“How do you up your game as CEO?” Some years ago, a CEO Coach asked me this question and I really didn’t have an adequate answer.
I read bunches of books on leadership and management, but I didn’t really have a structured approach for improving my performance as leader of an organization.
Fortunately, the company where I worked could afford to hire a Coach for me. Over the next five years, she would come in once a month to teach me better CEO skills and work “on” the business. This created a powerful impact on the organization and we were able to successfully navigate huge disruptions in our industry.
As I’ve become immersed with nonprofits, I consistently wonder what ED’s and CEO’s are doing to “up their game”. I’ve spoken with leaders who have engaged in executive peer groups, but most of them are relatively unstructured, or the cohort of peers doesn’t “get” nonprofits.
Others would like to hire an Executive Coach, but almost universally, there isn’t money to fund this.
When you think about the impact of great leadership in the nonprofit community, it seems like investing in their constant improvement should be a priority.
So the question is – How do you “up your game” in nonprofit leadership?
