Category: For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Input wanted on book about introverts and social change leadership

I’ve always thought it silly to hear people say they have a book in them. As if it needs surgical removal (or at least some fibre to move it along). I’ve pondered over the years what I would write about if the whim struck me.

I think I’ve got something. Would love your input. It goes something like this.

I’m an introvert. And most introverts I know have found books and TED talks about introversion to be incredibly illuminating/helpful/nodworthy.

What about introverts in the public eye? People who require the spotlight to advance causes and ideas they care about? In particular, I’m interested in social innovators and politicians. How do they function successfully and healthily in realms that require people, usually strangers, often in large numbers?

I’m thinking to start off by blogging short interviews while I’ll amass some reading on introversion, political leadership, and social innovation.

Any tips or suggestions greatly appreciated.

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Scheduling future tasks to get down to a zero inbox

I practice a zero-inbox philosophy, because I find when an inbox is full, it:

  1. causes stress every time you open you email,
  2. results in stuff getting forgotten because it gets buried, and
  3. wastes time because every time you open your inbox you spend time scanning and considering what’s in your inbox before likely ultimately deciding to do nothing.

Calendar screenshot

So, I try to act on emails as soon as I read them. But what if you truly need time to think about something, and acting now isn’t necessary?

It seems basic, but I add an ‘event’ to my calendar (I use Google Calendar but any calendar, paper or electronic, will do). I have more than one calendar in my overall Google Calendar – one for actual commitments/meetings I have so that people don’t double book me, and another for ‘soft’ commitments – things to get done but not necessarily at a specific time (I call this calendar “Tasks”). The calendars each have different colours. (In this post’s image green=commitment, aqua=errand, burgudy=task).

As an example, say I get an email about an upcoming conference. I don’t know if I can attend because of a tentative trip. The early bird registration is on June 15. So I…

  1. Put an event in my Tasks calendar for June 13 at 9:30am with the title “Is trip confirmed? Conf early bird reg Jun 15.”
  2. Archive or file the email, and get it the heck out of my inbox.
  3. Forget about it.

I also use this technique to remind myself to follow up with people in case they haven’t gotten back to me, and even to remind myself to connect with friends on important days (e.g. “text Andrea to see how her first day of work went”). This way, I don’t have to keep running these things through my mind in order to remember them. I just rely on the power of the calendar.

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

My name is Trina. And I’m a feminist.

No longer a member of Feminists Anonymous. Happy International Women’s Day.

Feminism is often equated with militant man hating, and I suspect that’s why it gets a bad rap and many women balk at the idea of referring to themselves as feminist.

But the feminist movement takes all types, and not everyone wants to refer to themselves as such. When a friend and I were talking a few years back, he described his expectations and desires that his daughter would have access to success, advancement, income, happiness etc irregardless of her gender—I let him in on the fact that he is, in actuality a feminist. It takes all types. Vancouver-based Lauren Bacon recently wrote for Quartz about the importance of pluralism in feminism and the feminist movement (and an additional, more personal, take on her own blog). Good reads.

I understand the aversion to the word itself. But the goals of the movement need support for all types, including men.

I was on a “meeting” last year (read: online dating first date) and I brought up feminism. Not a usual first date topic, but I specifically refer to being a feminist in my online profile, and in the back end of his profile he had indicated that his opinion of a person would go down if they identified as a feminist, so I was a bit confused as to why he has initiated communication. Let’s just say it led to a spirited conversation.

He talked about his hopes that the gender equality pendulum didn’t swing the other way, which would lead to “women biting men’s dicks off.” He equated my comment that policies intended to support certain disadvantaged demographics can’t take into account the situation of every single individual, and therefore yes, unfortunately sometimes individual white men who face barriers will get left behind—with Nazi social policies leading up to the Holocaust.  There wasn’t a second date.

(Now that I think of it, I had coffee both with this guy and Lauren Bacon at the same cafe, same table even).

A few years earlier I told another guy after a first “meeting” that not all women like men to focus solely on women’s physical attributes. He told me to “get my head out of those feminist books.” There wasn’t a second date.

(Don’t worry, there are actually many enlightened, progressive men out there).

If the feminist movement takes all types, what type are you?

 

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

The post where I slayed the personal branding dragon

Seems in order for me to continue with this blog, I need to start all over again.

Somewhere in the past three years, I drank the personal branding koolaid. It wasn’t intentional. But somehow I got to a place where I would suppress blog post ideas because they didn’t fit into the self-imposed categories that I thought I wanted this blog to focus on. And my business and its blog was supposed to focus on the engagement of young people, so I had internal fights over which post should go where. One or the other? Both?

The reality is, the most loyal follower of this blog is my parents, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t too concerned about my personal brand.

But I somehow was, and in the end, I just didn’t post anywhere.

It’s not that I haven’t been thinking. I’ve got hundreds of blog post ideas lined up and ready to go, but I was paralyzed with questions and concern for where the ideas were supposed to fit, when the real answer was “Who cares? Just write the damn things already!”

When I started the blog, that’s what I was doing, and I loved it.

Now I realize that if the ideas in my head aren’t really fitting into the categories I’ve imposed on myself, maybe the categories aren’t the right ones anymore.

PS. I’ve found a new font since I updated my Mac OS and am in love. Avenir. I’ve used Avenir Black for a research report I’m working on for HRSDC. 

Avenir Black

Isn’t it pretty?

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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

How to design virtual roles for young volunteers

The simple answer is: any volunteer role that requires work to be done on a computer, can be done virtually (eg at home, in pajamas, at 4am).

Heck, even roles that, on the surface, involve meeting in person, can often be shifted to involve meeting online (Skype, Google+ Hangouts).

Not only are vitual roles great for Millennials, they are great for people with disabilities, people in different geographic areas, and any individual with a changing and demanding schedule.

Here are some activities that can be done virtually, and can help drive your mission forward.

  • research
  • translating
  • writing articles
  • social media
  • blogging
  • web design
  • graphic design
  • project planning
  • writing press releases
  • outlining communication plans
  • giving feedback
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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

Do you need a strategy to recruit Millennial volunteers?

The answer is probably yes.

Some organizations have brand recognition enough to not have a unique strategy to recruit young volunteers. But most organization don’t have that advantage.

For a recent client, 27 Shift conducted interviews with nonprofit executives across Canada. Interestingly, some organizations lamented the dearth of young volunteers, how young people don’t volunteer anymore. Completely inaccurate if we go by the results of the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating.

However, organizations that enjoyed the time and talents of young volunteers often had success because they intentionally sought out Millennials, and didn’t just wait for them to show up.

Here are some ideas for intentionally building space for young volunteers:

  • partner with university courses
  • partner with other nonprofit organizations with young clients
  • develop roles that speak to the interests of young people
  • create low barrier entry points
  • create ways for boomers to volunteer with their young adult children
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For nonprofit leaders and social innovators

High-impact, short-term volunteer roles for Millennials

A few of the various hats that I wear involve working with young volunteers. One question I ask when interviewing an individual for a particular role is:

“What triggered you to email me about this volunteer role?”

While “contribution to a cause I care about” is usually high on the list, the reality that many of them share is that they loved how the roles were short-term, had a specific end-date, had clear outcomes and objectives, and would have a large and direct impact on the success of the organization and its mission. Even more specifically, some younger volunteers shared how the commitment fit perfectly with their schedule – a month off before law school started up again, a flexible schedule leading up to giving birth, etc.

One of the messages I take away from these conversations is people are willing to contribute their time if it’s worth it.

These short-term, high-impact roles can take a few different shapes:

  • research
  • task-force (designed to give advice on a specific area)
  • committee
  • project (with a goal to produce a specific output)

Some of the favourite work I’ve done involved setting up a group of young volunteers with clear objectives, helping out with clarifying process (eg. timeline, communication preferences), divvying up roles/responsibilities (including one person who is responsible for driving the timeline) and just sitting back and only stepping in to support when necessary. My role becomes less day-to-day volunteer management and more volunteer engagement strategy.