12. Visionary Leadership

concept → plan → buy in → implementation

The third cornerstone in my leadership project focused on the mission. A mission can be as formal as a statement or a manifesto, or it can be a guiding set of beliefs. Even leaders whose mission was to make it to the top were on a mission. Leadership without mission is like taking a road trip without a map. A set of principles should be present that guide thoughtful and meaningful governance, especially as the vision for the organization unfolds and the overarching concept for the next one to five years is cemented.

When I was 18, I wrote my “life’s mission statement.” It’s not something I look at every day and there have been years when it has gone unread, but every time I look at the manifesto it still holds true.

Unfortunately, mission statements for companies can be hollow promises for customers and employees of an intent set by leadership years ago. I have experienced working for leaders without a mission or a purpose, they simply wanted to land a high-paying position, did so, and have settled in to see how long they can stay on the ride. Mission-less leadership happens, but when an authentic charge is in place the potential good work is boundless.

I caught such a mission-led leader in March 2020, when I attended and spoke at the Texas Municipal League’s Elected Officials Conference where Dr. Frank B. Ashley III from the Texas A&M University — The Bush School of Government and Public Service gave the opening speech. He is an incredible public speaker. His stories had the audience captivated as he spoke about his childhood in the south and his experiences overcoming racism, poverty, and education barriers. He mentioned reading “Difficult Conversations” that broke down how to step out of your own perspective to see all sides and an overall solution. This act is necessary from leaders when planning for the whole of an organization and having a vision that does not stop at leadership’s ego and agenda.

concept

No matter the budget, a nonprofit leader has to know their mission, define the organizational vision with stakeholder (board, staff, volunteers, major donors, and members) buy-in, a guiding plan must be formed with consensus on benchmarks, and then implement. The Executive Director (ED) needs to come to this process with a vision based on organizational history, mission success, and market need. In my case, I had a nearly 40 year old nonprofit whose core competency had been twisted into reactive policy blocking. My vision included proactive policy creation as well as a modernized approach to the mission of visual environment enhancement. People didn’t want to only fight billboard blight, but they were interested in planting wildflowers and trees as well as preserving the dark sky. Getting this organization in touch with the market was a big part of the growth and emerging concept that needed a plan.

Texas Children in Nature, a nonprofit with an incredible comprehensive strategic plan:

Strategic Plan

concept → plan

A facilitated planning process is the best way to remove previous ideals, where board members may say “this is the way we have always done it.” As an ED of a nonprofit you will come to this process with a vision and must bring stakeholders together apart from old constraints. Facilitators are able to walk the organization through what has been accomplished, establish clarity around core competencies, and help define achievable goals for years to come. Even if it is a half day activity, I highly recommend a facilitator, retreat, and a comprehensive strategy be invested in by nonprofits, as this will reduce distractions from the mission when opportunities arise throughout the year. This joint plan allows the ED and staff to refer to the board consensus and empowers the organization to keep going when members try to deter the path ahead.

A great resource for planning by The National Council of Nonprofits:

Strategic Planning for Nonprofits

plan → buy in

With a plan in place that already has that inner circle of stakeholders’ buy in, the ED is now tasked with getting public buy in: get support by media who will cover the good work the organization is doing, secure donors to fiscally support the work, work with industry partners who want to team up with the organization in order to create collective impact or offer a platform to spread the message. Messaging during this time is critical as this is an unveiling of the organization’s evolution and next steps. As important as outward facing messages are on the website, social media, and in media coverage, nothing resonates more than a story shared in real time by word of mouth. Concise and intentional speaking points should be relayed to all levels including ED, board, and staff.

The concise speaking point I crafted with stakeholder buy-in after leading this nonprofit for two years

buy in → implementation

With the momentum an ED has built through the public buy in process, it’s time to implement organizational changes and tout those accomplishments. I prepared an annual report every year as a summary of my nonprofit’s achievements and as a tie-in to our work. These annual reports ended up being key in quantifying and qualifying our impact with donors and individuals unfamiliar with our work. These benchmarks help inspire more good work as people I never knew previously seemingly came out of thin air in full support of the work that was being done. That momentum was such a gratifying experience as people with means and resources wanted to help me recruit board members, talk with legislators, and financially support my organization.

Every year I led the nonprofit, I created and distributed an annual report, adding legitimacy and transparency to our work.

implementation

With the board’s backing and hopefully adequate staff and contractors to execute, the ED can now roll out the implementation of the agreed upon and well-vetted plan. I enjoyed every part of this process, but found that by the time I had done the lion’s share of the work to get the organization to implementation, I was burning out. Having that support system in place for an ED is an integral piece of the planning success model. Having contractors and/or staff and/or volunteers to help implement the plan is key, and once again in my experience the executive committee’s support instead of active work against me would have made all the difference in the organization’s longterm success.

Leadership learnings are never concluded, and those of us who want to be exemplary will never stop studying. As a leader you must have the foresight for your organization to know that there will be unforeseen turns in the road and in order to adapt to those changes you must know what your values are, be courageous in the face of uncertainty, and demonstrate the self-discipline necessary to execute challenging decisions and strategies.

Write your manifesto and follow it whole heartedly. There is no leader like the one who is on a mission.