This post discusses 3 ways that new nonprofit executive directors can engage and retain staff.
We’ve previously discussed ways to delegate effectively but it’s also crucial to engage staff so they’ll want to stay with your agency.
With all the many hats you wear as an executive director, the best minute you spend is the one you invest in people. Efficient staff members help you operate more efficiently.
Ideally, you should have more time for your staff than they have for you. But how do you engage your staff and still have time to do your own work?
Here are 3 tips:
Engagement Tip 1: Facilitate Productive Staff Meetings
A. The Weekly Staff Meeting
I’ve found it’s best to facilitate rather than dominate the discussion at the weekly staff meeting. For effective meetings, ask your staff to come to the meeting prepared. Each person should briefly:
- Review what they achieved during the previous week
- Discuss any problems they had
- Identify what remains to be accomplished
- Plan strategies to get things done the next week
If you follow this outline, staff will find that the weekly meeting is a productive use of their time which will motivate them to come prepared.
B. The One-to-One Meeting
Try to meet weekly with each of your direct reports but establish this policy: when they want to discuss a problem with you, they have to offer at least one possible solution. Ideally, they will write down their problem and proposed solution before the meeting and then read it to you. This will help them think things through before they come to talk to you. It will also help them organize their thoughts, brainstorm for themselves, and communicate effectively and confidently.
Engagement Tip 2: “Paint Done”
Most of us have delegated a task only to find the results did not meet our expectations. It’s the age-old story we tell ourselves: no one is able to give us what we need, so we might as well just do it all ourselves.
This mindset is incredibly unhealthy and inevitably leads to burnout. It limits us in every aspect of our work. It limits our capacity to work efficiently, lead a team, or work as part of one. It also limits collaboration, innovation, and creativity—which can make or break a career.
In Dare to Lead, Brené Brown shares a story about asking her staff to gather survey questions, but she found the results fell way short of her expectations. (https://eveningshire.com/paint-done/)
Brené went back to her staff and talked to them about what she really needed. She explained exactly how the finished product should look in the end. She got better results and her staff members were happier because everyone knew exactly how to answer the question, “What will “done” look like?”
Remember: A leader shares what their exact expectations are so that others can confidently deliver good work.
Engagement Tip 3: Use the One-Minute Manager Method
The One-Minute Manager Method is based on the book “The New One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard.
The method includes 3 parts:
- The One-Minute Goal
- The One-Minute Praising
- The One-Minute Redirect
A. Teach staff to manage themselves with the One-Minute Goals
80% of important results come from 20% of goals.
Ask staff to set one-minute goals on 20% of their key areas of responsibility. They should work on only 3 to 5 goals that can easily be reviewed every day.
Encourage staff to look at what they’re doing every day to see if their actions fit within a goal. If not, they should adjust their time and tasks accordingly. You don’t want a staff member to avoid goals until the yearly performance reviews come around.
This brings up another key point: Never wait until a performance review to let a staff member know there are performance issues. Nothing on the performance evaluation should ever be a surprise.
B. Help staff reach their potential with the One-Minute Praising
- Praise people as soon as possible
- Let people know what they did right. Be very specific.
- Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps you and the agency.
- Pause for a moment to allow people time to feel good about what they’ve done
- Encourage them to do more of the same. Make it clear you have confidence in them and their success.
People who feel good about themselves produce good results. To help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right. Or catch them doing something approximately right, if they are learning something new.
Of course, everyone makes mistakes, so there is a one-minute method to deal with them!
C. Help staff learn from their mistakes with the One-Minute Redirect
- Confirm the facts of the incident and review the mistake together. Be specific.
- Express how you feel about the mistake and its impact on results.
- Be quiet for a moment to allow the employee time to feel concerned about the mistake.
- Tell the person they’re better than their mistake and that you think highly of them as an individual.
- Remind them you have confidence and trust in them and support their success.
Separate the person’s worth from their behavior so they don’t feel attacked and blame you! Have the redirect conversation as soon as possible after the mistake has occurred. And remember, when the redirect is over, it’s over.
Summary: It’s difficult to keep staff engaged. As I’ve said many times, being an executive director isn’t for the faint of heart. But hopefully, following the steps above can help.
