314. #AMA Fridays: Should I stay or should I go? Navigating a work transition. - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE

Should I leave my nonprofit job? We Are For Good, Jonathan McCoy, Becky Endicott

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Overview

We're completing part deux of our Friday #AMA series focusing on helping small shops with a focus this week on determining when it's time to stay or go at your current nonprofit. Posed by our small shop queen, Rachel Bearbower, addressed the elephant in the room that many COVID survivors are feeling right now. Do I stick it out or move on? We'll talk through some questions to ask yourself, address compassion fatigue/burnout, and how to socialize an upcoming transition. Come hang with us!

“Who have you been growing and how have you been empowering people on your team around you to prepare for this next season of the organization?”

— Jonathan McCoy, CFRE, Co-Founder and CEO, We Are For Good

Episode Transcript

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Episode Overview

Leave us a voicemail! (2:00)
Rachel Bearbower’s questions: “When the founder is ending their tenure with their organization and they don't quite realize that it's time for them to move on. What do they do?” and “If you are an ED and it's time to go and you're ready to go. What are some of the steps that you should be taking?” (2:40)
Many of us are in an existential place asking questions (3:35)
Questions to ask yourself as a leader (7:20)
Differences between burnout versus compassion fatigue (13:05)
Aila Malik’s four practical questions for leaders to ask themselves today (17:05)
- What is my core belief?
- How strongly do I believe in this mission?
- What needs to be true in my workplace to become an evangelist about this?
- How are you lifting others that you can pass the torch to?
Dr. Ryan Bisel’s Hallmarks of Great Leadership (18:55)
- Focus on meaning
- Take building trust seriously
- Be approachable, vulnerable + relatable
- Build community amongst your team
- Develop two-sided messages
Ensuring a smooth transition for the organization and for yourself (21:05)
Consider sharing values and culture with your predecessor (25:25)

Powerful quotes

“I think we're all in an existential place right now of like, what is my life? What is my purpose? What is going on in the world around me? Am I in the right seat on the bus? Am I even on the right bus? I think these are all really important questions and I think it's highly normal if you're experiencing them right now.” -Becky

“Does the work you're doing bring you joy and fulfillment? And if not, really dig in and figure out what's the main reason that you're not able to discover it. Also, does the way that maybe you're approaching the work still bring you joy?” -Jon

“It's time to ask some tough questions because we want to make sure that the reasons that you're feeling unsettled or maybe that your time is waning at an organization could be some recalibration. We want to make sure that you're if the mission is still there, the joy is still there, the process is still working, that we're recalibrating enough to meet that moment.” -Becky

“A leader who is constantly talking and checking in with their people, having these honest, raw conversations is gonna better understand when to stay or when to go.” -Jon

“Who have you been growing and how have you been empowering people on your team around you to prepare for this next season of the organization?” -Jon

“If you do embrace that mentality of succession planning and knowledge sharing and level of preparedness, you are going to be winning at the time that it is that you are sunsetting your season within this organization.” -Becky

“Consider writing a heartfelt letter to your predecessor, detailing what sort of values and culture and cultural norms are most important to you and your team. That's going to ensure a really seamless transition…So consider pouring that out, and give somebody like the best first step to be that next luminary leader for your organization that you cherish so deeply.” -Becky