Flying solo doesn’t work: nonprofit staff and board members need each other

I’ve met a lot of extraordinary nonprofit leaders — the CEOs and Executive Directors who carry the weight of an organization like they’re secret superheroes whose only power is “doing everything themselves.” These folks live the insomnia of running a nonprofit through good times, bad times, and whatever you call the off‑the‑chart weirdness we’re mired in now.

Their passion is real. It’s deep. It’s mission‑in‑their‑bones stuff. But that same passion can convince them they must carry the entire organization on their backs. And let’s be honest: that’s a one‑way ticket to stress knots that even the fanciest massage therapist can’t fix.

And then there are the board members. Bless them. Their commitment is so fierce that sometimes they grip the organizational steering wheel like they’re driving a semi down an icy mountain pass. They care deeply — so deeply that they occasionally forget the staff is made up of fully capable adults who also care deeply and do, in fact, know how to steer.

Here’s the good news: the solution is surprisingly simple.

Collaboration. (Yes, that’s it. No magic wand. No 12‑step program. Just people talking to each other like grownups.)

Over the years, I’ve seen that the more people who are engaged in critical thinking, the better off a nonprofit will be. You need people who care to help set direction, think creatively about how to strengthen programs, decide whether to scale up or down, and figure out how to attract more volunteers and new financial resources.

Don’t be afraid to call upon your biggest assets — your board, your staff, your volunteers — to think collectively and creatively about how to tackle the fiercest problems. And when you bring those folks together, don’t be afraid to ask:

• What’s working really well

• What isn’t

• How could we do this differently

And then — this is the hard part — actually listen. You’ll be amazed at the creativity that results.

You’ll also be amazed at the collective buy‑in from folks who suddenly feel like partners‑in‑arms — at the excitement they feel about working together to advance the mission.

Bravery in leadership isn’t about going it alone. It’s about opening the door, pulling up chairs, hearing new ideas, and figuring out how to make those ideas a reality.

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Pat Libby is a change management consultant working principally with nonprofit corporations. She is author of The Empowered Citizens Guide: 10 Steps to Passing a Law that Matters to You, Oxford University Press, The Lobbying Strategy Handbook, second edition, Oxford University Press, and Cases in Nonprofit Management, SAGE. She has served as an academic, senior executive, board member, and consultant to innumerable nonprofit organizations and foundations for more than three decades.

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