Giving Compass' Take:

• Nonprofit leader, Tarren Bragdon, explains how personalizing a business in the social sector can shape efforts to be even more strategic and successful through increased empathy, experience, and insight. 

• What are some of the challenges that might accompany this approach?

• Read about how to motivate millennials to become nonprofit leaders. 

When my family moved to Southwest Florida in 2011, I founded the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) and have served as the president and CEO since. While my geography shifted, my core focus remains on welfare, work and health care policy.

That’s where my worlds converged: When one of my twin sons developed epilepsy at age four, my work became very personal. We started experiencing the health care system in new and very expensive ways, both financially and emotionally.

Some may feel that the personal nature of my work could make it more difficult -- it hasn’t. It has made me stronger and better. Why is it so helpful for work to become personal? Here are just three reasons:

  1. Empathy. You may think you understand the plight of the individuals you help, but if you don’t walk in their shoes, you lack a basic understanding of the rawness of their needs, fears and hopes.
  2. Experience. In the era of YouTube how-to videos, we are able to learn many things instantly. But until you live the experience yourself, you often won’t fully understand the process and pitfalls of your clients or discover new opportunities for innovation.
  3. Insight. While the headlines over the last several years have focused on the cost of health coverage, my own experience with the health care system shows that coverage is only one piece of the equation.

As nonprofit leaders, we can easily focus on what parts of the problem are most interesting to us, but we may be missing out on solutions that are more relevant to most people. Ask yourself that tough question: How can my work be more relevant to most, even if my core audience is targeted and high-need? The answer will open your eyes and your organization to new opportunities.

Read the full article about nonprofit leaders by Tarren Bragdon at Forbes Welcome