If It's Not Working, Fix It!

By Becky Lunders, teamWorks
www.totalteamWorks.com

As a fitness freak and a nonprofit consultant, I’ve come to the conclusion that working out and working with nonprofits is much the same.  With fitness, we hit the gym week after week and eat (what we perceive to be) healthy food.  The scale doesn’t budge.  We get frustrated. We want different results.  With nonprofits, we work tirelessly day and night, year after year because we believe in the mission of the organization. We try to do it all because, quite frankly, it’s just easier to do it than to teach someone else the job.  The result is burnout before our event even happens.  Looking for different results?  Maybe you need to try something new! 

Automotive tycoon Henry Ford once said, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” With fitness and nonprofits, we expect different results but we aren’t willing to try a new approach.  It’s a safe place to be, but it’s not forward thinking.  It’s time to step out of your comfort zone.
 
Take fitness for example. I’ve always enjoyed working out, but I was in a rut. I was doing the same workout every day and getting the same results.  I wasn’t stronger or faster or thinner.  Then I joined a new gym.  Raw Fit caused muscle confusion. It made working out fun again. The trainers created workouts that targeted muscles I didn’t even know I had.  I started eating different.  I saw results.  The results fueled me to work harder. They gave me a fresh perspective, fueled my good mood and generated a desire for more of that adrenaline rush. 
 
The same applies in the nonprofit world. Whether you work as nonprofit staff or you serve as a volunteer leader, you owe it to your organization to mix it up.  That event that hasn’t changed in a decade and keeps raising the same amount of money (if you’re lucky!) needs a shot of adrenaline.  Spice it up. Change the venue or the theme.  Bring in new people to help organize it.  Do things differently.  If you are in charge, consider who can help you.  Instead of being a “committee of one,” recruit new volunteers who bring a fresh perspective.  If you’ve been in the role for more than a couple of years, look for your replacement. 
 
Change is good and it helps to re-energize, refocus and renew.  Put it all together and you’ve got a stronger, healthier body that you can put to work in your community for that cause for which you have great passion.  Go on… do it! 
 
If you’re interested in energizing your approach to volunteer management, check out my upcoming webinar series.  The Intro session [Sept 12, 2016 at 9am PDT] is complimentary.  Follow this link to register and learn more about the series.  It may just be what you need to do things differently.