4 Ways to Fill the Leadership Vacuum

leadership 101.3

Don't let the leadership vacuum suck the life out of you!

If you’re at a high level of leadership in a non-profit organization, you’ve probably experienced the leadership vacuum. What is the leadership vacuum? It’s can happen if more than one of the following happen at the same time:

1) You have more things to lead than you possibly can.
2) You don’t have enough resources to hire any more staff
3) A key leader leaves your organization.
4) A new major project needs to be accomplished
5) Your organization is in crisis, and needs the leader’s attention

As a leader, when you face these moments you will experience many thoughts and feelings. You may feel overwhelmed, burned out, contemplating quitting. You’ll definitely be tired. You may see anger, withdrawal, even addictive behavior rise up with in you. You will most likely not feel like yourself.

The worst thing about a leadership vacuum is that it sucks. As a leader it sucks to be you, and it begins to suck the life out of your organization, the people you lead, and you may even feel it sucking up your soul.

So what do you do about it? I recently experienced a key staff member leaving. And pretty much all his responsibilities landed on my already over full plate. The first thing I did was evaluate.

1) Act Quickly: What can you do right now to make things better? Then start doing them today. Don’t wait and wallow. Make sure you, or somebody in your organization covers the most urgent issues the vacuum has created.

2) Don’t Act too Quickly: Take time to evaluate what really needs to happen. Replacing someone’s position or doing things the same way may not be the solution. Take this moment to re-evaluate everything the vacuum is revealing. In my situation, the result was a 6-month process of re-organization that started about one month after the staff member left. The evaluation revealed that the task at hand needed multiple people, not just one. To replace that staff member with another person would have been disastrous. A complete re-organization allowed 6 leaders in the organization to step up, rewrite job descriptions and approach a major issue with new energy and direction. It also opened up the opportunity for another 25 volunteer leaders to help lead. It gave new energy, thought, and ideas. For now, the vacuum is plugged.

3) Continue Acting: For us, filling the huge vacuum has revealed more smaller vacuums where leadership or staff have inadequate resources or volunteers to accomplish their mission. For them, they are problem solving in a new way. Don’t be satisfied with quick fixes. Keep working on creating solutions that could keep you from experiencing the same vacuum.

4) Stop Acting: For this one I mean, the way you personally act. Don’t be Superman or Wonder Woman. If you’ve just experienced a leadership Vacuum you should take a break. Trust the people around you to make things happen. Do something that refreshes you. Be honest about being tired and needing a break. Trust me, everyone in your organization can see it on your face! Remember, don't let the leadership vacuum suck the life out of you! You’ll need your energy back, because before long, you’ll most likely discover a new leadership vacuum.