Fundraisers Are Colleagues, Not Competitors

Over the past several years, the fundraising landscape has evolved dramatically. Teams are navigating new initiatives, shifting donor expectations, hybrid work environments, and increasing pressure to deliver results. Amid all this change, one theme continues to surface in my conversations with clients: competition among fundraisers.

It often starts subtly: a sense of ownership over certain donors, hesitation to share information, or anxiety about who gets credit for a gift. But left unaddressed, competition becomes corrosive. It leads to resource‑hoarding, short‑sighted strategies, and a culture where fundraisers feel isolated rather than supported.

Some leaders still believe competition is healthy. That it drives performance. But in fundraising, that belief is outdated and counterproductive. The short‑term gains of internal competition are quickly overshadowed by its long‑term costs.

Today’s most successful advancement shops understand a simple truth: lifelong donor relationships are built through collaboration, not competition.

Donors expect seamless communication, coordinated strategy, and a unified institutional voice. They don’t care which fundraiser “owns” them; they care about impact, clarity, and trust. And that requires teams to work together.

One of the most effective tools for building a collaborative culture is a clear, widely understood shared‑credit policy. When credit is assigned in a way that reflects the reality of how fundraising actually works, cross‑functional, relationship‑driven, and team‑based, fundraisers are incentivized to support one another, not compete.

Below is an updated framework for how shared credit can reinforce the right behaviors in today’s environment.

The strongest shared‑credit policies address the full range of scenarios that arise in modern advancement shops. In each of the following cases, 100% credit should be awarded to every fundraiser or team that played a substantive role:

Major + Annual Giving

When a donor being actively cultivated by a frontline fundraiser makes a gift through an annual giving channel (online, mail, event, etc.), especially if the gift is larger than their typical pattern or reflects recent cultivation.

Major + Planned Giving

When a frontline fundraiser brings a planned giving officer into a relationship and a planned gift results from that collaboration.

Foundation/Corporate + Major Giving

When a frontline fundraiser builds the relationship that opens the door for a grant application, and the foundation/corporate team writes and submits the proposal.

Multiple Major Gift Officers

When two or more fundraisers contribute meaningfully to strategy, cultivation, or solicitation, whether through joint visits, coordinated strategy, or shared stewardship.

Institutional Portfolio Work

As more organizations adopt institutional portfolio models, shared credit becomes essential. When fundraisers collectively advance a donor or initiative, credit should reflect the team‑based nature of the work.

When Shared Credit Is Not Warranted

Shared credit should be meaningful, not automatic. It should not be awarded in the following situations:

Managers Receiving Credit for Staff Work

Supervisors provide guidance and support as part of their role. Their leadership is recognized through title, scope, and compensation — not gift credit.

Basic Collegiality

Sharing information, offering feedback, editing proposals, or making introductions is expected professional behavior, not a basis for shared credit.

Passive or Incidental Interactions

Sending a birthday card, chatting at an event, or offering a small piece of insight without participating in the strategy does not constitute substantive involvement.

Why Shared Credit Matters More Than Ever

Gift credit remains an important indicator of performance, but it should also reflect how the work gets done. A clear, inclusive shared‑credit policy:

  • Reinforces donor‑centered strategy
  • Encourages collaboration across teams
  • Reduces internal competition and friction
  • Supports institutional portfolio models
  • Builds a healthier, more sustainable culture
  • Inspires greater generosity from donors

Most importantly, it sends a powerful message to your team:

You will be recognized for acting in service to the greatest possible generosity, not for guarding your turf. In a sector built on relationships, collaboration is not optional. It is the foundation of long‑term success.

Be Where You Need to Be

The most common sentence I’ve spoken this year, in coaching calls, strategy sessions, trainings and quiet conversations with exhausted fundraisers and advancement staff is simple, steady, and surprisingly hard to live out: be where you need to be.

That’s it. Six words. But they can be the anchoring you need.

This past year has stretched nearly every advancement professional we work with. Expectations have risen. Budgets have shrunk. Teams have been cut. And somehow, the mandate remains: do more, more, more. It’s no wonder so many talented professionals feel like they’re sprinting on a treadmill that keeps speeding up.

Yet in the middle of all that pressure, one truth hasn’t changed: Your greatest contribution to your organization is your ability to build and deepen relationships that lead to generosity.

Everything else is secondary.

Being where you need to be requires honesty. Not the soft, polite kind; but the courageous kind. With yourself first, and then your supervisor. It means saying:

  • Here’s what I can do
  • Here’s what I can’t do
  • Here’s what must move if you want me focused on what matters most

This isn’t weakness. It’s stewardship of your time, your energy, your relationships, and your mission.

When fundraisers try to be everywhere, they end up being nowhere in a meaningful way. But when they choose to be where they truly need to be, everything shifts. Conversations deepen. Work becomes purposeful again.

We live in a world that rewards reaction, not intention. Notifications, meetings, inboxes, and internal requests pull fundraisers in a dozen directions before lunch.

But generosity grows in the opposite environment. One of presence, curiosity, and genuine connection.

Being where you need to be looks like:

  • Protecting time for donor conversations
  • Letting go of tasks that don’t move relationships forward
  • Creating space to think, reflect, and prepare

This isn’t indulgent. It’s strategic.

Focus doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires healthy, ongoing conversations with teammates and supervisors; the kind where you collectively decide:

  • What must be done
  • What could be done
  • What no longer needs to be done

We often take teams through a Keep, Stay, Stop exercise. These conversations are not about lowering standards. They’re about aligning expectations with reality so you can deliver your best work where it matters most.

When teams normalize these discussions, burnout decreases, clarity increases, and fundraising outcomes improve. Everyone wins.

If you’re feeling stretched, tired, or pulled in too many directions, you’re not alone.

You can choose presence over pressure. You can choose relationships over reactivity. You can choose to be where you truly need to be.

And that choice, repeated day after day is what builds generosity, strengthens organizations, and sustains you for the long haul.

Impact Over Output: The Leadership Shift Fundraising Teams Desperately Need

Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of leadership in fundraising, and the response was overwhelming. So many leaders reached out wanting to go deeper, and in coaching sessions, one theme kept surfacing: we cannot build healthy, sustainable fundraising cultures if leaders stay fixated on output instead of impact.

It sounds simple, but it’s a profound shift. And it’s one many organizations struggle to make.

The Output Trap: When “More” Becomes the Mission

Too often, leaders unintentionally create cultures where the primary focus is on:

  • Hitting the bottom line
  • Tracking metrics for the sake of metrics
  • Repeatedly asking teams to do more with less, without providing needed directionals or removing tasks to support our most important work
  • Filling calendars with activity instead of purpose

Let’s be clear, metrics do matter. They can motivate, clarify priorities, and help teams stay aligned. But when metrics become the mission, rather than a tool, they start to distort behavior.

Output-driven cultures reward:

  • More meetings
  • More solicitations based on numbers, giving day matches or calendar/fiscal year-end versus strategic invitations timed with a donors’ desire to create impact
  • More events
  • More tasks

Even when those activities no longer serve donors, staff, or the organization’s long-term goals.

This is where burnout begins. This is where creativity dies. This is where fundraising becomes mechanical instead of meaningful.

Impact: The Leadership Lens That Changes Everything

We have long discussed impact for donors. We need to talk more about impact with our teams. Healthy fundraising cultures are built on impact, not output. Impact asks different questions:

  • Is this activity moving us closer to meaningful donor relationships?
  • Does this task contribute to long-term organizational health?
  • Is this meeting still serving a purpose, or are we doing it because we always have?
  • Are we creating space for staff to think, reflect, and innovate?

Impact-driven leaders understand that not all activity is productive, and sometimes the bravest leadership move is to stop doing things that no longer matter.

This includes:

  • Letting go of legacy events that drain resources
  • Eliminating reports no one reads, or that do activate the right behaviors
  • Reducing meetings that don’t drive decisions
  • Giving staff permission to question the “why” behind their workload

When leaders model this, teams feel empowered to focus on what truly matters: building trust, deepening relationships, and creating experiences that inspire generosity.

Why This Shift Matters More Than Ever

Donors are craving authenticity, connection, and clarity of purpose. Staff are craving meaning, balance, and the ability to do their best work without drowning in busywork.

Impact-driven leadership delivers both.

When leaders prioritize impact:

  • Teams feel trusted and supported
  • Donors feel seen and valued
  • Strategies become more thoughtful and less reactive
  • Fundraising becomes a craft, not a checklist

And perhaps most importantly, the culture becomes healthier. People stay longer. They collaborate more. They innovate. They take ownership. They feel proud of the work they’re doing.

If you’re a leader, here’s the invitation:

Shift your focus from How much are we doing? to What difference is our work making?

Ask your team what activities no longer serve them, or our organizations. Ask what impact looks like in their roles. Ask what support they need to pursue meaningful work.

And then, this is the hard part: listen. Really listen.

Because the healthiest fundraising cultures aren’t built on pressure. They’re built on clarity, trust, and shared purpose.

Output may help you measure progress, but impact supports an environment where evolution can happen. If leaders can embrace this shift, they won’t just improve fundraising results. They’ll transform the culture that produces them.

 

How Leaders Unintentionally Undermine Relationship‑Based Fundraising, and Ways to Ensure You Are Setting Your Team Up for Success

Relationship‑based fundraising is often discussed in mission statements, strategic plans, and team meetings. Yet in practice, many organizations unintentionally create environments where genuine donor connection becomes difficult, inconsistent, or secondary to short‑term pressures. Leaders rarely do this on purpose. In fact, most believe they are supporting their teams. But small decisions, cultural norms, and unspoken expectations can quietly erode the very donor relationships they hope to strengthen.

This month, I’m exploring the subtle ways leaders undermine relationship fundraising and the practical shifts that restore clarity, discipline, and trust.

1) Prioritizing Urgency Over Intentionality

Many fundraising teams live in a constant state of “now.” Urgent appeals, non‑strategic events (and a lack of meaningful follow‑up strategies), shifting priorities, and reactive requests from leadership can push relationship work to the margins. When everything is urgent, nothing is strategic, and teams are consistently expected to do more with less.

How it undermines relationships: Donors feel the inconsistency. They sense when outreach is rushed, transactional, or driven by internal deadlines rather than genuine connection.

How leaders can strengthen the approach leading to our most important work:

  • Protect time for proactive donor work as fiercely as you protect revenue goals. Provide blocks of time where no meetings are scheduled and teams can dedicate time to their most important work.
  • Model calm, planned decision‑making and ensure that you role‑model the behaviors you want from your teams.
  • Ask your team regularly: “What activities need to come off your plate so that we are focusing on our most important work?” Then support your staff in re‑prioritizing work and allowing some tasks to disappear.

Intentionality is a discipline, and leaders set the tone.

2) Measuring What’s Easy Instead of What Matters

It’s tempting to track what fits neatly into a spreadsheet: number of visits, number of calls, dollars raised. But relationship fundraising is built on quality, not quantity.

How it undermines relationships: Fundraisers start chasing metrics instead of meaning. They prioritize activity over impact, and donors feel like items on a checklist.

How leaders can set the right tone and approach:

  • Balance quantitative metrics with qualitative indicators of relationship health.
  • Celebrate thoughtful engagement and stewardship, not just closed gifts.
  • Share stories, conduct “anatomy of a gift” exercises regularly, and highlight good behavior.

When leaders value depth, fundraisers feel permission to slow down and connect.

3) Over‑Managing the Ask and Under‑Supporting the Journey

Some leaders focus heavily on the solicitation moment: the strategy, the amount, the timing, while giving far less attention to the months of cultivation that make the invitation/ask possible.

How it undermines relationships: Fundraisers feel pressure to “get to the ask,” even when the relationship isn’t ready. Donors feel rushed or misunderstood.

How leaders can grow their relationship‑based culture:

  • Coach fundraisers on pacing, probing questions, and authentic engagement instead of only focusing on the number of gifts closed.
  • Reinforce that a well‑timed invitation (ask) is the result of disciplined relationship work.
  • Encourage fundraisers to trust their read of donor readiness.

A strong invitation or ask is never a standalone event; it’s the culmination of a thoughtful process.

4) Sending Mixed Messages About Priorities

Leaders often say relationships matter but then reward behaviors that contradict that message. For example:

  • Cancelling donor meetings to attend internal ones
  • Redirecting fundraisers to administrative tasks
  • Celebrating only revenue, not engagement and stewardship
  • Allowing constant interruptions to donor‑facing time

How it undermines relationships: Fundraisers learn that relationship work is “nice to have,” not essential.

How leaders can better align to encourage relationships over transactions:

  • Align your actions with your stated priorities.
  • Remove barriers that pull fundraisers away from donors.
  • Publicly recognize disciplined, relationship‑driven behavior.

Culture is shaped by what leaders consistently reinforce.

5) Forgetting That Fundraisers Need Relationships Too

Relationship‑based fundraising requires emotional energy, resilience, and confidence. When leaders overlook the relational needs of their own team, fundraisers can’t show up fully for donors.

How it undermines relationships: A depleted fundraiser cannot build trust. Donors feel the strain.

How leaders can fix it:

  • Provide coaching, not just oversight.
  • Create space for reflection and learning.
  • Offer clarity, encouragement, and realistic expectations.

Healthy internal relationships fuel healthy external ones.

The Bottom Line

Most leaders genuinely want to support relationship‑based fundraising; they simply underestimate how their decisions shape the daily reality of their teams. The good news is that small, intentional shifts can dramatically strengthen donor relationships and team performance.

Relationship fundraising thrives when leaders:

  • Protect time
  • Value depth
  • Support the process
  • Align actions with priorities
  • Invest in their people

When leadership and fundraisers move in sync, donors feel it, and they respond with trust, loyalty, and generosity.

If you are looking for coaching to support healthy habits and greater attention to your team, reach out! We would love to support you through our leadership and fundraising coaching. Click here to schedule an exploratory call today.

Measuring What Matters: How to Effectively Use Metrics

Many of us are fresh into a new year or will be in the coming weeks. A continued focus on our most important work is a great way to energize for a successful year. And the use of metrics is one of our best ways to build good habits and strengthen focus. We are re-running this blog to provide some new reminders and new energy for the year ahead. Happy Fiscal New Year!

The topic of metrics comes across my desk regularly. It may also be one of the more challenging topics in fundraising, as metrics is both an essential tool and one that is often misused, thus causing damage to morale.

In a conversation I had recently, we discussed my approach to metrics: Advancement leaders should create a system that incentivizes and celebrates performance, rather than a system that is punitive.

Think about the traits that support long-term, generous relationships: collaboration. engagement, and perseverance. Metrics can incentivize and reward each one of these. For example:

  • Some teams allow only one team member to take “credit” for a gift, which is counterproductive. Shared credit, when used correctly, incentivizes our teams to be more collaborative, to think about the institution first (versus the unit), and to elevate the role of donors in their giving. Not doing this creates silos and competition.
  • Building the donor pipeline is both essential and often neglected. Give credit for outreach activity and for qualifying (or disqualifying) prospects, and team members will more clearly see this work as a non-negotiable part of their role. As a result, they’ll be better positioned to remain persistent in the face of “no,” or resist silence when reaching out to new prospects.
  • Engagement leads to generosity, so measure and reward activities like donor visits, zoom and phone calls. By giving credit for this work, you’ll help motivate the team to stay focused rather than getting caught up in less important activities.

When we only focus on the financial goal, and not the activity that leads to the greatest generosity, we become more transactional in our approach. By creating a system that celebrates the hard work of building an authentic relationship that leads to generosity, we remove barriers that can stand in the way of team members collaboratively building authentic, sustainable relationships that reflect an institutional approach.

Metrics do matter. I believe in them, and I used them when I led a team. But what I know from experience is they can be as effective in creating fear and poor behavior as they can be in motivating excellent work and building a healthy culture. And the only difference is leadership: what (and how) we choose to measure, what we choose to reward, and how transparent we are about those choices.

What metrics do you use that incentivize strong fundraising? And what might you change?

For a deeper dive into how data and metrics can support your leadership style, register for our upcoming webinar — Metrics for Performance — on October 23.

How to Become a Fundraising Favorite

If you’ve been a fundraiser for long — whether in higher education, healthcare systems or large nonprofits — you’ve probably heard these phrases:

The fundraising team loves that program.

That program gets all the funding.

That faculty member is advancement’s favorite.

And the reality is, it’s likely true! We know that not all initiatives are created equal, and philanthropy reflects that. But we also know there are plenty of strong fundraising opportunities that can be created when faculty/physicians/program leaders invest in becoming a fundraising favorite.

Of course, we cannot raise money for every program within our institution, no matter how important the cause. But we can raise more money for the programs with leaders who are strong partners. That’s why we, as fundraisers, need to be honest about that, and then clearly define how a program can become a favorite.

Expectation-setting is critical. Leaders new to this area may expect quick magic, rather than the thoughtful process of building toward generosity. Expectations that I share regularly include:

  • Not every program will have the same fundraising results.
  • Fundraising must be a true partnership between advancement and program leadership to be successful.
  • Leaders need to consistently make time for fundraising.
  • Donors have their own interests and we support those interests, even if it means a gift to a different program.
  • This work takes sustained effort and time – the results will not be immediate.

Then we must outline that we need the leaders’ partnership in three key areas: vision, engagement and alignment.

Vision

  • Define a clear vision and impact for the project.
  • Engage in a transparent budgeting discussion.
  • Be prepared to demonstrate milestones and outcomes along the way.

Engagement

  • Be prepared to communicate directly with donors.
  • Share your research, lab, classroom or other showcase opportunity for donor tours/visits.
  • Don’t feel that you need to go it alone – advancement will partner with you to create donor strategies, communications and more.
  • Be available to edit communications/proposals.
  • Learn to speak passionately about why philanthropy matters to your project – but know that your fundraising partner will solicit the gift.

Alignment

  • Speak about the institution positively.
  • Be a champion for your project and institution, both internally and externally.
  • Be a true partner with advancement, working together to align communications calendars, messaging, donor outreach and more.
  • Do not keep your own database: provide all engagement and biographical data updates to your fundraising partner for the university’s database so there is one accurate tracking system.

We know that leaders who partner with us by committing to supporting vision, engagement and alignment will be fundraising favorites. Let’s share this message with our internal partners and invite them in!

When Your Partnership With a Leader is on the Wrong Path

It’s something most of us have experienced: in our partnership with a dean, president, or other leader, something seems amiss. Maybe we don’t have a shared vision for the role of a development officer or a leader in the philanthropic process. Maybe they’re just really uncomfortable in the fundraising dynamic. Or it’s any other reason from the countless possibilities.

But regardless of the reason, I’ve found that when this relationship isn’t working, we can’t have the philanthropic impact we would otherwise. That’s why we should provide effort and intentionality in building this partnership…including a commitment to honest discussion. And the best tool I have found when the partnership isn’t working is the reset conversation: an open dialogue that identifies the challenge and builds consensus for a path forward.

I know from personal experience that having this conversation can be difficult. With everything from differences in style to power dynamics, it can be hard to know where to start. However, in my experience, there are six critical elements for creating a productive discussion:

  • Request a conversation specifically to address the issue at hand, setting expectations for what the conversation will be about.
  • Be honest but professional about what you’re seeing — hinting at the issue will only delay real resolution.
  • Ask for feedback about how the partnership is working. Their perspective is critical to creating shared solutions.
  • Provide constructive feedback within the framework of your shared goals. For example, “I know your time is limited and I want to make sure we get the most from our meetings with donors. That’s why I wanted to hear your thoughts and share some feedback about how these visits are going so far.”
  • Identify the benefits of doing things differently: raising more money, more effective donor visits, etc.
  • Be clear about what you’re asking for. Is it a certain number of hours per week for fundraising activities? A different understanding of your priorities as a development officer? Whatever it is, don’t leave room for guess work.

Honest dialogue can be intimidating, I know. It’s also the only way to build a truly productive and trust-based partnership, and developing these skills takes time and practice. To fill your toolbox, join me for my webinar series, Creating Success with your new Academic Leader. We’ll cover everything from onboarding a new leader for success to creating buy-in for the philanthropic process to crucial conversations and more. Learn more and sign up here!

Onboarding New Academic Leaders for Success

Turnover rates for deans and institutional leaders are among some of the highest within higher education. In 2018, Higher Education Publications Inc. released the results of a study demonstrating that while the average turnover rate for university administrators was 12%, deans, directors, provosts, and presidents all had higher rates.

This is why spring has become a season of announcements for the hiring of new academic leaders, as these leaders prepare to step into their new roles for the new school year.

Fundraisers know that our relationships with academic and institutional leaders are among the most important for creating fundraising success … and yet, it’s all too common for these new leaders to arrive without a thoughtful, strategic onboarding and integration plan into the philanthropic function.

There is positive news, as more and more of these job descriptions include language about the importance of philanthropy — but there’s so much more institutions can do. As you approach the season of transition at your university, assess your process against the following key steps to make the most of these opportunities.

Pre-Hire

  • Is advancement a part of the search committee?
  • Are donors represented in the process?
  • What is the discussion around philanthropy, and how are philanthropic initiatives portrayed, both challenges and successes?
  • Is the institution providing a state of the unit from a philanthropic lens?

Pre-Announcement

  • How will donors and stakeholders hear the news of a new hire?
  • Do you have a philanthropic onboarding plan?
  • What can be learned about the new leader from their current advancement partners?

Pre-Arrival

  • Have you created a plan for the first 90 days from a philanthropic lens?
  • What should the roll-out of donor introductions look like, and why does order and timing matter to this process?
  • How will this leader be staffed — and how do they want to be staffed…or do they know what being staffed even looks like?

The First Six Months

  • Success is a partnership. How can you as an advancement professional assist in building a solid foundation of communication that supports philanthropy?
  • What will happen to the initiatives championed by past leaders?
  • How will you build new initiatives, and how will you ensure the new leader has heard what is important to current donors and future stakeholders?

The arrival of a new leader is so much more than press releases, welcome notes and introductory meetings. With the right tools and strategy, we can build formative partnerships that lead to success for our donors and our institutions.

Looking to sharpen your tools and get new ideas for onboarding leaders? Check out KDD Philanthropy’s new webinar series, Creating Success with a New Academic Leader, and jump-start your role in building a purposeful partnership with your new leader.

How to Support Your Employees Today

Every article, podcast and blog is saying the same thing: we need to practice self care. We need to take time to do things we enjoy, find ways to be active, be kind to ourselves, have realistic expectations for ourselves and loved ones, and so on.

It’s the right advice — but we all know it’s not that easy. Today, instead of offering you that same advice, I want to take it a step further: Leaders and managers have an obligation to make it possible for our employees to follow this advice instead.

Let’s be honest: this is a difficult conversation to have. On one hand, we empathize with our employees. We know they may be struggling emotionally, working in spaces not conducive to focus and performance, trying to manage feelings of isolation, jugging care of a family member, or bearing any other number of additional challenges right now. We all are! On the other hand, your fundraising goals are still ambitious, and your institution may even be reliant on philanthropy to keep its doors open and carry out its mission every day.

While it may feel like you have to make an either/or choice as a manager — show compassion or meet goals — the truth is that managers don’t have a choice. Most of us are struggling in some way. Our staff are feeling burned out and conflicted, and they need encouragement to be true to themselves. Effective managers will acknowledge that the only thing (and the right thing!) we can do is seek productive ways to support our employees.

What can that look like?

  • Start with honest dialogue. If you’re not asking your employees how they’re doing, how they feel about their work during these circumstances, and how you can support them, start today. Take time to be vulnerable, and through role modeling, allow your staff to do the same.
  • Know that what works for one employee may not for someone else. One person may need to catch up on work in off-hours, but not always be at the computer during typical work hours. Another may be struggling to draw boundaries, and therefore need to “turn it off” starting at 5 p.m. each day. Get to know the needs and preferences of each individual on your team, and honor and encourage those whenever possible.
  • Check yourself. Do you say that you are empathetic to your employees and tell them to take care of themselves, but expect their work product/speed/etc. to stay exactly the same as before? If so, take a deep breath and realize that you need to honor your intent. Give permission for slowed responses to non-urgent matters, realize that a normally reliable employee may make more mistakes, and focus on each person’s outcomes, not worrying about whether they’re “putting in their hours.”
  • Get creative. Find ways to allow each team member to carry more of the responsibilities they’re best able to do right now. If you have an employee who is struggling to make donor calls due to noise in the house, could you shift their work portfolio to minimize calls and allow them to pick up other work in the interim — writing assignments, portfolio projects for teammates, etc.?
  • Take that creativity a step further. Encourage time off. Declare a Vitamin D afternoon (close the office early) or a coffee/tea/pajama-and-me morning (surprise your team with a late start Monday). Declare Zoom-free time zones, walking lunch breaks, shorter meetings, or virtual stretching sessions. Most importantly, recognize that unusual times call for a different and more creative approaches to leadership.

If you think you don’t have the ability to honor these ideas and make space for employees who are challenged right now, understand the consequences of not meeting your employees where they are.

Right now, some of your team members may not be as productive as they used to be. Your frontline staff may even raise less money. Working with our teams to foster their best talents is an important part of our work.

Good employees are worth keeping and investing in. They will reward your institution with high performance most of the time, if you honor their needs and meet those with concrete flexibility during this unprecedented time. Every manager has a powerful opportunity to be a source of sincere support and compassion right now. Doing so will help your employees, but it will also you: knowing that you’re a positive force for others is great self care for you, too.