Lindauer CEO Deb Taft joins Brent Grinna Founder & CEO of EverTrue on the RAISE Podcast. Deb discusses her career journey from banking to nonprofits and the hard-hitting topics of what challenges advancement is facing today.
Highlights from the episode:
Deb graduated from Harvard and promptly entered the banking world. After receiving a call from a friend who recommended her, she made the career pivot to Beaver Country Day and then Concord Academy in fundraising, marketing, and communications. She shared learnings from leadership roles at Girl Scouts of the USA, Simmons University, Tufts Medical Center, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
Deb encourages people to test themselves in a variety of contexts as the diversity of experience will serve professionals well in their careers. Are you a builder or a maintainer? Do you offer structure or innovation? Individuals who understand their strengths can navigate to great opportunities.
Deb recommends individuals successively build and add to their experiences. Find a way to tell the stories of your career in a cogent way by identifying the through-lines. It’s also important to leave an organization well – manage your references and tend relationships.
Many companies are rushing back to the office after remote work during the pandemic. Instead, Deb advocates for creating hybrid approaches that make sense for employees and the work that needs to be done. Without location as a constraint, Deb foresees organizations are better positioned forward to attract and retain top talent.
Deb tells the story of an interview in which the interviewee’s baby climbed up into his lap in the middle of the conversation. The man excused himself and left the room to take care of the child and returned a moment later. This interruption inspired the hiring committee to consider him more seriously as a candidate. Organizations are now understanding the full picture of their employees as humans.
Brent and Deb discuss the taboo topic of salaries in nonprofit work. Advancement has many compelling jobs and stronger compensation than many expect. Deb believes in recruiting from other professions to meet the intense talent needs of the advancement field.
Click here to listen to the full podcast episode.