35 Years-- Leadership Found in Grassroots Values
Whenever the staff talked about salaries at the Center for Rural Affairs, the organization’s cofounder Marty Strange used to say, “If you are keeping count, you are falling behind.”
I think he meant that if we were focused on the size of our salary, we had lost sight of why we had come to the Center. Our staff is bright, well educated and talented. Most could make more money elsewhere.
But we enjoy some offsetting benefits. We have the privilege of coming to work each day to fight for the things we believe in – and we get paid for it. Most people aren’t so lucky.
Our staff needs to make a living, so we strive to share the financial sacrifice fairly. We limit the gap between the top and bottom salary, so the highest paid has generally made no more than about twice the lowest paid. And the Center provides an excellent benefit package, including fully paid health insurance and a health savings account.
But we strive to focus on what we give through our work and how it helps rural America take control of its destiny, rather than what we get for it.
That spirit of giving back also motivates our grassroots supporters – an essential element of the Center. Democracy thrives on citizens who give freely of their time to strengthen their nation and community and work for the common good. They take time away from their jobs or businesses to testify to their legislature, meet with members of Congress, and serve on boards, often at personal financial cost.
Like our staff, they enjoy the reward of knowing that they have given back. Citizen leaders don’t get involved in the Center to gain power and prominence, any more than our staff come to pursue money. They ask not what have I gained, but rather, what have I contributed.
Unselfish leaders are true leaders. They are essential to democracy. A people focused solely on their selfish interests don’t have the capacity for effective self government. Self government depends on citizens and leaders who understand they are part of a larger community and society in which they have a stake and to which they have obligations. It works best with unselfish leaders who give back.
And so it is with the Center for Rural Affairs. It is founded on people – on a staff and board and on grassroots supporters across the nation – who take their reward in the satisfaction of giving back, of advancing what they believe in. And we are all really quite fortunate to be part of it.
Send your comments to: Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1018.
I think he meant that if we were focused on the size of our salary, we had lost sight of why we had come to the Center. Our staff is bright, well educated and talented. Most could make more money elsewhere.
But we enjoy some offsetting benefits. We have the privilege of coming to work each day to fight for the things we believe in – and we get paid for it. Most people aren’t so lucky.
Our staff needs to make a living, so we strive to share the financial sacrifice fairly. We limit the gap between the top and bottom salary, so the highest paid has generally made no more than about twice the lowest paid. And the Center provides an excellent benefit package, including fully paid health insurance and a health savings account.
But we strive to focus on what we give through our work and how it helps rural America take control of its destiny, rather than what we get for it.
That spirit of giving back also motivates our grassroots supporters – an essential element of the Center. Democracy thrives on citizens who give freely of their time to strengthen their nation and community and work for the common good. They take time away from their jobs or businesses to testify to their legislature, meet with members of Congress, and serve on boards, often at personal financial cost.
Like our staff, they enjoy the reward of knowing that they have given back. Citizen leaders don’t get involved in the Center to gain power and prominence, any more than our staff come to pursue money. They ask not what have I gained, but rather, what have I contributed.
Unselfish leaders are true leaders. They are essential to democracy. A people focused solely on their selfish interests don’t have the capacity for effective self government. Self government depends on citizens and leaders who understand they are part of a larger community and society in which they have a stake and to which they have obligations. It works best with unselfish leaders who give back.
And so it is with the Center for Rural Affairs. It is founded on people – on a staff and board and on grassroots supporters across the nation – who take their reward in the satisfaction of giving back, of advancing what they believe in. And we are all really quite fortunate to be part of it.
Send your comments to: Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1018.
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