My ebook, Young Leadership: How a young person can make a difference in his organization and community which I gave away free has been pretty well received. It is a very short ebook, only about 17 pages, but it provides some simple principles that young leaders can learn and practice to do a better job of leading in their organization, regardless of their age.
Below I've given you the first chapter. If you're interested in reading more from the ebook, go here.
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Young Leaders Deal with "Stuff"
Hopefully I'm not the first person to tell you that being a young leader working for a nonprofit organization is difficult. I was given a reality check at the first nonprofit organization that I worked full-time for when two of my coworkers walked in the door and expressed their feelings of not wanting to work that day. I remember thinking, "We are working to make a difference in our community and in the world, how could they not want to be here? How could they say they would rather be at home than working here?"
I quickly realized that everything which happens in for-profit companies happens in nonprofit organizations. Examples are:
- There will be people who hate their job
- Coworkers are going to fight with each other and not work as a team
- People will complain
As a young leader you probably have had similar experiences and I hope to share with you what I've learned that has helped me on my journey. As a young leader you will realize very soon that you are not the go-to person, you are the go-do person. There will be times where you're singled out and selected to do the grunt, nasty, non-fun work.
Sometimes there will be days where you give your very best effort and you feel like you did a great job on a task or project, but your Supervisor or Manager won't say anything about it. They might not even acknowledge the fact that you finished, but rather will just tell you what your next project or task might be.
The first job I had for a nonprofit organization was the lowest paying job I've ever had. I made more money by the hour washing dishes at a restaurant while in High School than I did with a full-time salary at my first organization. As a young leader that's the price you have to pay when you're new to the nonprofit sector. When you're at the bottom of the organization chart you are there for the reason that you haven't proved yourself yet. When you were hired you didn't have a prior track record of bringing and adding value to other organizations. Hence, you are paid as little as legally possible (which is usually the federal minimum wage) and you're given a chance to prove that you deserve more.
Nothing is more frustrating than working for someone who is less committed to making a difference than you. This often happens when a young leader works hard to grow and improve, but his Supervisor doesn't take the steps and hard work to improve. This causes the young leader to pass his Supervisor in motivation, skill, and leadership ability—which becomes the most common reason that a young leader moves to another organization or transfers to a different department within that organization.
A good friend of mine was working for a company where he had spent half a decade of extremely hard work and sacrifice to do the best job he could. He had made every step and taken advantage of every opportunity to improve himself to do his job. As a result, when he approached his Supervisor to ask for a raise, he had outgrown her in ability to judge and recognize great talent and what it was worth. She responded by telling him he needed to stop worrying about learning and growing, and focus on doing and teaching what he already knew.
As a young leader he was continuing to develop, learn, and grow while his Supervisor was not. After this conversation he realized that his leadership ability exceeded her leadership ability, and as a result he went to another company where he could continue to grow and develop.
My goal isn't to discourage you from leading. I want to convince you that even though you might be at the bottom of an organization, there will be times and circumstances where you will feel like giving up. There will be times when you're working hard, seeing zero progress, and feel that you are not making a difference. These things are going to happen, and they are just part of the price you have to pay to become a nonprofit leader.
I’m sure you’re filled with enthusiasm and passion to make a massive difference in the world. However, to make a massive difference in the world you first have to make a small difference—and you start that small difference as a young leader. There are several steps and principles that a young leader must acknowledge and use before he can expect to make a big difference. The first of these steps is committing to personal growth and development.
