Summer School for Leaders: Enhancing Your Skills through the Lens of Elementary Math

Tim Barnes: 0:08

Welcome to episode 93 of the practice of nonprofit leadership. I'm Tim Barnes And I'm Nathan Ruby. Well, hey, Nathan, I've got a question for you. Did you ever do summer school as you were growing up?

Nathan Ruby: 0:23

Well, tim, you know I probably should have, but I think my teachers all said no. You know they pretty much had enough of me during the school year and they just they needed a break. So they said no nathan, in summer school this year.

Tim Barnes: 0:37

Somehow I can kind of understand that. But anyway, i digress. Well, i think I've mentioned on this podcast before that I was less than stellar in math when I was in school. So I decided to take a summer school math class to see if it might help, and I also took a photography class that same summer, which was kind of cool. Well, i'm sorry to say, the math class didn't help much, but the photography class was fun, so I appreciated that.

Nathan Ruby: 1:06

Oh geez, tim, I didn't know that about you. That's kind of cool. So after you get done with this whole nonprofit thing, you could start a whole new career. You could do the whole freelance photographer gig thing. That'd be cool.

Tim Barnes: 1:21

Well, actually I'm just a little better at photography than I am at math, So I don't know how that's going to work. But anyway, the reason I asked that here in the Northern Hemisphere, when this episode drops we will officially be in summer, which is kind of awesome. So I thought it'd be good to use this opportunity to do a bit of a summer school leadership assessment. And what better way to approach it than by using a few math terms? Hey, I got to get something out of that math class I took, But I thought that might be a good way to approach this assessment.

Nathan Ruby: 1:57

For sure, tim, and stepping back and doing a little assessment is always a good thing, and we often are moving so fast and are so focused on things that we don't often pause long enough to assess where we are and where we're going. And I think you've got I think it's four, i think you have four questions for us today, so why don't you just dive right in?

Tim Barnes: 2:20

Well, sure, I'm excited about this. We're going to talk about add, subtract, multiply and divide.

Nathan Ruby: 2:27

Oh my gosh, Do I need to get my calculator out for that?

Tim Barnes: 2:31

You might need to. But I want to say two things before we dive in, and the first one is I'm kind of focusing primarily on personal leadership more of a personal leadership focus here, but it also could be used to look at your organization that you're leading as well. So whatever feels best for you at this point, that's great. And the second thing I want to say is we're not asking you to do every one of these things. You could feel overwhelmed and say, oh, i got to do this, i got to do that, i do whatever. What we want to do is, as we go through this, is there something that really resonates with you And you say, yes, this is where I am, this is what I need to do. So we're not asking you to take a million actions, we're really asking you to take one action. So here's the first question What do I need to add that will increase my leadership effectiveness? What do I need to add that will increase my leadership effectiveness? Now you might say, hey, tim and Nathan, i've already got too many things. I need to get rid of something, and we'll get to that in just a second. But maybe there's something you need to add to help you be in a more effective leader. So there are a couple ways to focus on this. Now, one of the questions would be is there something I need to add to my schedule? When I talk about that, i'm thinking maybe it needs to be more intentional, but do I need to add something to my schedule that I put in there a time for, let's say, planning? Maybe I'm just kind of running from thing to thing, but I need to actually in my schedule, add a daily time or a weekly time where I'm really planning about what needs to be done next. Or maybe I'm not reading enough, so I need to add a time in my schedule where I take 30 minutes and I'm going to read, or something that, nathan, we've mentioned this a few times on our podcast, but we've added some times to do exercising and health over this year And we've intentionally put that in our schedule as we look for that, because we'll be better leaders, as we heard last week from Jack Grapple. We'll be better leaders as we take care of our health. I take care of our energy. Maybe we need to add something in there. Even journaling maybe you just never take the time to think about what's going on in your life and actually writing it down. So maybe it's putting something in your schedule that's very intentional, that will help you grow and develop and take the next step.

Nathan Ruby: 5:12

Well, and I think one of the key phrases there, tim, is actually putting it in your schedule, adding it to your schedule and then holding that time or that appointment as an appointment. And there are things that I put into my schedule intentionally to do things, and one that I've kind of got away from and I'm starting to do again is actually reading, and I do read. I'm not sure if I should say I'm ashamed to say this or not, but I do read some fiction, and usually that's at night, right before I go to bed, and I enjoy that time. But the reading that I put into my schedule now is actually nonfiction, it's books about my work, it's books about mindset and whatever I'm reading. And if I don't include that into my schedule and then hold it as an appointment, i don't actually do it. And there'll be times when people say, hey, can we meet at two o'clock? And I'll say, no, i'm already scheduled. Well, i'm scheduled with myself, but that's just as important as having scheduled with somebody else.

Tim Barnes: 6:24

So putting something into your schedule that needs to be added could be really important. Maybe there's some knowledge you need to add to where you are right now And it could mean I need to do a course There's a million online courses or I need to take a class, maybe at the local community college, or maybe I need to attend a conference. Nathan, you had mentioned that post pandemic conferences are starting to open up and opportunities to go and increase your knowledge, connect with people. So, anyway, maybe putting that into your schedule but doing a conference might be might be really good as well. I got to say I am a course junkie And I right now I've got three courses I'm trying to get through One on financial management, one on I love notion as a tool that I use, so I've been doing a notion mastery how to do that better And I also have a communication and how to use LinkedIn better. So I've got these three courses that I'm trying to. Probably I'm probably a little bit overstimulated right now. There's so many things out there. It's easy to grab something and maybe you need to add that to figure out how that fits in your schedule as well. I think another interesting one that we might add to who we are is Maybe we need to add a relationship, and what I mean by that is maybe you need to add someone, maybe a coaching relationship, or maybe there's someone that you could meet to be a mentor to you, or maybe even get involved in a cohort where there are several people together and you're walking beside each other, but you need a relationship that will help you take the next step.

Nathan Ruby: 8:24

Yeah, and Tim, we don't do a lot of sales, salesy type stuff on our podcast, but Tim and I both do outside consulting and coaching and mentoring and I actually have a couple of spots that have opened up. And so if you are, if you're a new executive director or even if you've been around a little bit and you're struggling, as you know, if you've listened to the podcast, we cover nonprofit marketing and fundraising and programming and admin and governance and all the things that it takes to run nonprofits. And so if you're struggling in some things, gosh my emails, tim's email there in the show notes, reach out to us and let's have a conversation and see if there's an opportunity that we can help in a more meaningful, intentional way.

Tim Barnes: 9:20

So adding a relationship in some form or fashion might be what you need to do. The last one I'll just mention that we might wanna add and I do this cautiously but maybe there's a tool that you need to add. The danger is we think the tools can fix everything, and they can't always. It depends on why you're using that tool. But, on the other hand, sometimes a tool helps you take the next step. It could be a product, it could be an app, it could be whatever, but maybe there's a tool that you say you know what. This is the time to do this. I think it will help my creativity or my leadership or whatever. I have to say and I know we talk at Nauseum about some of the stuff but when I got my iPad, it was a game changer for me. It has allowed me to do some things that I needed to be able to do, that I couldn't beforehand Consider. Maybe there's a tool, maybe now's the time to invest in a tool to take you the next step. So that's some things you might wanna consider adding. Well, at the same time as we add something, maybe we should consider if there's something that we need to subtract. Maybe there's something that's hindering us from leading well, and we need to get it out. We need to remove it. Is there an activity or a responsibility or a role that you're in right now that you need to delegate or hand off to someone? Maybe you're involved in too many outside activities, maybe you need to pare down. So is there something that you need to subtract? an activity or responsibility or a role, either to delegate it or push it aside?

Nathan Ruby: 11:06

Yeah, tim, recently I was talking to an executive director and they had found they were a new, had taken over as a new executive director at an organization and they found this program that they were doing, that they were investing time, energy and money into, and it was so far outside of their vision and mission and she questioned why are we even? why are we doing this? And the more she dug into it and the more she talked to people, the answer she kept getting was basically well, i don't know, we've always done it And so she did not overnight, but it took several months. But they got rid of the program because there were other people doing it, it was being replicated, they were replicating what other people in town were doing And it was it just. And once it was gone and it was done, it was such a relief off of her shoulders to say I don't have to worry about that anymore, and so definitely an example of now that's a bit dramatic. I mean, getting rid of a program is a lot more than you know not reading your email every five minutes, but it's just created so much more space in her work day that it was a great thing.

Tim Barnes: 12:22

You know, this assessment can be personal, but it can be organizational as well, and maybe there are programs or activities that your organization is doing that you say you know what, it is time, why are we doing this? we need to put it aside. In the same way it could be. Maybe there's a meeting, a regular meeting or regular commitment that you have And it's because we've always had this meeting and maybe it's time to say you know what? this meeting doesn't have the purpose that we thought it would, so let's eliminate that meeting. And I think a lot of people would jump for joy. Okay, we don't have this meeting more, but it's good to look at that and maybe yourself, maybe there's a meeting that you go to all the time just say this is not, this is not for me, i just stop, it's not serving the purpose that we thought it would, so let's eliminate that. This is interesting. You know we talked about adding a relationship, but Sometimes, personally, maybe we need to end a relationship. You know, maybe there are people that we are giving time to, we're sharing emotionally with and in all that. That it's not, it's not helpful, it's not helping you move forward. Yeah, i'm a pretty empathetic person and I Come alongside people and encourage them, but sometimes you have to say this is not healthy, this is not a good relationship, i need to push it aside, i need to get it out of my, my life, and so maybe you're the point where it's time to take a hard step and do that as well, because it's hindering you For being who you are and that those relationships, tim, as you well know, i mean that could be so hard when it's somebody at work, as if you're leading and it's it's a relationship that that's a little toxic or difficult.

Nathan Ruby: 14:09

that's Obviously that that's much more difficult to deal with, but there's still boundaries that you could put in place for that. but it could be neighbors, it could be, you know, it could be family, i mean it. you just you never know where those relationships are and And it's always a good thing to just take a minute assess where those relationships at, what brings me joy, what, what adds to my life and what brings me pain and angst and sucks the energy out of me, though that's an assessment that we have to make on a regular basis.

Tim Barnes: 14:45

The last one I'll just mention here under subtract is I put clutter and maybe there's just too much clutter in your, in your life. And I look at my desk right now and And usually I can tell when I'm, when I'm struggling, is I have too much clutter around me, and my wife would, would aim and that quite vehemently. But maybe there's clutter, maybe we just need to let things go, just you know things on our desk papers, books, whatever and maybe there's mental clutter, maybe you've got too much in your head, maybe you need to say I'm not gonna watch the news every night Or I'm gonna get rid of some of these Newsletter updates that I get. You know, maybe there are less things that I just I need to push aside because it's it's cluttering my mind. So it's easy just to kind of keep going on as as Pernormal and sometimes we just to say man, we need a garage sale, we need to get all this mental, physical Clutter out of the way so we can keep moving forward and Accomplishing our purposes you know, about once a quarter, tim, i go through my personal email.

Nathan Ruby: 15:56

It's not so bad on my on my work email, but my my personal email it gets I don't know where all of these lists serves and email groups and and you know the emails that I get every, every morning. I don't know where they come from because every quarter I go through and I and I unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe and I Don't know. Within three weeks I'm what you know. All of a sudden I got 15 emails coming in of I don't know where they come from. They must magically appear or something. So you just you know, it's just an example of There's some that I really like and I get value out of, but most of it I don't, and out they go and then it just come back again.

Tim Barnes: 16:40

So are there things that you need to subtract that are that are hindering your ability to lead Well? so a third one is what action could I take that would multiply the result? and this I was really challenged when I read James Clear's book atomic habits and And highly highly recommend that book as you think about changes you might want to make. But he talks a lot about the idea of a small, consistent action that compounds and has huge results over time. And You know we want things to change really quickly, we want to be able to do something and everything changes. But that's just not the way life works. But if you take a small consistent action every day, you would be amazed over time how things begin to change. James Clear talks about the idea of getting 1% better each day for one year Will make you 37 times better by the time you are done. So is there, is there something? is there a small Consistent action that you need to take that will multiply your results? It may have to do with decisions around health Decisions. Maybe you want to write more, maybe you want to be a better speaker, maybe even just be a better leader, in whatever areas. But is there a small consistent action that you could take that would help multiply What it is that you're after. The last one, then we've talked about adding, we've talked about subtracting, we've talked about multiplying. The last one is is there a project or an issue that you're facing that could use some division? And what I mean by that is this I Can now begin to recount all the times I felt overwhelmed As I faced a project or a new initiative or a big issue and all I could see was its enormity. And I had to admit I was just. I was paralyzed. I couldn't take action because it was too big, i didn't know what to do, and Maybe you're facing something like that at the moment. Maybe it's something you're trying to do in your organization, maybe it's even something to do in your life from a financial perspective. Maybe maybe you have debt that you're like overwhelmed by and you're trying to figure out. I just, i don't know what to do. I'm just, i'm just caught in this. The idea is that division can be your friend. By taking that issue, or by taking that project and breaking it down into small, bite-sized actions Helps it seem not so enormous and you start to move in a direction. You take one little step, and then the next step, and then the next step. So maybe today you need to look at what. Where are you? where you stuck, where you paralyzed because the issue looks so big? How could you divide that down? What's the first step you need to take? What's the second? So using division is really an opportunity to begin to go after and Solve that issue or work on that project.

Nathan Ruby: 19:59

So, alright, tim, i'm gonna show off my math skills here. Are you ready? go for it. Okay, so you know, in What are you in? like third, fourth grade, fifth grade, when you're working on multiplication tables and division, probably earlier than that, i don't know, but you know how. When you multiply, then you can check if your answer is right by dividing. So six times four is 24, right, and you, if you divide that out, you can check this to see if that, if that's correct. So there's one thing you could do that's both multiplying and dividing kind of at the same time, and that's delegating. If you delegate even even if this is this is outside of work, it still works, but if you can, if you have all of these things you have to do, delegating replicates yourself, which means you get more done in a shorter period of time. And it's also division where is? it breaks down bigger, bigger projects, bigger things, bigger tasks. It breaks it down into individual pieces and you don't have to do Everything. And we see that to me. I see that a lot with with executive directors, specially smaller organizations, is they just they get this mindset that they have to do everything and that their fingers have to be on everything, and that that will drive you nuts over over the long haul. so you could you could take care of a lot of these if you just delegate and ask other people to help you.

Tim Barnes: 21:34

I think sometimes we get stuck in that kind of a sense because if it's just me, then i'm. I'm like well, what am i gonna do? i don't have staff, i don't have money or whatever. But i think, beginning by asking the question, who could do this? Who?

Nathan Ruby: 21:50

it could be a volunteer, it could be a third party, but starting by asking the right question, as opposed to saying i just can't get this all done, it's just me yeah, and i tell you i have to check myself every once in a while, because i'll have a board member that'll come to me and say Why are, why are you doing this? what you know? shouldn't somebody else be doing this task? or whatever it is? And if i don't watch myself, my immediate responses well, there's no one else to do it. You know i have to do it And that's not, that's not, that's not always. Sometimes that's the right thing, but not always. And so i have to. I have to check myself to say, okay, here's this task or here's five tasks that i'm doing now that i shouldn't be doing it. I'm listening off my head as i, as i'm speaking. And so what if i took a half an hour my time and actually wrote out a job description, volunteer job description, and then send it out to the, to the, our volunteer base, our donor base, say we're looking for this. Yeah, is this you? but if you, just you gotta check yourself. And this is where the whole, this whole concept of this assessment is. You, you have to stop, take a breath and look at these things Intentionally, and there's answers to this stuff, but you gotta take the time to actually ask the question.

Tim Barnes: 23:14

Especially, you know you might be facing a fundraising event or maybe there's a financial issue trying to deal with, or crisis situation or launch of a new program or whatever. On and on, taking the time to ask some of those questions is really important. You know, i think nathan is i as we put this episode together, i'm always reminded this isn't rocket science and this may sound very simplistic, but i think sometimes in the conversations we have with people, is this challenging to take the time to do some assessment, to sit back and ask some of those questions. Sometimes we're a little afraid what we might, what we might hear back As we wrap up. I think it's important to remember that summer can provide a great opportunity to do some of this assessment, to look at your leadership or maybe your organization, and ask some questions. Is there something that needs to be added? Is there something that needs to be removed or subtracted? is there a consistent action that can be taken to multiply the impact over the long term? And, finally, is there an overwhelming project or issue that needs to be divided up into smaller, bite size actions? Taking the time to ask these questions and then take action will help make you a more effective leader.

Nathan Ruby: 24:45

Thank you for listening today. If you are benefiting from what is being shared on this podcast, we would like to ask you to share a review on the platform that you're listening to Let us know how the podcast is benefiting you. If you would like to get in touch with us, our contact information can be found in the show notes. That's all for today, until next time.