Mentoring through challenging times: Guiding staff toward continued inspiration

I've spent 12 years working with nonprofits and Jewish organizations across Chicagoland, and in that time, I have found that the more we listen to and invest in our teams, the stronger an organization is.

Leaders have an obligation to empower staff members and engage their talents to help to advance their organization. This is especially important during the pandemic. We have lost the opportunity to communicate and collaborate face-to-face.

It was these simple interactions that often built trust across teams and fostered creativity. Many of us are juggling segments of our staff who are in-person and segments who are working at home. We need to keep identifying ways to keep our full teams engaged and find new channels to nurture collaboration.

Since starting at a new organization during the pandemic, I have taken the opportunity to meet either socially distant or virtually with every member of our staff. Time provides us with the gift of listening. It has been so important to take the time to listen and to really hear what our employees say and feel toward the organization.

These one-on-one conversations are also opportunities to convey gratitude. Gratitude can look different for each person and it can also become an opportunity to build on successes and uncover new ideas.

While the pandemic came with new challenges for nonprofits, I made an intentional effort to reflect on other periods of transition I've experienced as a leader. Understanding how I've previously navigated through moments of change, I was able to better prepare myself and my team to practice flexibility and patience throughout such a tumultuous time. This helped us continue to collaborate and support each other at a team-wide scale, even as we were no longer physically together.

The secret to the success of any nonprofit or organization is ensuring people are passionately engaged around the mission.

At The ARK, we help Jews in the Northwest suburbs and in Chicago who are facing adversity. The ARK's team of professionals, volunteers and donors help them navigate toward self-reliance through free, comprehensive services including employment support, financial and medical assistance, spiritual enrichment, and other direct social services. This pandemic has accentuated the need for our organization and has accelerated our delivery of services.

In order to better serve our community and reach new clients, we need to consistently ask how we can better engage both our staff and our volunteers. So much of this opportunity for improvement comes through listening. Whether it's through formal responses or casual conversations, asking how we as a team can improve has led to better cohesiveness, productivity and programming for our staff and clients.

Inspiring a team of staff and volunteers can only happen if everyone is heard, supported and valued. Empathy is crucial during challenging times. By not only listening to my staff's professional experiences and needs, but also to their personal struggles, I was able to provide holistic support.

As organization leaders, we are entrusted to guide teams, donors and volunteers to remain inspired and truly motivated to "do good" in their communities. Moving forward through the pandemic, we should continue to ask ourselves, "What does better look like?" and continue to listen to those around us to find new ways to get there.

• Marna Goldwin is chief executive officer of The ARK.