Leading and Learning
I recently went one on one with Fred Poses, the former chairman of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). Fred is currently the President and CEO of Understood, a nonprofit that supports families and educators by providing resources such as guides, discussion groups and expert chats and webinars to help them better understand and navigate the challenges of learning and thinking differences.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your journey and best advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about your thoughts on leadership. In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Fred: Thank you for this opportunity. Effective leaders should be dedicated listeners, lifelong learners as well as effectively define and communicate an organization’s mission and values. Good leaders enable and celebrate good work and support employees so that they can be successful both inside and outside of the organization.
Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from leading nonprofit organizations?
Fred: I’m reminded of three important lessons. First, it’s important to use time wisely. Leaders of nonprofits need to clearly define and communicate their priorities. Plan your time, stick to the plan and if it needs adjusting, revise quickly, and move forward.
Second, leadership is a practice, not a science; leaders can always improve. Continue to work on yourself and the organization will benefit. There will be many bumps along the road but don’t give up.
Third, people are the real asset of an organization. They are the essential ingredient to achieving the mission of a nonprofit or social impact organization. It’s important to allocate time to manage and support your people. Smart, committed teams with diverse backgrounds and experience will always strengthen the organization. A leader’s job is to find quality talent, then empower them to contribute and grow.
Adam: What advice do you have for leaders of nonprofit organizations?
Fred: Make sure your mission is clearly defined and that you have the capabilities to achieve that mission at every step of the journey. It’s critical to have the resources and support to take steps to advance the organization and don’t let the mission drift beyond your resources.
Adam: What are your best tips on building, leading, and managing teams?
Fred: The best teams have clarity on what they should and shouldn’t be doing to achieve success. These teams are ambitious and motivated to achieve success together and will learn from mistakes. There is always room for improvement to be a more nimble team.
I also believe there is no substitute for talent. Building a great team requires having people who want to play on a team, who are collaborative and understand each team member's role. You always want to continue to find the right balance of hiring, developing, and retaining strong team members.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Fred: The best way to take your leadership skills to the next level is to take all the opportunities available to practice and learn. You don’t have to be part of a leadership team or have a senior title to influence and lead people. For example, let’s take a group of five or six people that don’t have an identified leader. But, one person always steps up to lead, because no one else volunteers. You don’t have to always be appointed a leader, but rather it’s a skill you exercise when the opportunity arises.
Additionally, good leaders set direction, enable teams to do good work, and then say thank you when the work is complete.
You can test whether you are getting to the next level by asking yourself: Did I set the direction? Did I enable the team to do good work? Did I say thank you when the work was done well?
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Fred: “You need to own it.” Early in my career, I was offered a new, larger leadership position. The person who gave it to me said he was giving me a “real opportunity to lead, grow, and learn.” He said he was confident that I could be successful, however, he caveated that “it was your job to be successful in this new position. You own it.” I thought that was great advice.
Looking back on that now, I try to instill that spirit in my team today: Don’t try to conform or behave like someone else. Develop your own communication and management style. It has to be your true self that shows up to work each day, or else you won’t be able to sustain your energy and success.
Adam: What inspired you to work in the nonprofit world and in helping those with learning disabilities?
Fred: I was inspired by two things: First, my family’s experience led me to want to make real change in the lives of people who learn and think differently. Second, I was interested in translating the skills and tools I learned in the for-profit world into the social impact world. For-profit and non-for-profit are clearly different in their goals, but I saw a lot of overlap in strategy and transferable skills.
Our journey began when my wife, Nancy, and I became aware that our son Max had differences. We noticed Max’s motor and verbal skills were significantly delayed. For example, he took his first steps at 18 months and had difficulty putting more than two words together. We were lucky to get support for Max from the best professionals. They helped us navigate a path for Max that would build on his strengths and support his disabilities. Although much less was known about learning and thinking differences 30 years ago, we were able to send him to schools where he could learn and thrive.
But the journey wasn’t a straight line. There were many challenges — some we saw coming and plenty more that we didn’t — but we had the ability to access and afford the resources needed to help Max live his best life. We also realized that we were in a position of privilege: Some parents, if not most, don’t have the ability to help their child do the same or don’t know where to turn for support. We wanted to help other parents and give them the resources to empower their own children too.
Nancy and I sat down with a blank piece of paper and asked ourselves: How can we help make a real difference in the world at a meaningful scale? Learning from our own experiences, we decided to help other parents first. We knew that parents loved and cared about their kids. They had a will to win for their families, and if given tools, information, and support, they could make a huge impact on their kids. So we set out to do just that. With the help of a variety of experts and nonprofit organizations, we created Understood as a free resource to millions of families who were looking for help to support people with differences and disabilities.
Today, not only do we know more about learning and thinking differences than we did when we started, but our mission has evolved as well. Our work is increasingly focused on how an individual who learns and thinks differently can thrive in life. We now support people who learn and think differently through every stage of life, from childhood to adulthood.
Adam: What should everyone understand about Understood?
Fred: In the United States, 1 in 5 people have learning and thinking differences, like dyslexia and ADHD. And 1 in 4 adults have some type of disability. For many of these people, it can feel like the world is built for a normal that doesn’t include them. We need to embrace those with differences and enable them to thrive at home, at school, and at work. We need to shape the world so that people with differences and disabilities can thrive.
Remember that we’re all different. We all have unique strengths, and if we play to those strengths rather than focus on our weaknesses, I believe we can be stronger together. My son’s life journey is different than mine because he learns and thinks differently. But with helpful resources and a will to win, my wife and I were able to help shape his world in a way that made it easier for him to navigate. If we’re going to do that for every person like Max, we can’t do it alone. We have to bring partners — parents, grandparents, teachers, coworkers, managers, and more —with us along the way. The more we can engage each other, the more we can shape the world for all of our differences.
Adam: What can anyone do to pay it forward?
Fred: I think about this idea all the time at Understood. Probably the most important thing people can do to pay it forward is to share their own stories and think about how each of us can shape the world for difference. If more people who learn and think differently share their stories, they will see they are not alone and others will understand their experience.
At Understood we practice what we preach. Team members have been sharing their personal stories during monthly meetings. It's powerful to watch individuals who are willing to talk openly before our large group and tell us how they evolved through a personal trauma, health issue, or professional or educational experience with a disability.
We’re at a time when the world is shining a light on the need for greater diversity and more inclusive spaces, and people with differences and disabilities must be recognized as part of that conversation. Not only can they add immense value to the workplace, but they can help enrich the world at large when they’re given the proper support and the right opportunities.
My key takeaways for paying it forward:
Advocate for yourself
Share that you are not the only one on this journey
Be open about who you are
Paying it forward for everyone is free, helpful and impactful, and equally important, doing something to help others is rewarding in so many ways.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Fred: Please visit Understood.org to learn more about learning and thinking differences and how you can help to shape the world for difference and empower every individual to thrive.