People become involved in not for profit organisations and charities for a number of reasons. Generally, there is a connection with a given charity that appeals to them, or aligns with an experience they’ve had. They want to make a difference in one way or another, and are passionate enough to want to be a part of it.

Joining the Board of an NFP is a powerful way of not only being involved, but being a driver behind the success and deliverables of a charity. However, whilst passion is an important factor, that will certainly help with your motivation, it isn’t enough in and of itself to take the organisation further forward.

Knowing how you work, what motivates you, and how you deal with certain situations is essential. Essentially, the better you know yourself, and how you operate, the better you will be able to lead your NFP.

The reason for this is you get to better understand the areas or activities you are comfortable with, those you excel at, and those that you’re aren’t so great at. You can make more effective decisions in relation to planning and delegation of tasks.

This applies across the board; if all your board members have a deeper understanding of themselves, delegation of roles can be simplified, and members placed into roles or activities that best suit them.

This knowing yourself is akin to personality testing. Although there are literally hundreds of tests you can do, there are some that provide more insight than others, that are less binary, and provide more of a ‘spectrum’ of personality traits.

Business Insider gives an overview of one such test, the International Personality Item Pool, which purports to give an accurate assessment of your personality. Other popular tests include the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC Personality Testing. There are plenty more to choose from, too.

It is worth investing some time and resources into doing one of these assessments, so you can better understand how you operate and where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Extending the assessments to the board gives you an overarching view of where, as a whole, your strengths lie, and where there are perhaps some gaps.

You, and the board, are better able to lead the organisation, and perform the activities that will take you to where you need to be more easily. It will also enable you to fill gaps in your skills resources, and take yourself to the next level again.