At the end of the day, it's only an opinion (and ultimately fundraising is about results...)
Weekend Reading Round-Up

My Biggest Fundraising Mistakes: Leadership & Management

Taking the step from being a part of a fundraising team to leading one is a big one and something that I struggled with in the beginning and I'm still working hard to improve.

It's a very different role and no amount of training or preparation can prepare you for the change.  I've been very lucky to manage some great teams who've tolerated my mistakes and I thought I'd share some of my biggest ones so you can avoid them...

You can't be everyone's friend - it's not a popularity contest

I see many managers fall into this trap and I've certainly made this mistake in the past.

It's human nature to want to be liked and popular, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing a good job and it can lead to problems in the future as the boundaries between friendship and leadership can become blurred.

Becoming overly friendly or close to your team can make it hard to flag problems, deal with under-performance and make it harder to be seen as impartial if you need to sort out an issue between people who consider you their friend.

This doesn't mean you have to be distant or cold, but you need to be aware of the impact of your actions and not be afraid to make tough decisions if it's the right thing to do for the team as a whole.

For example, one of my team had a new job and wanted to negotiate a shorter notice period.  As a friend I wanted to help them, but as their manager then I knew it wasn't in the best interests of the charity and so I had to say no.  This led to arguments and damaged the friendship as they assumed I'd let them go as we were friends.

You need to tailor your style to different people

In the first team I managed I was the youngest person and only man.  This led to a number of issues as I struggled to understand why not everyone instantly followed my lead or bought into my way of thinking.

It took me a while to realise that not everyone sees the world the same way I do and so I needed to frame my arguments and explain my decisions in ways that resonated with them.  This light-bulb moment really improved by leadership and by learning to understand what made someone tick, I was able to create a high performing, successful team.

I believe emotional intelligence is one of the most important qualities of a good manager.  Knowing those people who need an arm round the shoulder compared to those who work best under pressure, and acting accordingly, makes a massive difference in results.

Don't ignore poor performance

After a few years as hospice fundraising manager I was promoted to regional manager and became responsible for a much larger number of fundraisers.  Inevitably in a larger team there were some outstanding performers and a few people who weren't up to the job.

I knew this quite early on, but as I was new into the job I didn't want to be overly draconian too quickly. 

However, this meant when I did have to start tackling performance issues it came as a surprise to the people involved and they questioned why I hadn't brought it up sooner.

As i'd been slack to begin with it was much harder to start monitoring performance, providing coaching and support and trying to improve their work.  Eventually formal action had to be taken, which affected the morale of the wider team, caused a lot of extra work and stress and caused numerous problems.

If I'd acted sooner and intervened as soon as I had concerns then a lot of heartache and stress could have been avoided.

Recruitment

Recruiting is one of the most important things you will do as a manager, but it's amazing how little training or time goes into doing it properly. 

Bad recruitment decisions probably cost the economy millions of pounds every year in time and loss of productivity.

I've learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to take people on because you're desperate or if you've got any nagging doubts. 

I wish i'd been braver on a number of occasions and said 'No, we're going to re-advertise this position.' rather than take someone on who I knew wasn't the right person for the job.

It's a tough thing to do, but it wil save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.

See more in others than they see in themselves

I wanted to end on a positive, so the final point isn't a mistake, but something that I believe all managers/leaders should do.

One of my previous bosses was a master at this and was always looking for ways to give people the opportunity to shine.  He vehemently believed that his main task as a leader was unlocking potential and encouraging people to grow and prosper.

He never missed a chance to give people more responsibility or to take on an extra challenge and the result was a well motivated, hard working team, many of whom went on to bigger and better things thanks to his encouragement.

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