We don’t talk a lot about adding value to our work, to our colleagues, to our programs, or to our organizations.
We do talk a good bit about being too busy, about being over-scheduled, and about being rushed.
But, if we focused more on adding value – and how to do that more often – we quickly would get into a conversation centered on work worth doing.
Work worth doing is work that makes a true difference. It’s work that is meaningful to the missions we are called to support. It’s work that adds significant value to the advancement program.
Work worth doing is not necessarily securing the biggest gift. It’s also not necessarily related to an impressive title.
Instead, work worth doing is rarely easy. It’s the work that’s done when no one else is watching. It’s the work that goes beyond checking a box on a to-do list. It’s the work we do because the advancement of our institution is more important than our sometimes tender egos.
Work worth doing is often work others don’t want to or simply will not do.
It’s reviewing a mailing list – by sight – to make sure that the dupes actually were caught and that the correct salutations are being used.
It’s ensuring that an event space has enough swag/colors/pictures to cause attendees to pause and remark about the transformation of the location.
It’s practicing over and over again with a colleague to confidently say the phrase, “that’s why I’m here today to invite you to consider a gift of $500,000. . .” because you realize this will be the biggest gift invitation you’ve been a part of and you don’t want the number to get stuck in your throat.
Doing work that’s worth it doesn’t always add measurable value in the moment. You still might miss correcting a salutation on that mailing list and the donor may not make the commitment to give that $500,000.
But, over time, we will add tremendous value to our colleagues, our missions, and to those our institutions serve when we consistently do the work worth doing.
