8/11/2019 LEADER - True Change Takes a Leader With Vision

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leader-true-change-takes-a-leader-with-vision 1/2

True change takes aleader with vision

By Wallis Annenberg

For many of us, the holidayseason is a time to count our blessings -- and then open our hearts andour checkbooks to those who have far less than we do. But for ahandful of extraordinary leaders, giving means something more.

It means committing their entire beings to bettering the lives of others.It means looking at the most wrenching problems all around them andsaying it doesn't have to be this way. nd it means innovating -- trulyleading -- to find new solutions to our oldest and most vexingchallenges.

!odifying the homes of disabled veterans so they can live fuller, more productive lives. "reating vital support and transportation networks for children undergoing chemotherapy. #roviding free medical care in the

$ungles of "ameroon, where it's not $ust unattainable, it's often unheardof. %aunching a mobile computer lab to help low-income students in#alm Beach "ounty keep up with essential, $ob-sustainingtechnologies.

&hese are $ust some of the ways in which the " (eroes areembodying the very best of giving and philanthropy. t a time ofgovernment dysfunction and global economic turmoil, these womenand men aren't wringing their hands. &hey're rolling up their sleevesand getting the $ob done -- )uietly, courageously, all around the world.

(ow can we support and encourage even more of these efforts* In mytime as a philanthropist, I've thought a great deal about this issue. ndI've found that while money is, of course, essential, in the end it hassurprisingly little to do with effective philanthropy. %eadership is thekey ingredient. &hat's why we've stopped focusing our giving on needsand started focusing it much more on leadership. I believe the future of

philanthropy depends on this shift -- on a leadership-based approach tosolving our public problems.

&he truth is, virtually all of the more than +. million nonprofits inmerica are trying to meet important needs. t the nnenberg

Foundation, I've rarely )uestioned the need of a nonprofit that came tous for help. But need isn't enough. eed doesn't get the $ob done. eeddoesn't inspire others to follow your example. eed doesn't break outof the often-stale approaches of the past. ision does. &rue dynamismin an organi ation does.

/hat do I mean when I use the word 0vision*0 I mean people like the" (eroes, who look at an old problem and immediately see it in a

brand new way. #eople who think far beyond our day-to-day crises, asimportant as they are, and think about how their work will shape andsustain a community for the long haul. #eople who understand theirwork as a cause, even a calling -- and can rally others to embrace it.

&o me, vision is nothing less than a road map to the future. nd if youhave a real vision, you can outlast and outperform those with far

greater resources and support. /hich is why visionaries tend to begood philanthropic investments.

1f course, vision means little if you can't run an effective nonprofit.&hat's why we also look for dynamic organi ations -- ones that aren'tweighted down by bureaucracy and turf wars, and in particular, ones inwhich the board and the executive director are working hand in hand./ithout the red tape and the interoffice battles, they deliver better andmore meaningful results. It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised howelusive this can be.

t the nnenberg Foundation, we don't $ust go looking for these kindsof strong, leadership-driven nonprofits. /e try to nurture and growthem as well. &hat's why we created the nnenberg lchemy program,which we are offering free to all current and past " (eroes.

lchemy has already trained over +,233 nonprofit leaders in thiscountry, helping them approach their work with a greater sense ofvision and helping them build closer bonds between their boards andtheir executive management, so their effectiveness can match their

level of need.

8/11/2019 LEADER - True Change Takes a Leader With Vision

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leader-true-change-takes-a-leader-with-vision 2/2

4o if you want your own charitable dollars to have the greatest impact,don't $ust write checks to a worthy cause. 4upport the people andorgani ations that are actually leading us forward. I believe that's the

best way to create a stronger, fairer, more $ust world. nd that'ssomething we can all embrace, this and every holiday season.