Leading God's Way: Wisdom for Nonprofit Board GovernanceSýnishorn

Nonprofit board of director volunteers are ahh-mazing! I have to give us kudos. Think about it, oftentimes, we already have successful careers and other leadership responsibilities. This doesn’t even include our families, church, and hobbies. We actually have lives beyond our volunteer work, and time is limited. There are only 24 hours in a day; I’m sorry, but you just can’t squeeze out anymore (lol). So, no matter how much we may desire to do good, we can only complete our acts of benevolence within the constraints of time.

On top of that, nonprofit duties can sap all of your energy. Yes, we relish in the “feel-goods” when we accept the challenge to give a helping hand to others, but trying to solve complex community issues takes a toll on the mind and body. Fatigue can leave us feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, and unmotivated. We know this is not the intention. No one starts out a great work with plans of stopping midstream. Consider Nehemiah; when Sanballat and Geshem sent a message for him to meet with them, he replied –I am doing great work so that I cannot come down. We must be aware that our great work can come to a halt from the tricks of the enemy, but it can also cease from unwise decisions that lead to burnout.

Listen, we are nonprofit workers and we are Christians, so this is a recipe that means --WE REALLY LIKE TO HELP! We want to make life better for everyone. That’s just who we are at our core. But here’s the thing…we are not superheroes! We are not Jesus! We are not the fixers of everything that is broken. Albeit, we aspire to have lasting impact, but we don’t know everything and we certainly cannot do everything. It’s just an unreasonable expectation to believe we can fix one hundred percent of the problems one hundred percent of the time. This is a straight line to exhaustion, thinking we have to constantly burn the candle at both ends, all in the name of helping others. No, that’s why we are on a board with other people. That’s why we are participating as a team, so we can all work as a unit to get the job done. When one is weak, the others are strong. For that reason, teammates should never be afraid to ask each other for help or have reservations about admitting what they don’t know or understand.

What else can we do to alleviate burnout? Well, board meetings should not be boring meetings! Yes, we will have serious matters that must be addressed, but members should not dread attending meetings. Just like any good relationship, we have to do something different every now and then to spice it up. Use some icebreakers. Bring some laughter into your meetings. Have some quick team-building activities. Take the time to celebrate the completion of action steps on the way to accomplishing your goals. Don’t wait until the board overcomes a difficult challenge or garners a big win; everyone may be running on “empty” by the time that happens!

Stay with me until tomorrow, when we will end this devotional by delving into an example God has given us for how we should manage our nonprofit’s purpose.