Fundraising Staff's Diversity And Inclusion

Originally appeared in the NPT Instant Fundraising eNewsletter

By now the idea of diversity has become standard in many areas of American life, including the nonprofit sector. That’s a fine ideal, but just what is diversity?

During the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ international conference on fundraising, Beverly L. Herbert of the Association for Community Living in Springfield, Mass., and Alphonce J. Brown of Docere Consulting in Long Branch, Calif., looked at the AFP’s definition of diversity, but did so by bringing in another important concept: Inclusion.

According to the AFP, diversity and inclusion in fundraising seek to achieve a broad representation of experiences, perspectives and cultures to ensure that that the best possible thinking, ideas, opportunities and solutions are considered; intentionally create a respectful and welcoming environment that is open to all; and appreciate the unique contributions of every member of the community.

Herbert and Brown said that although many nonprofits are aware of demographic shifts, many still view minority groups as recipients of charitable benefits, rather than producers, contributors or donors.
To promote both diversity and inclusion in nonprofit organizations, they recommend the following:

• Recognize that differences can and should be embraced by the leadership.
• Look beyond the obvious.
• Seek others who are not represented in leadership’s immediate circle, i.e., individuals who have skills and experiences an organization lacks.
• When finding these individuals becomes difficult, cultivate new leaders.
• Talk about it. Reach out. Ask somebody.

4 Tips For Talent Management

The fast-paced world we live in has made it more important for nonprofits to manage human capital. Yet a new survey from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) seems to indicate that quite the opposite is happening.

The survey, distributed during the AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference and titled “Talent Pipeline Draining Growth,” details how bad management can hurt a nonprofit in all facets of the organization. In addition, it offers four steps to reconnect human capital to the growth agenda. The steps are:

• Embed human capital strategy within the wider overall business strategy. Organizations need to develop relevant human capital metrics to support and implement the wider strategy.
• Focus on getting the right information and translating it into actionable insight. Human capital information needs to be credible and accurate.
• Leverage the relevant skill set to bring credibility to the data, insights and subsequent actions. Organizations must ensure there is clarity on responsibility, accountability and ownership for human capital performance management.
• Structure the organization to encourage collaboration and partnering. If necessary, restructure for closer collaboration at the executive and operational levels, especially partnering between finance and human resources.

4 Ways To Ease Job Interview Anxieties

Job interviews are one of those things that can strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest person. While it's normal to feel this type of anxiety, it's imperative to find ways to control your fears so you can make the best possible impression on the hiring manager.

There is no better way to calm your interview jitters than to prepare. While there are many different forms of preparation, you will find that the best thing for your nerves is to roleplay with a friend or family member. This will allow you develop answers to typical interview questions and will make you feel more comfortable with the process.

Here are three other tips that will help you feel more relaxed and confident when the day of the interview arrives:

• Plan your day around the interview. There's no better way to raise your stress level than running late because you overbooked your day.
• Practice stress relieving exercises. While you are waiting in the receptionist's office for your name to be called, do some simple relaxation exercises, such as closing your eyes and paying attention to your breathing. These techniques are very good at lowering your stress levels.
• Prepare your own questions. Don't say "no" when the interviewer asks if you have any questions. This is a good opportunity for you to show that you have done your homework and are genuinely interested in the job. 

4 Job Interview Problems And Solutions

Originally Posted on the NPT Jobs Career Center

Here’s a nightmare scenario: You’ve done countless hours of preparation for your job interview, to the point where you are very confident about your chances. So naturally, you forget all of your talking points when it comes time to talk to the hiring manager.

This scenario is one that is all too common these days and it’s all the more frustrating because of all the preparation that job seekers do. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans can’t stop the simple fact that mistakes can happen. The key is to have a plan when disaster strikes so you can quickly recover without damaging your chances of getting the job. Below are four of the most common interview disasters along with solutions on how to recover from them:

Problem: Whether it’s because you overslept or misread the train schedules, you’re running late for the interview.
Solution: Call the office once you have determined you are going to be late and let them know when they can expect you to arrive.

Problem: You forgot to bring copies of your resume and/or portfolio.
Solution: Make sure to have a copy somewhere online, whether it’s in your e-mail or on your LinkedIn profile, that you can print out when you get to the interview.

Problem: Something happens to your suit/dress on the way to the interview, making it look far less nice than it did before.
Solution: This is one of the worst-case scenarios simply because there’s not much you can do other than replacing the damaged part of your outfit. The best course of action is to continue as planned to the interview and explaining what happened to the hiring manager.

Problem: In your anxiety, you forget the name of the interviewer.

Solution: Assuming you don’t see a nameplate on his desk, you should find a good time to ask for a business card. That will refresh your memory when it comes time to write a follow-up note.

4 Things Nonprofit Managers Need To Do After A Hire

Congratulations, your nonprofit finally hired a qualified candidate to fill a long-vacant position. Your work is done now, right? Not so, said Mendal Bouknight, president of the Piedmont Healthcare Foundation.

Speaking at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s annual international conference in Atlanta, Ga., Bouknight explained that a nonprofit manager's work is far from complete even after a new employee is bought on board. A good employee is someone who is constantly motivated to do the best job possible so managers should constantly be thinking of new motivational and support techniques.

Bouknight described some of the things to think about as a manager or leader within your organization to motivate and retain employees:

• Intentionally focus on the team and the individual;
• Begin every day by thinking about your team and what you are going to do to support them;
• Select the right people: those who are talented, fit with the culture, bring value to the team, are smarter than you, and like what they do; and,
• Actively listen to your team.

Can You Be A Five-Tool Fundraiser?

If you are a fan of baseball, you've probably heard fans and professionals alike raving about so-called "five-tool players." These are the rare individuals who can play every aspect of the game at a high level.

Nonprofits would do anything to hire an employee -- especially a fundraiser -- who could do everything at an elite level. There are a lot of talented nonprofit professionals looking for jobs, but asking one person to do it all is asking too much.

That's why organizations are focusing more on the team concept.

During the AFP 50^th International Conference on Fundraising, Chris Looney, Jim Looney and Claudia Looney of CCS Fundraising introduced the concept of the Five Tool Fundraiser, not one person but a team that coheres to provide the tools necessary for successful fundraising.

Those tools are:

• Effective Solicitor. This person is mission driven and passionate, with strong institutional knowledge and fundraising DNA.
• Effective Manager of CEO and Executive Team. This is a teacher and mentor, a senior member of the leadership team who develops tools and resources.
• Effective Staff Manager. This person hires the best, minimizes turnover and is driven to help staff succeed.
• Effective Strategist. This individual is always looking ahead, takes the initiative, is a big-tenter and navigates around politics, keeping drama to a minimum.
• Effective Board/Volunteer Manager. This one gets the best from people who are committed to the mission.

Do you match any of these tools? Head to the NPT Jobs Career Center to start a Hall of Fame career as a fundraiser.

Wanted: Director Of Development

Are you looking for a fundraising job at a leading foundation in our nation's capital? Look no further than our latest featured nonprofit job.

The Army Distaff Foundation (ADF) is looking to hire a Director of Development to to report to and partner with The Army Distaff Foundation President & CEO, Board leadership and Fund Development Committee Chair on both short- and long-term strategies for The ADF to effectively broaden awareness and promote a spirit of giving.

Major responsibilities include:

• Assume overall responsibility for the Foundation and execute a focused plan for increasing philanthropy.
• Proactively manage all major/planned gift activity and oversee a diverse prospect pool of individual, business, and military related constituents.
• Serve as the liaison to the Board of Directors and Fund Development Committee by providing consistent knowledge transfer and reporting of fundraising activity.
• Participate in the development of new business initiatives by serving as a member of The ADF task force assigned with creatively and effectively expanding the organization’s charitable mission
• Promote the professional strengths and talents of the Foundation staff;  provide supervision to colleagues who are accountable for fundraising communications, annual giving, grant writing, event planning and database management. 

Qualified candidates will have a minimum of eight years of fundraising and major/planned gift experience, plus a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (though a Master's degree and/or CFRE is preferred). Applicants should also have knowledge of the greater philanthropic military community and have expert experience with Microsoft Office products.

You can apply for this job by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Director Of Finance And Administration

Have you ever been to Yellowstone National Park? If you have, you probably saw how beautiful it was and you might have even thought to yourself how great it would be to do work related to the Park. Now's your chance to make that dream a reality by applying to our latest featured nonprofit job.

The Yellowstone Association (YA) in Gardiner, Montana is looking to hire a Director of Finance and Administration to work in partnership with the Executive Director and leadership team as the organization seeks to build on its recent success to provide additional educational support for Yellowstone National Park.

This is a high-level job with full responsibility for YA’s financial and human resource operations. As such, candidates should be prepared to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills to succeed. Required qualifications include:

• At least 7 years of experience in a senior financial role, preferably as a CFO or equivalent in a nonprofit organization with a budget of at least $5 million.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA, CPA or advanced degree in a closely related field strongly preferred; PHR/SPHR certification a plus.
• Demonstrated leadership, team management, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to translate financial concepts to – and to effectively collaborate with – colleagues who do not necessarily have financial backgrounds.
• Commitment to excellence and ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations.
• Keen analytical, organizational, and problem solving skills which support and enable good decision making.
• Strong computer skills (MS Office) and proficiency in the use of accounting software.
• Commitment to public service and the educational mission of the Yellowstone Association.

Think you have what it takes to succeed as a Director of Finance and Administration for YA? Head to the NPT Jobs Career Center to apply.

Social Networking For A Nonprofit Job

Originally Posted on the NPT Jobs Career Center


Networking is key when it comes to getting a nonprofit job. You can apply for work all you want, but you’ll have a greater chance of success if you can make connections with people in the organization. Thanks to sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, making these connections is easier than ever.

Social networking sites are extremely useful for keeping up with the latest trends in the industry and finding connections at jobs you are interested in joining. If you leverage your profiles correctly, the benefits can be huge. The key is to show the world the best version of your professional life. That means you should get rid of content that is not appropriate or interesting to potential recruiters. For example, it’s probably a good idea to take down any embarrassing photos from your friend’s bachelor party.

Once you’ve cleaned out your profile, you can start getting down to networking. Here are five tips that will get you on the right track:

• Don’t post for the sake of posting. Make sure all the content you create is fresh, interesting, and relevant to the type of job you are hoping to land. In this case, it will be helpful to write a lot of nonprofit-centric posts.
• Be interactive. If you are browsing a LinkedIn group, answer other people’s questions so that other professionals will see your profile. You will never harness the full potential of social media if you are just expecting people to come to you.
• Avoid spamming. You want people to notice you, but posting too frequently can backfire. At the same time, you don’t want months to past before you make a new post, so you’re going to have to strike a balance here.
• Make your content unique across all platforms. It’s OK if you occasionally post the same content to Facebook and Twitter, but don’t make a habit of it. You want to give people a reason to follow you on the various social network platforms, and they won’t want to if you carbon copy your content.
• Follow-up. Respond to every message, connection request, or question in a timely manner. This will let your followers know that you truly care about them.

Featured Nonprofit Jobs: Senior Special Event Manager

Junior Achievement in Tempe, Az., is looking for an energetic individual to be its Senior Special Event Manager. Interested? Read on for more details.

The chosen candidate will raise funds and support the efforts of the overall development team to solicit and steward financial contributors through various fundraising channels as it pertains to, but not limited to, Junior Achievement special events.This position will also ensure that the organization is expanding its base of support and has the financial resources to fulfill its mission by organizing and executing special events and by soliciting event sponsors, clients, and participants.

Other responsibilities include:

• As part of the Development Team, manages, organizes and executes golf tournaments and 'Bowl-a-thon' to meet the financial goal and ensures the events generate goodwill.
• Build and manage committee of community volunteers with efforts focused on raising funds to support company programs.
• Research and identify potential new funding partners in support of Junior Achievement fundraising events.
• Develop printed material and all necessary programs to promote the events. 
• Assist in the organization of other special events, helping manage event, logisitcs, timetables and execution of other special events as assigned to meet financial goals.

The ideal candidate should be a goal driven, organized, self-starter who enjoys providing exceptional customer service to internal and external stakeholders. Candidate must be flexible with time and have the ability to work beyond an 8-hour work day and occasional weekends.

You can find more information about this featured nonprofit job by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center. 

6 Steps To Handling Office Romances

The laws of attraction dictate that, whether you like it or not, office romances will occur under your watch. Time to panic, right? On the contrary, the only way disaster will come of this is if you or your human resources department have the attitude that “It can’t happen here” or “It won’t be allowed to happen here.”

During a recent Risk Management & Finance Summit for Nonprofits, Woods Bowman, an emeritus professor at DePaul University and an observer of nonprofits, spoke about how to best handle workplace relationships. He stated that the reason they can cause problems is because effective management depends on clear role relationships, which can be disrupted by office romance.

Yet it's almost inevitable that there will be those in your organization who are attracted to each other. Bowman shared the following advice if this does end up happening:

• Establish policy before the fact.
• Encourage reporting. Have anonymous and trustworthy reporting systems. Nonprofits must comply with the whistle-blower protections of Sarbanes-Oxley
• Investigate all allegations.
• Enforce policies evenhandedly. Policies and punishments should be universal, from the CEO on down, and gender-neutral.
• Monitor results and amend policies as needed.
• Don’t overlook outside relationships. Relationships between an employee and the spouse (or significant other) of another employee are more common than one might think. Think also of vendors and competitors.

5 Steps To Developing New Leaders

Does your nonprofit have a strong leadership team? Congratulations, you are probably one of the envies of the industry but don't celebrate for too long; your best strength can disappear before you know it if you rest on your laurels.

As Kirk Kramer and Preeta Nayak wrote in in the Bridgespan Group’s pamphlet “Plan A: How Successful Nonprofits Develop Their Future Leaders,” developing new leaders for your organization can be an overwhelming task. This leaves many managers wondering where to start. There's no need to wonder anymore, though, as the two authors came up with five steps that will help your organization get on the path to developing strong leaders.

The five steps are:

• Engage Your Senior Leaders: If you are a CEO just launching your leadership development efforts, begin by telling your senior team that it is important that they develop as individuals and that you’ll help each of them to do so. Ask each member of the senior team to add a personal — and organizational — development objective to annual goals.
• Understand Your Future Needs: Gather your senior team for a once-a-year offsite meeting to discuss where your organization is going and the potential of their direct reports to move into more senior roles.
• Develop Your Future Leaders: Meet twice a year with each of your direct reports to discuss their progress against their leadership development goals.
• Hire Externally to Fill Gaps: Identify the areas where you will likely need to hire externally to meet your future needs and those where you should aim to build capacity from within.
• Monitor and Improve Your Practices: Set targets for accomplishing the work of the previous items on this list. Next, report on your organization’s progress against those targets to your senior team and the board. Finally, determine leadership development priorities for the coming year.

For Employers: The 2013 Salary And Benefits Survey

UPDATE: We have extended the deadline to complete the Survey to July 26th.

Every year, The NonProfit Times and Bluewater Nonprofit Solutions publish the Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Reports. These in-depth studies help organizations to determine whether they are in line with similar organizations and to remain in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service. The data for these reports come from surveys of our readers and we need your participation again for our upcoming 2013 Salary and Benefits Reports.

Besides helping all nonprofits with their compensation packages, completing the 2013 Salary and Benefits Survey, has other benefits. Those who complete it by the deadline will qualify for a chance to win an iPad Mini and you will receive a free executive summary of the Survey results. Finally, everyone who completes the Survey will get 50 percent off the full reports (currently priced at $285) set to be released later in the year.

Since we know that your time is valuable, we have instituted some new features to make completing the Survey easier and faster than ever. In addition to some general streamlining, previous participants now have the ability to jump start the 2013 survey completion process–you only need to change the data that is different.

Other new features include:

• The survey is now compatible with all major Internet browsers including Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
• We've made it easier and more intuitive to enter data. We've also added more prompts to guide users.

So what are you waiting for? Complete the 2013 Nonprofit Organizations Salary and Benefits Survey today and help all nonprofits!

Featured Nonprofit Job: Member Engagement Representative

The American Staffing Association in Alexandria, Va., is looking to hire for a newly crafted position within their organization -- the Member Engagement Representative. This is a great opportunity for job seekers looking for new, exciting, and challenging work.

The chosen candidate for this position will be primarily responsible for retaining and engaging the organization's members. This position will call members to engage them in their member benefits and encourage participation in membership sections.

Other responsibilities include:

• Encourage member sales of certification, survey participation and purchasing, and registration at in-person meetings;
• Assist with design and execution of membership retention plans, writing promotional copy, and membership marketing; and,
• Support overall volunteer management within the association.

Qualified applicants will have a Bachelor's degree in a related field and at least three years of experience with member relations. Candidates should also have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, well-developed sense of customer service, capable of networking with high-profile corporate executives, and proficient in MS Office software with working knowledge of spreadsheets and Internet research.

You can find out more about this job by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center.

Featured Nonprofit Job: President/Chief Executive Officer

The Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home (CPCH) is looking to hire a new President/Chief Executive Officer. Think you have the experience necessary to succeed in this role? Read on for more details.

The chosen candidate for this position will help the Texas-based organization build on a 109 year record of serving children and families. Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, he/she will lead in the preparation of annual budgets, management of financial resources, completion of an annual audit, the meeting of all legal and licensing requirements, and securing of financial resources.

Qualified applicants should have a Master's degree though a Doctoral level degree is preferred. Other requirements include:

• Minimum of five years of managerial experience related to child care programs, personnel supervision, and financial resource development.
• Must hold or be eligible to become licensed under Texas Law as a Licensed Child Care Administrator.
• Applicants must be able to represent the agency as a Christian role model in private as well as professional life.

You can find out more about this job, including application instructions, by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Director Of Major Gifts

Are you an experienced fundraising professional who also has a passion for dogs? If so, our newest featured nonprofit job might be right up your alley.

Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) in New York City is looking to hire a Director of Major Gifts to manage and broaden a portfolio of major gifts prospects in a decentralized and dynamic development program. The chosen candidate will play a key role in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding top tier donors, and will interface with key volunteers on all Canine Companions fundraising initiatives.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Northeast Region, this position requires that candidates meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in related field;
• Substantial and proven success in individual major gift fundraising;
• Experience in a campaign environment;
• Basic computer skills;
• Familiarity with planned giving vehicles and techniques; and,
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

You can learn more about this job, including application instructions, by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center.

Hiring An Employee Is Not The Final Step

So you've finally hired a new employee to your nonprofit. That means all of your work is done, right? According to a leading nonprofit executive, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Speaking at the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy's 46th annual international conference in Atlanta, Ga., Mendal Bouknight, president of the Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, explained that organizations should not rest even after filling their open positions. She shared some of the techniques her organization used to promote a strong workforce:

• Culture is introduced during the interview process;
• Expectations are clearly addressed Day 1; 30 days; 60 days; 90 days; 180 days, and 365 days;
• Take the time to provide an orientation to the organization, as well as every member of the team;
• The Hermann Brain Diagnostic Instrument (HBDI), similar to the Myers-Briggs Test, is introduced to every new member and the team; and,
• Regular retreats are centered around team, roles, responsibilities and respect.

Motivation is also an important tool to keep your employees engaged, and Bouknight detailed how strong leaders can do this:

• Intentionally focus on the team and the individual;
• Begin every day by thinking about your team and what you are going to do to support them;
• Select the right people, those who are talented, fit with the culture, bring value to the team, are smarter than you, and like what they do; and,
• Actively listen to your team.

Job Hunting After A Holiday

I hope that everyone had a great (and safe) 4th of July weekend.  It's always good to have a little time off to just relax and enjoy yourself.  Time off is especially useful when it comes to something as rigorous as job hunting.  Holidays allow you to refocus and come back stronger, but it can also be hard to get back to your routine.  How can you avoid slacking off after a vacation? 

Post-vacation slumps can be fought in a number of ways, but the most effective way is to get rid of all distractions.  Do you normally do your job search at your home?  Try going to the local library instead.  Putting yourself in a quiet environment can make it much easier to get back into that work mindset.  Once you do this, you have to conquer the hardest part of returning from a vacation: Pushing yourself to actually do work.

The online-centric nature of job searching makes it almost impossible to avoid distractions.  Going to a library or some other quiet environment eliminates things like noisy roommates or the TV, but you are still going to need to fight yourself from surfing the net aimlessly.  This is almost entirely a matter of your mindset.  You need to remind yourself that the longer you slack off, the less time you will have to do fun activities later on. 

Perhaps the most effective way to combat the post-vacation blues is to get back to your routine slowly.  It might seem self-defeating, but it's true.  Forcing yourself full force back into your daily routine is the worst thing you can do, especially if it has been a long vacation.  Labor Day vacations don't last long typically, so you won't have to ease back into your job search routine as slowly.  I'd say an appropriate time table is to be back to your full schedule by the fourth day after Veteran's Day weekend. 

Do you have any additional ideas on how to get back to your routine after time off?  Post them in the comments section below.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Senior Vice President Of Operations

Access Services in Ft. Washington, Pa., is looking to hire a Senior Vice President of Operations. Does this sound like a good fit for your career skills? Read on for more details.

The chosen candidate for this position will provide day-to-day leadership and management to administrative departments including Development/Marketing, to ensure that overall goals result in sustained growth, financial strength and operational efficiency.

Key requirements to be considered for this job include:

• Master’s Degree in a related field including human services, social work or business administration;
• Ten or more years of increasing management experience in non-profit social services administration in the areas of responsibility outlined in this description;
• Five or more years in a senior management capacity;
• Excellent organizational and verbal/written communication skills;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Outlook and Excel and Internet use; and,
• Knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint.

You can find out more about this job, including application instructions, by visiting the NPT Jobs Career Center.

11 Sample Phone Interview Questions

It can be useful to narrow the job search by steps. Step 1 is to search for the right nonprofit job; step 2 is applying for that job; and, step 3 is going for an in-person interview. There are some variations to these steps and one of those is the phone interview.

In the book "Nonprofit Management 101," James Weinberg and Cassie Scarano of Commongood Careers write that many employers use telephone screens to narrow the candidate pool before moving on to traditional interviews. Hiring managers will develop a series of open-ended questions specific to the role and will use these to evaluate whether they want to hear more from you.

Weinberg and Scarano listed 11 sample interview questions for a director of development position. You can adjust these questions based on the job you are applying for and create well-thought out answers should you get chosen for a phone screen:

• Please tell me about why you are interested in the director of development position with our organization.
• In what type of organizational culture do you thrive? In what kind of culture do you feel less successful?
• Why are you leaving your current position?
• What skills and experience do you have that make you particularly qualified for this position?
• Tell me about the successes you have had raising money for organizations.
• Can you give me some examples of partnerships you created that led to increased revenue or opportunity for your organization? How did you create them? What were the results?
• Have you ever done a successful major ask? If so, please tell me about it.
• Please describe your experience working in partnership with a board of directors. What strategies did you implement to ensure an effective and productive partnership?
• To what extent have you been a part of a start-up organization, new initiative or high-growth environment? What was the situation and what roles did you play?
• What is your salary history? What are your current salary requirements?
• How soon would you be able to start a new position?

15 Questions To Ask Before Advancing Your Career

Leading your peers is more than just telling them what to do and expecting them to get in line. If it's one of your career goals to become a successful nonprofit leader, you will need to learn that leading has a lot more to do with bringing out the best in people.

That includes yourself.

Vicki Halsey, in her book "Brilliance By Design," wrote that bringing out the best in people has much to do with being a teacher, and further than teaching involved a dimension of self-awareness. Knowing who you are helps a lot when trying to know about and teach others.

Before you can even think about advancing your career as a nonprofit professional, Halsey recommended asking yourself the following questions at least once a year:

• Who am I?
• What is important to me?
• What are my gifts and strengths?
• What are some areas that need improvement?
• What inspires and motivates me?
• What are my goals/What do I want to achieve?
• What are barriers to my goals?
• What are my passions?
• What is my purpose?
• What energizes me?
• What do I need to sustain my passion, my purpose, my energy?
• What have I done recently that makes me happy?
• How could I do more of that?
• What has become clearer to me after answering that question?
• How do I best learn?