It’s spring, and the earth is singing! It is a beautiful season, filled with an amazing display of a symphony of flowers opening and closing, new colors and textures and shapes and aromas filling my senses. I feel encouraged with these small pleasures that signal hope and life, especially as they emerge from a cold, gray Chicago winter. These buds of joy and the tender green that serves as a backdrop, have inspired these thoughts.
Back in 2017, I co-authored a paper titled Small but Mighty as a short introductory document, offering specific tips, tools, and strategies for leaders of small nonprofits ($100K-$3M) to engage in a journey to high performance. Many of my consulting engagements are focused on organizations this size, and I have an abundance of respect and admiration for leaders who operate in this space. There is great energy and dedication that emerges from limited resources.
Within these financial and capacity constraints, which interventions lead to powerfully positive, lasting impact? While disruptive, big acts certainly can forge change, the idea of “small” and steady requires endurance and often results in different but equally impactful change. So, how can we build the muscle for the staying power needed to see incremental change through to break-through results?
To achieve outcomes, it helps to set clear goals and then take small steps, to reflect on what worked and what needs work, and then to notice how these seemingly little or insignificant wins actually have huge and transformational power. Often, pausing at the incremental steps and celebrating them builds momentum for more.
While I am a firm believer in big visions, I also strongly believe that taking small steps in working toward achieving your purpose requires stamina and focus and often forges exciting, powerful results.
There needs to be a long-term thinker/planner to envision the bigger picture and how all of these small efforts add-up over time (strategy, design-thinking, scenario-planning, etc.). And, there needs to be people with the staying power to manage the milestones that lead to the broader goal.
Change is hard, especially over time. Staying power is “the ability to maintain an activity or commitment despite fatigue or difficulty; stamina.” I love these synonyms: endurance, resilience, stamina, vigor, fortitude, strength.
Back in the mid-90s, I lived in Japan for two years, teaching English in middle schools and developing and testing curriculum for one of 100 elementary schools piloting an English-language track. One of the first words I heard everywhere was “gambate”! This word is frequently spoken among Japanese school children on sports fields and playgrounds and among teachers, parents, and professionals alike. It is an encouraging command, a cheer, that means: persevere, stick with it, push forward, maintain energy, do your best – it’s a vote of confidence: “you got this!”
As you navigate through this beautiful season, now that we are closer to the summer solstice than the spring equinox, consider the next 6 weeks as an opportunity to intentionally focus on the power of small achievements. Here are a few specific ideas:
Most importantly, keep your sense of hope. When big visions can seem overwhelming, I use this to guide my life and work, starting with small steps:
It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to withdraw from it. (Rabbi Tarfon)
You got this! And, remember to be kind to yourself, and stop to smell the lilacs!
Thank you for reading to the end! I am excited to share these ideas, culminated over 20 years learning from and contributing to the social sector, with the past 10 years partnering with mission-driven leaders through DBN & Associates, L3C.
For additional ideas, assistance, or to collaborate, feel free to email me.
Back in 2017, I co-authored a paper titled Small but Mighty as a short introductory document, offering specific tips, tools, and strategies for leaders of small nonprofits ($100K-$3M) to engage in a journey to high performance. Many of my consulting engagements are focused on organizations this size, and I have an abundance of respect and admiration for leaders who operate in this space. There is great energy and dedication that emerges from limited resources.
Within these financial and capacity constraints, which interventions lead to powerfully positive, lasting impact? While disruptive, big acts certainly can forge change, the idea of “small” and steady requires endurance and often results in different but equally impactful change. So, how can we build the muscle for the staying power needed to see incremental change through to break-through results?
To achieve outcomes, it helps to set clear goals and then take small steps, to reflect on what worked and what needs work, and then to notice how these seemingly little or insignificant wins actually have huge and transformational power. Often, pausing at the incremental steps and celebrating them builds momentum for more.
While I am a firm believer in big visions, I also strongly believe that taking small steps in working toward achieving your purpose requires stamina and focus and often forges exciting, powerful results.
There needs to be a long-term thinker/planner to envision the bigger picture and how all of these small efforts add-up over time (strategy, design-thinking, scenario-planning, etc.). And, there needs to be people with the staying power to manage the milestones that lead to the broader goal.
Change is hard, especially over time. Staying power is “the ability to maintain an activity or commitment despite fatigue or difficulty; stamina.” I love these synonyms: endurance, resilience, stamina, vigor, fortitude, strength.
Back in the mid-90s, I lived in Japan for two years, teaching English in middle schools and developing and testing curriculum for one of 100 elementary schools piloting an English-language track. One of the first words I heard everywhere was “gambate”! This word is frequently spoken among Japanese school children on sports fields and playgrounds and among teachers, parents, and professionals alike. It is an encouraging command, a cheer, that means: persevere, stick with it, push forward, maintain energy, do your best – it’s a vote of confidence: “you got this!”
As you navigate through this beautiful season, now that we are closer to the summer solstice than the spring equinox, consider the next 6 weeks as an opportunity to intentionally focus on the power of small achievements. Here are a few specific ideas:
- Ask yourself what you are doing to work toward your bigger goals, and take a step each day toward them.
- Discuss with your team, how to break big ideas down into smaller, manageable parts, and discuss who will own each step.
- Re-imagine your Board committees as short -termed/ad hoc groups with specific goals.
- Launch small focus groups of clients to learn how things are going from their perspective.
Most importantly, keep your sense of hope. When big visions can seem overwhelming, I use this to guide my life and work, starting with small steps:
It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to withdraw from it. (Rabbi Tarfon)
You got this! And, remember to be kind to yourself, and stop to smell the lilacs!
Thank you for reading to the end! I am excited to share these ideas, culminated over 20 years learning from and contributing to the social sector, with the past 10 years partnering with mission-driven leaders through DBN & Associates, L3C.
For additional ideas, assistance, or to collaborate, feel free to email me.
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