Month / February 2018

by Christine

So you’re thinking about taking the CFRE exam?

examIt snowed so much this past Friday that work was cancelled. When I arrived promptly at noon to take the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam, the testing center doors were locked and the office looked deserted. This caused me to briefly panic. I spent days studying, reading, and refreshing myself on fundraising best practices. I was ready; I did not want to reschedule this test. Thankfully, after a few moments of knocking, a receptionist appeared, began the check in process, and escorted me to the room. I took the exam and I passed!

One of my primary drivers for taking this exam was learning more about the practice of fundraising from a holistic viewpoint. As a gift officer who works for a larger organization, my day to day work tends to be quite specialized. This was a great opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge base. I read a lot of resources on topics that I don’t have experience with daily and I do believe that knowledge will help me make better choices as a fundraiser.

I don’t recommend going into this test lightly. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t quite understand the amount of studying I would need to do to feel prepared for this test. I am not an individual who has test anxiety but I hadn’t taken a multiple choice exam in years. It took a lot of reading, reviewing, and practice test taking before I felt ready. Day to day experience is definitely something you will draw on but I’m not sure that someone who breezes into the exam without studying would pass it on the first try.

The first thing you should do, after submitting your application, is visit the Getting Ready page on the  website. It has a very comprehensive list of topics (or knowledge domains) that test takers should be proficient in and an exhaustive list of books. I printed out the knowledge domains and did an initial circle of what areas I knew I was lacking in. 

Second, I picked a few books. The CFRE Resource Reading List page lists fourteen books which is a) way more than anyone can read and b) very exhaustive and overwhelming. I focused my initial efforts on the comprehensive books and used chapters from other knowledge domain books to deepen my understanding of specific areas.

Third, consider your budget. The CFRE exam is costly and these books are expensive, even if you buy them used. Get as creative as you can – I borrowed books from colleagues, from other development professionals in my network, from our departmental lending library, and from the actual public library. I couldn’t mark the books up but if I read a chapter that I found valuable and that I wanted to be able to make notes in, I copied it.

One thing I learned early on is that there is very little information on the internet outside of the information found on the CFRE website. When I was doing my initial research for books, study guides, and other tips, I struggled to find reviews of the materials that mentioned their efficacy in studying for the exam. This frustrated me and inspired me to write a series of posts on what I found useful. Check back in a few weeks for the second post in this series where I will focus on which resources I found useful, which ones I did not, and pass on a few study tips!

by Christine

Learning to apply an adaptive leadership process

The class started with all of us feeling a bit uncomfortable. The instructor asked us what we expected from her. Silence. She had to do a lot of pulling to get the group to start giving suggestions. But once we started, we couldn’t stop. She had to cut us off.

Approaching problems from an adaptive viewpoint as opposed to a technical viewpoint requires a person to feel uncomfortable. To ask questions without knowing the answer. To be okay with the messy and the hard and the difficult and the unexpected. My first class in the Lead Right Now series offered by Forefront really introduced us to this process.

I took this class because I recently decided that in my career, I wanted to add more tools to my leadership toolbox so that I can pull out more than just a technical approach. I have an image in my mind of what a leader is – they are usually “in-charge” and have a lot of authority. But recently, I started to realize that this image is incongruous and out of step with who a leader really is. A leader can be anyone – it can be me, it can be my big boss, and it can be the lowliest volunteer. You don’t have to have a fancy title in order to be considered a leader. What you do need is authority – both informal and formal and a deep toolbox full of leadership skills.

I’ve been wrestling with this internal image that I have a of a leader for a while because I am currently working under someone who struggles with leadership. And I feel like I’ve been filling in some of the gaps which is an awkward place for me to be. I also manage volunteers and I feel like I need to do a better job of modeling the types of leadership behavior that I expect from them.

My biggest takeaway from our first class is that our American culture really pushes our leaders to come up with a technical solution for all problems. We expect our leaders outline a solution that achieves quick results and “fixes” the short-term pain of the problem. And then we heap blame on our leaders when the results aren’t as expected or the problem persists.  As I was reviewing the case, I found myself slipping into these thought patterns and wanting to point fingers. It was much easier and more comfortable than trying to examine all the facts and identify the root of the problem. We as Americans don’t like to spend time feeling uncomfortable. We’re direct, to the point, and we like to take action.

Applying adaptive leadership practices to solve a problem requires a leader to take time to learn new things and not rely on tried and true knowledge or technique. We went through several exercises in class where we thought of a leadership challenge we are currently facing and we asked questions of ourselves:

  • What is my concern for the future?
  • What are my aspirations for the future?
  • What is in the gap between those two?
  • Where is it appropriate to use authority? Where should I exercise leadership?
  • What part of the challenge requires an adaptive approach?
  • What part requires a technical approach?

These questions were difficult for me to answer – they made me realize that my challenge wasn’t going to be solved overnight. I was going to need to be patient and recognize that this was going to be a process. There wasn’t a technical solution, no matter how much I wished there was. The gap between my concerns and my aspirations felt very daunting. But once I realized I could “learn” my way through the process, I felt better. I’m excited to add adaptive leadership practices to my leadership toolbox!