Ideas for Leading with Passion

Creating Passion in Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs)
Normally we feature a passionate individual or organization and describe the elements that were key to their success. In this issue we will share information we’ve gathered about what increases passion for non-profit volunteers and staff members, and share an example organization that has successfully incorporated key factors into its day-to-day operation.

This is the season when NPOs are most evident, yet they operate year-round, often on bare-bones budgets with highly dedicated yet overworked and under-rewarded volunteers and employees. These are people who truly feed the hungry, heal the sick, provide beauty to our world, and furnish hope for those who have not dared to hope. What happens when the spirit, the passion, is drawn out of these day-to-day heroes?

They either leave, which means the organization is losing valuable talent; become one of the living dead, those people who are burned out and just putting in their time; and/or their personal lives are sacrificed in the service of the organization, which can breed resentment and anger.

Increasing Passion for Community Leaders
In preparation for our presentation on Leading with Passion at the Community Leadership Association’s (CLA) 2003 Annual Conference, we asked their members to tell us the factors that increase passion in community leaders. We found that being around positive, even passionate, people – rather than negative ones – seems to increase passion for community leadership, as well as knowing that what you are doing is meaningful and appreciated. Leaders also want to feel included and a part of key decisions. (See http://www.communityleadership.org/members/Volume22_Issue1.pdf for the entire article we wrote for the CLA newsletter).

Interestingly, these are all things that leaders have a great deal of control over. Leaders are meaning-makers – they interpret the vision and help people find tasks that are important to them; they are perceived – even studied by others in the organization – as being positive or negative, enthusiastic or dour, inspiring or deflating; and they have the ability, more than any others, to make people feel valued and included.

Is Passion Important for Organizational Success?
Our friend Jean Block works with non-profit organizations around the country. We recently included a survey in her newsletter, Fast Fundraising Facts and Other Essentials (http://www.jblockinc.com/), asking people who are involved in non-profits – staff and volunteers – to tell us how important passion is and what increases it and reduces it. Although it was a limited survey, certainly not large enough for a scientific study, it was enough to give us an idea of what people think.

We asked how important being passionate is to organizational success. People told us that being passionate about the work of the organization was very important for board members, key volunteers, and staff members, but that it was essential for the board chair and the executive director.

We asked how important it is to be able to inspire others to be passionate about the work of the organization. Again, people told us that it was very important for organizational success in staff, board members, and key volunteers, but essential for the board chair and executive director.

But what are the most important factors that increase passion for NPO staff and volunteers? If you knew that, you’d have an opportunity to influence it, wouldn’t you? In the same survey we asked that question. We categorized the responses and are sharing the top categories with you here. As with all qualitative research, different researchers may interpret data differently, but this will give you a good sense of what people told us.

Factors That Increase Passion For NPO Staff And Volunteers
We asked each person what he or she believed to be the three factors that are most likely to increase a board member, a volunteer (non-board member), and a staff person’s passion for participating in a non-profit organization. The top categories of responses were (in order):

Factors that are most likely to increase passion for participating in a non-profit organization
For Board Members	For Volunteers	For Staff Members
Believe their efforts make a difference	Believe their efforts make a difference	Recognition and appreciation
Their commitment to the mission of the organization	Recognition and appreciation	Believe their efforts make a difference
Recognition and appreciation	Belief in the mission and the worth of the organization	Belief in the mission and worth of the organization

Even from this small sample size it is easy to see that the most important factors seem to apply to everyone. Are there other important factors? Sure. But these rose to the top of the list. Leaders can have a significant impact upon how people feel about working and volunteering for their organization.

The St. Louis Artists’ Guild and Galleries
The St. Louis Artists’ Guild and Galleries is a not-for-profit visual arts organization. It holds national and regional exhibits, art classes, art demonstrations, weekly art sessions in drawing, painting, and sculpture for artists to practice their skills, and a variety of art programs for the community. Founded in 1886, it is the oldest of its kind in the Midwest.

Anne Murphy, Executive Director, told us about some of the qualities that make this a successful organization. As the organization grew it moved from being an all-volunteer organization to having paid staff. Generally, staff members are artists or art lovers. Anne says that artists are driven to share their vision and move people emotionally through their work. “This passion and appreciation of creativity and self-expression also means artists enjoy sharing art with others through teaching, mentoring, and planning art events and programs,” Anne says. “We always say that we will never be rich or famous in our jobs, but we know that every day we make a difference.”

One thing that helps make the Guild unique is that if a member/volunteer has an idea for an exhibit or program and is willing to organize it, the committees and staff work with her or him to turn the idea into reality. “Your volunteer has a choice – they can spend their time, talents and financial support with you – or not. They want to know that you understand this and recognize what they are doing for the organization,” Anne says.

Even board meetings, “which can seem endless at times,” she says, have a social component after most meetings and a belief that there needs to be fun too. By going out afterwards, members continue discussions, find new solutions, gain new understanding, and get to know each other better.

Staff also has the choice on how and where they spend their time (“..because they aren’t working here for the money or the fame.”). Anne says that it has been a priority to create an atmosphere that encourages appreciation for each other’s special gifts (“and quirks”) and makes people happy to come to work. “It inspires us to go that extra mile for members and help and support each other,” she says.

The St. Louis Artists' guild incorporates the three factors for increasing passion in staff and volunteers – providing plenty of recognition and appreciation, assuring that their efforts make a difference, and building upon the history of the organization to make the organization special and unique.

Are you part of a professional organization, a social service agency, or a theater board? Do you volunteer at your church, raise money to build a new museum, or work for a local economic development group? If you do, and you want to keep your volunteers, leadership, and staff motivated, lower turnover, and sustain productivity, think about the key factors which which increase passion in non-profit organizations.

Leading with Passion is a regular communication from Michael Kroth and Patricia Boverie. Michael and Patricia have been researching passionate work since 1999, and their book, Transforming Work: The Five Keys to Achieving Trust, Commitment, and Passion in the Workplace, is about the indispensable necessity of passion for personal and organizational success in the workplace.