Founders Club – Better A Member Than An Employee

This is point #3 in Nonprofit Leadership.

I am a member of the Founders Club.  I’ve started three schools and I’m proud of the changes I was able to make in people’s lives.  In two instances I made the decision to leave rather than gain Pyrrhic victories in a battle of egos.  I’m not sure I would have wanted to work for me.  I was so mission-focused that the touchy-feely stuff  some adults seemed to need from me just wasn’t there.  That was me.  There are a host of reasons you should run screaming from a job offer to replace any founder who intends to remain active in the organization they started.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Every institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.”  That can become a good thing or a bad thing.  I have experienced both with founders I have encountered.  One thing I do know is that I will never work for/with another founder and I would not recommend it for anyone who is looking to make a difference in their nonprofit work.  If you are bold enough to venture forth anyway, get a contract and factor in some sort of additional compensation into your contract for the pain you will inevitably experience.

The qualities that were responsible for launching the founder’s vision can often end up being the same qualities for which the founder eventually becomes despised.  A pioneering spirit turns into ego-centrism and dictatorial decision-making.  The board of directors is often ineffective in this kind of a setting.  When new board members, not under the thrall of the founder, try to make changes, the scene is set for a terminal battle.  The only hope at this point is probably an organizational coach with the skills of King Solomon.

If you end up working for one of these people, know that a lot of your time will involve as much ego-stroking as client work.