9: Do You Have a Nonprofit Talent Management Strategy? (Karen Geiger)

009: Do You Have A Nonprofit Talent Management Strategy? (Karen Geiger)

SUMMARY

What is talent management, and why is it important?  Dr. Karen Geiger has worked with dozens of organizations and has seen what makes successful ones work, and what individual leaders can do to advance their career and the organizations they lead. Karen is a teacher and trainer at heart and combines personal experiences as well as those she’s had within the corporate, education and nonprofit sectors to offer wise counsel for current and aspiring nonprofit leaders.  We discussed the factors that influence an individual’s nonprofit career journey and zeroed in on the board’s role in defining leadership positions for their organization. As Karen notes, many organizations use “best practices” as a proxy for their talent management plan, but these best practices are simply a proxy for “that’s the way we’ve always done things.” She explains some of the unique challenges a nonprofit leader faces by not working for a single boss, but often a dozen or more board-member bosses (who then rotate every year!). Finally, she shares a number of resources that can help you evaluate what you’re looking for on your nonprofit career path, and how you can best advance into leadership roles.

ABOUT KAREN

As a private consultant, Karen designs and conducts leadership experiences, and supports diversity/inclusion and race privilege awareness through group facilitation, one-on-one coaching and 360-degree feedback. Her client companies include those in financial services, medicine, non-profit organizations, and city-county governments. She is a member of the International Leadership Association; and is certified by the Harvard Program on Negotiation, Wiley behavioral profiles, and the Center for Creative Leadership in assessments and simulations. Karen holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Education from Indiana University and a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She is President of Karen Geiger & Associates, Inc, a consulting firm she founded in 1992 specializing in talent and organizational development. Before starting her own business, Karen was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America, where she held positions as Director of Corporate Training and Development, Director of Career Planning and Director of Work/Family Programs. Learn more about Karen here, and check out her website to learn more about her coaching and consulting.  

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES

·               Karen’s productivity: calendar-driven to-do lists and time blocking

·               The board’s role in defining leadership expectations

·               Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! book

·               Ram Charan’s The Leadership Pipeline book

·               Marcus Buckingham YouTube How to Succeed at Work

·               Lahey & Kegan’s How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work book