I was chatting with a friend and charity CEO over coffee recently. We were despairing over our social media feeds which were jam-packed with bad news for our sector.
Non-profits are right at the heart of the Cost of Living crisis – costs going up, demand going up, redundancies, and recruitment challenges all at the same time.
It really is so grim.
We got to thinking about the role of coaching and whether it might be seen as a luxury that budgets just won’t stretch to.
But we were both clear. Now is exactly when leaders like you need to be investing in coaching programmes.
Of course, you have to be be super rigorous in how your spend funds. It would be wrong not to be.
But I want to encourage you not to get hooked into thinking that coaching is a luxury you can’t afford.
Perhaps you need it even more right now!
The guilt trap
I hear a fair bit of guilt from leaders thinking about coaching with me. “How can I justify investing in myself”, they say, “when we don’t have funding for our key programmes?”
You too?
I get that. I really do.
The thing is, it’s hard to make coaching a priority for hard-earned funds when you’re solely focused on the financial Return on Investment. It’s impossible actually – there are just too many factors positively impacted by coaching.
Not investing in yourself as a leader doesn’t help anyone. Not your users, members and participants. Not your team. Not you. In fact, it holds you all back.
Investing in yourself and your learning on the other hand moves everyone forward.
Here’s why
1) As a non-profit leader you’re going to be absolutely instrumental in managing the flex and change needed in the coming months and years. A knowledgeable, experienced coach gives you the neutral, supportive space to do that to your very best ability.
2) Coaching helps bridge any gaps in skills you might not be so great at – influencing, resilience, innovative thinking and keeping on track with vision. Just a few of the key leadership skills needed to lead your team in these difficult times.
3) “When you coach a leader, you coach an organisation”. Your learning will filter right through as you get more skilled in effective ways of working, motivating yourself and your team to greater things.
4) Of all the learning interventions (training, mentoring and coaching) research shows that coaching is the most likely to lead to transformational change at executive level. What’s not to like!?
5) Supporting yourself through coaching is supporting your organisation. It’s not selfish! Learning is one of the top five ‘ways of wellbeing’ and it’s so important that you keep yourself happy, thriving, and positive so that you can lead others with oomph and energy.
Think about the alternative if you don’t get the support you need.
Burned-out, demoralised and stressed out?
Isolated, de-skilled and thinking of leaving the sector?
No, thank you! Your work is far too important for that.
What’s next?
Let’s find a way through together. Group coaching is a great way to get the support you need and make your budget go further. The Sweet Spot is my small-group coaching programme for ambitious and talented non-profit women leaders who want to thrive in their work. If you’re curious about being part of the next cluster, drop me a line at katie@katieduckworth.com and let’s chat.
“I recommend the Sweet Spot to anyone looking for an affordable, tailored programme that gives you space and time to think about what you are doing.”
Antonia Bance, Head of Campaigns, Communications and Digital, Trades Union Congress (TUC)
