3 Fundraising Personalities: I'll Lead the Way

I’ll Lead the Way has a high implicit need for control or power and will be at her best when her explicit goals are aligned with this need. We understand her need as a desire to influence, control, or impress others—and to receive recognition for these behaviors. I’ll Lead the Way is eager to break new ground, and she expects others to follow her. She is impatient and, we must note, fearful of betrayal. I’ll Lead the Way can be counted on to develop a plan and delegate responsibilities, yet she hesitates to be in a setting where she feels out of control. Her preference for control translates into competitiveness and a zero-sum mindset. In other words, there will always be a winner and there will always be a loser. I’ll Lead the Way is the most likely of our three colleagues to insist, abrasively, that board members must give, get, or get off.

In working with committees, we would expect I’ll Lead the Way to be effective at organizing an agenda, handing out assignments, and keeping everyone on task. Where she may find committee work difficult is when she must follow the lead of a less-experienced (but board-appointed) volunteer chair. Of the fundraising responsibilities I’ll Lead the Way may be the most suited for, event planning may be the place where she can truly shine. Unfortunately, she can find it difficult to be patient with a major donor as she cultivates a significant gift. She may also find it hard to envision the exchange as a win−win for both the organization and her donor.

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In The War for Fundraising Talent, I introduced this three-personality typology to improve our understanding of the underlying forces we encounter every day in professional fundraising. These three personalities provide a framework for: 1) better informed hiring decisions; 2) more effective coaching; and 3) reduced turnover.