Meet the Community Where It’s At: Lessons From a Life in Nonprofit Leadership
Leadership lessons from a nonprofit career: the power of listening and meeting people where they are.
Meet the Community Where It's At
I didn't set out to become the person I am today.
My career in the nonprofit world began at the YMCA, where I started as a preschool teacher. Today, I have the privilege of serving as the Executive Director of the Albany Carousel. In between those two chapters, I have had the opportunity to work with many different communities, organizations, missions, staff members, volunteers, and visitors.
Every one of those experiences has taught me something.
But perhaps the most important lesson I have learned is this:
Meet the community where it's at.
That sounds simple, but it took me years to truly understand what it means.
Throughout my career, I have worked with nonprofits serving very different populations and pursuing very different missions. Each community has its own challenges, priorities, expectations, and hopes. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to nonprofit work—or to people.
About halfway through my career, I realized something that I remind myself of often today:
We never know everybody's story.
When you work with the public, it is easy to encounter strong opinions. People may come to you with frustration, expectations, criticism, or ideas that you don't immediately understand. Our first instinct can be to decide whether someone is right or wrong.
But I have learned that being right isn't always the point.
There is usually a reason behind someone's opinion, a story behind their frustration, and a need behind what they are asking for. We may not agree with them, but if we take the time to understand where they are coming from, we can respond with empathy rather than judgment.
And that brings me to another lesson I have learned:
Listening is one of the greatest gifts we can give another person.
Whether they are right or wrong doesn't always matter. People want to be heard. They want to know that someone is willing to stop, listen, and take them seriously.
Sometimes, simply being heard can change the entire conversation.
Another phrase that has become one of my favorites throughout my career is:
"Yes, if…"
I rarely want my first response to be "no."
Instead, I like to start with, "Yes, if…"
That little phrase gives me some room. It allows me to explore an idea instead of immediately shutting it down. It opens the door to possibilities while still recognizing that there may be limitations.
Sometimes, the answer really does have to be no. But most of the time, I have found that somewhere inside someone's idea is something that can work, even if it doesn't work exactly the way they originally imagined.
"Yes, if…" turns a roadblock into a conversation.
I also use another phrase frequently with my staff, volunteers, and visitors:
"What if?"
What if we tried it differently?
What if we approached the problem from another direction?
What if we changed one part of the idea?
What if the solution is something we haven't considered yet?
"What if?" encourages curiosity. It gives people permission to think creatively and explore possibilities without being afraid that their idea will immediately be dismissed.
And finally, when working with others, there are four simple words that can take you surprisingly far:
"How can I help?"
Those words aren't about having all the answers. They are about being willing to stand alongside someone and find a way forward.
After years of working in the nonprofit world, I have learned that leadership isn't always about having the biggest vision, the loudest voice, or the perfect answer.
Sometimes leadership is simply listening.
Sometimes it is saying, "Yes, if…"
Sometimes it is asking, "What if?"
And sometimes it is looking at someone who is struggling and saying, "How can I help?"
Every community is different. Every person carries a story we may know nothing about. Every organization has its own mission and its own challenges.
So, wherever we are in our careers and whatever role we play in our communities, I think we could all benefit from remembering three things:
Meet people where they are.
Listen before judging.
And look for possibilities before limitations.
Because we never really know someone's story.
But we can always choose to listen.
