Coming into 2020, when you thought of how to overcome change management challenges, you didn’t have the fallout of a global pandemic on your radar. If you’re Jim Morris, CEO of the Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, you’re also facing the recent merger with another nonprofit. And this is after a nearly 8-year competitive struggle with the board and staff of an organization that you lead.
My interview with Jim Morris has so many relevant lessons learned on the team communication strategies that worked with his team and how to overcome change management challenges, even when they’re rooted in a long history of conflict. How could it not when you’re facing THIS much change!
Jim has done an amazing job of leading Habitat for the past nine years. The second part of our conversation covers an incredible range of topics:
- keeping perspective by focusing on your mission;
- how to use the current crisis as a way to initiate conversation with your key leadership and board members;
- how to improve communication within a team by understanding where each member is really coming from and what they bring to the table;
- and finally, what Jim ultimately wants his legacy as a leader to be.
Listen to this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline to hear this fantastic conversation. If you haven’t already, make sure to listen to part 1 of Jim’s interview here, where we talk about how Jim found himself in this 8-year hot mess to start with, and how that situation resolved.
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About Jim Morris
Jim Morris is married with 3 children and is the President and CEO of Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity. He has led this nonprofit since 2011 and has a total of 30 years’ experience in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors. He has spent his last 21 years in the nonprofit sector with direct experience in affordable housing, arts and culture, comprehensive community development, economic development and cultural tourism. He has been in management in for 20 of his 21 years in his nonprofit work. In his 8 years in the for-profit sector, he primarily worked in the residential building and construction industry.
In 2006 while serving as Executive Director of the Arts & Cultural Alliance in Orlando, Jim received the coveted Martin Bell Scholarship, a full-ride scholarship to the executive MBA at Rollins College. He completed his MBA in 2008. The Martin Bell Scholarship is awarded annually to a senior nonprofit professional who demonstrates outstanding leadership in their nonprofit field. Jim is also a published writer, having written for several magazines.
He is an Indiana native, born and raised in Michigan City and finished his undergraduate work at Ball State University with a degree in Journalism. He and his family lived in Orlando, Florida for 12 years prior to moving back to Indiana in 2008. He attends Common Ground Church.
About Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity
Since 1987 Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity has helped more than 1,000 families globally relocate from substandard and poverty housing into decent and affordable homes. More than 630 of these homeowners are here in our community of Greater Indianapolis and 425 are in Central America. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. The foundations laid by Habitat go far beyond the physical structure of a home. Habitat for Humanity builds strength, stability, and independence through homeownership. To learn more or get involved, visit indyhabitat.org.
