May 7, 2021
GUEST: Diaz Dixon is the CEO of Eddy House, a transition program for youth experiencing homelessness, and owns Performance Driven Consulting. He previously served for 14 years as the CEO of STEP2, a nonprofit helping women and children dealing with substance abuse and domestic violence. Diaz has served on the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as the Treasurer of the Nevada Smithsonian Academic Appointment Diversity and Publicity Taskforce, and as a consultant to the Cultural Competency and Diversity Network in Washington, D.C. under the Presidential New Freedom Initiative. He also teaches in the University of Nevada, Reno’s Advanced Leadership Academy, a five-month training and coaching program designed to develop and support senior leaders and key team members. And Diaz is on the executive committee of American Pets Alive’s Human Animal Support Services.
MAIN QUESTION: What advice do you have for new nonprofit leaders?
TAKEAWAYS:
* Don’t come in and point out everything that’s wrong and put in your own solutions. Build rapport and bridges with staff, create small successes to build trust, and have lots of conversations to build more trust and transparency.
* Look for three things in team members – are they hungry, humble and smart? If you're hungry, you're about the organization’s mission and trying to enhance it. If you're humble, you're a good team member and not just climbing over others on your way to the top. And if you're smart, you can problem-solve and you're willing to make mistakes and grow.
* When you're a leader, take less credit than you deserve and more blame.
* Build a positive work climate – this will help people enjoy the hard work.
* When you reach out into the community, build relationships through conversation and sharing your genuine passion for the cause.
* And check out the books “Mindset” by Carol Dweck and “Good to Great” by Jim Collins to strengthen your leadership skills.
LINKS:
* Book: "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol Dweck
* Book: "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't" by Jim Collins
* Leadership recommendation: TechSoup