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Finding the right board role for you

October 25, 2021 by Alicia Curtis

I can’t tell you the joy you can get from finding the right board role for you. It can give you energy, new networks, new learning and understanding, the opportunity to connect to a higher purpose, not to mention the impact that you can create!

Board roles are also a long term commitment. Many board roles come with a 2 or 3 year commitment (check the terms of reference!) and it can be expected that you take on more than one term. So before you run into that long term commitment you might want to do some thinking about the right board position for you.

So where do you start? What should you think about? How do you find the right board position so you can make a difference in the world?

“To move forward, you have to give back”
Oprah Winfrey

There are many considerations to take into account when finding the right board role for you. These considerations can include your passions and interests, the time you have available, the skill set you can bring, the size and age of the organisation and the core business of the organisation.

Let’s explore these considerations further.

Passions and Interests

Ultimately it is useful if you have a passion for the NFP you are supporting. So what gets that fire in your belly? You may have this passion before you get involved or you may develop this passion from getting to know more about the cause. Consider the issues that affect you, your family, your local community or explore the issues that you see in the media. Most often board positions are a voluntary effort so it must be something you are willing to dedicate significant time and effort. Let’s explore what you’re passionate about!

What passions and interests do you have?

Time Available

It’s handy to do a personal audit of the time you have available to commit to a board role each month.. Some board roles may take 5 – 10 hours a month while others might need this per week. Understand the time required by the board. In the latest NFP Governance and Performance Study, the majority of board directors suggested time needed for their board role was 2 to 5 days a month (about 17 – 40 hours). Consider if you can be flexible and utilise some of your work week to do the board tasks necessary – this may be a conversation to have with your manager. Otherwise, what days/evenings do you have free to commit to meetings, events and board preparation?

What time do you have available for a board role?

Skill Set and Mix

Board composition is a key issue for many boards. Bringing together the right skills, demographics, diversity, networks and value. What value can you bring to a board and is it required for the organisation you are interested in? Some boards will require more traditional skills such as governance, legal or accounting whereas other boards might need more emerging skill sets such as entrepreneurship, marketing, culture and funding models. Check out the current board, chair and management team as these are the people you will be working closely with on your board journey. Consider if it is the right fit for you.

What value can you contribute?

Size and Age of the organisation

Smaller or start up organisations might require a more hands on director who might deliver on some operational tasks within the organisation such as running events or writing fundraising applications. Maybe you want to be involved in the evolution of a totally new organisation or perhaps you’d prefer an established organisation with a rich history and tradition. Depending on the age of the organisation can mean a very different experience at a board level. It can take a lot of personal insight to consider what the right organisation might be for you. Consider what experiences give you energy and think about the board to match that.

What organisation would suit you?

Core Business of the Organisation

Depending on your interests you may be best suited to different types of NFPs. There is such a range of organisations that you can volunteer for. Have you thought about service delivery organisations, business associations, fundraising, advocacy or industry peaks. You can contribute to organisations in your local area, state, national or even international organisations. There are a range of causes too – environmental, youth, elderly, disabilities, friendship, mental health, arts, sport just to name a few. There is such a depth and breadth of organisations out there – go and explore the diversity of the NFP sector! Read, network, connect and volunteer to gain insight and experience.

What type of activity interests you?

It’s time for some serious reflection now!

Don’t run into the first position that’s offered your way if it’s not the right fit. Spending some time to find the right match will be better in the long run for you and the organisation.

Ready to step into your full leadership potential?

GET THE FREE GUIDE:
15 WAYS TO FIND AN NFP BOARD POSITION
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Filed Under: NFP Boards Tagged With: board role, nfp boards, passions, skills, time

How to make the most of your day

August 24, 2020 by Alicia Curtis

How you spend your days is how you spend your life. Time is the ultimate currency. We spend it on what we deem important or interesting, but sometimes it feels like we don’t gain anything in the end. Either we wasted time mindlessly watching or scrolling, got bogged down by mandatory tasks, or struggled to achieve our best.

It’s easy to get frustrated or stressed when this happens, but the only way to solve the problem is to rethink how and where we direct our time and attention. Here’s how you can start to maximise your day and get more of a return from your time.

Making time

We each get 24 hours. You can’t make more time in a day, but maybe we can structure each day so we feel accomplished without a mad rush? In their book Make Time, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky explain how you can slow down your day by carving out time for things you care about. Instead of doing more, you focus on things that will bring you a sense of satisfaction.

There are four steps to making time.

1. Highlight

Each morning choose a highlight, something that you want to focus on that day. Even if you have a day full of urgent tasks and long meetings, you should take 60-90 minutes for your highlight.

Adults spend an average of more than four hours watching TV or on social media each day, so most of us actually do have room for 60-90 minutes. Allowing your highlight to be the focal point of your day doesn’t take long, and it will give you something positive to look back on. Each day you will have done something important to you.

2. Laser

Avoid things that draw your attention away from your highlight. Distractions prevent you from entering a state of laser focus, so you get less of a pay-off for the time you are trying to spend on your highlight. Think about what chews up your attention when you are trying to work. Is it your smartphone, other people, background noise or discomfort? Once you’ve identified your distractions, use strategies like keeping your smartphone out of sight, putting in some headphones with white noise or choosing an environment to best suit your purpose.

3. Energise

Stick to daily habits that improve your physiological health. This includes eating nutritious foods, staying hydrated, being active and sleeping well. We can be quick to neglect our bodies as soon as stress piles on. Healthy habits become less of a priority, which is to the detriment of our ability to make the most of each day. When you maintain daily habits that keep your body functioning well, your mind is freed up to attend to other things. Not only can you be more productive but enjoy the rewarding feeling of having looked after yourself!

4. Reflect

Look back on each day and learn from it. Each day provides you with data—your energy levels, emotions, appetite, productivity, interactions etc.—and you can treat the next day like an experiment based on this information.

  • What factors could have been influencing you today?
  • How do you think they helped or hindered you?
  • What does this tell you about how you should approach tomorrow?

Taking this analytical stance is a very helpful technique to avoid feeling like your day was a total waste if things didn’t go as planned. There is always something to be learned!

Attention

Another vital part of getting the most out of your day is learning how to direct and restore your attention.

Attention restoration theory, developed by professors of environmental psychology, Rachel and Stephan Kaplan, gives us two modes of attention:  Directed attention and effortless attention, also called fascination.

The Kaplans point out that our directed attention mode becomes fatigued over time. This is why a long drive can be exhausting. Even though our bodies aren’t working hard, certain day-to-day tasks require a sustained effort to focus attention on one thing and shut out other distractions.

So, how can we first maintain directed attention well enough to complete work (even the boring stuff), then rest properly when the time comes? Resolve emotional turmoil through productive reflection

Author of Focus and Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman explains that emotional turmoil is one of the biggest challenges for people trying to direct their attention. It could be an upcoming event you are stressed about, a troubling relationship or any other personal problem. According to Goleman, productive reflection is the best way to get over this hurdle and regain control of your attention.

Productive reflection means stopping, reflecting and resolving those thoughts that keep creeping in and distracting you rather than letting them continue to stew. These thoughts draw our attention because we know they need to be dealt with through action or simply processing their emotional impact. Give it a go if you find yourself struggling to be attentive; is there something that might be causing you emotional turmoil? What is the best way to move past this?

Use your rest time wisely to really rejuvenate

Do you go straight to screens when you have time to rest, watching TV and movies, scrolling social media?

Even though it doesn’t require any effort to pay attention to a TV show, spending rest time on screens will actually do nothing to reduce mental fatigue. You may be resting your body, but your mind is fully occupied for hours on end.  This is called hard fascination.

Attention restoration theory tells us that there are two types of fascination: hard fascination and soft fascination. Neither states require much effort to sustain, however, hard fascination takes up all of your mental bandwidth.

On the other hand, soft fascination leaves room for reflection and contemplation. This is necessary for your mind to unwind and restore after a period of directed attention. Thoughts are able to arise and settle during rest times instead of work times.

Natural environments are recognised as a wonderful source of soft fascination as they effortlessly hold our attention while leaving room for other mental processes. Natural environments are a perfect setting for rest time because they are accessible, extensive and separate from workspaces.

Next time you feel mentally fatigued, rest by walking through a garden or park, going to a river or beach, or even just looking out the window for a few minutes! This is going to allow your attentional abilities to restore which is going to make the most of your rest time and improve your productivity later.

In Summary

Sometimes it feels like we just need an extra hour or two in the day to feel satisfied with what we can get done, but that’s never going to happen. Instead, we just need to be conscious of how the use of our time influences how we feel about each day.

Your steps to maximising your day are:

  1. Set your highlight
  2. Eliminate distractions from your highlight
  3. Take care of your body
  4. Learn from each day
  5. Allow yourself to deal with emotional turmoil
  6. Rest effectively

These are all choices you can make throughout your day that will add up. Challenge yourself to make more of a return on your time and feel more satisfied at the end of each day!

Get this Free Guide: 6 POWERFUL SECRETS TO FIND YOUR HIGHEST PURPOSE IN LIFE

The world needs more purpose-driven people. But where do you start? This inspiring guide will give you powerful insights to find and refine your own purpose in life.

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Filed Under: Purpose, Self Reflection Tagged With: life, purpose, reflection, time

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