The skill all fundraisers want more of
I’ve spoken with hundreds of fundraisers and nonprofit leaders over the last couple of years, and I’ve noticed a surprising trend when it comes to the skills that lead to major gift success.
In fact, there’s one thing that everyone I talk to seems to want more of:
And that is CONFIDENCE.
But too often, we think of confidence as a trait we are born with - or not.
Can you relate?
Here’s the great news:
Confidence is a skill just like any other - that means we can work on developing it.
And confidence is not some sort of permanent and static accomplishment you acquire. Like all skills, confidence must be actively maintained and grown.
The obvious next question is, HOW do we nurture and develop our confidence skills, and support our teams to do the same?
I love this straightforward quote from Performance Psychology Expert Dr. Nate Zinsser:
“Confidence is learned. It is the result of a consistently constructive thinking process that allows performers to do two things:
- Retain and benefit from their successful experiences.
- Release or restructure their less successful experiences.”
Simple right? But as we all know - simple is not the same as easy!
What do you think? If is confidence a skill that can be learned like any other, how do we support ourselves and our teams to continue growing and developing it?
P.S. If you’re ready to help your team build the skills, strategies and systems you need to raise more major gifts for your growing nonprofit, send me a message at [email protected], and let’s talk!
