The first 100 days of a leader’s tenure are the most important.
Why? Well, the concept has been used for leaders of corporations as well and some nonprofits. If you are a new leader or planning a transition, your first 100 days in a new role, or at a new organization or, hey, even a new year have the potential to maximize your output. Intentionality, finding your allies, and knowing your strengths, and ensuring they serve you can help you deliver exceptional results.
Amy Casavina Hall specializes in taking organizations through transition as an interim Executive Director. She joined us to talk about how focusing on the first 100 days is crucial for managing transitions.
Transcript
Cynthia Rojas:
Hi everyone, how are you? Welcome to Coffee Time with Masterminds. Today, we're talking about your first 100 days. It is a term you have probably heard before as it relates to a president, to a new president. We have always or often judged our presidents based on what they can do within the first 100 days. It is a term that was originally coined in 1932 by FDR, the president known to enact more legislation and develop more federal agencies in his first 100 days than any other president thereafter. We all know, we are one week away from resetting that timer, and our new president has 100 days to show us what he can do. But why is this important to Coffee Time with Masterminds? Well, the last two shows we talked about goal setting for the new year. We talked about last week a framework you can use for productivity and maximizing that.
And now we're talking about new leaders and what is it like to come into an organization, begin leading, and letting your staff know and your board know that you are the right person. But it doesn't only apply to nonprofit leaders. If you were a business person and you have a new client, the first 100 days sets the tone for the rest of your time there. So we're going to be talking today about what that means. And we have a guest, Amy Casavina Hall is going to share with us her experiences as a new leader and what the first 100 days was like for her. So, if you have joined us, please tell us your name and where you're from, because we always like to hear where our listeners are coming from. And welcome to Coffee Time with Masterminds, a 30-minute show where we talk about issues for nonprofit leaders, and we do that with two other co-hosts. My name is Cynthia Rojas, and I am founder and principal of To Your Growth. I am going to bring up Rebecca Tuttle. Hi Rebecca, how are you?
Rebecca Tuttle:
Good morning. I was just typing. Myra's with us this morning, so I was just typing, hi Myra.
Cynthia Rojas:
Hi Myra, how are you?
Rebecca Tuttle:
I'm Rebecca Tuttle. I'm the founder and principal of Grant Write Now and Grant Writing for Good.
Cynthia Rojas:
Awesome. And let's bring Pieta on, hi Pieta.
Pieta Blakely:
Good morning, how are you?
Cynthia Rojas:
I'm good. I'm good.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Hi Pieta.
Pieta Blakely:
I am Pieta Blakely, and I am the founder and principal of Blakeley Consulting.
Cynthia Rojas:
Cool. Thank you so much. Today, we have a guest, Amy Casavina Hall. I'm bringing her on. How are you, Amy?
Amy Casavina Hall:
Good morning. I'm great, Cynthia. So good to see you.
Cynthia Rojas:
Same here. Same here. Amy spend 20 years in the nonprofit sector, really dedicated to systems change for social justice. She has it on the leadership side, and really comes with a comprehensive view of what nonprofits need, what leaders need, and she's here to help talk through this conversation about being a leader for not the first time, for a new organization and what that looks like. So welcome, welcome, welcome. All right, let's get started. Why are the first 100 days important? Anybody want to start us off?
Amy Casavina Hall:
You brought me to talk about it, so I'll start us off.
Cynthia Rojas:
All right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
I mean, any leadership change is a transformational moment for an organization, right? No matter what came before, whether it was a change based on, quite frankly, some really negative things happening, or if it was a change when you were handing it off from the most inspired leader kind of on an issue that the organization's ever had, it's a pivotal moment. It's a pivotal moment for the mission, it's a pivotal moment for how the organization operates, and it's certainly a really big moment for staff, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Everyone's day-to-day life, this is what drives them, this is what they do. And so, when a new leader walks in the door, everything you know could be up in the air, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
So walking and understanding that is really important.
Cynthia Rojas:
But there are schools of thought... Is that me?
Rebecca Tuttle:
We're getting an echo.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yep. Okay. I'm going to keep talking. Yep, I'll keep talking. So, there are schools of thought that the first 100 days a new leader should actually lay low and listen and watch the dynamics. And what you said, Amy, is really powerful. You're talking about looking at it from a transformational opportunity and not one where you sit back and not ruffle the feathers, because you don't want to do it, but actually strategically, look at how you can make change. Is that what your [inaudible 00:05:15]
Amy Casavina Hall:
Yeah, I think for me the priorities in the first 100 days are building trust and relationships, right? I mean, that is absolutely critical to the greatest degree possible, right? And you have to make that your intention, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
You have to make it clear that, that's what you're there to do. It's setting priorities and really clear priorities and communicating them. So [inaudible 00:05:38] that to me, leadership is all about having priorities and pursuing them, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
By the end of that 100 days, you want your team, your board, your partners, your stakeholders, you want them to know what your priorities are. And then it's having a plan in place to start executing on those that's been inclusively put together, that is focused on success, that's measurable, all the good things a plan should be.
Cynthia Rojas:
Right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Right. And, it needs to be clear, right? People want to know where you're going.
Pieta Blakely:
I think that's really important. When there's a leadership change in an organization, there's so much fear and uncertainty, and dragging that out just seems unnecessary. So being clear about what the new priorities are going to be probably reduces stress.
Amy Casavina Hall:
I think absolutely. I mean, there is always some things that are obvious that need to be changed that are non-negotiable, right? You might stumble into things and say like, "No, I'm not comfortable with that, we can't do that the way, doesn't meet good practice, doesn't meet best practice." That has to change, and you're going to communicate that. But there's so many other things. Maybe you can say, "Hey, we're going to hold steady here as we focus on these other things," right? The most important thing for our organization is I've gathered this information, I talk to people, right? I've done a really good diagnosis and assessment, is we're going to focus here. And then, knowing where you're going, that takes so much of the stress down.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
And hopefully then you're accountable for it, right? If it is the priority, you should be doing it and it holds yourself accountable. And then all those people you're working with, they know what training they're on, right? It's important.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
Sorry, go ahead, Cynthia.
Cynthia Rojas:
Well, no, I was going to ask you, we can use users in our business. I think the first 100 days or whatever, however long your consulting project is taking the first third of that or the first 25%, the first quarter, to really come in strong and setting the tone, setting goals is just like Amy said, listening. I see this being used by many, many people, and they wanted to know if you could talk about how you start your consulting partnerships.
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah, one of my initiatives for this year is actually to move through projects a lot faster by building a lot of activity into the first end. For a lot of the reasons that Amy is talking about, you've got a certain amount of attention. You've got a certain amount of momentum around the issue and the more clarity you can provide way up front about what's going to happen, and why this project is important, and who's going to be involved, and how great it's going to be? When you're done, the better. So [inaudible 00:08:34] is actually going to move through most progress within 100 days and people really maximize those effects.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. How about you, Rebecca? Do you do...
Rebecca Tuttle:
I'm looking at the Comments here [crosstalk 00:08:48]
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah, I know. We're getting a lot of comments.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Yeah. So, I think the first 100 days is great because you need a starting point. A lot of times we lack the motivation is because we don't know where to start and we don't set ourself up with a starting point. So today's day one of a 100 days of grant writing, so let's do this. [crosstalk 00:09:08]
Amy Casavina Hall:
That's a way to get it done. I like that.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
[inaudible 00:09:15] talking about organizations delaying and saying, we're not quite ready and that you were saying, let's just do it now, get ahead of the curve.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Rebecca Tuttle:
So how do you get people to get started, Amy? Especially for the ones that are like, "Oh, I'll do that, and then in 10 days from now, or next month, I'll start my 100 days." What do you tell them? How do you get them geared up for it?
Amy Casavina Hall:
Well, I mean, that's your job as a leader, right? It's not to have all the answers to all the questions. It's not to know how everything should work, right? It's just to gather that information, to understand where you're strong and grow your strengths, and to understand where you're weak and what you need to put energy up against that. But to get motivate, people motivated to get it done, right? That's what you're there to do, and it's creating pathways for that. So it's not so overwhelming, and that's the beauty of a short timeframe.
I can kind of think you can't get anyone to do anything for 30 days, right? [inaudible 00:10:11] I mean, the most resistant person, who just thinks you are absolutely wrong about what you're proposing. It is the worst idea ever. If you go to them and say, "I just want you to try this for 30 days."
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Try it for 30 days, let's figure out how we're going to assess it being successful or a complete failure. Let's build on that time right now to revisit it. Let's know we're going to come back to it. You're not wedded for life. You're not signing in blood 30 days, can we do this for 30 days? You can get people to do just about anything under those circumstances.
Pieta Blakely:
That's I would like to say, you don't have to buy it just rent it for free. [crosstalk 00:10:49]
Amy Casavina Hall:
Right. It's nothing. You're not committed for the rest of your life.
Pieta Blakely:
I appreciate how you're talking about building assessment in. That's one of the things that I talk about all the time. Like let's not start an initiative if we haven't already decided how we're going to measure, whether or not it was successful.
Amy Casavina Hall:
I think we have a lot in common.
Pieta Blakely:
After this, we're going to go start a band together.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Right.
Rebecca Tuttle:
I want to touch on some of the comments if we could.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Please.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Now, Myra's might cover us all, so I'm just going to read it. It says the first 100 days will determine relationships and building a rapport with everyone. This is the leader's opportunity to establish priorities and expectations. That's so true. These days will determine what will work, what will not work. In addition, it will also determine if the leader even wants to be a leader. Ooh, that's a good one. More importantly, to be honest with that right away. Absolutely. And then Michael, we'll show Michael's comment here. Michael says in sales, the start of a new journey is very important. Sales execs get off to a great start in the first quarter to show the best results by the end of the year. That's absolutely right.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah. And that kind of momentum just builds on itself, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Oh yeah, and it's all related the 12-week year, the first 100 days, it's all relative. But other things that have you noted why it's important is because people like you with the first 100 days.
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah, you've got a honeymoon, right? You like them, they like you. Everybody decided to be happy.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Take advantage of it.
Cynthia Rojas:
Absolutely. And this is why presidents, this is why the first 100 days can determine whether a president is going to be successful is because if you can't get things passed when people are still liking you and you are your most popular.
Pieta Blakely:
Right.
Cynthia Rojas:
Your next three years and 200 days are going to be tough. They're going to be tough.
Amy Casavina Hall:
There, you know that whole idea of like start how you want to end. I think it's so important.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
And that's one of those things that goes through my mind, good mentors, good colleagues, start how you want to end. And I think in that first 100 days, I mean, as believing you have to be comfortable being curious, being honest about what you don't know, what you don't understand and really engaging people into that. Because, if you kind of hide under the blanket of the pieces of a position you don't know which one. I mean, no one's going to know brilliantly or few people all of the aspects it takes to run an organization, or any organization, but a nonprofit. And so if you can show from the beginning, you want to learn from your people, they're the experts. You're going to have curiosity about their work. You're going to ask lots of questions. You're going to ask hard questions. You're going to ask some easy questions and that if you don't understand something that you've got the strength or the comfort level to say, "I'm just not getting it," right?
I'm not getting it, and it's really important for me to understand this. Your work is really important, and so let's figure out how we get more clear. Let's set up some time to talk about this specifically because I really value this. So I think you want to start with that. Like, I'm a curious person. I care about your work. What you do is incredibly important, and then that's true of anyone in an organization. I've also found that if after that, if it can't be clearly explained to me, right? I'm not a genius and I'm not a dummy, but if someone can't clearly explain to me something that could be really a poke at it, then my alarm is probably, my fuzzy was probably going off at that point, right?
So I don't have to be an expert in accounting, which God knows I'm not to say, if someone can't really tell me how we reconcile things or how we track our unrestricted funding, right? We can't pull it apart, my fuzzy was going off.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
Got that. You have that license when you're new to ask a lot of questions and sort of use your naive day to dig in ways that might be uncomfortable at other times.
Amy Casavina Hall:
But I want that window open the whole time on there.
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah, things [crosstalk 00:15:12]
Amy Casavina Hall:
Well, I want to [inaudible 00:15:13] and make sure there's nothing sacrosanct, right? That like working together means engaging a really authentic way around hard issues and diving in deep because some issues you need to, you don't need to do that. Other things take that attention. And knowing that, that's an expectation, me asking you a question that like, "Why do we do it this way?" It's not a threat. It's not an accusation. It's not a reflection on your performance. It's me wanting to understand why do we do it this way? And that's good, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Like, we'll do it together.
Rebecca Tuttle:
But, Amy, you might get some pushback there and say, "Why are you questioning things?" I love that we're talking about this because when there's change in nonprofits, which Cynthia reminds us is hard, comes with loss, comes with grief, and we're trying to make this change for the better. And people say, "Well, that's not the way we've always done things and give that pushback." And then the leader says, "Why are you questioning things?" It reassures people that they should be questioning things if it feels like they should be questioning things, and this all part of the process.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Rebecca Tuttle:
That was my aha moment just now from some of our episodes. This is a great conversation today.
Cynthia Rojas:
Rebecca, I've seen the comments come in. Do you want to... Is there anything to share?
Rebecca Tuttle:
Some of them I can't pull up. So, I'm wondering if they're coming in through LinkedIn.
Cynthia Rojas:
Okay.
Rebecca Tuttle:
So if you see them there, you want to pull them, go ahead.
Cynthia Rojas:
You got it. You got it.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Thanks.
Cynthia Rojas:
So the flip side of the 100 days is that you are in a fishbowl and people are watching you. And in nonprofits, that's your staff, that's your board, that's the clients you're serving, the community, and what are some things that you've learned leaders should not do in their first 100 days? That you are like, "Ah, you should have rethought that one."
Amy Casavina Hall:
Don't hide yourself away in a hole. Okay, don't hide yourself away in a hole, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Be present, be in meetings that you normally wouldn't be at, invite people to your table, who normally wouldn't be there, bring people together against the different kinds of strata in the organization, and there almost always is one, right? There's always who's at the CEO or executive that jurors table, and who's not, how do you break that down? How do you show up where people might expect to see you, not in a gotcha way, and really clear about that.
Cynthia Rojas:
Right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Hey guys, I want to understand us better and you better and how we work, so I'm going to be around, right? And if you prefer I'd schedule that, that's great. But if you see me popping in and roaming around, this is not a gotcha moment. This is for me to learn, so thank you for accommodating me. Right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
I appreciate that. Thank you for welcoming me in. And if there are places I can't be, let's figure that out up front, but this is about my learning journey, and thank you for being part of that, right? Because many people want that notice. You definitely don't want it to feel like a gotcha thing. But being present is so important, which you're in a digital world. Now, it's a very big challenge, right? So you'd have to find out different ways how to do that. I still think it's essential.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
Miles Thaddeus has a really great question in the comments that relates to that.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Yeah, he says during these three pandemics are areas that you should think about differently during the first 100 days, especially things, since things are changing daily that you have no control of. So he's asking a question, are there areas you think about differently during the first 100 days?
Amy Casavina Hall:
I mean, I think I would heighten all your good knowledge, right? So, they always say, "Over communicate over communicate," right? Let people know changes are happening. Things are happening quickly. I get that, I'm with you, right? I'm going to send out something by the end of every week to recap kind of what's going on and what we're learning, what's changing. And here are the forms for us to discuss that or get more information or go deeper, here's when you should go to your supervisor. And if it's something you're not comfortable with, here's another way to get that information off. So I would communicate to the health in that moment to get to know where you are, where you're focused, what's going on and how they can plug into that and that information or express what they might need to express, which sometimes it's positive and that would be great. But oftentimes, it's challenging, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
And [inaudible 00:19:55]
Rebecca Tuttle:
So what's a good lead in sentence because some people aren't so touchy-feely with, I really feel like you're doing this or, you know what I mean? So some people are, I'm not, or that's making me feel like this. For those who aren't comfortable with that kind of dialogue, what's a good lead in just to get the conversation going? Because I imagine this must be difficult to just kick it off, right?
Amy Casavina Hall:
So it's funny, I'm not a touchy-feely. I know that, and that's the truth, and I always make sure I'm surrounded by someone who is, right? That's one of my career group lesson learned to have that impact right next to me. [inaudible 00:20:38] is my number two because I need them.
Pieta Blakely:
I called that Kirsten, my interpreter.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Right.
Pieta Blakely:
I'm very well reminded. I can follow the meeting, but I couldn't follow the stuff that's going on in the meeting. That's why somebody else can check in my past work.
Amy Casavina Hall:
I mean, I think that's great, right? It's a hard lesson. You learned that lesson the hard way.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
So I mean, I know who I am, right? I'm focused on results, I'm focusing on getting things done, I'm focused on process to get there. To me that works, but that doesn't mean that works for everyone else and they are [inaudible 00:21:19]
Pieta Blakely:
I don't know why.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Like all the time and other people who get really frustrated with the touchy-feely, too. Right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
And so I don't think I'm one of those, but you have to find that balance, right? So again, going back to priorities and in a time like now those priorities might be changing super quick, right? You might not be setting 90-day priorities. You might be setting by the end of this week, we need to figure out how to test out result. What's a vaccination plan? Right?
Pieta Blakely:
Right.
Amy Casavina Hall:
How to set up space completely differently? Okay. Let's make those really clear, that's why everyone know what we're working on. What is the priority at this point in time? What progress up against it looks like? And if things are going to shift, you're going to have to acknowledge that, too. Right? We know things don't go as planned, you're going to have to share that also obviously, but keep it front and center, keep it front and center. Keep in front of people and don't just hear it from the same voices. Right? Make sure as you're figuring these things out, you're changing space.
You're figuring out how to vaccinate folks, something like that. You really want to be talking to people at all different places and levels in your organization. What are the barriers? What do people need? How do we make this? What am I not thinking of? Because, you're not going to think of it all. You're definitely [inaudible 00:22:42]
Pieta Blakely:
Again, not in a gotcha away. When you say, let's it fasten. If it didn't work out, let's know that, too. Doctors were bad people, or it's a failure, but just so we can do better next week, right?
Amy Casavina Hall:
Yeah, always be in resumption, we're all doing it with the best intention, with our best effort, right?
Rebecca Tuttle:
But I think that's the makings of a good team, no one holds all the cards, no one brings all the same skill, no one comes at it from the same place. So, that's the making of a good team, and that's why it's so important to get a good leader to tap into each areas of the team.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. And if you're that type of leader, making that known also because not everyone starts out that way. And so I think that's important. And Pieta and Rebecca, what have you seen as mistakes? And Rebecca, you led, you were an ED once, and what are some mistakes you've seen leaders do? I mean, you work with tons of leaders these days, their first 100 days.
Rebecca Tuttle:
I think coming on too strong in just jumping in saying, "They brought me here because I know the way, follow me," instead of listening before you're leading and then listening and act and leading at the same time. Because that's initial shock of, who's this guy think he is? Right? And let's be honest. Most of the time it's been who's this guy think he is, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Right, yeah.
Rebecca Tuttle:
So, leading and listening and really showing people that you honor their contribution to the organization. Because for a lot of folks, especially the ones in the trenches, that's not just a job for them. They're there for a sincere reason, and this how it worked.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. Pieta, what have you seen?
Pieta Blakely:
I think one is coming in under informed. Yeah, so a leader didn't have all the information before they stepped in. And then when they did get more complete information, they actually had to pivot and I think they lost the momentum of their first 100 days because it turned out to be about something very different from what they initially thought their priorities were going to be.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. So some of these concepts, there was a book that I read many, many years ago. I think it was the first time I had become a leader. Someone had recommended it for me, it's called, Hit the Ground Running. And so it's a little older by Liz Cornish, but it still rings true today. And she said something that you just mentioned, Pieta, she says, do your homework about the organization. You shouldn't go in and trying to get information one that you could have gotten on Google, right? Use your 100 days to dig deeper, right? So it's great. I mean, your first 100 days you get to say, "Oh, I didn't know that." Right? But that gets old, eventually. People admire you're a leader that has already come in with that information, right? And is able to hit the ground running from that point on. That's the name of her book.
Pieta Blakely:
And it also has to do with the onboarding process.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Yeah.
Pieta Blakely:
If the board or whoever is onboarding this leader hasn't provided all of the information, then that might be a red flag to you coming in, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Well, I do think this is where nonprofits have kind of different space from other places, right? So normally, you're getting hired by a board, right?
Pieta Blakely:
Right, assuming you're [crosstalk 00:26:22]
Amy Casavina Hall:
And really removed from operations in day to day. And they tend to often only know maybe what they've heard from the previous CD, right? Some boards have deeper penetration, like in general, that can be very kind of single line back and forth, executive director or CEO to board, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
And often they bring staff in for the hiring process, but really it's the board. And I think that disconnect between a board sense of priorities or operational goal that you should focus on the 100 days. And when you hit the ground, what you might find, I think that can be pretty big sometimes.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
In the third sector, Interim Executive Director, they say, "You spend the first 30 days giving a diagnosis." You pull together a cross-sectional group of people. There's so many tools you can use, you pick your favorite tools, but you focus on development, you focus on your programming, you focus on your human capital, you focus on your financial health and well-being, your governance, right? And then develop your 90-day plan. Because often that gap between what you're thinking your walking into and what is there can be pretty big. Not every organization is different, right?
But I think that is so many different ways to approach it. There's something to that really recognizing that, [inaudible 00:27:47] here heading in might be a different situation on the ground just by the nature of how we're structured.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Just use funky structure.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yes.
Rebecca Tuttle:
So what do you do at the end of your 100 days? I know we're coming to the end of our episode, so how do you [crosstalk 00:28:02] end of your 100 days?
Cynthia Rojas:
That's a great segue.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Celebrate. Celebrate people's contributions, celebrate those successes. Acknowledge what was hard and what you learned, where there's more to do. Celebrate what you've accomplished and launch the next one.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Rebecca Tuttle:
[inaudible 00:28:22] start again, keep that as a regular, an ongoing best practice of it.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Right. It might be a little more discreet. It might not be like here's our next 100-day plan, but that's what you're doing.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. So the book of reference, Hit the Ground Running, she talks about three things, preplan, to write preplan going in and do your homework about the organization. You shouldn't be surprised. And I have to say, I work with leaders who are also transitioning and a lot of times, we're not digging deep enough in the organization, and we walk in, and we're surprised by things. So things like 1990's public information, you can look at press releases and things of that nature to understand the organization better. And so she talks about doing that prepare, right? So prepare yourself, know your strengths.
Amy talked about this, know your strengths, so that you can leverage them to have optimum output. Don't do something you're not strong in because everybody's watching you, and then listen. To me, the worst thing that no leader can do is come to a meeting and spend 20 minutes talking about what they used to do with their formal organization. Don't do that. Please don't do that for new leaders. Listen, every organization has a history and many times their history is beautiful. Somebody started that organization for a reason. And so listen, listen to the way they do things. So remember preplan, prepare, and listen. So as Rebecca said, we have come to the end, but I'm going to go around and see what's your takeaway for today's show. So I'll start with Rebecca because she's on my left. Rebecca, what's the big takeaway from today's show?
Rebecca Tuttle:
Well, as I always say, it's kind of my tagline on Grant Write Now, there's never been a better time to get started in Grant Writing. so make today your first 100 days, right?
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah, you can start any time. Pieta, how about you?
Pieta Blakely:
Yeah, that's great. I think mine is, once again, building assessment into every process and every plan and the importance of being able to bring findings and observations and data in a way that is not a gotcha. That's just a learning opportunity for everyone in the organization is so crucial.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah. One of the things that strikes me is this concept of be intentional, right? Have a plan, be intentional. People will respect you for that, and they deserve a leader that's intentional and takes their work seriously. All right, Amy, take us home. What's something you want to offer nonprofit leaders when thinking about their first 100 days?
Amy Casavina Hall:
I would say that it is a lonely position. If you're coming into the leadership of an organization and you haven't done it before, it is a lonely position. And I think that is one of the biggest shocks in holding that role. Right? Even when you're surrounded with great people, there are always things that you can not share for a variety of reasons. And I mean, what I've taken me from this is God, there are so many great people doing this work, passionate and brilliant people. Build your support network, have it in place, you're going to need it and use it.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Used it, so you're not isolated. So you've got a form to work with and you've got that kind of strength. You've got that wind in your sails. So it's a different role.
Cynthia Rojas:
Yeah, that's so important. Liz Cornish talks dedicated an entire chapter to building a support system, so you're right on. All right, everybody. We are done. Thank you for joining us at Coffee Time with Masterminds, and we'll see you next week. Same time, same place. Thank you so much. Bye everyone.
Rebecca Tuttle:
Bye.
Pieta Blakely:
Bye.
Amy Casavina Hall:
Thank you.