By Nikita T. Mitchell

Nonprofits have a bad rep when it comes to professional development and career growth. It’s a source of frustration for many young professionals in the sector. Having experienced their own challenges throughout their careers, Trista Harris and Rosetta Thurman published Nonprofit Rockstar: 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career to help the next generation of nonprofit leaders.

This past weekend they facilitated the Nonprofit Rockstar Leadership Intensive in DC to provide participants with the opportunity to hear from leaders in the sector and reflect on their professional growth.

This three-day event was packed with engaging sessions, interesting speakers, and interactive activities, all organized based on the six segments of their book: Practice Authentic Leadership, Plan for Balance, Develop Valuable Expertise, Establish a Great Personal Brand, Build a Strong Network, and Move On Up

There were three sessions from which I gained the most insight:

Lessons on Authentic Leadership

According to Robert Egger of DC Central Kitchen , we can choose to be one of three nonprofit leaders:

1. The type with their heads down and singularly focused on getting through “right now” without paying attention to the external environment;
2. The type who sees what’s coming their way and braces themselves, basically holding on for dear life; or
3. The type who spends time thinking/reflecting, builds and marches out into the future, embracing what’s coming their way.

Which one do you think he advised us to strive to be?

Lessons on Developing Valuable Expertise

ProInspire’s very own Monisha Kapila lead a discussion on the three most important ways to develop valuable expertise in the sector. Inspired by Lisa Lazarus’ strategy of using famous individuals to demonstrate examples, Monisha told the group to follow the lead of Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey and Phil Jackson.

Channel Will Smith: Develop a versatile skillset because in the nonprofit sector you will be called to do many things and contribute to organizations in many ways.
Channel Oprah Winfrey: Focus on self-awareness and learning because emotional intelligence is critical to your success as a leader.
Channel Phil Jackson: Be a coach because being a good manager is about creating the right environment for success rather than telling people what to do or knowing the right answer.

Lessons on Personal Branding

This is a topic that makes many people uncomfortable. The idea of “packaging” oneself into a brand or a false image is often what comes to mind. However, personal branding is about understanding others’ perception of you and managing your reputation. At the end of the day, you have a brand. Whether you decide to use it to your advantage is up to you.

Consistency -  Is what you’re saying about yourself consistent with what is being said by others? This is what makes your brand more credible.
Clarity – Does what you’re saying that you bring to the table make sense? It’s not to your benefit if nobody understands your brand.
Authenticity – Does your brand match who you really are? As Rosetta said during training, there’s nothing worse than finding out that someone you admire is nothing like what you thought when you meet him in person.

I think this Dan Schwabel’s quote perfectly states the ultimate benefit for young professionals: “Brand yourself for the career you want, not the job you have.”

Overall the event was a rewarding experience. Not only did I appreciate the content presented, I also enjoyed connecting with the other participants. I look forward to participating in future professional development opportunities organized by Rosetta and Trista.

By Nikita T. Mitchell

Board membership is something that I almost never hear young professionals discuss. If I had to venture a guess why, I’d say that there is a perception held by many that it’s something you do later in your career when you’re older, wiser, more experienced, etc. This, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth.

While I’m sure there are other reasons that keep our generation from pursuing opportunities to serve on boards, there couldn’t possibly be one good enough to explain why we are so poorly represented on nonprofit boards. According to Board Source less than 2% of nonprofit board members are under 30 years old. In contrast, 57% of nonprofit board members are 50 and over.

That’s astonishing to me.

In 2009 I joined the board of the Cultural Academy for Excellence. As a graduate of the program and former volunteer, I was more than excited to take on a leadership position within the organization. Over the last two years I’ve had the opportunity to jump in and get my hands dirty. It has been a great experience thus far, particularly since I joined prior to my shift into a nonprofit career as it has allowed me to gain valuable experience in the sector.

After a recent board meeting, I started thinking about my experience and why more of my peers aren’t actively seeking opportunities to volunteer in such a capacity. Here are three reasons why I believe every young professional should serve on a nonprofit board:

1. Develop skills that you may not have the opportunity to develop at your job.

When you join a nonprofit board, it’s likely that you were selected because you have a background or skillset that is needed. That, however, doesn’t always mean that you’ll be forced to engage in activities that you find yourself doing at your day job. You will have the opportunity to select the committees and activities that you want to dedicate your time to, allowing you to develop new skills and utilize other talents you have.

For example: as a management consultant at my last job I discovered how much I enjoyed strategic planning, and it was something I wanted to continue doing wherever possible. Strategic planning is a skillset I now have and seek to develop further. While it’s not one that I can put to use on my new job, I have the opportunity to lead a committee on CAFE’s board developing our strategic plan. It’s a win-win situation.

2. Build your professional network.

Being on a nonprofit board allows you to interact with individuals who likely aren’t in your current professional network. Assuming the board you choose to serve on has a diverse array of professional backgrounds, you will have the opportunity to meet new people (both the members of the board and their network as you interact with them at events). By expanding your network in this way, you’ll discover that you have access to mentors and professional opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t.

3. Develop a deeper understanding of what it takes to run a successful organization. 

Serving on a board allows you to experience, first-hand, the operations of an organization at a high-level. Whether or not you strive to be a leader of a nonprofit organization, learning about and making decisions on governance, financial/accounting, ethics and legal issues is not something that most of us have the responsibility of doing – or opportunity to do – at our places of employment. It’s an experience that will truly develop your leadership skills and provide you with exposure that you wouldn’t otherwise gain at this stage in your career.

The above reasons are only three of many why you should be serving on a nonprofit board.What’s most important is that you begin to understand that not only is it possible for young professionals to join a board, it is imperative that we start getting a seat at the table. It’s the only way we will increase the representation of board members under 30 from an abysmal 2%.

Originally posted on Journeyful Life