Managing people is a large and complex challenge. Here we review a few basic principles and provide reminders of legal requirements related to management.
Clarify
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How decisions are made in the organization
- When can workers make decisions on their own?
- When do they need input from others on the team?
- What sorts of decisions need consultation from leadership?
Expectations about conduct, schedules, response time to requests, or other aspects of team behavior
- These things can vary from workplace to workplace, so be clear and provide feedback if needed so the worker can adjust to the norms in your nonprofit.
- If a worker is not meeting an expectation, take a pause and ask yourself the following.
- Was the expectation clearly communicated?
- Is the expectation truly necessary?
Communicate
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Clear expectations to each worker about their roles and responsibilities
- To ensure common understanding, review the job description together and ask for periodic input for updates.
- What are the essential functions of the position? To achieve the essential functions, does the worker need help prioritizing projects, requests, or other parts of the job?
- When working with new workers on your team, assess what training and orientation is needed.
Useful and constructive feedback on a regular basis
- To support learning and development, it is valuable for workers to receive feedback in real time.
- Deliver feedback kindly, privately (not in front of other team members), and with a focus on the relevant behavior.
- Listen with your entire being – often nonverbal communication says more than words.
Create
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A sense of team
- Provide opportunities for employees to work together and to learn about others’ roles and priorities.
- Encourage an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual support.
Manage
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Leave requests
- Approve paid time off and vacation requests from workers.
- Receive and take action on other types of leave requests like sick leave, parental leave, jury duty, etc.
- Remember to follow your nonprofit’s policies and procedures when granting leave.
- Note: Worker leaves are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3: Hire & Onboard
Recognize
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Address power dynamics
- Some power is positional (e.g. “I am your boss”) and some power is based on systemic issues (e.g. gender or racial privilege and oppression).
- Avoid favoritism, learn about and strive to understand how your implicit biases show up, and have conversations about power and privilege to reduce harm to workers.