Off Base or on Target? Readers Respond to Critique of Young Nonprofit Leaders.

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To the Editor:

Eboo Patel’s recent op-ed “A Nonprofit Leader to Young Colleagues: Act Like an Olympian” (August 7) misses the mark when it comes to assessing the promise and challenges of leadership in intergenerational organizations. He prioritizes glib comparisons to pop culture over nuanced reflection that could actually move the nonprofit field forward.

I respect the candor of the leaders interviewed in “Bad Bosses, Big Dreams, and Broken Philanthropy” (July 24), especially because interviewer Nandita Raghuram asked them directly about problems in nonprofits. Patel references the book “Good to Great,” but perhaps he should revisit the part where the author notes “you absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts.”

Because Raghuram asked these questions, we get to hear real answers — from people whose paychecks we don’t control. These young leaders pointed to problems that people with power can address right now. As a former colleague of mine was fond of saying, “feedback is a gift.”

But sure, let’s talk about Simone Biles for a moment. The comparison I draw here is less about Biles’ gold medals and more about her leadership to expose abuse and its cover-up in competitive gymnastics.

Last year, during a multi-year training at my organization, Andrea Reimer, a nonprofit consultant and public policy professor at Simon Fraser University, illustrated the concept of expert power with a picture of Biles. Essentially, Biles is so good at gymnastics that we listen to her about other topics, including mental health and sexual abuse in U.S. sports. Most young nonprofit leaders risk losing their jobs if they similarly speak out on difficult issues.

When Biles and others testified about the FBI’s investigation of Larry Nassar, I felt both rage and heartbreak, wondering how many brilliant gymnasts the world has missed out on because of systemic failures.

Patel could have similarly asked: How many brilliant changemakers has the nonprofit field missed out on because of its own systemic failures? Those working towards transformational change and a more just world can’t afford to dismiss legitimate critique as whining — especially when these young people were honestly answering questions posed to them.

Trista Kendall
Development Director
Stand.earth

To the Editor:

Eboo Patel is one of the most important voices in philanthropy today. His recent op-ed “A Nonprofit Leader to Young Colleagues: Act Like an Olympian” (August 7) may touch a nerve. But Patel’s brilliant words are exactly what many in the field need to hear.

As a consultant for nonprofits, I’ve seen firsthand how too many people now default to what’s wrong instead of looking for the good that will inspire philanthropy. Emerging nonprofit leaders who question whether anything has been accomplished in the last 30 or 40 years need to wake up. They should shake off the negativity, because right now, they’re not leading.

Rob Cummings
Principal
Rob Cummings Consulting

To the Editor:

I’d like to remind my fellow Gen X-er Eboo Patel of one critical difference between the nonprofit field and the Olympics: Olympians retire when they’re burnt out, tired, or folks better suited to the job come along.

You don’t see 56-year-old Mary Lou Retton clinging to her spot on the U.S. gymnastics team. But a 56-year-old leader would almost certainly still helm a nonprofit. Retton is also not pontificating about how she would do it better than Simone Biles. At the apex of Retton’s career, she never came close to Biles.

It’s easy to praise those who came before when they’re not actively urging you to do the work the way they did it in 1990.

Nonprofit professionals, unlike Olympic gymnasts, are seldom able to retire in their 20s or 30s. This makes it all the more crucial for Gen X leaders — and the Boomers ahead of us — to support innovation and welcome change so that Gen Z can leap further, jump higher, and run faster than we did.

Elizabeth Pickard
Consultant
The Rome Group

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