Think of all the people that work to deliver your mission.

Did your salaried employees come to mind first and foremost? Or did you also visualize your board members and knowledge philanthropists? Did you see one integrated talent team?

Here’s an excerpt from our upcoming book The Abundant Not-for-Profit that I’d like to share with you. It captures the essence of working together as one talent team:

Working together

In people lens organizations everyone works together as one team.

The people who have worked at Vantage Point, and many people profiled in this book, have experienced the effect of working together in this way: salaried employees alongside knowledge philanthropists. This is a talent team.

It is exciting to watch both salaried employees and knowledge philanthropists gain from working with each other. Each group brings something unique to the table. They are equal and different. Each group applauds the other, and learns from the other. Everyone is exhilarated by the opportunity to make a significant difference for the organization and the broader community it serves.

This integrated model of working together is optimum and absolutely possible in not-for-profit organizations. It can be very powerful. All of the people work to deliver the mission because they are passionate about the cause and secure in their roles. In this model everyone is clear on the individual to whom they are accountable, while they work as part of a strong team.

One of the largest challenges in moving to this new approach is accepting and living with the risk of letting go of control; and encouraging people to find their own ways to deliver on goals. Letting go can be very difficult for leaders to do, with both salaried employees and volunteers. If they are going to build an organization that involves many talented people, it is essential.

_______

More than a decade in the making, The Abundant Not-for-Profit will allow you to exponentially increase your impact while building long term organizational sustainability. Sign up today to receive exclusive content, special discounts – and be the first to know when the book is released.