Nonprofit Squad Goals is a regular series of challenges to help you tackle your professional development goals in small, bite-sized pieces throughout the year. We’ll offer advice and give you a platform to network with other young nonprofit professionals who have committed to making 2016 the best year yet for their careers. You can join the challenge and share your journey by using the hashtag #npsquadgoals.
In our 2015 Young Nonprofit Professional survey, 93% of you told us that building leadership skills is crucial to your professional growth. Now, we dare you to take action by joining our second challenge of the year: Build Your Leadership Skills!
By the end of April, challenge yourself to:
- Take a leadership self-assessment to identify personal strengths and growth areas.
- Identify a stretch project at work that will allow you to work on your identified growth areas.
- Find a community group with leadership opportunities
- Share your victories with us by using the #npsquadgoals hashtag!
Need help getting started? Here are some resources:
Assess yourself
It can be hard to even know where to start or what leadership skills to work on. Take a leadership skills assessment to identify your strengths and opportunities for improvement. For example, this one from Harvard Business Review takes eight minutes and measures your engagement, satisfaction, and competencies. You can use this to guide where you should step up or look for advice.
Identify and start a stretch project at work.
Talk to your supervisor or a professional mentor at work about your desire to grow as a leader. Ask them to help you find a strategic opportunity to build the skills your self-assessment identified as growth areas and work across departments with colleagues you don’t usually get to collaborate with. Commit to one stretch project at work that helps you meet your leadership goals and be sure to clear it with your boss.
Possible projects could include: taking on a leadership role in an existing assignment, facilitating a department meeting with a special topic or organizing a software or skills training for your co-workers.
Find a community-based leadership opportunity.
Are you already involved in a group? A band or sports team? Neighborhood association? Organize a social event or volunteer to lead an existing project. By leading a new project, you can develop important leadership skills including: how to manage a project, collaborating with others, and delegating tasks, which will all help you in your career!
Or, are you looking for a new group? YNPN Boston is looking for its next round of talented young professionals to join us in our work to connect and empower tomorrow’s nonprofit leaders! If you’re passionate about professional development, leadership, and Boston’s nonprofit sector, learn more about joining YNPN Boston’s Leadership Team at our open house event on March 15.
By the end of the month, commit to either leading one project in a group you are already involved with or to applying for a new community-based leadership opportunity.
Take the #npsquadgoals challenge!
Comment on this blog post or share a photo on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram using the #npsquadgoals hashtag:
- Share what you learned from your leadership assessment.
- Send us a victory selfie after tackling a new project at work!
- Tag us in a photo with a YNPN Ambassador at the YNPN Boston Leadership Team Open House event on March 15.
We’ve loved seeing you tackle the #npsquadgoals challenges so far and can’t wait to cheer you on for this one! If you haven’t taken them already, there’s still time:
- Challenge #1: Strengthen Your Network
- Challenge #3: Boost Your Relationship Management Game
- Challenge #4: Become a Nonprofit Marketing Guru
- Challenge #5: Jumpstart Your Next Job Search
Image in the header of this blog provided by #WOCinTech Chat.