Let's just say I'm not so good with the details. Vision, check. I can do that. I can even inspire people. Confronted with an accounting problem and it's deer in the headlights time. Sure, I could fake it, but I'm smart enough to know how that one's going to turn out. So I'm taking a look at my leadership of HOPE worldwide Cincinnati Chapter and I see some areas that need attention if this thing is really, really going to make a difference in the Cincinnati community. These areas are things I know very little about: marketing, administration, accounting, and reporting.
Well, what am I going to do? I need a brand. I need a plan. I need a simple, straightforward and clear message. I need a clear budget that allows me to prioritize. I need to measure and demonstrate value and effectiveness. Okay, this is enough to overwhelm someone who's working from ground zero so to speak. It's not really ground zero as the Cincinnati chapter has a ton of support, but it feels like that from my perspective. Knowing that I'll only do harm by trying to address these issues myself, I ask for help. And I started with my accounting needs.
I'm at Starbucks with a kid, a college student. He hasn't even graduated yet. But he knows his accounting stuff. I figure my budget and funding needs at this point are small enough that he's not going to screw it up. Besides, I have a corporate accountant watching my back at HQ if I need him. I say, "Look, I need some help with the budgeting and accounting." Then we talk about it for half an hour. Then he looks at me and says, "I really appreciate your leadership. It's inspiring. It takes a real leader to admit when he needs help." Wow. I'm floored. I knew I was a decent leader, but I learned a lesson in this one. My being real in expressing my weakness and need for help caused the stock in my leadership ability to rise.
What sort of administration work are you talking about? Also... great idea about having a college student help you out - helps you, but also helps him.
Amanda, first, thanks for a couple of great comments. Thanks for the feedback. The administration in this case is internal communications with program leaders, getting data back from them, getting everyone on board for status meetings - basically the internal logistics of running an organization. I'm okay small scale, but as I need to scale I can see this very necessary part of the work distract me from providing the vision to keep people energized. Does that make sense?
Yeah that makes total sense. I was asking because I have some experience with that type of work and have been wanting to become involve in a non-profit. Would you mind keeping the blog posted when you're interesting in filling that position?