Are you wearing too many hats?

Do you wonder what’s at the bottom of your organization’s fundraising or board problems?

Is it you? Or maybe that “dysfunctional” board?  Side note: I really hate that word.

Now it’s getting personal and that’s the topic of today’s post.

Whatever your organization does to change or save lives is a big deal. You know that or you wouldn’t be doing the work.

The minute good people in a fundraising or leadership role begin feeling isolated or inadequate, it’s a slippery slope.

The following steps are not just for fundraising – they’re useful for all areas of your life.

2 steps for breaking out and leading with gusto

Step 1: Identify your (personal) mindset

According to decades of research, there are two fundamental belief systems (mindsets) that determine how people respond to struggle, setbacks, and failure when pursuing their goals – for you, the issue may be fundraising or engaging your board.

In one mindset, you’re likely to get discouraged and give up on your goal (a fixed mindset). In the other, you tend to embrace the struggle, learn from the setbacks and keep moving forward (a growth mindset). You persevere.

This distinction between the fixed mindset and growth mindset derives from the work of Carol Dweck, Ph.D., and her colleagues. Dr. Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, has spent her career studying motivation and achievement.

In her bestselling book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she presents an airtight case that a growth mindset can help strengthen your motivation, even when the going gets tough.

“In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them.

They also believe that talent alone creates success; without effort. They’re wrong.

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work … This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”  Dr. Carol Dweck, Ph.D.

So how does your mindset influence your ability to motivate and influence your board and staff to fundraise effectively?

Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re constantly monitoring what’s happening around you, interpreting what it means, and deciding what to do about it.

This is obviously an important process, but it’s also the main driver of all your struggles – especially when it’s shaped by the fixed mindset.

When you (or your nonprofit) have a setback or fail to achieve your goals, you make that mean something about yourself.

In the fixed mindset, it means you’re not good enough, or that you somehow don’t have what it takes.

What to do?

If you have a touch of a fixed mindset (which most of us do) begin a self-awareness campaign. Seek to figure out what’s uncomfortable or what you resist in your role.

Notice if you go back to your default behavior and recognize that this is what’s limiting your potential to play bigger.

Bring simplicity to complexity. By making the scope of your organization’s issues out of reach, it’s more likely you’ll remain in a fixed mindset. It can be immobilizing or keep you in “good enough” mode.

Step 2:  Find an accountability partner.

Run… don’t walk and do this. Reach out to a person that is in a similar role. Set a weekly check in date to support each other, identify goals, and bounce ideas off of each other. It can be on the phone or in person.

I have done this recently and it has been a game changer. The person lives on the other side of the country and we talk on the phone weekly. I can’t wait to share my next steps with her – and she gets it.

With this support, no matter how good or bad the situation, I guarantee you’ll step up, take a few risks, and persevere – regardless of the outcome.

If you can shift your mindset even a little, the possibilities are huge and it will snowball.

Take these steps and watch your behavior and your attitude shift. Before you know it, you’ll be playing bigger – and probably won’t even recognize it.

On a 1-10, 1 being fixed and 10 being growth, where are you?