Before any of us ever heard the term COVID-19, we planned a little get together with 700 of our closest nonprofit and business leader friends to explore what it means to lead courageously. While today would have been the Nonprofit Leadership Center’s 10th Anniversary Leadership Conference in Downtown Tampa (now rescheduled for October 13), nonprofit leaders have been living this year’s conference theme — lead courageously — day in and day out through a global pandemic and the fight for racial equality, all while working to keep the lights on and our communities safe, healthy and strong.
As we reflect on what it means to lead courageously, what we shared in January is as critical as ever:
“Thinking differently and acting boldly requires courageous leadership — the kind of leadership that will define the best nonprofit leaders in our region and across the nation. Leading courageously is about adapting to our changing environment and resource constraints, moving from knowing to doing and growing from good to great. It means modeling the change we want to see in the world — from creating healthy workplace cultures, championing diversity, equity and inclusion and articulating our impact in terms of outcomes, not just outputs. Change and growth take courage.”
What Does Leading Courageously Mean to Nonprofit Leaders?
We recently asked nonprofit leaders in our Facebook community to share with us what leading courageously means to them.
Here’s what nonprofit leaders had to say.
Leading courageously means …
- “Accepting criticism.” — Ignacio
- “Being confident in your decisions, and when something doesn’t work out the way you want it to, share your experience, own your errors, learn and move forward. — Allison
- “Embracing your weaknesses.” — KL
- Acknowledging that success is a two-way road — it’s both what you accomplish and what you help others accomplish.” — Johanne
- “Being OK with not being perfect and letting others lead sometimes.” — Mary
- “Being open to your own vulnerability.” — Amanda
- “Walking with integrity even when no one is watching.” — Tonja
- “Having hard conversations.” — Kimberly
- “Listening.” — Acai
- “Doing what you know is right even if you know it won’t be popular. — Emily
What does leading courageously mean to you? Drop us a line and let us know on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram via @nlctb.
Become a More Courageous Leader
Do you want to become a more courageous leader? Join us for an upcoming training class. See the full schedule of upcoming nonprofit leadership courses and certificate programs here.
Be sure to sign up for our email list to learn more about upcoming events and our Lead Courageously Leadership Conference in October.