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Volume
5, Issue 3 - May 2003 |
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SPECIAL EDITION:
LEADING WITH PASSION |
Leading with
Passion in Non-Profit Organizations
Michael Kroth, Ph.D. & Patricia Boverie, Ph.D.
In our presentations around the country we have asked thousands of people if
there is a relationship between having passionate employees and productivity.
The answer is always a resounding ‘yes!” Generally, employees and volunteers who
enjoy what they do and find it meaningful are more creative, work harder, and
have contagious enthusiasm.
PASSION AND NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS
Would you say that having passionate employees and volunteers is important in
a non-profit organization? We think the answer is an even more important ‘Yes!”
Non-profit organizations – where volunteers can come and go as they please, and
staff members can often find more highly paid positions in other organizations –
depend upon the emotional glue that having a love for what you are doing and
making a difference embody.
PASSION AND LEADERSHIP
How important is leadership in creating the conditions for passionate work?
Researchers in emotional intelligence say that 50-70 percent of how employees
perceive their organization’s climate can be traced to the actions of one
person: the leader. Although every person in the organization influences how
enjoyable the workplace is – leaders by far have the most impact.
OUR RESEARCH
Our book,
Transforming
Work: The Five Keys to Achieving and Sustaining Trust, Commitment, and Passion
in the Workplace is about the indispensable necessity of passion for
individual and organizational success, and describes our research into
passionate work. In it, we describe what we’ve found are key to creating what we
call “Occupational Intimacy™” (OI). OI includes three characteristics required
to create and sustain a passionate work environment. We also describe how to
achieve OI via a process we call the “Passion Transformation Model.™”
In 1999 we began looking into what individuals and organizations could do to
create passionate work environments – places where people love their work.
We started our search unorthodoxically – we went first to the literature on
love and relationships. The development of our model began with a search for
what makes people love each other and then to lose and regain that love. We
asked ourselves what we could apply from what we learned about passionate
relationships to work. The answer was – a lot. We then asked, What makes a
passionate employee? Why do passionate employees lose their passion? This led to
our thinking of the role of intimacy and work. If intimacy fuels passion then
how can we become ‘intimate,’ or close to our work? What is our relationship
with our work?
We then asked over 300 working adults to share critical incidents regarding
their experiences with passion and work. We asked them to tell us about a time
they were passionate about their work, what created that passion, how they
maintained it and if they lost it, why, and how they got it back. We also
conducted in-depth interviews with people who had been recommended as being very
passionate about their work. What we found resulted in our concepts of
Occupational Intimacy and the Passion Transformation Model.
LEADING WITH PASSION has two meanings.
First, it suggests that every one of us can lead off with passion – we can put
it at the top of our lives and our work. Second, it means that we can lead our
organizations with passion – creating passionate work environments by
transferring our own enthusiasm for the organization to all others who come into
contact with it. One of our students, Kitty Leslie, told us that “I define true
passion as having such a strong and consistent presence in your life that all
those close to you suspect it, even if you’ve never voiced it in great detail.”
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Warren Bennis, one of the world’s foremost experts on leadership, says that
“I have never met a great leader without passion. Many leaders are rather
soft-spoken, but when they talk they are passionate.” Would those in your
organization describe you as passionate about your work? Would they call you a
passionate volunteer?
PASSION PITFALLS
When we work with organizational leaders we assess what it is that is holding
them back from creating an environment where employees and volunteers just can’t
wait to get to work.
We’ve found four common ‘pitfalls’ that suck the passion out of people.
- Boring/Meaningless Work
- Over Control (being Micromanaged)
- Feeling Inadequate
- Dishonesty, Distrust, and Manipulation
Although there are other factors, these four are identified time and again by
people who have at one point lost their passion. The question to ask yourself,
as a leader, is what you are doing to create Passion Pitfalls for your
volunteers and staff.
OCCUPATIONAL INTIMACY™
On the other hand, organizations with high Occupational Intimacy – places
where people love what they are doing in an environment that loves them back –
create meaning, enjoyment, and nurturance.
What is meaningful for one person is different than what is meaningful
for another person. The art of leadership is knowing the difference. One person
might be challenged by high standards or goals, another by making a difference
in several people’s lives, and still another by competition. One CEO we talked
to said that her job was to make meaning for her employees. Often, the easiest
part is to help a volunteer in a non-profit organization feel that the work she
or he is doing makes a difference.
But meaning without joy is simply duty. Organizations high in OI also make
work fun. They make volunteering fun. The least expensive way to do that is to
find ways to laugh. Others include making the physical environment attractive,
celebrating together, or creatively trying new ways of completing the work.
Having fun starts with you. What can you do to make the work your volunteers and
staff are doing more enjoyable?
Nurturance doesn’t just mean emotional support – though that’s an
important part of it. It also means – just like one helps a seed become a flower
through watering, weeding, and fertilizing – helping people grow, develop
skills, and try new projects or jobs. It includes giving recognition and
appreciation, and in successful organizations means developing strong, close
interpersonal relationships. The question is, how can you help your employees
blossom? How can you help your volunteers grow and develop? Nurturance is one of
the main reasons people volunteering for non-profit work, and so many times we
miss great opportunities to help them do just that.
THE POWER LIES WITHIN YOU!
What does it mean to lead with passion? It means creating the kind of
organization where employees, volunteers, and all of your stakeholders can
literally feel the passion. And much of the power to create this environment for
others lies within you.
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Contents
ABOUT PATRICIA BOVERIE, PH.D.
& MICHAEL KROTH, PH.D.
Patricia and Michael specialize in processes that cultivate passionate work
for both individuals and organizations. Ranging from developmental workshops to
organizational assessments to personal coaching to keynote presentations, our
work with individuals and organizations of all sizes is focused on creating
passionate work environments, where people
With over 40 cumulative years of experience in organizational development,
consulting, training, teaching, communication and human resources, Patricia and
Michael bring a deep reservoir of experience to individual and organizational
change. Their book,
Transforming
Work: The Five Keys to Achieving and Sustaining Trust, Commitment, and Passion
in the Workplace, is about the indispensable necessity of passion for
personal and organizational success in the workplace.
Patricia is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Organizational
Learning and Instructional Technology at the University of New Mexico. A
featured speaker in many national and international forums on organizational
learning, she has written and consulted extensively in the field.
Michael has developed and administered corporate-level leadership development
and succession planning programs, been the administrator of a corporate
foundation, and an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico.
Patricia and Michael speak to groups around the country on passionate work.
Their workshops for individuals focus on creating passion for work; their
workshops for organizational leaders focus on creating passionate work
environments and passionate leadership. Organizations that provide challenging,
rewarding, learning environments are more likely to attract and retain valuable
talent. bk&a provides a range of diagnostic and consulting
services designed to help organizations and individuals achieve and sustain
productive, meaningful work.
Contact us at: Boverie, Kroth & Associates, 505-450-4248 (cell) or
505-296-6636. Email
michaelkroth@leadingwithpassion.com.
Visit our web site at:
www.LeadingWithPassion.com to learn more about how we can help your
organization find its passion.
A NOTE FROM Jean Block
Consulting, Inc.
A clear understanding of this notion passion is critical to the success of
your organization. In the best possible world, passion flows from the volunteer
leadership as well as the paid staff. It makes no difference if your
organization is large, medium or small...all volunteer or an organization with
paid staff.
Without an underlying passion for the work of the organization, you simply
are not serving your mission to your utmost potential!
I urge you to take advantage of the survey these writers have designed so
that we can be a part of creating a tool to find and renew the passion! You can
take the survey at:
www.LeadingWithPassion.com/survey.htm. Do it today!
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Contents
Want
to take advantage of your list of email addresses for donors, volunteers and
others connected with your organization? Visit
www.nonevents.com to
see how you can involve these folks in a virtual nonevent which can raise money
to meet your program and service needs.
Here’s a great resource to manage your ticket sales and registration online
at great savings of time and effort. Visit
www.eventsNmore.com
and visit with Barbara Everett at
beverett@ewebiz.net
to see how she can help you .
And here is a list of places you should visit often. The Foundation Center is
at www.foundationcenter.org.
Guidestar lists financial information for 800,000 nonprofits (including yours)
at www.guidestar.org.
www.idealist.org is an amazing
nonprofit resource. The Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership is
www.nonprofitbasics.org. At
www.networkforgood.org, people
can find volunteer opportunities and donate online...use this site to add a free
Donate button to your web site. For a huge site covering all aspects of
volunteering, visit
www.serviceleader.org. Go to
www.techsoup.org to find a valuable resource for all aspects of
nonprofit technology.
THERE! That should keep you busy for awhile!
Back to Table of
Contents
Now you can add two great books to your agency library.
The ABCs of Building Better Boards is just what you need to
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Learn how to deal with unproductive Board members and how to better define the
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Help volunteers get over the fear of asking for money and in-kind resources for
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At only $19.95 plus shipping and handling, it’s a Must Have for your nonprofit
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Email me at to
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Order Now So You Don't Forget!
Go to the Order Form to order your copies of
The ABCs of Building Better Boards
and
Fast Fundraising Facts For Fame & Fortune ©
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HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
TAKE THIS QUICKIE QUIZ
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Please give me a call if you want to turn any NO into a YES. I can help
with:
- turning your Board into a dynamic group of volunteers,
- facilitating a strategic planning session,
- analyzing your current fundraising and suggesting some new ideas, and
- training volunteers and staff in becoming more effective fundraisers.
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Here is what people have said about my training and facilitation:
"Jean Block is a powerhouse in the
Non-Profit world. You don't move about these circles long before her name is
prominent in the conversation. Her commitment to training, fundraising,
motivating, and cultivation is unsurpassed. To say she is an influence is
to miss the point. She gives new meaning to the word enthusiasm! You don't
know Jean, you experience her! She is a force unlike any other I have every
met."
Randy Gleason
Randy
Gleason Consulting, Inc.
"I attended the Corporate
Sponsorship Workshop - WOW! You were amazing! What an OPPORTUNITY for me!
Your presentation style was EXCELLENT. By
far the best workshop I've been to in a long time (content and style
both!)."
Vicki
Kopplin
Epilepsy
Foundation of Minnesota
"I attended your workshop in St. Louis
and left there feeling so uplifted by your motivation. Your training - to
make us all savvy marketers - has paid off. Even in this economy, our
underwriting is up and our auction donations have blown away everyone in
town! We simply feel empowered to ask anyone and everyone AND to tell them
WHY we are their market. It's working!
Thank you!"
Kirsten Wagmeister
Junior League of Evansville
"Thank you for the awesome training
sessions...As someone (who) would normally walk over hot coals before asking
for $, I was amazed by your session. I actually feel fired up at
fundraising. I went right home and called two friends with ideas for their
non-profits. I hope to give a presentation to my Board encouraging them to
have you train us."
Heather Harden,
Finance Council Director
Junior League of
Champaign-Urbana
"I just have to tell you that you made
such an incredible impact when you spoke to our Board. I can't begin to tell
you how many times your words of wisdom have been brought up at our
Executive, Board and Committee meetings. In fact, just today, in two
different conversations I was having, your ideas were quoted by others.
Thank you for inspiring us to think in a new direction."
Kim Erdel
Junior League of
Springfield, Missouri
"Jean conducted an extremely well
organized and productive [Board] retreat, one that I can
say with confidence that our members count as the finest
ever conducted for us. Jean's follow-up report was
in-depth and meaty, and both Board and staff have
referred to it time and again. The knowledge of
boardsmanship the members took with them has made a
remarkable difference in their levels of commitment and
support."
Eileen Cook, Executive Director
Casa Esperanza
Jean Block
Consulting, Inc.
7915 Cliff Road NW
Albuquerque NM 87120
(505) 899-1520
Fax (505) 890-5285
Email:
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