I recently had an opportunity to be on an extended conference call with some of the most passionate advocates for the nonprofit and NGO sector out there. These are folks who are working 24/7/365 to help community-based nonprofits and NGOs thrive, and if you don't follow them yet, now's the time to do so.

7 "Must-Know" Community Change Agents

1. Alison: If you're looking for a resource on transformative collaboration, coalitions, and nonprofit partnerships, put Alison Rapping's blog at the top of your list. She'll inspire you to find opportunities to build and grow your communities together and give you the tools to make those partnerships successful. Follow Alison on Twitter.
2. Bonnie: Bonnie Koenig is a “go-to” resource for strategic capacity-building for international nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). She has a terrific resource list on her Going International website which includes her own book, Going Global for the Greater Good: Succeeding as a Nonprofit in the International Community. Follow Bonnie on Twitter.
3. Don: A self-described virtual volunteer, Don Griesmann is a grant opportunity researcher extraordinaire and also regularly blogs about nonprofit issues. He's also the author of Nonprofit Incorporating - The Business Plan, a 35-page guide for U.S.-based folks who are considering forming a nonprofit.
4. Gayle: Gayle is a fearless advocate who intuitively knows that questioning the status quo is often the first step to creating a more just and peaceful world. The author of several books including Meaningful Participation, A Citizens Guide to Collaborative Policy-making, Gayle also blogs regularly at her website, Cause & Effect. Follow Gayle on Twitter.
5. Hildy: Hildy Gottlieb is the author of The Pollyanna Principles, and a founder of The Community-Driven Institute. Her inspiring blog is fueled by her passion for "making visionary community change practical." If you're interested in creating a new future within your community, she's a "go-to, must-know" resource. Follow Hildy on Twitter.
6. Nancy: "Changing the world one day at a time," is Nancy Iannone's mantra, but it's only part of what makes her a community change agent. With a passionate commitment for grassroots nonprofits and community-based work, she bring incredible insight and depth to her work. Check out her blog and her website and you'll see what I mean. Follow Nancy on Twitter.
7. Pam: Pamela Grow is all about creating simple fundraising and development systems that will help you build a sustainable funding stream. A sought-after speaker and presenter on soup-to-nuts development and fundraising, she's the author of Five Days to Foundation Grants and the free Grow Report, which is available through her blog. Follow Pam on Twitter.

Who are some of your favorite community change agents? Here's how to spot them.

"Creativity is the process of generating ideas. It involves divergent and random thinking, and mixing up a range of possibilities. By its nature it's chaotic. Creativity produces lots of possibilities, only a small number of which have real potential. This means that you must also accept that creativity will produce a great many useless ideas for every one worth running with. Innovation is the process of choosing and selecting one or more of the ideas generated in creativity mode so as to exploit their potential. It involves convergent and focused thinking. It is systematic and selective.

Innovation is rational and organized, and by its nature practical. Its outcome is to produce a workable solution, so the starting point is to discard useless ideas. As individuals and organizations, we need to practice the processes of both creativity and innovation until they become deeply embedded skills.

By using both of them we can dramatically improve performance, but they do need to be linked and sequenced correctly."

"A critical lesson for nonprofit executives to bear in mind is that issues, responsibilities, and board relationships may not be the same next month as they were last month, and almost certainly will not be the same next year.

Elected board officers come and go. Issues arise and are either solved or, at the least, outlived and put behind. New opportunities or new board members lead to change in the nonprofit's strategic and operational plans, sometimes even to changes in mission.

These changes, along with changes in personality or operating styles of the elected leaders, require the chief staff executive to respond, creatively and constructively. The nonprofit executive who expects to do everything the same way every year is in the wrong profession.

Change can be difficult. It also brings opportunities, both for the individual and the organization."

Get the Book.

According to a recent blog from Scott Anthony at Harvard Business Publishing, constant transformation is likely the hallmark of every industry right now. Although his post wasn’t focused on the community benefit sector, his basic advice definitely applies. Here’s an abridged version:

1. Success now requires not just doing it better, but mastering the ability to do it differently.
2. You have to ask what your customers need and want. And then you’d better get good at doing it.
3. Every organization has unique DNA. Those that are seeking to intentionally mutate that DNA need to provide space for new ventures.

 Read Scott Anthony’s full post here.

I recently ran across a great Harvard Business Review article from Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky called "A Survival Guide for Leaders," and they give some terrific advice for steering an organization through major transitions and change. It includes:

1. Get off the dance floor and go to the balcony. Step back from the fray and ask, “What’s really going on here?” Become a participant-observer and make sure you keep tabs on your own actions as well.
2. Keep your friends close. Recruit a group of colleagues, mentors, and supporters to provide you with feedback, point out threats, and celebrate successes and opportunities.
3. Keep your enemies closer. Keep those who are most opposed to your strategy close to you so that you know their thinking. Have coffee once a week with the person most dedicated to seeing you fail. Once you understand their concerns, you can often either turn them around, or find real problems that mean that you need to change strategy.
4. Court the uncommitted. Often those who are neutral or in the middle are the ones who will decide the success or failure of your initiatives. This is particularly true with nonprofits who have fairly uninvolved Board members who nevertheless hold voting power.
5. Cook the conflict. Create a secure environment where conflict can bubble up, and then turn down the heat once you know what’s going on. You may need to slow things down, provide more structure, or address personal concerns, but you won’t know until you face the conflict head on.
6. Place the work where it belongs. Resist the reflex to problem-solve and instead place the burden on the team to do it together or real and sustainable change will not occur.
7. Manage your hungers. Don’t let the changing landscape amplify your own desires or short-circuit your own self-discipline.
8. Anchor yourself. Make sure that you have a safe place and time to de-stress and re-group.

Obtain the full 12-page article here. (fee required at HBR website)

Summary by Laura Deaton.

In addition to having the ability to deliver and expand programs, successful nonprofits and NGOs also have "adaptive capacity," which can take them from "Just Another Organization" to "Community Change Agent."

17 Hallmarks of Community Change Agents:

1. They are always innovating and looking for opportunities that will improve their communities.
2. They are on the "leading edge" of change and are sought out as experts.
3. They are responsive and modify existing programs as needed to meet changing needs.
4. They don't seek perfection but they do seek excellence, so the bar is always set high.
5. They value team, and they have an understanding that attracting, retaining, and supporting a strong team is essential to delivering high quality services.
6. Rather than building silos and rigidly adhering to job descriptions, they encourage ad-hoc teams, cross-training and shared responsibility.
7. They are inquisitive and have developed an appetite for inquiry.
8. They understand that asking the right questions helps the team make better, and more informed, decisions.
9. They focus on quality.
10. They work to actually produce real and measurable outcomes from their work. Raw counts of program participants or attendees are not enough.
11. They value research and data collection and convert it into knowledge that drives program innovation.
12. They are collaborative, and understand that they are interdependent with other organizations. They actively seek out and work closely with other organizations to advance their shared vision for their communities.
13. They involve key community stakeholders in their work. They are externally focused, and truly engage the community in decision-making processes.
14. They actively seek out opportunities to share and receive feedback about their work with others. "Dialogue," "Discussion," and "Disagreement" are not dirty words.
15. They foster a learning culture that actively seeks out new ideas and thought leadership.
16. They encourage, value and provide professional development, mentoring and coaching.
17. They are networked and connected. They leverage human and technological resources and connections to expand their reach in the community.

What would you add to this list?

Additional Resources:

Building Adaptive Capacity: The Quest for Improved Organizational Performance by Carl Sussman.

High Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact by Christine W. Letts, William P. Ryan, and Allen Grossman.

We all know those powerhouse people and organizations that seem to be everywhere. They are invited to speak at every conference, have C-level Board members who regularly open doors for them, get invited to submit grant proposals from private foundations, and get all the media coverage. How are they doing that? Among other things, they're likely recruiting and developing "Connectors," "Mavens," and "Salespeople" to their volunteer and staff teams.

Described in detail by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, here are some characteristics of the three groups:

Connectors

• Have an amazing ability to draw people to them. People want to be associated with them.
• Have what we used to call "huge rolodexes" and now call "extensive networks" or "loads of contacts."
• They know everybody who's anybody, and if they don't know them, they know someone who does.
• They run in several circles at once. The diversity of their contacts is part of their allure.
• They collect like-minded people, detractors, and strangers alike. They know the CEO of the largest local corporation, the Starbucks barista, the dry cleaner, and all of the people with whom they sat on a jury 5 years ago.

Mavens

• They are information brokers.
• They are well-read, and up-to-date on current events.
• They are curious and inquisitive and love to learn from the people around them.
• They are data centers that store interesting (and sometimes offbeat) information.
• They love to share what they know. Just ask, and they'll have both information and a valuable perspective to contribute.

Salespeople

• They are happy, outgoing, and "the life of the party."
• They are charismatic, charming, engaging.
• They easily build rapport and engender trust.
• They are the ultimate persuaders, and leverage their keen attention to effectively sway others.
• They have quick responses at the ready to naysayers and pessimists.

Have you surrounded yourself and your organization with Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople? How are you cultivating these roles within your team?

As part of my work within the sector, I do a fair amount of executive search and leadership recruiting. While every organization is different, there are several traits that are always on the “must-have” list for leaders. Whether you’re a seasoned nonprofit or NGO leader or a member of the rising next generation, the questions below may help you assess your own leadership strengths, as well as identify areas for growth or change.

18 Traits of Successful Nonprofit and NGO Leaders

1. PASSIONATE: Are you a passionate advocate with a reputation for innovating, leading through challenging situations and fueling change? Can you inspire others while fostering creativity, teamwork, a commitment to excellence, and mutual respect?
2. COMFORTABLE: Are you “at home” in a start-up grassroots environment, yet comfortable within a larger structure and hierarchy as well? Do people of all backgrounds relate to you easily and vice versa? Do you actively find ways to engage people to help them feel comfortable around you? Do you like leading alongside others and sharing the helm? More on shared governance.
3. MULTI-FACETED: Are you tenacious, diplomatic, and results-oriented? Can you be a pit bull, a great dane, and a springer spaniel all at the same time? Can you remain authentic, yet instinctively know when one approach or style may serve you better?
4. CONFIDENT: Do you possess the ability to move self confidently through uncharted waters? Do you have an internal compass that helps guide you while also relying on all available navigation tools? More on steering through change.
5. FINANCIALLY SAVVY: Do you understand the critical importance of strong financial management, even if that isn't part of your primary role? More on financial savvy.
6. OUTCOMES-FOCUSED: Are you focused on setting and then meeting or exceeding measurable goals and do you have a clear roadmap for doing so? Do the words "benchmarks, dashboards, and outcomes" make you smile? More on dashboards, and more on measuring outcomes and performance.
7. STRATEGIC: Are you a strategic thinker with excellent planning and analytic skills? Do you use plans and tools to guide your own priorities and work? Can you see the forest and the trees and is that the lens that you use?
8. MARKETING-ORIENTED: Do you understand the importance of marketing and have the ability to leverage marketing tools to rapidly build community awareness and to catalyze new relationships? Have you embraced social media and Web 2.0 as essential marketing tools?
9. RESPECTED: Can you work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various constituencies, including board members, staff members, consultants, potential donors, and other community leaders?
10. CURIOUS: Do you stay up-to-date on current events? Are you inquisitive and interested in many topics? Do you ask questions and clarify perspectives? Do you seek out opportunities to continue to learn and grow? Do you spend time figuring out “what makes people tick?”
11. TRUSTED: Do people value your integrity? Are you honest and fair with an emphasis on transparency? Are you able to admit your own mistakes and allow others to learn from theirs? Are you ethical? More on transparency, more on building trust, and more on ethics.
12. TEAM-FOCUSED: Can you tear down silos and replace them with high-performing cross-functional teams? More on "Silo Disease" and how to stop it.
13. ENERGETIC: Are you filled with energy and ready to leverage it 24/7/365 in service of your organization's mission? Do you intuitively know when you need some “down-time” and ensure that you find moments to rest and renew?
14. FUN-LOVING: Can you laugh at yourself and help others bring humor into their lives to relieve stress and build the team? More on using humor as a leadership tool.
15. PEOPLE-BUILDER: Are you a "go-to" person? Do people value you as a mentor, coach, and resource? Are you always looking for ways to build others and cultivate personal and professional growth and development? Do you regularly give praise and feedback? More on praise, and more on mentoring.
16. NETWORKED: Are you a “people collector” and a connector? Do you regularly seek advice from your own mentors and external advisers? More on connectors.
17. COLLABORATIVE: Are you always on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate, partner and work closely with others to further your joint missions and reach your vision? More on collaboration.
18. CHANGE AGENT: Are you a community change agent? Find out.

What does it take to lead from the future as it emerges?  Leading through change often means getting to know yourself more intimately first, and C. Otto Scharmer's Theory U is rich with advice on how to get there.  For students of change, it is 450 pages of complex thought about how to open your mind, your heart, and your will to the future. It's a "must-read" in my library, and it will leave you wanting to re-read it again and again. Although Scharmer's work isn't directly targeted to nonprofits, NGOs or social enterprise, his 24 principles easily translate into some awesome guidance on leading through change:

Here's my "change agent" version of Scharmer's principles and practices:

1. Attend: Listen to what you are being called to do. Is there a magnet that keeps drawing you back? Do you always come full circle to an idea, a thought or a path to follow?
2. Connect: Get into conversations with thought leaders. Not just casual chats or surface conversations, but instead find opportunities to create real dialogue about the change you want to see. 
3. Co-Initiate: Invite others with common intentions to join you in your calling.  This is a "no-pressure" zone. Let those who are similarly called choose to come. Respect those who don't.
4. Team: Actively build a core group of people to raise and ponder essential questions. What is the future that you want to create? What does it look, feel, taste, sound and smell like? Does it already feel present to you? Why?
5. Dive: Go beyond the surface consideration to get at the very core of your work.  Don't be afraid to get inside the tornado, get down in the weeds, or fall into a rat- or rabbit-hole.  Sometimes there's a wonderland to be explored when you do.
6. Observe: Suspend your own judgement and opinions and go beyond listening to discern patterns. Is there a shared language? Are there themes that keep re-appearing?
7. Practice Deep Listening: To open others' minds and hearts, you must start by opening your own. Are you coming to the table ready to embrace diverse perspectives?
8. Co-Sense: Invite your team to use collective sense organs to see and understand the system itself. Pay attention to what emerges via the collective wisdom of the group.
9. Let It Go: Seek out "stuff" that must die for you to move on and send it on its way.  What is holding you back or dragging you to the past instead of the future. Acknowledge and release it.
10. Be Quiet: Use moments of silence to allow yourself to envision the emerging future. Meditate, take a walk, breathe. Introduce quiet reflection so that you can hear the sound of the future.
11. Let It Come: Welcome the change.  Cherish small breakthroughs, creative sparks, and the need for frantic writing. Often the future emerges in spurts and fountains. Be ready for them, as well as prepared for "change-droughts" and "change-famines."
12. Follow Your Journey: Do what you love, love what you do. Make it conscious. Let it shine.
13. Create Safe Places: Find "your people" and congregate. Where can you get encouragement and support for reaching for the highest potential? Surround yourself with cheerleaders, coaches, navigators, sherpas, and other leaders.
14. Crystallize: Work with your team and crystallize your shared vision. Catalyzing change isn't random. It doesn't magically happen. It takes effort, initiative, and focus.
15. Build the Core: Sometimes more isn't better. It may only take a small team or small first step to help the future emerge. Baby steps are often precursors to giant leaps.
16. Create Prototypes: Test different versions of the future as it emerges. Move the puzzle pieces around. Be open to it being considerably different than when you started, and from where you'll land.
17. Integrate Head, Heart and Hand: Don't just think about change.  Feel it. Breathe it. Touch it. Speak it. Until you physically embrace it, change is simply an idea waiting to happen.
18. Iterate: Create and adapt, and then create and adapt again. Change is rarely as straight as an arrow. Instead, it is more like a spiraled coil.
19. Switch Perspectives: View the emerging "change ecosystem" from the future instead of the present.  Take the future and apply it to the present instead of the other way around.
20. Innovate: Create infrastructures that support constant transformaton and growth. The future is always emerging, never just an endpoint. 
21. Return and Revisit: How has the collective journey shaped the emerging future? How will it do so again? How is the present different as a result of the changing future that is emerging?
22. Be Intentional: Always serve as an instrument of the change you want to see.  You are the tool, not the future itself.
23. Be Relational: Always seek true dialogue about systemic change.  Your role as a change agent is only a small part of an evolving future. Stay in touch with the broader future as it emerges, too.
24. Be Authentic: Connect to your highest potential as a vehicle for change. Speak with your voice, lead with your emotions, share your thoughts. Being authentically "you" is the only way to go.

Are you a change agent?  How are you leading from the future as it emerges?

Whether you're forging new ground or re-trenching, transitions are often stressful.  I've developed the quick acronym below to remind folks that successfully navigating change means physical breathing to get some oxygen to your brain, but breathing doesn't stop there. Once you've got your body going, it then means using your brain to do the following:

B Be Authentic

R Remain Focused on Mission

E Encourage Input from Key Stakeholders

A Activate Your Team

T Talk Openly and Transparently

H Have a Plan B and a Plan C

E Execute

Are you breathing with your brain?