“The only safe ship in the storm is leadership.” – Faye Wallerton, former CEO of Planned Parenthood.
Last week, I spent three intensive days in the New CEO BootCamp program at the Axelson Center for Non Profit Management. I came away with three major things, 1) a sore hand (from writing furiously for 8 – 12 hours straight each day! Can you have arthritis when you’re 30? Because I think I do), 2) 35 new best friends who are also new in their positions as Non Profit CEOs, and 3) a plethora of amazing resources!
What you cannot tell by reading this post in its current state is how many times I have started, deleted, and re-started everything past the second paragraph. Apparently there is not just one but several ways in which I could bore you with detailed information about what I learned! But who wants that? I could also bore you with my extensive “to-do” list and “90-Day Action Plan.” But who wants that, either? After hours of struggling with this, it finally came to me over a Subway sandwich (nothing like sustenance to inspire!) that I should do what I do best: I will write to you from my heart. DUH.
The overall reason I applied to the BootCamp program was because I need support. And the program offered that – not only in the practical knowledge gained from three intense days of panel presentations, but in the fact that I got to meet 35 other new CEOs. I realized that everyone has to learn what they’re doing. Everyone needs support, and everyone has challenges. Everyone has questions. Everyone has to learn how to be a leader (“Good leaders are made, not born.” – Drucker). A lot of people come to their position as a non-profit CEO from other professions and a variety of backgrounds. All organizations, no matter how large or how established, must constantly re-invent and re-evaluate themselves to grow with the changes in the world and to avoid being left behind. All of these organizations start just like BHF has started – with a founder and a “working board” learning how to navigate the white waters together – the white waters that never recede.
Over the course of three days and 27 hours, we heard from multiple panelists and presenters on 15 different subjects related to the business of running a non-profit. I was one of only two BootCamp participants in our class of 35 representing an animal-related organization. I was self-conscious that my other 33 CEO peers would think BHF’s mission was less important than their human social-service related missions and that we might feel unable to relate to each other. I was proven wildly wrong when several of my fellow classmates sought me out during our (very few, short!) breaks to talk about their pets, and how important that connection is to them. Being a non-profit CEO is a very stressful job, and the connection many of us have with our animals might be some of the only times in our lives we can feel some relief. Pets ground us. Also? One of the panel presenters, when it was my turn to speak my name, the name of my organization, and our mission statement, exclaimed: “Oh how wonderful! Let’s talk afterwards – my cat has a heart murmur.”
I hope that because I attended this program, you – our valuable and cherished supporters – will believe even more strongly in the potential of The Big Hearts Fund to make a huge difference in the lives of dogs and cats with heart disease. What BHF has gained in it’s first year of existence is truly a life of it’s own. We – supporters, donors, board members, and your humble executive director alike – are all just vehicles, called upon to nurture and feed our organization with good, wholesome knowledge (and a little bit of faith!) so that it can do what it was always meant to do: change lives.