5 Keys To Leading a Big, Bold Decision

By Rebecca Zanatta, President and Founder of RJZ Connections, Inc. and a Senior Consultant at The Ostara Group  ̶

Rebecca (Becca) is one of Minerva’s partners.  We team up with her for work with clients that need smart fundraising expertise on their team.  We love Becca because she understands the connections (and differences) between communications and development.  Plus, she knows how these two different but intersecting teams can best work together.  The blog below was slightly modified from the original with Becca’s blessing. You can read the original post here.

“Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty 
rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.” 
— Reed Markham, author

Making big decisions can be hard — especially for leaders who thrive on consensus-building. Over my many years of working with nonprofits, I’ve seen smart and passionate people get overwhelmed by tough decisions they wish they didn’t have to make.

How can we stay true to our mission when our biggest funder keeps insisting we try an innovative, but untested approach? 

Other organizations are doing what we do — only better. Should we change up our programming, merge with them, disband?

I am familiar with facing tough leadership questions like this. While serving as president of the Northwest Development Officers Association (NDOA), NDOA and our cross-town colleagues at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington Chapter (AFP WA) took a huge step together. We decided to unite the two organizations into one. This multi-year collaborative process led was one of the boldest and smartest decisions I’ve ever been involved in.

On our path to that decision, we held countless meetings, went on retreats, surveyed our members and consulted with organizational and business development gurus. It was hard work, but every step of the way, we reminded ourselves that we were all in it for the same reason: to figure out how to better serve our members, our nonprofits and our communities.

Here are five great lessons about leadership I learned through that process:

Get the right people on the bus. Whether you need input from just a few folks or a diverse team of stakeholders, don’t call on people who always agree with you. The smaller the group you assemble, the more important it is that you choose people who will challenge you.

Communicate clearly and openly. State your goals early and often. Refine them with input from your team if you need to. Encourage your team to give honest and constructive feedback throughout the process. Be transparent every step of the way.

Stay focused on solutions. When you’re trying to solve a problem, it’s easy to fixate on the challenges that might stand in your way. That’s OK. Think of the process like an obstacle course. Remind your team that every time you put a hurdle behind you, you’re getting closer to a solution.

Don’t fear dissent. Your most important job as a leader is to make decisions. It’s impossible to make everyone happy. Don’t get bogged down by waiting for an unequivocal thumbs-up from every person you’ve included in the process. Help your team see your vision of success as you see it: in crystal-clear focus with a can-do attitude.

When it’s time to move forward, move! Don’t let yourself get all hung up and mired in the multitude of options that are on the table. There comes a time when you’ve gathered enough input — sometimes more than enough. Trust your instincts and when it’s time to make that big decision, remember this: Your job isn’t to come up with The Perfect Solution. It’s to take action.

You might start with baby steps. You might get bogged down in that messy middle between the starting point and finish line. That’s OK. The most rewarding lessons you’ll learn in work and life are the ones that push you way outside your comfort zone — where you make big things happen.

About The Author

Minerva Strategies

Minerva Strategies

The Minerva team has decades of experience working with nonprofits, foundations, and values-driven companies. Minerva also partners with experts—trusted designers, web developers, global communications professionals, and others—who share our excitement for creating positive social change. Through these partnerships, we can build a team that is tailored to your needs. Learn more about who we are or what we do.