March 2010
March 2010 Newsletter - What’s Inside
• Why continuing education is important to nonprofit leaders
• Align services
• Why continuing education is important to nonprofit staff
Why continuing education is important to nonprofit leaders
It cannot be a surprise to you: successfully leading and operating an organization of any type requires a different set of skills every day. Yesterday you were focused on donor relations; today you spent time coaching staff; and tomorrow you plan to prepare the budget for your next fiscal year. Those are just three of the many things you do.
Soon you are exhausted and out of fresh ideas.
At Align, we consider continuing education to be akin to vacation days. You get out of the office to a different environment; you meet new people; and you gather new ideas and new perspectives. You return to the office renewed and invigorated, ready to do it all some more!
What types of classes and what venues to we recommend for nonprofit leaders?
• You are a general manager, so any type of management-related course will serve you well.
• You are a fundraiser. Find a class on that topic – or attend someone else’s fundraiser to see how they go about it… and yes, that’s continuing education, too.
• You are a boss. Get the latest information on HR law and practices; take a coaching class; or go coach Little League and note what skills you use there that would translate to the office staff… and yes, that’s continuing education, too.
In addition:
• You are a volunteer coordinator.
• You manage a board of directors.
• You are responsible for financial reports.
Find classes in any field even loosely related to those things and go enjoy some learning.
As for venue, just as with choosing the course material, choose a venue that appeals to you. We recommend getting out on the highway just a bit as part of the brain clearing exercise – but if you hate to drive, you’ll find an excuse to ditch the class, so choose something in town.
We prefer a lower teacher-to-student ratio (such as 25 students maximum); but if your goal is networking, head out for a convention hall where the speaker will address 1000 people at one time.
The content and delivery methods for on-line courses are improving every day, so don’t dismiss that option. To maximize the “relax and learn” element of our recommendation, don’t attend a webinar from your desk. Too many distractions! At least go to a colleague’s desk; but better yet, sign on from your computer at home or make arrangements with a local property to use their business center; or (the best idea) try your local library or a library in a nearby town (to get that “going to a class” feeling).
The point is to abide by the imperative to keep learning. Find the subject matter, the mode and a venue that make you jump for joy at the thought of learning. We know how nonprofit leaders are: it’s almost impossible to blast you out of your office where you are fully focused on your good work. Trust us: leave for a day or two of learning and watch your mission gain new focus when you return, renewed and with new drive.
It is often worth the time and energy to create a written checklist for projects and changes that will require significant time and resources, or that have other significant impacts.
Align services
Did you know that Align offers curriculum development and training services? We’ve helped organizations with customer service training, leadership development materials, and other customized curriculum. Contact a consultant today to find out how Align can help your organization improve knowledge and performance through our development and implementation of training.
Why continuing education is important to nonprofit staff
If you read our article (above) about why nonprofit leaders should renew and refresh through continuing education, then you get the gist of why we believe it’s true for staff, too. If you didn’t read that article, we’ll recap:
At Align, we consider continuing education to be akin to vacation days. You get out of the office to a different environment; you meet new people; and you gather new ideas and new perspectives. You return to the office renewed and invigorated, ready to do it all some more!
For staff, finding the time and money to provide a class or two each year demonstrates that the organization values their input and supports their continued personal and professional growth. In the nonprofit world, we ask much of our employees for compensation that is typically lower than they could earn in the private or even government sectors. This means employees follow their hearts to work for nonprofit organizations, knowing they may be sacrificing financial and personal growth. Finding $200 to $500 each year to provide continuing education can significantly boost morale. And if you are dependent on them for what they know as well as for what they do, giving them the opportunity to know more is a great benefit to the organization as well.
Offer to provide $200 toward any class the employee finds interesting; don’t require that it be related to what is done in your office. Education helps us feel better about ourselves. Higher self-esteem brings out our best work habits and greatest ideas. So any class can be a boon for the employee and for the organization. You are investing in the organization by investing in staff.
To “pump up” the idea that continuing education is one of your goals for staff and that providing it is a benefit, it is best if the venue is not a webinar from the office. Providing for a course that offers face-to-face interaction with others demonstrates that you trust that the employees will represent your organization well among other professional people.
When an employee returns to the office from a learning experience, ask them to tell you what they learned; and encourage them to relate it to their specific tasks or to the work of the organization in general. If they can’t quite make a connection, ask probing questions – help them draw the correlation. By doing this, you add an opportunity to practice critical thinking to the other ideas and skills they learned in class.
So the next time you receive an email or a postal flier regarding learning opportunities, don’t dismiss it out of hand. Look it over and consider that whatever the monetary outlay, you can realize a return on your investment and help your organization be even more successful.