The Lift Leaders Need

Leadership can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.

As leaders in fundraising, I think we should see ourselves as part of a collective, as part of a group of passionate individuals who are all working toward the same cause, in our own way: 

The cause of making the world and our communities a little bit better, each day.

So, a few weeks ago, when someone told me I’d been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by Atlantic Business Magazine, my first thought wasn’t about power, it was about my mother.

You know, I’ve talked about her a lot before. She didn’t have a lot of money to give, but she gave everything she had. So when someone says “powerful woman” I think about her. 

For her, real power was never about climbing farther than others. It was about lifting others up.

Women in leadership bring something vital to this sector, including emotional intelligence, compassionate leadership, and the courage to be vulnerable, and visible.

That shows up in little ways, like not being scared to say to our teams, “I'm having a really bad day, I need your teamwork and support.” That’s power.

And creating a space where your people can lay every stinky fish on the table and say, “I think we have a problem.” That’s power.

So, as leaders, I think we have to stop operating from a place of scarcity, assuming we don’t have enough power to use or give.

In for-profit, we spend money to make money. We invest in marketing, in our people, in customer service. And in charity and non-profit, we’ve got to do all the exact same things.

So why do we tell ourselves we can’t afford to invest in the infrastructure, the teams, the systems that actually make impact possible?

We can’t do everything that needs to get done while holding back on what it takes to do it.

We have to believe that the world can be better and that we can be a part of it. That takes courage. That takes a lot of energy.

The kittiwake bird nests on the edge of a cliff for the betterment of the colony. 

You take the risk, you step to the edge, and you do it so the people around you get to soar to blue sky.

So, at Kittiwake, that’s what we're here for. We show up. Like you do every day. We offer training programs, strategic fundraising planning, one-on-one and team coaching, and everyday support to help you soar to that blue sky.

Because we believe this sector can change people, systems, the world.

And we want to help you be the leader who makes that happen.

Speak soon,

Joanne