Habitat for Humanity is a global organization with an audacious vision and big goals, operating in more than 1400 affiliates throughout the United States and in more than 70 countries globally. As the executive director at its Fort Collins, Colorado affiliate, Kristin Candella knows that to succeed, she must have a 360-degree view of today's constantly changing environment — and react quickly. To help her prepare for this challenge, she enrolled in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management at Harvard Business School.
While I am the leader of our organization today, on a deep level I wasn't sure if I was the leader of the future. I felt that there was something that needed to happen within me—something transformational—so that I would be able to look at our challenges, our mission, and our board development differently to keep up with the changing environment.
It exceeded my expectations in every way. In the program, the learning wasn't simply handed to me. I was challenged to go through a process of metamorphosis, and that’s what happened. I think the benefits are going to reveal themselves over many, many years.
My experience in the program reminded me of a recent ground blessing for a home-building project that will begin next year. As we were shoveling the dirt, dragonflies began swarming all around us. In many cultures, dragonflies symbolize change and also agility, with their ability to look in all directions and to fly in all directions–something no other bird or insect can do. After going through this program, I thought about how that experience with dragonflies symbolizes our organization and our mission—we have to keep looking in all directions and be ready to move quickly to keep up with the pace of change in the world. We have to continue evolving.
The living group was critical to taking the experience forward. I was in a group of like-minded, passionate people who were very curious and wanted to learn. Their expertise was totally different from mine, and so was the impact they brought to the program. Because of the living group, we were able to develop a deep trust in each other, and I know that the connections I made will last and that I'll be able to tap those people as I encounter new challenges and lead my organization's evolution in the future.
One of my peers from the living group actually said something that really stuck with me. He said that sometimes you have to subtract in order to multiply. In the context of this program, that means you have to redirect a week of your life to be able to multiply your ideas and your mission. At first it's hard to give up that time, but it's definitely worth it.
