The beautiful lotus flower rises from the mud every morning without stain and returns to the murky water each evening. Its daily bloom symbolizes strength, resilience, and rebirth. Steve Johns, CEO, OneCause, and Author of Fearless: Leadership Lessons at the Crossroads, connects the dots between leadership and resilience for the nonprofit community (and leaders everywhere) in his new book.
SHOW NOTES:
March 2, 2023 – Episode # 77
Where’s There’s No Mud, There’s No Lotus featuring Steve Johns
On April 16, 2020, Steve Johns, CEO, OneCause, sent an update titled: ‘no mud, no lotus,’ to his entire team. It was one of many inspirational messages that he penned starting in March 2020 and delivered weekly to motivate OneCause Nation and support their well-being as the world faced challenging times.
Steve believed it was a priority to care for his team in a way that would strengthen them to support the more than 10,000 nonprofit organizations whose fundraising and mere existence were threatened.
Steve wrote, “Just as the lotus must push through the mud and darkness, we must push through our setbacks, suffering, and loss to grow and emerge to realize our full potential.Fight through adversity. Face suffering without being hurt by it. Our difficulties are part of our journey. Face your challenge. Adversity gives way to growth and wisdom.Face discomfort and move through it.Our current hardship can be a source of growth and transformation.Deep stuff I know, but I’m growing too!”
This mantra helped mobilize the OneCause team to deliver superior customer service when the global health crisis caused demand volumes to burst exponentially. It also sparked the rebirth of innovation. In the summer of 2020, new fundraising solutions emerged from OneCause. Then again in October 2022, OneCause announced the OneCause Fundraising Platform, reinforcing the company’s commitment to innovation and nonprofit growth. Steve credits cataclysmic change as a driver for innovation.
Authentic leadership, honest communication, and dedication to his team & the nonprofit community led to wide-scale communication and the release of a shared story in book form.
In this episode, Steve speaks candidly about:
- Inspiration for publishing Fearless: Leadership Lessons at the Crossroads.
- Stoicism and timeless principles for future leaders.
- Silver linings in the face of adversity.
- Leadership lessons based on authentic and truthful communications.
Order a copy of the book, available at Amazon
Read more about Fearless: Leadership Lessons at the Crossroads by Steve Johns
Press Announcement: New Book by OneCause CEO Steve Johns Empowers Leaders to Rise Above in the Face of Uncertainty
(If you are a nonprofit and would like to be a guest on Raise Nation Radio to feature your mission and impact, contact Dawn Lego.)