Hiring Smart People is only the First Step

Not a week goes by without me seeing a quote from Steve Jobs on hiring: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

This quote pops up regularly; be it on LinkedIn or some other platform. It always generates lots of “likes” and even a comment or two, but when was the last time you felt this was actually happening?

If you’re a leader in a non-profit and more specifically in the development side of that non-profit – I’d like to know - do you practice this?

Seriously. Do you?

I am focusing on the development side of the house, because that’s the room I live in.  So – let me ask you this question in another way.  Do you hire people so that they can fill orders and be reactive to your needs or do you hire people who are going to find solutions to your organization’s fundraising goals and then give them the freedom to carry out a plan?

Think about that for a few moments.

Do you give project assignments and then tell your team how you want it done – or do you present the goal and let them figure it out?  Before you answer that question – let me ask you another one.

Why did you hire the team you have? 

Again, think about that for a few moments.

Any resume can tell you certain things about a person, but I’m guessing the reason people get hired has more to do with how they tell their story to perspective employers more than the things that are on their resume.

The stories are about how they accomplish things in their life.  It’s about the challenges they overcame and the lessons they learned.  I’m going to guess that most of their success came from the solutions they found on their own; the things they learned and implemented. 

Why not capitalize on their experience?

Do you really think you have all the answers?  Or can you benefit from someone who has had success and been a part of success in their past?  Do you invite meaningful conversations and discussions?  Are you open minded?  Are you willing to trust?

How many times have you hired someone because you thought they had something your organization needed?  How many times have you actually let them do something that proves you were right?

In my 25+ years in development and more specifically in prospect development, I’ve met a lot of incredible individuals.  Some of them are brilliant.  What makes them brilliant is that they’re not doing things the way they’ve always been done.  They see opportunities in innovation and they look for strategic ways to move forward.  They’re great listeners.  They know how to tell a story and they are out to find solutions and not credit.

They also never stop learning.  Best practices are a guide to the past, but not necessarily a path to the future.  Technology evolves and those who understand that are more likely to succeed. 

Fundraising is so full of “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”  It’s sad.

When was the last time your organization took a monumental leap in their fundraising?  How would you like to make that leap? Are you willing to do something different?  Are you willing to hire people who can tell you how to make that happen?  Have you actually already hired someone like that, but haven’t given them the green light to go for it?

I believe there are a great many of my colleagues in the fundraising realm who are frustrated because they’re not having an impact.  They want to be engaged at a level that makes them feel valued and trusted.  They don’t want to be second guessed and they don’t want to just fill requests for research or do the things that anyone can do with the proper training.

Fundraisers who understand the strategic value of an experienced prospect development professional know what I’m talking about. 

When innovation occurs, we’re usually the first ones to hear about it.  We know what’s coming before it becomes a trend. 

We knew about Google long before you had any idea there was something more than Yahoo.  We embraced analytics and modeling while you were still clinging to wealth indicators.  We understood why the millionaire next door wasn’t on your radar and we are growing tired of trying to convince you to go see the people we believe are the best major gift prospects even though they don’t fit your own idea of what that person should look like.

We are here to help make you successful so that the organizations we call home – are able to maximize their potential.

The last thing any CEO or president wants to worry about is fundraising.  They want to focus on the mission and goals of their organizations. 

Great prospect development professionals can make that a reality.  If you’re willing to hire a smart person to do something special for your organization – for goodness sakes, let them do exactly that.  Get out of their way.  Embrace what you might not understand and trust those who do.

Or…Keep doing what you’ve always done.  The choice is yours. Don’t be afraid to act.

Please don’t misunderstand this as an “us vs. them” rant.  We are all in this together, the problem is we just haven’t been “together.”  It’s time that we were – but more of you on the frontline fundraising side of things need to do more than invite us to the party; you need to ask us to dance and even let us introduce you to a new way to dance.