This past Saturday I participated in a three hour training session for Braven, a terrific nonprofit I'm volunteering with.   Braven's mission is to empower promising, underrepresented young people—first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—with the skills, confidence, experiences and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.  They do this in four cities including Bay Area, Chicago,  Newark and NYC.   You can learn much more at (www.braven.org)

This training was Efficient, Engaging and Energizing!  If you read my stuff you know I love 3's of anything (see 3B's To Focus On) so there you have it! I'm grateful that some - maybe many - of the nonprofits I have the privilege of working with read my posts.  If so, here are some best practices when training a new cohort of volunteers - these were all evident in the training I experienced.   Let's go straight down the line.

Timing and Length:  The training kicked off promptly at 10:00 am and went to 1:00 PM for a total of three hours.  Not too much to give up out of a weekend.  More importantly, all of the time was well spent. No filler. Just real content mixed with the opportunity for the volunteers to get to know each other as well as the key team members from the organization.  More on that below:

Content:  As noted above, the training was a valuable mix of the Why, What (Happens) and How.  Specifically, the training started off by providing us volunteers with background information about the nonprofit and why it does what it does.   In this case, since the organization deals with young people, the team shared the benefits to those we'd be serving when we serve in the role we're training for. Next, we took a deeper dive into how we'd be doing what we do.  This included providing a full understanding of the dynamics of the program, the platforms, the technology and the resources that would be available to us.  This included plenty of access to guides as well as yes, humans that could help us (yea!).  Finally, we had the opportunity to test drive what we were learning in small cohorts.  (Bonus:  This gave us additional opportunities to build our network among the volunteering group).

Continuous Learning and Development:  This was just the beginning of the training for what will be a full semester engagement.  Too often I've seen volunteer training viewed as a one and done deal.  Here's what you  do now off you go and do it.  Not here.  After this first session,  we have several more sessions before we begin the actual role.  Once the real program commences, there is ongoing training as well as a liaison - an exemplary volunteer from last year - there to support us as we do our work.  

Oh and other thing - GRATITUDE!  While no one volunteers for the thank you (or the t-shirts, bagels or the other niceties), it's always nice to hear thank you.  And we heard it from everyone on their team both during and after the session.  Personally speaking, I felt beyond appreciated.  

I look forward to continuing to share - and hopefully you've got a takeaway or two that you can add to your toolbox.  

 

A few days ago, I was in conversation with Amy Soper who serves as the Director of Volunteer Growth for Women Doing Well (www.womendoingwell.org).  Among the many things that has impressed me about Amy and this new organization is their approach to developing their team.  Amy mentioned that in the beginning of this year, their President, Julie Wilson shared that their theme for this year is Pace.   In other words; their leaders should be looking at their own Pace, helping others with their Pace, and even perhaps occasionally questioning the Pace of the organization and its growth.

Something about the word Pace immediately resonated with me.  At a simple or surface level, I tend to think of the word as it applies to running, one of my passions.  And in that arena, Pace is simply another way of saying how fast you’re going - or the average speed you were running for a given training run or race.  Pacing can also apply to many other areas of life as we pursue personal goals as well as results we want to bring into the world.   So, as Amy and I talked, we went a bit deeper.  

Since this was actually a coaching conversation, Amy and I were discussing the priorities she was establishing for her new role.  In terms of her work, we discussed what activities and relationships could contribute to the Pace of her recruitment and training of volunteers.  As we explored, I found myself again paralleling this with running and improving your pace.  I say this because I know intuitively, there are things that will help improve your pace.  For good measure, a quick google search brought me to an article called 7 Expert Tips to Improve Your Running Pace.  If you’re a runner, I encourage you to click on the link.  If you’re not, stick with me, as there’s plenty beyond running coming up....

My point in sharing the above is that if you’re like me, there are times you struggle with priorities.   You question whether doing more of this or less of that will get you to the results you’re looking to create.  This is true whether it’s something as critical as your organization’s mission, a personal goal like writing a book or running a marathon or perhaps just finding some inner peace and calm.  It begs the question of what you truly need (to do, be, or focus on) and what you can truly leave behind.  

For example, to build your pace in running it’s worth focusing on your cadence, arm swing and body posture.  You probably don’t need to worry about things like your height (you can’t change that anyway!) or running “harder”.  The same goes for delivering on your mission.  No doubt having quality programs helps, strong servant leadership can make a huge difference and a sustainable financial position is critical.  At the same time, you could spend less time securing the best bagels for your fundraiser, having the snappiest website around and tweeting once an hour and still have a substantial impact on those you serve.  And finally inner peace and tranquility?  I’ll leave that to you but suffice to say getting stuck believing you are your thoughts and vice versa probably won’t help.

Like all good articles, you’ve got to have THE BIG TAKEAWAY and here it is.  I created an acronym to help you as you work to find the optimum Pace in your world.  I truly hope it helps.

P -  Priorities;  Have you identified what results you want to create and how critical it is that you create them?   
A -  Actions; Do you have a clear sense of what you need to do to create those results?
C - Clarity around Challenges; Have you identified the obstacles you’ll need to overcome and what you don’t need?
E - Effort and Energy; Are you truly ready to Expend the Effort and Energy?
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Get out of my dreams, Get into my car
Billy Ocean

These are the lyrics I kept hearing when Brie Seward, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Southern Arizona told me about her recent experience with one of her donors.  I also have to admit that I love it when a post comes together so easily based on a live experience of one of my amazing clients.

I'll back up for a second to provide some context.  As I noted, Brie leads the team of a terrific nonprofit.  We've been discussing a few strategies for building out her organization's fundraising.  We had been talking about how to really connect with her donors and in particular two critical meetings with long time donors she had coming up.  She wanted to help these donors see they that meant more to her than simply dollars in the door.  In fact, we had been discussing opportunities to connect through questions, alignment and most important, true and authentic listening.  An occasional surprise or two doesn't hurt either (can you hear the foreshadowing???)
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I was excited when Brie let me know that she had some great news to share on our next call.  She said the meetings were financially successful and were the best she'd ever had.  She mentioned she'd done a lot more listening than talking.  She asked questions.  She learned more about their business.  She learned what was important to them as both sponsors of the Autism Society as well as growing organizations.  Brie also mentioned that given that their meetings were virtual, she wanted to do something a little special.

When Brie's meeting started, her donor heard a knock on the door.  His assistant then brought in a tray of cookies.  Brie shared that since they'd typically met and had coffee or snacks together for their meetings, she wanted to create the same experience.  So, she simply ordered up the tray and had it timed for their meeting.  Expensive.  Nope!  But thoughtful as anything.  You know it.  And her donor absolutely loved it.

​As Brie and I discussed her success, it was clear the need to get into her donor's world had connected in a very real way.  She articulated it better than I ever could "You have to Get Out of Your Computer and Into their World."  Immediately Billy Ocean's song popped into my head.  

Besides my strange addiction to including aging pop songs in my posts, I really do believe that Brie's experience is one we can learn from.  It's the simple idea of wowing our donors - or clients - depending on who you work with.  It doesn't have to be pricey.  And no, you're not buying their business.  You're simply showing that you care, value the relationship and want to do something a little extra special.

So, in this age of virtual meetings, I'll leave you with Brie's question:  How are you getting out of your computer and into your client's world?

After the disappointment and financial failure of Rocky V in 1990, Sylvester Stallone put out a series of well, let's put it politely, even more disappointing movies.   He tried his hand at something like comedy with "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot".  He then went for something a bit more dramatic with "Oscar".   He did several others before recognizing that his strong suit - and the place where his talents were more appreciated - were playing his signature characters such as Rocky and Rambo as well as other action-oriented roles.  In fact, there are numerous less memorable projects he was involved in throughout his career - many more in fact than what he's best known for.  Yet, those are the standout.  That is what he's known for.

What are my credentials as a movie reviewer and why am I sharing the above with you?  To the first question, I have no credentials - I'm merely sharing my fan-based opinions.  As to the second question, I'm spending a lot of time in my hometown of Philadelphia these days.  Philly is one of my favorite cities to run in and today I was doing one of the most inspiring routes that ends up at - you guessed it - the Art Museum and those steps that Rocky ascended so many times.  So, my mind was on Stallone and the Rocky movies which I'm not ashamed to say are some of my absolute favorites.  Reality based?  Who cares! You can't watch them and not believe that dreams can come true - and more importantly, every one of us has the ability to make our own dreams come true.  

And perhaps most important, what's my point?  After those brief flirtations with other opportunities, Stallone moved back to the zone of action-oriented films.  Ultimately, he doubled down on the whole Rocky-thing.  He brought him back to the screen in 2006 with the well-received film "Rocky Balboa" even giving the character more depth with a plausible story of a late in life comeback (think George Forman).  And Rocky was given new life in 2015 with the introduction of the Creed movies with the now elder boxer coaching his former opponent's son.

If you're tired of the movie stuff, we're done with that so stick with me.  Take away all of the film stuff and what you have is a story above is a great example of recognizing our true nature (though I have a a hunch the actor never studied up on Syd Banks and the Three Ps).  Stallone realized that he enjoyed the freedom to try other roles on.  At the same time, he stopped running away from the type of acting and creative work that he seemed to embody and come so naturally to him with ease.

We can do the same thing.  I am all about personal growth and development and especially taking on new challenges.  I hope you are too - it's what keeps life really interesting.  If I didn't like getting a little uncomfortable and helping others  stretch, I certainly would be in the wrong line of work as a consultant and coach.  But there is a certain beauty and ease to understanding, accepting and even leveraging our truest selves.  That's the self that emerges when we're doing the work and the creating that comes to us as an extension of ourselves.  

How do you know when you're in that magical zone?  Here are a couple good markers - or at least what I've found to be true for me.  You know it when time stops mattering.   You're not rushed and you have plenty of time to do exactly what you're doing. You know it when there's no gripping and no tension.  You know it when you find people asking you to do more of whatever your thing is (and they'll probably say something like "hey, that's your thing!).  

The other point to remember is that you'll certainly know when you are NOT in that zone.  Much like that "Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot" moment for Sylvester Stallone, you'll instinctually feel it when you're going against your true nature.  And it's great to test those boundaries every so often to see where else we can make a difference.  However, if we get that gift of knowing where we make our most impactful contribution and can truly be of service, there's much to be said for making that our life's work.   I hope you are on the way to finding your inner Rocky.