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As head of a non-profit organization there are many hard decisions that need to be made. But one of the hardest is knowing when it is time to leave.
It’s a situation that faced Mike Prosserman, founder and former executive director of UNITY Charity, when he decided earlier this year to step away from the organization he helped build.
“I think every organization needs to evolve. Whether it’s the founder moving on, the executive director moving, or the board chair changing,” Prosserman said, during his keynote address at the 10th anniversary kickoff of Capacity Canada’s Manulife Board Governance BootCamp.
He was one of several guest speakers at the event, held Nov. 15 at Kitchener’s Walper Hotel, which launched a two-day BootCamp that focused on board governance training for leaders from more than 30 non-profits.
Prosserman, a competitive breakdancer who has competed around the globe and is known as ‘Bboy Piecez’, spoke candidly about his battle with mental health issues and how they eventually affected his ability to lead UNITY Charity which he founded while in still in high school.
The non-profit organization uses the arts, including dance, beatbox, spoken word and graffiti, to help youths achieve better mental health and build stronger communities.
Prosserman, who shared a very personal story about growing up watching his mother battle schizophrenia, outlined his own journey of self-discovery as the organization he founded for a Grade 11 entrepreneurial project took off.
“I built UNITY from the ground up with a bunch of people who didn’t even know what a board of directors was,” he joked. “It was like a whole other language.”
But Prosserman quickly learned as UNITY grew about the importance of board governance. Last year, the organization reached more than 41,000 students nationwide at 70 schools and provided employment opportunities for approximately 80 emerging artists.
“It’s really vital to have a representative from the community you serve on your board,” he said.
Just prior to his departure from UNITY, Prosserman brought Bidhau Berma, a young spoken artist, onto the board.
Berma, along with beatbox artist Jane Jouralaysack, performed for the audience and shared his story of growing up in Scarborough as the son of immigrants trying to find his place in society.
“Growing up in the east end of Toronto I saw a lot of things I necessarily shouldn’t have seen at such a young age,” he said, joking that his parents had hoped he would find a government job with benefits. “I kind of realized at any early age that wasn’t for me.”
Berma joked he became part of UNITY after reluctantly attending an assembly at his former high school where some of its artists performed and was wowed by what he saw and soon joined the group.
“I started getting addicted to UNITY and what it was doing for me,” he said, adding being asked to serve on the board was a very daunting task.
“I didn’t understand the language and I felt out of place,” Berma said, joking he had assumed board members were more like superheroes sitting around a table trying to protect ‘Gotham.’
“But I started to realize it was my due diligence to get out there and learn about this because not many people get this opportunity from where I come from.”
Prosserman talked about embracing his own opportunity earlier this year when decided to step away from UNITY Charity after being diagnosed with anxiety.
“I was seeing and feeling things deeply. I could not stop crying,” he said, explaining how some colleagues urged him to make a change.
Initially, Prosserman toyed with the idea of taking a sabbatical from the mounting pressures of running the organization.
“So, it went from a sabbatical to succession very quickly,” he said, adding UNITY was in a ‘good place’ both structurally and financially.
Prosserman talked about the emotional toll it took on him to leave UNITY and how he shared the news with his colleagues.
“There really is no right time to do this,” he said, adding how he conducted a presentation to his UNITY colleagues regarding mental health in the workplace. This is in turn resulted in him teaching a continuing education course recently at the University of Toronto focusing on mental health in the workplace.
After leaving UNITY, Prosserman began to learn more about mental health issues and created his new business Epic Leadership Support.
“I actually started drawing plans on a napkin for the new business,” he joked.
Through Epic (Excellent People Impacting Communities), Prosserman assists leaders reach their full potential professionally and personally.
“Since July I’ve been able to work with some incredible people, helping social impact leaders grow and thrive through board development, succession work and mental health in the workplace because these are some of the forgotten conversations in our sector,” he said.
Prosserman reminded those in attendance that they hold the power to bring about change in their organization and urged them to reflect on how they are running their organizations.
“Rethink and reflect on what you’re doing ad how you’re doing it,” he said. “You’re going to do things your way and that’s beautiful. Just do it with empathy and kindness, remembering the core reason why we are all doing this work.”
To learn more, visit www.piecez.ca.
