Much of nonprofit marketing and communications success is about finding and maintaining your balance.
Think of it as walking a fine line. If you venture too far to the left or the right away from that line, you’ll end up struggling in several different ways. You could burn out, or not get good results, or end up in difficult relationships with coworkers.
Here are five of those fine lines to be aware of. Think about each and how you will keep your balance.
The Line Between Being of Service and Being a Servant
Are you working in service of your mission, goals, and objectives by providing strategic direction and follow-through with tactical best practices? Or are you in a servant/order-taker role in your organization where people ask you to make things and you make them, whether they make sense strategically or not?
The Line Between Managing Internal Communications and Being an Executive Assistant
Are you helping your organization set up systems and perhaps crafting an internal communications charter, where you can bring your communications expertise to bear internally? Or are you becoming a glorified ghostwriter or executive assistant for other staff and leaders who simply don’t want to write internal communications pieces themselves?
The Line Between Being a Team Player and Being a Doormat
Are you working collaboratively and strategically with your coworkers and management team, which includes saying No to more things than you say Yes to? Or are you being a people-pleaser who says Yes too much and who is accepting the role of communications doormat?
The Line Between Strategically Planning and Being Responsive and Nimble
Are you planning out your most important content, but leaving adequate space in your editorial calendar for the unexpected things that come up so you can be responsive and nimble where it makes sense? Or are you being so responsive, constantly flying by the seat of your pants or reacting to whatever comes up each day, that your strategic planning and content always gets pushed to the side?
The Line Between Following Best Practices with Built-In Experiments and Customizing and Improvising Everything
Are you following best practices and building good routines all while injecting a healthy dose of testing and experimenting into your plans? Or are you constantly starting from scratch with every project, always making things up as you go, and treating every request like a special snowflake?
Keeping your balance can be hard! But being mindful about the lines is your first balanced step forward.
