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The Power of Recommitting to Basics

Posted on July 22, 2024July 22, 2024 by Todd J. Sukol

Nonprofit Execs are busy people! It’s inevitable that from time to time, the many pulls on our attention will lead us away from the kind of high level effectiveness we aspire to. Several years ago I developed the beginnings of a tool that nonprofit leaders can use to make their careers more rewarding and their…

Managing the Dark Side of Great Ideas

Posted on October 2, 2020February 24, 2021 by Todd J. Sukol

Many people in our nonprofit sector get super excited about new ideas. We iconize people who think outside the box and revere innovation. And well we should! Our sector’s very essence is independent, creative problem solving and moral imagination. We wouldn’t be who we are without free thinking disruption. But you, as an emerging leader…

Embracing Complementary Opposites: Learning When to Loosen and When to Tighten

Posted on September 6, 2018July 13, 2020 by Todd J. Sukol

By Todd J. Sukol Reposted from Mayberg Foundation Blog http://www.mayberg.org/new-blog/2018/9/5/embracing-complementary-opposites-learning-when-to-loosen-and-when-to-tighten Recently I was working with colleagues at the Mayberg Foundation, preparing a presentation about our approach to entrepreneurial philanthropy. As we spun out some of the core operating principles we wanted to highlight, two of them struck me at first to be at odds with…

Renew your heart, engage your head, and speak your truth

Posted on June 1, 2018July 13, 2020 by Todd J. Sukol

By Todd J. Sukol There are moments when your work in the nonprofit sector will seem futile. You begin to wonder, “Am I really moving the needle or just filling up time and space?”; “Is it worth it?” If you are staff, you may consider abandoning the grind and pursuing a job making more money…

When is “enough” enough?

May 6, 2022

We work so hard to be the best we can be. To make our organizations the best they can be. When does our obligation reach its limits? Ours is a field where there is always something more that can be done more, or better. A system can be improved. A problem can be solved. A success can be made greater. Another dollar can be raised. Another beneficiary served. Another staff member assisted. There are so many pulls on you as a nonprofit organization leader – when is “good enough” finally good enough?

In truth, the real question isn’t “how hard” should we work, but “HOW” should we work. Please remember that there is a deep, divine spark inside of you. This same spark lives inside of every person, place, thing or circumstance you encounter. As a nonprofit professional and as a human being, your first obligation is to recognize, reveal and fan the flames of that spark in yourself and in those you work with. When you’re pushing so hard that your efforts no longer support this objective, it’s time to step back.

No matter how dedicated we are to the missions of our organizations, we cannot turn to our work for all of the meaning in our lives. You are uniquely special because you come from a divine source. We all need to step away from our work and take a break for spiritual and physical refreshment from time to time. We all need to remember and reconnect with the loved ones from whom we derive our identities and our strength.

Ask yourself: “In my work today, is my best self in the driver’s seat? Or, am I burning myself out by chasing “symptoms of success” rather than allowing my inner spark to express itself as I go about my work?”

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