19: Hiring Talent and Sharpening Your Nonprofit Leadership Skills (Tiffany Capers)

019: Hiring Talent and Sharpening Your Nonprofit Leadership Skills (Tiffany Capers)

SUMMARY

Tiffany Capers did not plan to go into nonprofit leadership, and in fact, she thought her graduate degree would take her into a corporate environment. But after opportunities in government and in a community foundation, she found a calling that led to leadership in our sector.  She now serves as the Executive Director of the CrossRoads Corporation, which creatively partners with the residents of the Grier Heights neighborhood in Charlotte and numerous other stakeholders to revitalize the community about which she is so passionate.  Tiffany and I discuss many topics related to her leadership journey, including how she turned career changes into opportunity, and some of the tangible and intangible attributes she’s looking for when hiring talent.  Tiffany also describes how she uses role plays to evaluate a candidate’s preparation, data management and performance in an interview setting.  She’s also got great resources for productivity and for curating high-quality content.  

ABOUT TIFFANY

Born in New Jersey and raised in South Carolina, Tiffany experienced a little bit of city life and a lot of rural life throughout her childhood which helped her develop an appreciation for contrast and difference and juxtaposition. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia with a degree in psychology and completed her graduate work at UNC-Charlotte with a degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She’s spent the better part of her professional life working in the public sector, for the Foundation For The Carolinas and Teach for America, managing programs, leading teams, working in spaces that addressed equity, access, inclusion and opportunity.  She is also the mom of and constant negotiator (!) with a 2-year-old daughter. She is also interested in art (creating it and appreciating it), books, social and economic justice, and “being more curious than certain and being brave enough to have conversations that matters.”

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES

• Productivity hacks: Microsoft outlook, careful delegation of work to empower team
• Public sector work included youth employment program and budget evaluation office
• Use of role-plays in interviews: prompts, scenarios, and data for presentation 
• Content Curation: Medium, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic
• Jim Collins’ book: Good to Great and the Social Sectors
• Developing a personal board of directors