The August issue of Fast Company magazine has an article for the for-profit corporate set on How to Lead Now (ie, in a down economy), subtitled ‘Getting Extraordinary Performance When You Can’t Pay for It.’ It outlines those astounding business leaders who build a sense of purpose and personal connection among their workers, who extract passionate commitment without throwing cash, who even get staff to work evenings and weekends for no pay at all to advance the company cause.
Of course, they never mention a field in which these are the standard requirements, not just the standards of excellence. This is the power that drives the nonprofit arts, and it’s something the corporate world could learn from the great arts leaders we all know. As with most Fast Company articles, there are a few good thoughts and quotes for the nonprofit cultural manager, making it worth a quick read. But it also raises two bigger takeaways for our field:
- We don’t celebrate nearly enough the commitment and passion of our staffs, volunteers, boards, supporters, and friends‹all of whom are advancing their organizations for little or no money; and,
- We can’t ever try hard enough to understand the energy and power in this passion, and to learn as leaders to channel it in positive and productive directions.
