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The Community Can Save a Stumbling Nonprofit Leader
Brian Kreeger • September 29, 2022
You are the community, no matter what formal role you play in a particular organization, or if you play any role at all.
My blog articles typically focus on the roles the leader and the board have in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders.
But I contend that the community that exists around organizational leaders and boards has a role as well. In fact, a community’s role can many times be much bigger.
My next few blog articles will focus on the role of the community in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders.
(This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.)
One of the many people I interviewed for my recent book is a woman who founded an urban ministry that has grown quite successfully over their history and has impacted thousands. It was not easy, and people thought she was nuts. But she had a calling from God, and that was all she needed.
She recalled one time when she was struggling during the founding of the ministry, searching God’s word for encouragement when no one else seemed to understand her plight.
While reading her Bible nearly 20 years later, she came to a verse that encouraged her during that rough time. In the margin she found a note to God in response, “Yes, but please send me someone with skin on.” She wasn’t particular. She just wanted one person to talk to, to encourage her, to speak God’s truth to her.
Everyone, including the executive leader, is ultimately accountable for their own life. The accountability structure that an executive sits under has a role in helping to prevent the fall of a nonprofit executive, as well as all the traditional duties and responsibilities that come along with being a board of directors.
The people the executive leader needs to help them stay on track, including the desired “person with skin on,” are found way beyond themselves and the board of directors.
There are people all around an executive leader who can impact their life much more than the formal structures around that leader. There are people and groups with access to the life of an executive that the board simply does not have.
This group of people, or even an individual, may be exactly what the leader needs in the way of relationship to prevent the loneliness and isolation many leaders experience. And loneliness and isolation lead the pack in reasons for a leadership fall.
Certainly, family would be at the top of that list. But the list could include congregations, constituencies, community members, casual observers, friends, acquaintances, etc.
There are relationships around the executive that might be very new, without the hang-ups and judgments of past issues. There may be trusted relationships that have been built over many years that the leader leans on in times of trial. And then there are the casual relationships somewhere in-between.
Those people need to be activated, and they need to recognize their impact on the leader can be paramount in the prevention of a leadership fall. Those relationships can rise above all other formal relationships for three reasons:
1. They are natural and more genuine because there is no
professional structure or obligation, which allows for more
openness and transparency.
2. Fear of retribution within the organization is typically
shuttered.
3. The transparency and openness these informal
relationships bring can reveal issues earlier that may
culminate in an executive fall.
Of course, the sheer number of those people outside the formal structures is so much greater. As I have previously written, there can be a tremendous amount of pressure coming from all the people around the executive. That pressure, if not handled properly, can result in a fall.
Those people outside the formal accountability structures can also bring an incredible volume of invaluable encouragement and wisdom.
Many times, when people see an executive struggling, we hear the phrase, “They really need to do something,” meaning the accountability structure around the leader. What is forgotten is that we all have a responsibility for the support and encouragement of one another. “They” may actually be I or we.
In fact, many times when a leader falls, the community can look back and see that they saw it coming but did nothing to help the stumbling leader.
Sometimes people outside the accountability structure need to perform a Courageous Ask.
I believe the responsibility we, as onlookers, feel must be elevated when it comes to Christian leaders who are serving us and the community, while they strive to represent Christ on earth.
Very few of us are going to be the person who deals directly with whatever the struggle might be, although we could be and should desire to be.
I try to remember what author Nancy Duarte wrote, “Sometimes all it takes is a kind word of encouragement to get your heroes back on the right path.”
Well, I believe it takes a hero to do just that. You can be a hero by extending that kind word of encouragement that gets a nonprofit leader back on track.
Be Courageous!
Be Proactive!
Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My Story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
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Executives -pastors or nonprofit executives in our context- are put on a pedestal. It’s not that the typical person necessarily believes they belong there or desires to put them there. But it is human nature that this happens. The general public often places much higher expectations on leaders than they do on themselves. Sometimes it is appropriate, and the leader has put themselves in that position. In some cases, it is simply scriptural. For instance, James 3 points out that those who teach will be judged more strictly, thereby heightening the expectations of those who lead and teach. But what about when we accept, and enact, those elevated expectations and forget the humanity of our leaders? Often a community heaps on a leader the expectation that they are to perform with the perfection of Jesus and not simply be a Jesus follower and disciple just like them, but with a unique calling and heightened responsibility. Too many times when a leader shows human imperfection, the respect we have for them is damaged. Leaders fall under strict judgment, and we forget they are no less fallible than us. The imperfection they have colors any positive experience we would have had with them otherwise. While most of us acknowledge this strict, hypocritical judgment and recognize it as not being how we want to treat our leaders, it is a difficult battle to fight in our own attitudes and minds. No matter who the leader is, they are not Jesus. But please allow me to reverently make some comparisons. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
The Land of Assumption is a land wrought with the monsters of stress, conflict, and misunderstanding. While venturing into this land is a part of human nature, organizations must battle that nature in order for their mission to be accomplished to its best outcomes. Our leader knows we care and appreciate them. The board made that decision because they want to see me fail. The executive said that during his speech because they want the board to look stupid and uncooperative. Our new board members know our mission and what we are about. They know their responsibilities. Our executive knows how we feel about the job they are doing. The board knows I appreciate their service to our organization. These are all examples of how we make assumptions in our organizations, sometimes assuming the motives of others. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
