Work Break-Up

Work Wednesday  

I had a bad break up last year. I'm still shaking off the feelings of inadequacy, sadness, distress and dread that accompanied it. I felt a bit like a teenager, unsure of myself, and navigating untested territory. I needed chocolate to get over it.

It was with a client. 

I have been a fundraising consultant to non-profit organizations for nearly nine years, and I worked as a staff fundraiser for over 15 years prior to that. I have a broad range of experience in all facets of fundraising, and pride myself particularly on understanding organizational and interpersonal dynamics in the workplace. I have been praised for my management style, I have raised tons of money, and my clients like my work. I often have long-duration consultancies, lasting multiple years and spanning a varied scope of work. I have learned when it is time to dig in to a job, and I have learned when it is time to say goodbye.

In this case, it was time for goodbye.

I had long known this small organization, having served on its board when I first moved to Washington. I had a strong relationship with Executive Director (ED), and the experience had given me my first taste of leadership development. While I had stopped donating a while back due to other priorities in my life, I had never stopped admiring their work.

So when the ED called me last year to speak with me about a potential consulting job with them, I was thrilled. The original idea was to be a job that I do best, working with the group on strategic planning and developing a new fundraising plan for their growth. However, like many groups, this group was facing dramatic fundraising challenges, and when their fundraiser resigned, the ED called me in a panic and asked if I could instead simply fill in until they hired someone new.

Reluctantly, I agreed, knowing that this is almost never the best use of a consultant, and that it had the potential to end badly.

I spent several months fighting a losing battle. This was a situation, not unusual in the non-profit world, where the ED had stayed on too long, and bad habits were entrenched. Fundraising was a poor stepchild in the organization's structure, with the hope that whoever was in the development position would simply do it all. In fact, the most important person in a fundraising campaign is the organization's director, and in my experience, if he or she is too busy or distracted to participate, the effort is doomed.

Add to this the economic landscape, and the terrifying downturn of funding opportunities over the past year, and it was a recipe for disaster.

By the late spring, I knew that I was in an untenable position. The client was asking too much of me, and I couldn’t possibly deliver what they needed. I told the ED that they were going to have to speed up their hiring process and I was going to need to end my consultancy, but that I wouldn't leave them in the lurch. I would see through the few large projects that were still looming.

And then there was silence. No phone calls, no emails. My email account with the client was closed without a word.  They hired a new Development Director and didn't bother to tell me. I was completely shut out.

I later learned that the ED thought my final project, a proposal to a potential new funder, was inadequate, and she was frustrated. I thought I had done the best I could with limited time, resources and information, but fair enough. I accept that it may not have been what she wanted.

But there was no communication about it, no request that I edit it, mainly because by the time it was read and reviewed in the office, there was no time for that sort of editing process. Like everything with this client, the work had been doled out and no one wanted to accept responsibility for it.

I recognize that I took on a consulting job that I knew was a poor set up, one that would be difficult to see through successfully. It has happened before. Previously, in such cases, I have been able to identify the problem and work with the client to end the consultancy to the satisfaction of both parties. Both the client and I have been relieved to admit that it was time to move on. In this case, however, although I had originated the conversation to end the consultancy, ultimately, the client dumped me, passively and unprofessionally. And it's still sticking in my craw.

Fundraising is a field built on relationships. You must have the ability to make connections with people in order to be successful. You must have a passion for your work that you can convey to others, and be willing to take a risk to ask someone for support. I pride myself on my ability to build relationships. And in this case, that ability failed. I am less upset about the end of the work than about the end of the relationship.

I have moved on. I work with other clients with whom I have a strong and positive association. I continue to cultivate new clients. But I continue to think about my past client with a mixture of anger and regret, wondering if there was anything more I could have done to prevent this bad break up.

 

 Photo by Alan Dean via Flickr

 

 

 

Comments

[Katherine]

Oh, Karen, what an awful experience! I am guessing the client will regret their unprofessional behavior -- the next time they are in a panic and need your help. This has happened to me one time, and like you, it was an assignment that I was reluctant to take, and accepted against my better judgement. Next time, I will listen to my gut!