When Martha, an Executive Director of a seniors program, called me to talk about training for her team, she wasn\u2019t exactly sure what she was looking for. She just knew something needed to change.<\/p>\n
Her leadership team was tired of running like chickens with their heads cut off.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Things were falling through the cracks.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Deadlines were getting missed.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Everyone felt overwhelmed and exhausted.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
She wasn\u2019t looking for a wellness session or burnout prevention. She wanted to get to the core of the problem.<\/p>\n
The workload was too much.<\/span><\/strong> And Martha knew the workload wasn\u2019t going to magically change. They weren\u2019t going to be able to clone themselves or suddenly get funding for a new admin position.<\/p>\nSo she asked, \u201cHow can you help?\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a situation so many nonprofit leadership teams are facing.<\/p>\n
\n- Too much work!!<\/li>\n
- Too little time!!<\/li>\n
- Too few people!!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
And while we won\u2019t stop advocating for increased overhead dollars or encouraging people to take care of themselves, neither is enough when the workload itself is overwhelming. Eventually, we risk losing good people.<\/p>\n
After acknowledging the frustrating normalcy of Martha and her team’s situation, I offered some hope.<\/p>\n
I painted a picture of what could be different. I reminded her that each of her five leadership team members could make impactful shifts, even if the workload didn\u2019t change. Then I walked her through what a session might look like.<\/p>\n
She was so excited that we scheduled it that day.
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