Shanna A Hocking

This week is the two year anniversary of launching Hocking Leadership, LLC.

After 20 years in my dream career, I felt a calling to support more organizations, teams, and leaders in fulfilling their potential.

I made my Bold Move.

As a result, Hocking Leadership has helped many universities and nonprofits to achieve more than they thought possible through their leadership and philanthropy.

Thank you to the wonderful organizations and leaders who have trusted us to help them achieve their biggest goals, the amazing team who makes Hocking Leadership magic happen, loved ones and friends for cheering me on, and all of you for learning together.

Cheers to more Bold Moves together this year.

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For more about how Hocking Leadership can help your organization and team achieve its biggest goals: www.HockingLeadership.com

What Bold Moves are you proudest of this year?

At the end of the year, I like to spend time reflecting on everything I’ve learned and made progress on, and the challenges that allowed me to grow to be where I am today.

This year, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to:

▪️Coach advancement VPs on leadership and fundraising strategies

▪️Speak on keynote stages around the country in person and virtually

▪️Teach the Bold Move framework in a university course

▪️Lead manager cohort training for an organization

▪️Give book talks for company ERGs, women’s professional networks, libraries, and bookstores

▪️Appear on NBC, ABC, CBS, and Nexstar affiliate TV stations across US and Canada

▪️Write for Harvard Business Review and Fast Company

▪️Build an alumni relations program from the ground up for an organization with 500,000 alumni

▪️Coach campaign volunteers, board members, and professional staff to ask for 6- and 7-figure gifts

▪️Advise multi-generational families on their philanthropic journeys

▪️Cheer on Bold Move Accelerator clients taking on their dream jobs

▪️Exhibit at the CASE Summit to share how Hocking Leadership helps university advancement teams strengthen workplace culture and accelerate fundraising

▪️Relaunch One Bold Move a Day podcast

On a personal note (because we’re so much more than our work!):

▪️Celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary

▪️Spend two weeks in my happiest place of Kiawah Island

▪️See Dave Matthews Band live in concert five times

As I reflect on this past year, YOU are one of the highlights. Thank you for being part of the Bold Move community, for inviting me to be on this journey with you, and for showing up for yourself and others each day. You inspire me and my Bold Moves!

Cheering you on, always.

❤️, Shanna

📷:

Are you unintentionally giving away your power at work?

Even as you grow your career and build your power at work, you may unconsciously do things that diminish your influence and authority.

I learned the hard way in my career what it means to unintentionally give away your power. Now, I coach clients how to navigate these situations with strength and grace.

The good news is that you can regain your power—and the first step is understanding how you may be negatively affecting your own success.

In my newest article for Fast Company, I share 5 unintentional mistakes you may be making at work:

1. Holding back on sharing your ideas
2. People pleasing
3. Allowing others to influence your emotions
4. Not letting things go
5. Believing your work speaks for itself

Which one of these resonates most with you?

📸:

Let’s start off the new year together!

I’m excited to share about a super fun opportunity to learn together with me and support an important cause.

I joined together with to bring awareness about antisemitism, and to build toward a more inclusive, brighter future for all of us.

Here’s how it works: Bid on an opportunity for you and your four closest friends to get a one-hour group coaching experience with me via Zoom, plus 5 signed copies of ONE BOLD MOVE A DAY.

ALL proceeds will be donated to Project Shema. The funds raised from this auction will subsidize Project Shema’s training on college campuses (where I dedicated so much of my career and life) to help students understand anti-Jewish harm and allyship.

What an amazing way to start the new year together by investing in yourself, building your support network, and doing good in the world.

Bidding starts at $118 (which is less than the cost of 5 books!) and is only open until December 22. I’ll link to the auction in my stories.

Here’s to more Bold Moves together in the new year!

Get a personalized bookplate to go with your gift of ONE BOLD MOVE A DAY 🎁

A leader contacted me this week to say she bought copies of ONE BOLD MOVE A DAY for her team as a holiday gift. Love being a part of leaders investing in their teams!

I wanted to help make the gift extra special for that team so I sent them personalized nameplates—and now I’m offering this for you, too!

Whether you’re giving the book to a trusted mentor, new team member, close friend—or want the bookplate for your personal copy—message me and I’ll coordinate getting you a personalized bookplate to bring extra joy to your thoughtful gift.

Next Big Idea Club named ONE BOLD MOVE A DAY one of the “7 inspirational books to reach your goals in 2023” and we still have 18 days left in this year 😘

Thank you for your wonderful support of ONE BOLD MOVE A DAY!

DM me on or before December 15, so we can get this gift to them or you within a week.

📸:

They said, “I don’t feel comfortable asking individuals for money.”

This is a message I frequently hear from organizational and volunteer leaders when we start our work together.

Challenge accepted.

Asking for money is so much more than the ask itself.

I love helping clients who have a compelling mission, dedicated leaders and volunteers, and growth potential feel comfortable and confident to invite donors to partner with them to create meaning through philanthropy.

Since launching my business, I’ve coached many organizational and volunteer leaders to ask for larger gifts than they thought possible.

It’s not just about the dollar amount—it’s about what can be possible through philanthropy to align a donor’s interests and an organization’s goals.

One of my proudest days as a consultant and coach was when one of my clients closed their first 7-figure individual gift.

➡️ What advice do you offer to organizational and volunteer leaders when they share they feel uncomfortable asking for money?

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Hi, I’m Shanna Hocking (Shanna rhymes with Donna). I help organizations and individuals achieve more than they thought possible through their philanthropy and leadership, leveraging my 20 years of experience working in 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-figure fundraising and leading collaborative teams. DM me to learn more about how we can partner to achieve these results for your organization.

📸:

Being a leader can be lonely.

As you grow your career, you have fewer peers to turn to. Your work friendships change, particularly if you go from peer to supervisor. You may feel the pressure of higher expectations, which can turn your attention inward.

I’ve been there, too.

Here are 3 things you can do as a leader to feel more connected and supported:

1. Develop new workplace relationships

Invite a peer from a different part of your org to coffee or a virtual chat. Ask about what they’re working on, their challenges, and what they do to build resilience.

2. Celebrate progress

Recognize your new leadership role means your workplace identity has shifted. Celebrate that you’ve gotten to where you are and give yourself grace for the transition you’re experiencing.

3. Build your support system

Call a mentor or sponsor, which can affirm your strengths and expertise. Remember to support them in what they’re working on. After all, they may feel lonely, too!

Even with a strong network, there were times I wished I could have had a trusted sounding board in navigating my way and making the best decisions for my team and org.

If you’re ready to grow as a leader, you don’t have to do this alone. Research shows leadership coaching can increase employee confidence, work outcomes, and retention, as well as provide stability during org changes.

Coaching clients frequently say they choose me because of my experience in leadership, fundraising, and personal development. Because I understand what it’s like to solicit a $10m gift, lead an all-staff, and plan for a board meeting—often all on the same day. And most importantly, because I help advancement leaders communicate and lead confidently and compassionately in a way that aligns with their values and vision.

Being a leader can be lonely—but it doesn’t have to be. DM me to learn more about my leadership advisory services for senior advancement leaders.

The best time to set your 2024 goals is now.

I set aside this morning to reflect and plan for the new year.

Want to join me?

Here’s the process I’m using that you can follow for yourself anytime over the next few weeks.

☕️ Treat yourself to a fancy coffee or tea and the gift of “thinking time.” You may choose to bring along a journal to jot down notes or your computer (though maybe turn off the internet access so you’re not distracted by your inbox.)

💭 Reflect on where you’ve been. Think through your highlights of the last year, when you felt your best, and what you want to do more of in the new year. (I’ll share a link to my exact prompts in the comments.)

🎯 Create goals that inspire you—personally and professionally. It’s good to have a mix of goals to support your growth at work and in life.

🎉 Celebrate what you’ve learned and accomplished. Remember it’s not just about attaining all of your goals. It’s how you honor and enjoy the journey.

Because the best time to create the life you want for yourself is right here and right now.

I’d love to hear if you try this, too!

Cheering you on, always.

When you’re the first, help ensure you’re not the last.

Forbes invited me to share my reflections on leadership lessons from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s career and life—and this is what came to mind.

Being the “first” is an important, and often difficult, role.

Justice O’Connor led the way simply by being herself, but she was not only for herself.

She inspired many future women leaders and created pathways for them.

As you grow in your career, if you find yourself being the “first” at the leadership table, make sure you're not the last or only.

How will you open doors for others in your profession?

For more of my thoughts on Justice O’Connor’s legacy and the full article, I’ll link in my stories.

During my senior year of college, I interviewed at university development offices around the country. Every one of them rejected me—saying I didn’t have enough experience.

One of those interviews always stood out to me. I cold called a vice president of development at a major university—a woman, which wasn’t very common at the time. She flew me out for a full day of interviews with her team. Though they didn’t end up hiring me, I recalled her kindness during the process.

Her name has come up many times recently. I felt it was a sign. So, I reached out to cold call her again, 20 later, to thank her for her kindness all those years ago. We made plans to meet in person during our respective travels.

The last time I saw her I was a senior in college interviewing to get my first job as a major gifts officer. This time, we talked about our respective joyful careers in fundraising and I gave her a copy of my book, which tells the story of my career and leadership as a fundraiser and now consultant.

For many years, I carried shame about how I failed to get that first major gifts officer job on the timeline I worked for. The truth is: Those rejections fueled my drive to have a successful fundraising career, despite what other people thought I could do. And they have informed how I’ve hired people—for potential, not performance. Over time, I’ve been able to reframe that these experiences made me who I am today as a leader and fundraiser. And that meeting was a reminder to celebrate my progress.

What stories have you told yourself in your career up until this point? What if the things that you saw as failures were really the experiences that led you to your truest self? Remember, you’re not the same you that you used to be. You can always re-write your story, taking with you what you’ve learned over time and leveraging your strengths for who you’re becoming.

What’s your One Bold Move today?

📷:

Our son’s Jewish day school was on lockdown yesterday due to a threat.

Thankfully he is okay.

But Jewish parents are not okay.

These are the conversations that many of your Jewish colleagues and team members are having right now with loved ones:

Is it safe to send my child to school?
Is it safe to wear my Jewish star?
Is it safe to go to synagogue?
Is it safe to be me?

And then they’re walking into your workplaces.

Your team members likely face some kind of challenge outside of the workplace that they’re bringing to work with them every day.

In many cases, we may not even know what those challenges are.

This is why our work as leaders is so important.

Here are three things you can do today to create an inclusive, supportive work environment for all your team members:

Lead and listen with compassion.

Help people feel valued for who they are and how they contribute to your organization.

Care about team members as people.

To creating workplaces where all team members can thrive and fulfill their potential.

And a world where we can be safe to be our truest selves.

📸:

As a people leader, how do you balance fulfilling your metrics and helping your team reach their metrics?

During a virtual talk I gave this week to a cohort of people leaders at a digital marketing agency, this question came up.

It’s a question that comes up frequently with consulting and coaching clients.

Many fundraising leaders have a team goal they’re expected to reach, as well as their own fundraising goals. I experienced this as fundraising leader, too.

Here’s what I shared with the group:

Your job as a leader is to first support your team in reaching their goals.

Communicate the vision, provide them with resources to be successful, remove any barriers, and help them leverage their individual and collective strengths.

Share what you’re working on (including what doesn’t go as well as you hoped) and ask for their insights to learn with and from them.

Remind them we’re all in this together.

What other advice would you offer to someone who is facing this as a people leader?

📷 from mic check before the presentation to capture the moment!