I’m thinking of starting a forum on this blog. May just have to add this as a topic. Thanks. And sorry you had to even google this.

~ Ronnie Ann

What a great comment!!! Thank you. And thank you also for the kind words. I think your own words here will be very helpful to others; so if you don’t mind, I’ll probably turn it into a post.

Congratulations on making a really smart move. We not only have to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em…we have to know who we are and who we aren’t.

You’re right in thinking it might just be this job and there are other management spots out there you could thrive in. Then again…you may also find ways to take on new challenges (I did it by consulting) without being a manager, should that wind up being better for you.

Best of luck!

Ronnie Ann

Unfortunately, you’re not alone in what you’re feeling. I’m so sorry you have to deal with all this. Some places make managing – which actually can be enjoyable at times – feel like a constant uphill climb…especially in these tough economic times.

In general, certain industries may be better than others – or at least certain employers. I hope you get to experience that too. But maybe this is also a chance to explore what you really want to do. You say “I love to be a leader, to teach, to coach” – maybe there are fields you might enjoy more…like teaching or coaching – or even training, perhaps.

Thanks for stopping by to share your experience. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for your patience. The more I thought about this, the more I saw the complexity of your situation and realized there is way too much I still don’t know. In fact, even if you were to bring me in as an organizational consultant and I could see things first-hand, from what you tell me we would need at least 3-6 months to get things back on track!

But, with that caveat in mind, and since you need answers NOW, here are some thoughts. Not sure any will be of help, but at least I want to give you a little moral support – you sure need it!

First, I’m confused about taxes being owed by a non-profit, which should be tax exempt. May I assume these are employment taxes and/or taxes on revenues unrelated to your non-profit mission? What an awful mess for you to be cleaning up! Where was the Board when all this was happening? (No need to answer that one.) They have an official obligation to help.

If your only “ally” is leaving the sinking ship, you need to get the rest of the Board…well, on board – and fast! I’d suggest a heart-to-heart with them with pointed questions about how they will support you in the transition and where they might pitch in to help. For instance, they might declare a period of financial austerity and impose temporary spending rules during this period of transition and, hopefully, rebirth.

I have to say I had a visceral reaction when I read you were hired because you are “so nice and polite”. Didn’t they hire you because you’re a problem solver and strong manager? That’s what’s needed now. And they need to know that otherwise they are tying your hands behind your back. You can be nice and strong at the same time. But the Board needs to know the truth and support you. (Tip for working with them: focus on concrete facts rather than details about individuals at this point.) And while your “ally” is there, she needs to help make this happen for you – otherwise she is no ally!

As for the employees, sounds like you’ve done some good things, but at this critical junction, they need to take ownership of helping find solutions. And they need to trust and respect you. All that takes time to build and unfortunately time is short. Not an easy challenge!

But…I believe you could enlist the help of the others – not THOSE two. In fact, don’t give those two so much power. You need to find ways to isolate them and minimize their impact while expanding the influence of the others as you work to win them over even more. You could even call a meeting and create a small task force from a few of the friendlier ones, and then meet with them to find ways to turn things around. They need to know the place can go under unless you all work together. And they need to know you and the Board are doing your best NOT to let that happen – but you need their help.

Keep everyone informed using e-mail and or regular meetings (more important than ever during this time) and let them know you are all working together and suggestions from everyone are welcome – your door is always open.

OK. Those are just two starting points. There is so much more to the story and solution, but without being able to dig into the facts, I will stop here.

Why did I start with what you could do at this awful job rather than addressing the question of “How to get current references in the U.S.”? Because your best bet is to roll up your sleeves and try to make this work – at least for now. You’ll never win them all over and you may not save the place, but you can make progress by creating REAL allies in the workplace and on the Board. And, as an added benefit, you will become a better manager in the process.

You might as well give it a shot for as long as possible. Not only will you possibly see some positive results you can quantify (no miracles – just progress…for example helped decrease the debt by x%), but you still have the chance to create relationships that can become references. Your current Board president as well as the others are all potential references if you show them you are a fighter who does all she can to make a bad situation better.

And don’t be shy about letting them know you inherited an almost impossible situation (give them clear objective examples) and intend to do your best to make things better. Set goals with them and enlist their help and the help of your task force and cooperative employees to make this work. And if you can’t win over and have to fire the two trouble-makers, well that’s what a good leader sometimes has to do. (Who knows? If they know you’re serious and are not afraid of them, they may just start to work with you.) But you need the Board on your side to be able to carry any of this out effectively.

All right. That’s a lot to take in. And I know some of it may not apply. But hopefully from all I wrote, you will see some solutions that ring true for you and allow you to hang in long enough to establish references in the United States – and maybe even help you turn around the company. But if the board is not willing, well…then we need to talk about your next move.

Oh…and references also come from fellow leaders of non-profits, government officials, business people. Are you networking? This is your time to take the bull by the horns and show you are more than “nice and polite”. You are a leader! Even if you stay a few more months, you can use your position to help find the next one by meeting as many people as possible as part of your quest to turn things around. But I assure you…this is not a task you or anyone can do alone!

Good luck, Karen. Please let us know how it goes.

Ronnie Ann

Ronnie Ann