Goodbye, board service. Hello, whatever comes next!

Last night concluded my second term as a board director at a nonprofit retail store, a milestone that requires me to roll off and discontinue my service for a minimum of one year as per the organizational bylaws. Over the past six years, I have learned and grown in countless ways – particularly as I led the organization through the many hardships we experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Pennsylvania within weeks of my election to President. Talk about learning a new role with your feet to the fire!

This was my first experience serving as a board director and I thought I’d take an opportunity today to reflect on some of the most important lessons I’ve learned.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

When I joined this board, I felt pretty unconfident because I hadn’t served as a director before and I was fairly new to the nonprofit sector. I chose the organization specifically because I was familiar with their mission and fair trade principles, plus it was a retail store, which made my decade+ working in coffee, music stores, and food co-op leadership roles relevant enough that I figured I’d have something to contribute.

It took less than two meetings to realize that I had more than just a little something to offer. I had drastically overestimated what skills and knowledge someone must possess to take on the responsibility associated with board roles. I’m not suggesting that just anyone can do it, but as long as you’re committed, understand and care about the organization’s mission, and have at least some concrete skill or experience that can transfer to the work at hand, you’re going to do fine. Trust me!

Define Your Boundaries and Stick to Them

When I joined this board, I was working 32 hours a week and attending a master’s program part-time. I expected my participation to make my schedule a little tight, but I excel at time management and figured the gaps between semesters would give me a chance to catch up on life or board work if anything fell behind.

In theory, this would have been true if I had defined boundaries around how much time I could contribute and what responsibilities I was able to commit to. However, I’ve long been the type of person who rises to fill unmet needs, so when a call for executive office candidates went out a few months after I joined and no one came forward, I found myself volunteering as Vice-President. I took the position with the caveat that I certainly could not fulfill one traditional VP duty, which is the expectation to succeed the President whenever the office becomes vacant. Then, a year later when the President’s term ended, what did I do when no one came clamoring for the opening? I resigned myself to filling the gap and moving up despite my earlier disclaimer.

This was no one’s fault but my own and let it suffice to say that I did not set myself up for success. Learn from me – if you know there’s too much on your plate, don’t volunteer for more or prioritize others’ needs over your own.     

You Can’t Do It All Alone – Seriously!

As I took on executive offices, another challenge was turnover within my committee which caused me to maintain my other leadership role as a committee chair for quite some time. Hazards of this overlap were in abundance. First, it resulted in frequent multi-tasking as I listened to and participated in conversations while wearing both hats. It also limited the effectiveness that I could achieve in either role since both came with significant strategic duties that I lacked the adequate capacity for.

“There is no such thing as multitasking; there is such a thing as doing multiple things badly.”

-Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD

The greatest drawback of moving up in the hierarchy without releasing the previous role for so long was the failure to address succession planning. While I’m not sure what we could have done differently given the personnel issues, I encourage you to avoid this pitfall if at all possible because it’s vitally important to allow other folks on your team to develop. Otherwise, the chances are good that you will wind up with only a handful of folks who actually understand how your organization operates, thus creating an over-reliance on those few and severing the talent pipeline that prepares future leaders. It may seem like you’re helping because there is a gap that does need filling, but this solution will only result in even more holes in the future.    

Know Your Limits and Maintain Balance

As I’m sure you are picking up on by now, I completely overdid it at various points throughout my board service. Because the pandemic and other life situations caused an uptick in my stress level in tandem with the timing of my board responsibilities expanding, unsurprisingly I wound up ridiculously burnt out at points. Sometimes I even felt bitter and angry with others even though it was no one’s fault that I allowed so much work to wind up under my purview.

Even on days when I felt good about the work I was doing and overwhelmed by the support of fellow directors and the staff, I was often navigating life in a harried state. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking of some task or other that needed to be done. I’d rush through my workday at a frantic pace so that I had a chance to attend to board activities over lunch or to check emails between meetings. I gave up enjoyable volunteer work with other organizations because it came to feel like a frivolous use of time conflicting with my presidential responsibilities. I even stuck a pin in addressing many problems and issues in my personal life out of a sense of duty to stay sharp and get work done.

Needless to say, this state does not bring out anyone’s best self. We all need balance in our lives and if you fail to make that a priority, your work and well-being will suffer to the detriment of not just yourself, but also everyone who you work with.  

Acknowledge Your Humanity and Offer Yourself Grace

These are not the only mistakes that I made as a board director and on many occasions I felt like I let down my fellow directors, the employees, and even my family and friends. Sometimes doing too much in my board life left me depleted and unable to be fully present in my personal life. Other times I failed to honor commitments because I was overloaded. I occasionally got stressed, down, or cranky in ways that demoralized others and then I’d wind up feeling like a big ol’ jerk. And in general, I aligned my sense of self-worth far too closely with the performance of the organization, which meant that I felt personally responsible for our survival when the pandemic hit even though it was evident how many circumstances were beyond my control!

When you’re in a leadership role of any kind, even in perfect conditions, you are going to make mistakes. You’re going to have a bad day. You’re going to learn something new that makes you reflect on how differently you would have done X if you’d only known Y sooner. Someone is going to dislike or disrespect you, lack confidence in you, or talk about you behind your back. And somehow, in spite of all of this, you are going to have to keep going.

I’m learning more and more how crucial it is to offer myself grace rather than beating myself up. Even amidst the biggest mistakes or most embarrassing missteps, I was doing my best and deserved to be treated with compassion and empathy by myself and others. I hope you remember the same thing!

Celebrate Your Wins

If I made a list of things that my board and I accomplished during my tenure and compared it to a list of my shortcomings or mistakes, the former would so far surpass the latter that it’s absurd I spent any time whatsoever worrying whether I was a competent leader or good human. But because of my personality and disposition, combined with how dire and bleak the situation seemed at points during the pandemic, I often failed to take stock of how much incredible work was happening.

Yes, this was a case of imposter syndrome at work, but it also was a result of not frequently stepping back to the 10,000-foot view and seeing all of our progress. This didn’t just result in me carrying around more emotional baggage than necessary – even moreso it was a huge missed opportunity to motivate all of my colleagues to celebrate their own wins, and organizational successes too, by failing to lead by example or celebrating only briefly before turning back to problems and issues.  

“[C]elebration is an important opportunity to cement the lessons learned on the path to achievement, and to strengthen the relationships between people that make future achievement more plausible.”

-Whitney Johnson

Term Limits Exist for a Reason

Over time, my board role became a huge part of my identity. I was known in my community for this work. I met countless wonderful individuals through my time with the organization and will miss connecting with and working alongside them. I remain unwaveringly committed to the mission for a more fair and just trade system and feel uncertain how I will continue to promote and support this cause that is so near and dear to my heart.

On the other hand, I genuinely believe that one of the greatest strengths of a board is that it permits diverse viewpoints to coexist and term limits further enhance that as entrenched veterans roll off to make way for new board members bringing in fresh perspectives and ideas. I arrive at this transition with confidence that it’s for the best.

When I told my mom that the end of my term was approaching, she asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The truth is, it’s neither and it’s both.
It’s a bittersweet thing.

So, now that the time has come, I’m going to take some of my own advice and spend today reflecting on the many amazing things I experienced and the incredible feats I accomplished! Chief among them is the pride I feel in knowing that the organization is undoubtedly better off as a result of my efforts.

I end this reflection with immense gratitude. First, for the chance to learn and grow that board service provided. Also, to my family and friends who offered support and encouragement throughout the past six years, especially when the pandemic hit and I became an anxious perpetual motion machine! And finally, to the directors and employees who I’ve worked alongside. These folks bring commitment, passion, and great skill to the work they’re doing and my spirit is buoyed by knowing that the organization is being left in great hands.