There is no one to look to except those willing to pretend they know all.

The preceding blog was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.