Brown bag with the VP!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a brown bag lunch session with the VP of Development at the institution I work for. I have been spending some time thinking about all those fun questions, you know, the “what am I doing with my life?” kind and having a chance to meet with her was just a super fun perk from my super fun job.

The session was intended for new employees as of a year ago, so I shared lunch with 12 women, all under 25. When our host arrived, her first remark had to do with the overwhelming amount of women working in the field which gave way to a discussion about women in the workforce and what about development attracts or retains more women than men. She mentioned that when she started working for a very prestigious, east coast higher education institution in the 70s, the situation was reversed and it was something that she found extremely boggling. She had (and continues to have) strong feelings about how unjust the work force was for women and she felt it was her responsibility to surpass expectations and work to obtain a leadership role in a fundraising organization like the one she now has.

So of course all 13 women were simultaneously curious and interested in asking, “how did you do it?” The following is her advice.

Start somewhere where the goals and the mission of the institution is something you believe in. The position you first take is less important than being part of an organization you genuienly believe in and can see yourself invested in for a long time.

Ask yourself (repeatedly) what you want to gain, learn, or achieve with the experience and check in with yourself to see how you are doing. It doesn’t have to be a 6 month timeline- the questions you ask could be the ones you will need eight or more years to answer, but it is important to work with a goal in mind. And this she emphasized time and time again. Know what skills you are trying to gain, remain aware of where you are trying to go and have a check list where you can keep track of your progress. If you can visualize it and if you can evaluate yourself, you will remain perpetually aware of the skills you have which helps your confidence, and of the skills you have yet to gain which keeps you motivated.

Find someone in the work place who you find inspiring; someone you want to be like and learn from them. Try to connect with them, observe them, converse with them and analyze what about them you like and want to immitate and why. There will always be someone at any organization you work for that is really good at what they do and they will most likely love what they do. If you have the aspirations to be really great at something, you need someone to teach you the craft and to guide you on your next steps.

Find someone you don’t want to be like and learn from them as well. Observe, converse, take note. There will always be someone difficult to work with or someone you will find hard to understand and it is just as important to learn from him or her as it is to learn from the people you look up to.

That is it, that is how she did it (I mean, I am sure it isn’t it, but this is definitely at the core of what she believes determined her success). It is nothing enlightening per say, it is stuff we hear all the time, but I really liked hearing that it actually works. Especially for the current d-sipers, who I am sure hear it time and time again, you are in an incredibly priveleged position to be interning at Michigan and it is vital that you make the most of this opportunity because like me, you never know where it is going to lead.

As for me, the emphasis on being methodical in your actions to get to where you want to go and of doing some self analyzing is something that really works. It might seem obvious and sensible, but I do think it is really easy to stop thinking about the “little” goals one has to stay focused on in order to reach the “big” goals, the “dreams”. I liked being reminded of its importance and just wanted to share.

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Michigan Nonprofit Superconference & Michelle Obama

Hi again blog readers,

Since I posted last week, I have had a few awesome experiences in just a short time. Tuesday and Wednesday last week were consumed by the 2010 Michigan Nonprofit Superconference hosted by the Michigan Nonprofit Association.  I went to quite a few workshops, many focused around innovation and social media in the nonprofit world. Doug Stewart (my boss) was on the panel for one of the sessions and he gave his insights on navigating the program officer relationship and the role of family foundations in Michigan nonprofits. I know I am biased, but he was definitely the best one on the panel because he was clear, concise and got important points across to the audience of development professionals. It was interesting to listen to his advice to small organizations when they are establishing a relationship with a foundation and the foundation says no to a grant proposal (funding request). He encouraged them to follow up with the foundation to keep the relationship open for the future, but once they have confirmed that they do not want to invest in your current project, do not ask them again that year to contribute to your project. Just something to keep in mind as you development professionals grow to be directors of your own small organizations. I really enjoyed meeting a ton of fundraising professionals while I was there including some influential leaders in Michigan like Kyle Caldwell, the President & CEO of MNA and Rob Collier, President & CEO of the Council of Michigan Foundations.  And, Katelyn Videto (D-SIP Class ’09) was there working for the CMF closely with Rob Collier, so it was cool to reconnect with one of my fellow D-SIP alum. I’m starting to see how much the program had an effect on all of us. D-SIP Class 2010 – I believe you all will eventually get a chance to meet Rob Collier sometime during your program, so be on the lookout.

I also was fortunate enough to get a ticket yesterday to Michelle Obama’s event downtown Detroit on mentorship and the city of Detroit.  There was a great panel of people who contributed to the event by speaking on great mentors in their own lives.  The panel included Magic Johnson,

Spike Lee, and the wife of the owner of the Red Wings, Marian Ilitch just to name a few.  It was blisteringly hot outside, but the event was great and I think the students at Wayne State as well as everyone else on Adam’s Field were inspired to continue to work hard, but give back to others in their Detroit community. It’s unbelievable I saw President Obama live at my commencement ceremony at U-M, but also saw The First Lady less than a month later!

So while I’m having these great experiences outside of the office, I am working hard on research for the foundation as well. One of my projects right now involves researching giving opportunities in major metros around the U.S. that are financially detailed (transparent budgeting), as well as involved in the impact areas related to the Fisher Foundation. I am tasked with synthesizing these giving opportunities outlined by various community organizations who are getting the best results and making a true impact in strengthening youth and families, early childhood development, Jewish issues (local and abroad), HIV/AIDS research, education, arts & culture, as well as the city of Detroit and the economy. This effort is important to other major family foundations in America who have significant financial resources so that they can make quick, well-researched, and actionable funding decisions. It will allow them to collaborate with other family foundations with shared values in giving to relevant organizations with impoverished budgets. It is an awesome project because it will allow me to learn more and more about specific issues in philanthropy and development important to the Fisher Foundation, discuss these issues with other development professionals in the family foundation arena of philanthropy, expand my professional skills as I interact with veteran leaders in the development world, as well as increase my interest in philanthropy and a career in development.

I know this is a long blog, but I have to take time at the end just to mention the man I work for, Doug Stewart. We’ve joked this week about what I’m going to be writing on this blog and how I’m going to bad mouth him, but that is literally impossible to do. I have only been here for about 2 weeks, and Doug has impressed me tremendously in that short time. He is an amazing person and excellent at interacting with every development professional and fundraiser he comes in contact with as the Executive Director of the Fisher Foundation. I really look up to his ability to engage others in the foundation’s mission, to multitask (in the most true form of the word) on several projects at once, to maintain strong professional relationships with several partners outside of the foundation (as he is co-chairing and a board member for several nonprofit community organizations), to help develop the careers of his staff, and to make everyone feel a part of the team (especially me as a summer program associate). He is truly remarkable and I’m not just saying this because I think he’s going to read my blog (he’s told me he won’t unless I want him to ), but he has inspired me to develop a passion for the foundation and its causes, while focusing on being an influential leader in my career (wherever I go next). The program has really only just begun, and I already know I will be dramatically affected by my time spent here.

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Leadership and Internships

I’ve learned that one of the great benefits of being a D-SIP intern is that once in a while you are able to sit in on a very interesting meeting or attend a cool event. This past Wednesday I was lucky enough to attend an event on leadership put on by Human Resource Development and co-sponsored by the Center for the Education of Women.  The event featured Betsy Myers, a former senior staffer in the Clinton White House and the COO of Obama’s Presidential campaign. She is a compelling speaker, and a strong female leader—and given my political background (I interned on Capitol Hill in DC last summer) I really enjoyed listening to her speak.

Betsy Myers-Campaign COO and Chair of Women for Obama

There were two takeaways from the conference that really resonated with me.  First, was Betsy Myers’ idea of authentic leadership. She described how it’s really important for each leader to be true to themselves, and to be comfortable in their own skin. She said that one of her reasons for leaving her job at Harvard to join an upstart Obama campaign that at the time was unlikely to succeed was that she viewed Obama as an authentic leader. At the beginning of his campaign he told his senior staff something to the effect of I am who I am and so be it—and that type of attitude inspired many and helped lead him to victory.

A second takeaway for me was during one of the event panel discussions, Betsy Myers and Dan Mulhern had an interesting exchange. Mulhern is the husband of current Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and is himself a lawyer and leadership expert. Mulhern and Myers talked about how these days more and more experts in the field are discussing how important it is to lead more like a woman.  Meaning that the old school “command and control” model of leadership is over, leaders need to be more perceptive, open and transparent about their goals and values with their employees, and be open to feedback among other things. Apparently these are traits that are classically attributed to women leaders. However, I think that, especially in my generation, these skills are becoming more and more common between both sexes. In my experience as a student leader at Michigan, I was forced to use these skills many times so I know the importance. I also know that many of my male and female counterparts were the same way. Regardless, I thought this discussion was an interesting to have and kind of shows the transformation that the idea of “leadership” is going through as we speak.

I guess I’m still unclear how this all relates to my role as an intern. In my first week I’ve had to take initiative on tasks, and lead discussions—but I also know that it’s not necessarily my place to “lead” yet because I’m so new to this field and am starting at the bottom. I’m glad I attended the conference, but as the summer moves along I will be interested to see if any of these takeaways will apply to my current position. One thing is for sure, I will definitely listen and observe leadership in action—and try to learn from any tips I can get along the way.

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