The Best Answer I’ve Ever Heard to “What Does Leadership Mean to You?”

“What does leadership mean to you?”

Ever since we started hiring for four positions at once, I’ve been asking a lot of candidates this question. (P.S. if you’re reading this, checkout our current open positions!)

“Well, I think it means not being afraid to roll up your sleeves every once in a while and doing some dirty work.”

“It’s when you take ownership of something and see to it that it’s completed well.”

“When you coach your team to great success.”

Over the past few months, I’ve heard every answer under the sun, but only a handful have stood out. It’s interesting (and compelling) to ask this same question to many different people and keep track of their answers.

There has been one response that has stayed with me. It came from a young woman who hadn’t graduated from college yet (let that sink in):

“Leadership means a few different things. One, I think it means you bring others around you up. Great leaders have a way of supporting others and making them more productive and effective. Two, I think leadership means you put people in the right place at the right time. It’s tough, but when you help someone find their “groove” and you let them stay there, they excel. Third, leadership means you trust and respect those that you work with. If you don’t trust someone (or at least give them a shot), there is no way they can be a productive part of your team.”

All of this from a 22 year old. Who wouldn’t want to hire her?

Answers like these give me goosebumps and assure me that this is someone I want on my team. And, recently we’ve been fortunate enough to find a few (really awesome) folks that fit the mold. One of which is Dan Doyle, the newest member of our Fundraising Report Card team!

Dan brings decades of industry experience, an incredible passion for helping nonprofits raise more money more efficiently, and, a creative mind when it comes to making Fundraising Report Card more useful, valuable, and effective for the thousands of organizations that leverage it.

Dan gets leadership, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce him to you now. You can read the official announcement here.

Over the coming weeks and months you’ll notice some new things.

Including:

• More data-driven content from both Dan and me;
• Increased one-to-one outreach from our team to learn more about how we can make Fundraising Report Card more useful for you;
• And, the creation of a product roadmap so that you can know what the future of Fundraising Report Card looks like and how it will benefit your organization.

As with all things in life though, this will take time, and today simply marks the first step. Bringing great leaders into your organization is tough, and we feel fortunate to have recently added one to ours. If you have any questions, or just want to say hi, feel free to send Dan a welcome note at ddoyle (at) fundraisingreportcard.com, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.