Danielle S. Russell, CAE, C.Dir’s Post

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Multi-Award Winning Association Leader | Connector of Ideas and People | Consultant | Author | Speaker | Chartered Director

Over the last couple of weeks, I had the chance to read Maryann Kerr's debut book on the Social Impact Sector (which many of us know as the Not-for-Profit sector, though she chooses to highlight what we are not what we're not). When Maryann told me "its not an easy read" she wasn't wrong, but its an incredibly important and timely message; and as I read the final pages and found the highlighted quote, I knew that it was a book I needed to read. The challenge is that HR is simply seen as overhead in our sector, and if paying a living wage to all our employees weren't enough of a battle in many organizations, paying for the professional development required to build thoughtful, empathetic, non-toxic leaders isn't even on the horizon in many cases. We need to do better, we need to be better, to use the parlance of the book - we need to be and do good - a good place to start is reading this book and other works like it. Where brave leaders in the sector are exposing their own experiences with the toxicity that can permeate organizations in our sector when we take our eyes off of it for even a moment. If you've heard me say lately that "I'm happily taking a mental health break from leading charities, by stepping into an ED role at a Professional Association", please know that I'm not actually joking, even if I my tone says 'I'm using humour to lighten the mood here'. Sadly, though, while I count my lucky stars for the amazing board leadership and volunteers I get to work with; even the Association sector, where in theory people are there to build their profession, can be fraught with problematic behaviour (both of the paid and volunteer variety). Once upon a time I wrote down some of my thoughts for CSAE Trillium's Forum e-mag: https://lnkd.in/ggSkFKtv (if you're looking for a quick read). Consider picking up a copy of 'Tarnished: Let's rethink, reimagine, and co-create a new social impact sector' for some pre-Volunteer Week reading: https://lnkd.in/g-H7RGpU I was recently gifted a second copy while attending the screening of 'UnCharitable', if you are in a tough place in one of Canada's many NFP orgs and can't afford to purchase your own copy, please send me a DM with your mailing address, I'll happily pay the postage to get it to you.

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Maryann Kerr, MA Leadership

Chief Executive Officer | Certified Leadership Coach

7mo

Danielle S. Russell, CAE, C.Dir thank you so much for your kind words. The book was truly a labour of love for the many people I know who have experienced bullies and toxicity and just lousy leadership in a sector that is critical to the health of civil society. I’m sorry but not even a little surprised to hear you’ve had your own experiences with this. Grateful to you for your leadership. 🙏♥️

Marion Grobb Finkelstein

Award-winning leader, I coach managers to handle difficult convos (&ppl), hone their leadership communication skills, bounce back from adversity, delegate more, stress less, and build truthful, trusting teams.

7mo

Thank you for the thought-provoking messages. As a professional speaker and trainer, I am also puzzled that organizations are so reticent to invest in their people. We show the world what we value by how we spend our resources. When organizations invest in their people, they show the world, they value them.

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