Nonprofit education and support are some of Park City Community Foundation’s core services. We value setting the table for important conversations to take place as well as learning the best possible practices from one another. During the nonprofit roundtables, we’ve discussed marketing, fundraising, communications, among other issues. Recently the focus was on “Managing Up” – effectively addressing and preempting organizational needs and emphasizing proactivity in the workplace. Close to 20 leaders participated in the meeting from various nonprofit organizations in greater Park City. Useful tools were discussed as well as folks’ own personal experiences.
As our social equity journey continues in Park City, we have learned that it colors everything we do. Gender equity was part of the “Managing Up” conversation and had to be acknowledged as an element to take into consideration when communicating with one’s boss. In an equal world, “leaning in” (a term coined by Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook which is lexical shorthand for the process of a woman asserting herself in the workplace) could work and result in career advancement, but we know that in practice there are variables that make it so that not everyone is on equal footing at the workplace.
Unconscious bias trainings are one intervention that could have positive effects, although they are not a cure-all. For these efforts to be successful, we ought to address systemic biases at the same time; taking the time to look at the culture, the systems in place, and the structures under which we operate. An organization’s day-to-day could be riddled with these insidious biases. Pausing to reflect on them is what is required for us to start tackling these challenges head-on and a critical part of reducing inequities for women, people of color, queer folks, and more.
Learn more about nonprofit education and upcoming roundtables >
Articles shared after the roundtable about Managing Up included:
Know Your Team blog: How to manage up effectively
By Diego Zegarra, Social Equity Director, Park City Community Foundation