Hillary Frances Dan Reed Program Designer, Seed CEO, Seed - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Hillary Frances

Program Designer, Seed Fundraisers @SeedFundraisers

Dan Reed

CEO, Seed Fundraisers @SeedFundraisers

Leading Non-Anxious Organizations

The Impact of Emotional Differentiation on Organizational Identity, Fundraising, and Program Design

Today’s outcome

Gain the ability to both identify the indicators of organizational anxiety as well as take the first step to become a non-anxious leader within:

• 1. Organizational identity
• 2. Fundraising strategies
• 3. Program design

Family Systems Theory: an organization is a cohesive emotional

unit; an individual’s emotional processes cannot be isolated from the relational system in which they participate; therefore, emotional processes are “contagious” within an organization.

Anxiety: the emotional response of intensifying fear within an

• rganism to a threat, real or imagined.

Organizational Anxiety: the level of transferred anxiety from one

individual to another within an emotional system. When one’s anxiety intensifies, everyone’s anxiety intensifies. Not until a non-anxious presence is introduced to the system can the virality of anxiety be reversed

Indicators That You’re Leading an Anxious Org.

• Reactivity: immediate emotional reactions; the inability to be calm/playful
• Herding: to accommodate the least emotionally mature; becomes

intolerant to individuality and conflict for the sake of “togetherness”

• Blame-shifting: defers to others the responsibility of the problem/solution
• Quick fix mentality: seeking quick relief from pain, resulting in a low

threshold for discomfort

• Leadership fatigue: leaders react, lose vision, and cave to criticism

Organizational anxiety

Organizational identity Fundraising Program design unclear answer to the question “to what end do we exist?” revenue > relationships day-to-day activities are not designed to achieve stated missional promises

REFLECTION

Non-Anxious Leadership

Leans Out (emotional differentiation)

• Calmly assesses reality in the face of conflict and rejection
• Self-validates
• Uses thoughtful principles to guide decision-making
• Supports others views without becoming a devout evangelist
• Rejects views/ideas without polarizing the differences
• Well-defined without being pushy

Non-Anxious Leadership

Leans In (relational connection)

• Practices presence with others
• Avoids dis-association
• Realizes realistic interdependence on others
• Honestly addresses conflict with others
• Empathizes without enmeshment

The Emotionally Healthy Organization

Organizational identity Fundraising Program design defined and limited purpose for being commitment to long-term strategies clear solutions for singular problems

Emotionally Healthy IDENTITY

• Organizational “direction” decisions are not outsourced to collective opinions.
• Saying “no” is the default response to adjacent opportunities.
• All staff members have the same understanding of the organization’s

purpose.

• There exists a “white hot center” of avid support.

Emotionally Healthy FUNDRAISING

• Donor relationships are prioritized over financial transactions.
• Fundraisers are confident in their asks.
• Fundraising strategies are committed to in years, not months.
• Fundraising is treated as an integrated activity of the business rather than a

necessary evil that can’t be avoided.

Emotionally Healthy PROGRAM DESIGN

• Targeted outcomes achieve transformational results.
• Clarity of purpose is understood by all.
• Programs are well-defined with an easy answer to what we do and don’t do.
• Programmatic decisions are unaffected by donor wishes.

CASE STUDIES

DAN REED

CEO, Seed Fundraisers dreed@seedfundraisers.com

HILLARY FRANCES

Program Designer, Seed Fundraisers hfrances@seedfundraisers.com

SEED FUNDRAISERS

www.seedfundraisers.com