Giving Compass' Take:

•  Ellen LaPointe, President, and CEO of Northern California Grantmakers, reflects on the various lessons she has learned over the years about leadership in philanthropy. 

• How are these lessons pertinent to donors to enact and understand? What are some of the challenges in being a good leader? 

•  Read these funder lessons from philanthropic failure.

A few weeks ago I was asked to help welcome NCG’s inaugural cohort of Rising Leaders with a few words on leadership. At first I was daunted, not sure exactly what I might have to offer on this topic. So I did what I always do when I am trying to get my head around something: I made a list. In the spirit of reflection and learning, here’s what I’ve learned so far:

  1. Find your people.
  2. Know thyself, and hire everything else.  
  3. Play an “inside-out” game. 
  4. Learn how to ask good questions. 
  5. Make an effort to really see and hear people.  
  6. Embrace ambiguity. Learn to patiently support others who struggle with it.
  7. Learn how to put in, and when to take out.  Also how to portage.
  8. Ask for guidance – all the time.
  9. Practice saying “I was wrong.” 
  10. Learn how to tolerate it when someone is unhappy with a decision you have made. 
  11. Attend to yourself the same way you attend to your board or staff or grantees or anyone else to whom you give your attention and support routinely, without a second thought.
  12. Learn to play a good game of pool – strive to be two moves ahead at all times.
  13. Develop proficiency with numbers, but hire an expert to actually do the math.
  14.  Take jobs that throw a little fear into your heart.
  15. Actually taking time to reflect can be the difference between good and great leadership. And it is great role modeling besides.

Read the full article about lessons in leadership by Ellen LaPointe, at Northern California Grantmakers.