I completed a little exercise with a coach where I asked many people to describe me with five words. They were professional connections – current and former work colleagues, other professional colleagues – and long-time friends who knew me well. I took all those responses, put them in a document and created a word cloud in Wordle. (Warning: This site can be a lot of time-consuming fun.)

I think it represents me pretty well. This is a great exercise, especially if you can get honest answers (a friend can help process the emails anonymously).

How would people describe you? How do those attributes and descriptions serve you in your work and life?

Or you may consider creating a question on your next donor survey that asks respondents to describe your charity with three to five adjectives (donor surveys are a terrific way to engage donors). It’s a good way to garner some insight and may be reflected back to your donors – via your website, digital publication or correspondence – and shared members of the staff.

Try it… I would love to hear your outcomes!